Position paper Free Essays

The government of Nigeria believes in the protection of the interest of the children. Unfortunately, one can notice the use of child soldiers in Nigeria. Why there is the problem of child soldiers in Nigeria? During the 19th century and 20th century there have been interstate conflicts in the African continent. We will write a custom essay sample on Position paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now This led to the use of children as the soldiers in the warfare. There are many reasons for the wars fought between different states of Africa. Two important causes of the wars are poverty and orphan rates. (Reich and Acharina, 2005) In fact, the study of UNICEF data reveals that in Africa there is the maximum use of child soldiers in the wars. It is known that 40 percent of the world child soldiers are found in the African continent. All the countries of the African continent particularly the third world countries are severely affected by the child soldier problem which is found in a poor country like Nigeria. Recently, international community has responded to this emerging problem. Great powers such as USA and UK have opposed the use of child soldiers in wars. In fact, international community has been shocked by the extent of the use of children as soldiers which has affected the future of the children of Nigeria. UNO has taken this problem seriously which is proved by the fact that UNO has constituted committees to monitor the extent of the use of the child soldiers in the wars particularly in the African continent. The use of child soldiers can be seen in the African countries such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda.   The Nigerian government is also aware of the fact that there is need to guarantee the rights of the children. However due to economic backwardness, there has been growth in the use of the children as soldiers. Obviously, this led to loss of life of many children. However, it is found that due to food shortage and lack of productive resources, the parents are forced to send their children to help the military of their nation. Hence, poverty of the third world nations is the main cause of the participation of children in wars.(Reich and Acharina, 2005) UNO and the various agencies of UNO such as UNICEF have taken this problem of child soldiers seriously. UNO was initially involved in this problem in an attempt to resolve the interstate conflicts in Africa. However, later it was known to the UNO members regarding the impact of the use of children on the children of Africa and the international community. In order to counter this problem, UNO has expressed its displeasure through the various conferences and by publishing reports concerning the efforts of the individual nations to curb the root cause of the children’s participation in the wars. In 1999, the coalition forces decided to publish a worldwide report regarding the plight of the children as soldiers.   In fact, UNO has urged all the member nations to protect the rights of the children. Recently, Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General has urged the Security Council to impose sanctions on the nations indulging in the use of child soldiers in the wars leading to the violation of the international law. The coalition forces have decided to prohibit the use of children as soldiers. The UNO noted that more than 250000 children are used as soldiers. The suggested sanctions include ban on the sale of armaments, sanctions on financial assistance, and so on. The UNO has also urged the NGOs participating in this anti-child soldier policy to implement the policy decisions on the UNO which has been discussed in the various conferences and UNO publications. The UNO committees on the children issues have submitted their reports regarding the position of the children in the underdeveloped countries. The imposition of sanctions is expected to curb the number of the child soldiers in the countries such as Nigeria. However, the UN report noted that there has been decline in the number of child soldiers worldwide. The UNO also decided to give financial and other kinds of support to the poor countries to help curb poverty so that there would be decrease in the number of children used in the warfare. The UN Under-Secretary Olara Otunnu also believed that children should be protected from military conscription. (Africa Renewal, 2005) In fact, the UNO members have urged the different nations to increase the minimum recruitment age to 18 years. (Maslen , 2002) The UNO suggestions regarding the protection of the children’s rights have been implemented by most of the African countries including Nigeria. In fact, legislations have been passed by Nigeria to curb the incidence of the use of the child soldiers in the wars. Although, till 2002 Nigeria did not sign ‘the African charter on the rights and welfare of child’, the government has supported the voluntary recruitment of the soldiers as there is no conscription in Nigeria. Minimum age for the recruitment of the voluntary soldiers is 18 years. The Nigerian youth have participated in the ethnic conflict in the region. This conflict involves the various political and economic issues. However, Nigeria has participated in the several conferences organized by the UNO to oppose the violation of the children’s rights. For instance, in the year 1999, the African countries including Nigeria attended the African Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers. In the conference the various facts concerning the child soldiers was discussed. In 2001 Nigeria attended the United Nations conference on the illicit trade which also discussed the issue of the child soldiers. Nigeria became the party to the resolution of this conference. The members understood the impact of the use of arms on the children and it was resolved to protect the rights of the children. The Nigerian government has realized that the main reason for the use of the child soldiers is the existence of poverty in Nigeria. Due to food shortage and productive resources, children have been sent