Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of child soldiers actively deployed in the conflict in South Sudan.

The British Government is deeply concerned by the continued and widespread recruitment and use of children by all parties to the conflict in South Sudan. It is not possible to accurately determine the number of children who have been recruited and used as child soldiers, whether as fighters, or in other positions including, sadly, child “brides” or sex slaves. However, the British Government continues to exert pressure on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to release children in their ranks, to stop recruiting, and to ensure an end to all violations against children. ​