CHILDREN OF WAR.

• Position: Some 300,000 children soldiers are being used worldwide

MORE CHILDREN THAN EVER BEFORE ARE FIGHTING IN WARS AROUND THE WORLD--OFTEN AGAINST THEIR WILL

In Sierra Leone, a 14-year-old boy watches in horror as people are burned alive. In Sudan, a 10-year-old girl is ordered to shoot one of her friends. In Uganda, a 13-year-old girl is sold into sexual slavery.

All around the world, from Colombia and Chechnya to Somalia and Sri Lanka, children like these are fighting, suffering, and dying in armed conflicts. Before they can drive, before they can vote, sometimes even before they can read or write, kids carrying machine guns, rifles, and knives are being asked to kill-and be killed--for a cause.

There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in more than 30 countries. While many are used as spies, messengers, or servants, others fight on the front lines.

"When U.S. soldiers participate in international peacekeeping operations, they may well find themselves face-to-face with a 14-year-old carrying an AK-47," says Jo Becker, a children's advocate for Human Rights Watch and chairwoman of the International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

In May, the United Nations adopted an agreement barring children under 18 from combat or mandatory military service. So far, 71 countries have signed it, including the United States, which initially opposed the age limit because it was using 17-year-olds in combat. (The Pentagon says that 16-and 17-year-olds will remain eligible to fight until the U.S. Senate votes to ratify the agreement. However, officials say that in practice, the possibility of a minor going into combat for the U.S. is highly unlikely.)

Unfortunately, the UN pact only deals with part of the problem. Many of the world's child soldiers aren't serving in their countries' armed forces, and many aren't serving voluntarily. In some countries, rebel forces or other non-governmental groups abduct children and force them to fight in civil wars, tribal battles, and uprisings where the usual rules of war are ignored. In Sri Lanka, for instance, rebels fighting to gain a homeland for the country's Hindu Tamil minority are using children as young as 11 in their war against the government army. Children also are fighting with opposition forces in Uganda, Myanmar, Turkey, Peru, and at least 16 other countries. (See map)

"Child Soldiers Around the World"

"The most egregious use of child soldiers is by rebel groups," Becker says. "They recruit them at the youngest ages and subject them to the worst...