A 10 October 1996 Amnesty International report on Chad states that at the time, children were being recruited into the army in contravention of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Chad in 1990 (28). Children between 12 and 15 years of age were reportedly used to search for members of the opposition and denounce them to the army (ibid., 29). The children reportedly pointed fingers randomly "thereby bringing about arbitrary arrests followed by torture and even extrajudicial executions." Amnesty International further reports that although Chadian military authorities were aware both of the recruitment and the problem of unjustified arrests, they turned a blind eye (ibid.). This source does not state whether the recruitment was forced or not.

Country Reports for Human Rights Practices 1997, states "the government arbitrarily conscripted young men into the army without informing their families" but adds that "many minors served in the armed forces at the beginning of the year, but during the year all were believed to have been mustered out in a demobilisation program" (26 Feb. 1999). Additional or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Amnesty International. 10 October 1996. Chad: A Country Under the Arbitrary Rule of the Security Forces with the Tacit Consent of Other Countries. (AI Index: AFR 20/11/96). London: Amnesty International.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1998. 1999. [Internet:] http://www.state.gov[accessed 26 Feb. 1999].

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. January-December 1998. Vol. 35. Nos. 1-12.

Chad: A Country Study. 1990. Edited by Thomas Collelo. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army.

Lettre de la fédération internationale des Ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH). 1998.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. January-December 1998. Vol. 44. Nos. 1-12.

Balencie, Jean-Marc et Arnaud de La Grange. 1996. Mondes rebelles : acteurs, conflits et violences politiques. Tome II. Paris : Éditions Michalon

Electronic sources: IRB Databases, Internet, LEXIS/NEXIS, World News Connection (WNC).