to the battle field. In order to curb the incidence of the use of children as soldiers, the Nigerian government has devised plans to improve the economic conditions of the families. The Nigerian government urges the international communities including UNO to understand the causes of the phenomenon of the child soldiers in Nigeria. Hence, international organizations should provide more economic support to bring the economic advancement of the region which will reduce the incidence of the use of children as soldiers. The government of Nigeria believes that necessary actions should be taken to ensure the protection of the children’s rights. It is understood that involvement of children in wars negatively affects the relation between Nigeria and international community. However, in order to introduce these measures, the international community, through the organizations such as UNICEF, should strengthen the polity and economy of Nigeria. Nevertheless, in the name of the protection of the children’s rights the integrity of the nations should not be threatened. Therefore, this is to request the organizations such as UNO to provide the positive support to Nigeria to prevent the incidence of the use of the child soldiers in the wars. The Nigerian government plans to introduce and implement legislations and programs to reduce the use of children as soldiers in the wars. (Maslen, 2002) Bibliography Maslen, Stuart (2002). â€Å"The Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa A country analysis of child recruitment and participation in armed conflict†, retrieved online on 30-10-2005 from http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/chilsold.htm Reich, Simon F (2005). â€Å"Why do Children â€Å"Fight†? Explaining Child Soldier Ratios in African Intra-State Conflicts†, retrieved online on 30-10-2005 from http://www.ridgway.pitt.edu/home/publications/Ford/Working_Papers/ChildSoldierspdf.pdf (2005). â€Å"Africa Briefs†, Africa Renewal, 19:1, April, retrieved online on 30-10-2005 from http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/ How to cite Position paper, Essay examples Position Paper Free Essays Birth Control Over the Counter Birth Control Over the Counter The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has suggested that birth control should be sold over the counter to help reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies (Weiss, 2012). Though, it is known that taking birth control comes with many â€Å"low risks† The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated that the risks are low enough that it is safe to be bought and sold over the counter. It is said that half of all pregnancies are unplanned and through easier accessibility to birth control would drop this statistic dramatically. We will write a custom essay sample on Position Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now Birth control pills should not be sold over the counter without a physician’s approval due to the possible side effects, lack of education and the message it will send to children about sex. As a result of selling birth control over the counter women will now have to be just as informed as doctors when dealing with potential health risks. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists suggests that these concerns will be diminished through self-screening with a â€Å"simple questionnaire† and vigilance by women taking the pill (Wilson, 2012). I don’t believe this is as â€Å"simple† as they portray. What happens if someone doesn’t understand a question on this questionnaire? Will they provide a frequently asked questions section to this questionnaire? It is too easy to just blow the question off and continue the process without a second thought. The first thought that comes to mind when I think about a simple questionnaire I think of something that asks, â€Å"how did you like the food and service? † (Burger King). To me, it seems like a complete joke and dealing with life or death doesn’t seem to be very amusing. There are various choices of birth control women can choose from ranging from pills, implants, patches, vaginal ring and even a birth control shot but women must be careful when choosing a method because some health risks are more severe than others in each product. Certain contraceptives have been linked with deep vein thrombosis (bleed clots), heart attack, stroke and hormone-driven cancers, gallbladder disease, pulmonary embolism, gall bladder damage,  kidney stones and renal failure (Grayling, 2012). Products such as Yaz and Yasmin are oral contraceptives that contain a synthetic progestin alled drospirenone. Researchers have found that drospirenone can elevate the body’s potassium level, which leads to hyperkalemia, a condition involving serious and potentially fatal heart problems (Grayling, 2012). As a result the Food and Drug Administration instructed that warning labels must be present and visible stating increased risks in these effects. Many of these effects can b e life threating and other under lieing health conditions like age, smoking, and obsecity can significently increase these risks. With warning labels, whether they are placed on the product itself or on a piece of paper, brings about the point of whether people will take the time to read these warnings. When I go to a store to buy tylenol, nyquil or any over the counter medicine, I really don’t read what is in the products I just take them for their intended purpose. There is an unseeing trust when taking medicine hanging from a shelf that people know it is safe for human consumption, almost like an unwritten rule. A certain bond comes with doctors and there is confidence in them because of their constant care for people achieved through their dedication to their profession. If this movement passes how knowlegable do women have to be? Some of these warnings are pages long in medicial terminology that most people don’t understand. A brief description or definition doesn’t mean someone will understand what these health risk warnings mean and what they can lead to, it is much deeper then that. I feel like you might as