Parliament Website

The Recruitment Of Minors By The UK Armed Forces

EDM number 694 in 2016-17, proposed by Liz Saville Roberts on 17/11/2016.
Categorised under the topics of Armed forces and Children and families.

That this House notes the contents of the Medact Report into the effects of the recruitment of minors by the UK armed forces, published in October 2016; further notes the report's findings that child recruits are more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide, death and injury during an armed forces career when compared to either their demographically-matched civilian peers or adult recruits; notes that the report concludes that the current practices for recruiting minors into the UK armed forces do not meet the criteria for full and informed consent, in part due to the fact that adolescents' cognitive and psychosocial development make them unfairly susceptible to military recruitment marketing; notes that the report's conclusion states that those recruited as children, on turning 18, are more likely than adult recruits to end up in frontline combat roles which carry greater risks than other roles; recalls the repeated condemnation of UK armed forces' recruitment of minors by national child rights experts and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Deepcut Review's recommendation that the minimum enlistment age should be reviewed; notes the growing body of independent research evidencing significant detrimental outcomes for the youngest recruits; and calls on the Government to launch a review of the minimum armed forces enlistment age.

This motion has been signed by a total of 14 MPs.

MPDateConstituencyPartyType
Liz Saville Roberts17/11/2016Dwyfor MeirionnyddPlaid CymruProposed
Jonathan Edwards17/11/2016Carmarthen East and DinefwrPlaid CymruSeconded
Hywel Williams17/11/2016ArfonPlaid CymruSeconded
Martyn Day18/11/2016Linlithgow and East FalkirkScottish National PartySeconded
Kelvin Hopkins18/11/2016Luton NorthLabourSeconded
Paul Monaghan18/11/2016Caithness, Sutherland and Easter RossScottish National PartySeconded
Mark Durkan21/11/2016FoyleSocial Democratic and Labour PartySigned
Marie Rimmer21/11/2016St Helens South and WhistonLabourSigned
George Kerevan21/11/2016East LothianScottish National PartySigned
Caroline Lucas22/11/2016Brighton, PavilionGreenSigned
Margaret Ritchie22/11/2016South DownSocial Democratic and Labour PartySigned
Alistair Carmichael28/11/2016Orkney and ShetlandLiberal DemocratSigned
Roger Godsiff09/01/2017Birmingham, Hall GreenLabourSigned
Rachael Maskell30/03/2017York CentralLabour/Co-operativeSigned

Download raw data as csv or xml.