Widow Testifies at a Military Court

[Occhidiangela]

Please define 'lawful combatant', for purposes of this discussion about child soldiers. You seem to be placing a great deal of importance to the distinction.

A lawful combatant is one entitled to the protections of a soldier under the Geneva accords, the rest are not. Partisan irregulars, for example, are not. Neither are saboteurs nor spies. One vacates one's protected status as "child" or "civilian" or "non combatant" when one chooses to engage in a military function, or a combat function, in a war. This young man did so. He is a combatant of some sort, lawful or otherwise, his age is utterly irrelevant. If unlawful, he is not afforded the protections that I would have been under Geneva and LOAC when I was on active duty.

You are invited to investigate further various arguments on what is or isn't a lawful combatant if you like, particularly as regards irregular and "unconventional" war. He was one.

Citizenship has both privileges and duties.

Agreed, but irrelevant to this case. I think you are aware that where he is from, women are second class citizens, at best, chattel at worst. Being underage makes him a likely candidate for use in pederasty until he reaches his culture's majority. Is that one of his responsibilities, to be "the bottom" in such a relationship?

I find it useless to apply your and my nation's norm to his "citizenship," but as it remains irrelevant to his actions as combatant, legal or otherwise, nothing further on that score.

He became a combatant through his actions. He joined in the fray. So, he gets to reap the consequences.

Occhi