well invest into a degree in the medical field to truly understand what is being said in some of these warning labels. It is hard work and that this is why doctors are regarded so highly. While providing birth control over the counter phyician’s seem to be unintentionally sending the wrong message to consumers giving them the choice to not see a doctor for medical needs. If women are already not seeing a doctor regularly because of the inconvenience and cost in seeing a physician, what’s to say they would want to see them after the FDA approves birth control being sold over the counter? As stated earlier, 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned and this rate hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years (Wilson, 2012). Is this so because women are scheduling appointment’s regularly to see the doctor to prove this statistic wrong? No. There is no structure in maintaining regularly scheduled visits to see a doctor for health assessment now and there probably won’t be any structure once this new proposition is passed. The counseling and recommendations doctors provide are very necessary and this is something that shouldn’t be portrayed differently. When seeking medical attention a doctors advice is invaluable and often times they save us from ourselves. We cannot be trusted to maintain our own health and except to live a long life. We disrespect our bodies often when we consume alcohol to the point that we are no longer sober, we smoke cigarettes until our lungs collapse, we inject ourselves with drugs, we eat whatever we want and portion sizes don’t seem to matter leading to high cholesterol and other serious health problems. While we condemn our bodies to this type of treatment we gain high-risk health conditions that we should be worried about when we maintain a lifestyle of doing what we want, when we want and in the end we cannot blame anyone but ourselves. Pap smears and pelvic exams are required as a pre process before having birth control prescribed which could ultimately save someone’s life if found to have cancer. Unknowing consumers wouldn’t know better unless already cognizant to the fact that if taking antibiotics, it will lessen the effectiveness of birth control pills and in turn will require extra protection when taking part in sexual activity, so requiring a prescription for birth control allows a physician or pharmacist to advise women of any possible drug interaction (Lee ; Cintron, 2012). This goes the same with any illness. A physician’s consult is necessary otherwise our country wouldn’t continue to grow or even exist. We would probably be sick and dying along side many 3rd world countries. Not to mention the responsibility that will be required if birth control be put on the shelves. Thinking about the children and teenagers, how will this affect them? It is not just about the adults anymore. Readily available drugs means having to be aware of our children’s perspective. Will they think this means it is okay to have sex with anyone? Having birth control doesn’t mean it will protect you from STD’s. And what of other methods? Are we telling children the preferred method for controlling pregnancy is to take birth control pills? This is not the message we should be sending to our still developing youth. I believe we should spend more time investing in educational classes dealing with sex, STD’s and pregnancy. These are realities that need to be explained until the horse is dead. I don’t know what ever happened to the beliefs that parents would instill into their children that if you have sex you will end up pregnant or worst, infected with a sexually transmitted disease. On the other hand the providing birth control free dramatically reduced the amount of unplanned pregnancies as well as abortion rates says lead author Jeff Peipert, MD, PhD, the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Science Daily, 2012). The same can be said if provided easier access to birth control. Under the Affordable Care Act, introduced and passed by President Barack Obama, allows birth control to be provided at lower or no out of pocket costs to women interested in taking birth control (Health Care, 2012). Unfortunately if the proposition to sell birth control over the counter passes, health insurance would not cover the costs anymore. A recent national survey shows that women are paying an average of $16 per pack (Weiss, 2012). Physicians say the risks that come with taking birth control are extremely low and it is safe to sell the pill without a prescription. Also, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, access and cost are common reasons why women either do not use contraception use or have gaps in use (Wilson, 2012). Lastly, an effort to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the United States the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is recommending that oral contraceptives be sold over the counter without a prescription (Wilson, 2012). With change comes a new reality and new issues to overcome. While offering birth control free or over the counter more women are willing to start using contraception consistently. This is a huge game changer and could help our county save billions of dollars in unplanned pregnancies but we should not abandon other methods. For instance, we could invest into better programs to teach kids about sex, STDs, and pregnancy. It is very important to seek a physician’s guidance because they hold pertinent information regarding various medical concerns and can ultimately save our lives or the lives of others. Birth control pills should not be sold over the counter without a physician’s approval and until all other avenues for controlling unplanned pregnancies are obsolete I believe they should be utilized for the safety and concern of the children and not for the sheer convenience it will provide. References Grayling, L. (2012, 11 26). Doctors Want Birth Control Pills Sold over the Counter, but is it Dangerous? – Drugwatch. com. Retrieved 12 01, 2012, from drug watch: http://www. drugwatch. com/2012/11/26/doctors-want-birth-control-pills-sold-over-the-counter-but-is-that-a-dangerous-idea/ Health Care. (2012, 12). Read the Law | HealthCare. gov. Retrieved 12 08, 2012, from HealthCare. gov: http://www. healthcare. gov/law/full/index. html Lee, F. , ; Cintron, D. (2012, 11 28). Prescription-free birht control pills up for debate. Retrieved 12 08, 2012, from usatoday: http://www. usatoday. com/story/news/2012/11/28/over-the-counter-birth-control/1732205/ Science Daily. 