The International Committee of Red Cross says that the issue of child soldiers is of grave concern to them throughout the country and particularly in the Wanni and East.

In their recent newsletter ICRC says that International Humanitarian law is quite definite on this, that parties to a conflict shall refrain from recruiting children under 15 years of age for integration into their troops and that it implies clearly that children shall not be incorporated either forcibly or voluntarily and those between 16 and 18 who would have been already recruited, shall not be sent in priority to the battlefield.

ICRC says that if they are approached by a family member regarding the case of a boy or a girl under the age of 15 years who has been recruited, they will with the consent of a family member concerned and on his or her behalf will intercede with the appropriate party.i.e.LTTE, in order to lead them to take necessary action to enable the child to return home.

ICRC maintains that that the responsibility of allowing the recruited children back home lies entirely under the relevant authorities.

ICRC follows the international human law and the Geneva Convention in defining the age of a child. However the optional protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child on involvement of children in armed conflict which was introduced in May 2000 and became a legally binding instrument on 12 February 2002 states that a person must be 18 years old before he or she can take part in hostilities.