Queen's University Belfast

Department Member, School of Law

Other Affiliations: Columbia University, Law School
Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam Center for International Law

PhD Candidate

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Thesis Title: The Crime of Child Soldier Recruitment - The Newest War Crime and its Conceptual Place in International Criminal Law

About

My doctoral research examines the criminalisation of the most recent addition to the category of war crimes – the crime of recruiting children under fifteen years of age for participation in armed conflict. The origins of the crime in international humanitarian law, its development through the human rights framework and its eventual indictment at the International Criminal Court are examined and assessed. This research also attempts to deal with interesting questions relating to this crime such as the operation of the criminalisation process, the nature of compliance with international law, the consequences of criminalising a cultturally acceptable practice and the effect of treaties on non-state actors. An effective examination of the facets of this crime also necessitates an assessment of the historical, anthropological, social and legal background to the evolution of the practice.

Contact Information