2012, 10 04). Abortion rates plummet with free birth control. Retrieved 12 01, 2012, from ScienceDaily: http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2012/10/121004200908. htm Weiss, D. (2012, 11 29). Physician Gourp Supports Making Birth Control Pills Available OTC. Retrieved 12 01, 2012, from Pharmacy Times: http://www. pharmacytimes. com/news/Physicia n-Group-Supports-Making-Birth-Control-Pills-Available-OTC Wilson, J. (2012, 11 21). Physicians: Birth control should be sold without a prescription – CNN. com. Retrieved 12 01, 2012, from CNN health: http://www. cnn. com/2012/11/20/health/birth-control-over-the-counter/index. html How to cite Position Paper, Essay examples Position Paper Free Essays Security Council Child Soldiers United States King High School Background Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. Boys and girls serve in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight as front-line combatants, suicide bombers, mine sweepers, sex slaves, and spies. We will write a custom essay sample on Position Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many are abducted or recruited by force, while others join voluntarily, believing that armed groups offer their best chance for survival. We are working to prevent the use of child soldiers and to hold accountable the people who send children to fight. It threatens the core of the United Nations, and the heart of our world’s future: Children. The US Child Soldiers Prevention Act prohibits the US government from providing US foreign military financing, military training, and several other categories of US military assistance to governments using child soldiers. Actions National Actions Child soldiers are not an issue in the United States. The U. S. overnment currently provides military assistance to five of the six governments implicated in child soldier usage. From 2001 the USA contributed $34 million to support programs to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to demobilize and reintegrate child combatants, including $10 million through the US Agency for International Development and $24 million through the US Department of Labor. In 2008, Senators Richard Durbin and Sam Brownback introduced the Child Soldier Prevention Act, which is a bill to curtail U. S. ilitary assistance to governments that fail to take steps to demobilize and stop recruiting children into the armed forces or government-supported militias. Under this bill, countries that take steps to demobilize child soldiers are eligible for certain forms of assistance to help professionalize their forces and ensure that U. S. taxpayer dollars are not used to finance the exploitation of children in armed conflict. International Actions The United States has done many international actions to prevent encouraging the use of children being used as soldiers. In April 2007 the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 was introduced into Congress. It would restrict US military assistance to governments involved in the recruitment or use of child soldiers. In April 2007 the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law held a hearing to consider the Child Soldier Prevention Act, obstacles facing former child soldiers seeking asylum in the USA, and ways for the USA to address child recruiters from other countries who came to the USA. In October 2007 the Child Soldier Accountability Act was introduced into Congress. It would amend the US criminal code to allow the prosecution of individuals who have recruited or used child soldiers, whether in the United States or elsewhere. â€Å"The Child Soldiers Prevention Act can put real pressure on governments to stop using child soldiers,† Joe Becker said. â€Å"Obama needs to give fewer waivers to countries abusing their children this way. † On October 4, 2011, the Obama administration announced waivers to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, allowing military assistance to Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Yemen despite the continued use of children in their armed forces. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty that establishes the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of children. It also defines children as being under the age of 18. The United States is the only country in the world, with the exception of Somalia, that has not ratified it. In 2002, however, the U. S. ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which prevents the recruitment of military personnel under the age of 18. Much work remains to be done by the U. S. government on the rights of the child, particularly on the protection of children in armed conflicts. There was a resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1999 on November 11 titled â€Å"Resolution on the Use of Children as Soldiers. † Recommendation for Action Citizens for Global Solutions are committed to achieving greater engagement by the U. S. government to take the lead of international endeavors to protect future generations. Also, Child Soldiers International‘s website has a place for donation to end the recruitment of children as child soldiers. There is background information and everything about the issue to educate the donators and viewers viewing the website. The Obama administration decided to exempt Yemen and three other countries that use child soldiers from U. S. penalties under the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act. The Invisible Children was founded to stop Joseph Kony called Kony 2012 and the United States was involved in it too. President Obama issued a bill to help stop Joseph Kony for justice. How to cite Position Paper, Papers