UN envoy calls for tough Security Council action on recruitment of child soldiers

One of this week's UN campaign videos

"[...] today the nature of conflicts has changed dramatically. It can be prolonged by the race for natural resources [...]"

The news this week

The New York Times quotes United Nations officials and Somali human rights groups as saying the government is fielding hundreds of children, some as young as nine, on the front lines. The paper also reports that the United States, a strong backer of the government, is helping to pay the soldiers.

"[The US is] particularly concerned about the situation in Somalia [where all parties to the conflict have] placed several thousand children in the line of fire."
- US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice

Report: Somali Government Using Child Soldiers, UN condemns Somalia's use of child soldiers, but US aid still flows, UNICEF seeks to end use of child soldiers across Central Africa.