According to United Nations data, at least 14 countries around the world use children as soldiers. Ms. Fry referred earlier to the Vancouver principles. There is also the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which addresses the involvement of children in armed conflicts. Seventeen countries have neither signed nor ratified the protocol, and another 10 have signed, but not ratified, it.
With 14 United Nations member countries using children in their own armed forces or militias, is there any room for hope, or is it a lost cause?