UN report questions Harrogate army college’s recruitment of ‘child soldiers’

The United Nations has called for the army enlistment age to be raised to 18 — which would have significant implications for Harrogate’s Army Foundation College.

The recommendation was contained in a report published this week by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The committee cited multiple concerns over children’s rights and welfare in the British armed forces and urged the government to investigate all forms of abuse against children in the armed forces.

The Harrogate college, which trains junior soldiers aged 16 and 17, has been hit by a spate of recent allegations of abuse and bullying.

The UN committee heard evidence that, in 2021 alone, investigations were opened into the sexual abuse of 22 recruits at the college.

Jim Patrick Wyke, campaigns coordinator at the campaign group Child Rights International Network, called on the government to end recruitment at 16 in light of the evidence.

He said:

“The UK government’s continued recruitment of under-18s into the military is unnecessary, harmful and puts the UK well outside international norms.

“The government must heed the UN’s warning and end the recruitment of children into the armed forces immediately.”

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The Stray Ferret approached the British Army for a response and to ask what the implications would be on the college if the age was raised.

A MOD spokesperson said:

“We are proud of the opportunities serving in the Armed Forces affords young people, from upskilling in literacy and digital skills and support for postgraduate degrees, to high-quality accredited training and unique employment prospects.

“Recruitment of under-18s into the Armed Forces meets all legal and policy requirements, both national and international. We take our duty of care for all personnel extremely seriously and ensure under-18s are not deployed on operations that would expose them to hostilities.”

Last month, a government minister told the House of Lords that the Ministry Of Defence introduced new policies to deal with sexual offences, which had helped to improve the situation at the college.

Baroness Goldie, a minister in the MOD, said that the Army Foundation College had a “much improved climate” since 2021.

She said:

“The MoD has introduced new policies and changes to deal with sexual offences and unacceptable sexual behaviour below the criminal threshold. 

“It has taken steps to improve the complaints system, has created the Defence Serious Crime Unit and has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offences and sexual relationships between instructors and trainees. 

“All of that now reflects a much-improved climate at the college.”

Harrogate’s Army Foundation College at centre of child soldiers dispute

A bid to raise the British armed force’s minimum age of recruitment to 18, which would have had major repercussions for Harrogate’s Army Foundation College, has failed.

Carol Monaghan, the Scottish National Party’s spokesperson for the armed forces, attempted to introduce a clause in the Armed Forces Bill preventing 16 and 17-year-olds enlisting in the army. Anyone under the age of 18 in the UK is legally classified as a child.

The Harrogate college, which recruits about 1,500 young men and women each year, is the only British army establishment that delivers military training to junior soldiers aged 16 and 17.

The Army Foundation College in Harrogate.

The Army Foundation College in Harrogate.

Monaghan said raising the recruitment age to 18 would bring Britain in line with most of its NATO allies.

She added the United Nations convention on the rights of the child has urged the UK to increase its minimum recruitment age to 18.

Speaking at a public bill committee, which is a cross-bench committee examining the bill, she said:

“If we are to safeguard the wellbeing, development, educational opportunities and physical safety of our young people, it is crucial that we change the minimum age for armed forces recruitment to 18.”

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Monaghan added a third of 16 and 17-year-old recruits dropped out and “re-enter the civilian world without immediate access to further employment, training and education”. Many, she added, were from economically deprived areas.

While 16 and 17-year-olds cannot serve on the frontline, recruitment at the ages of 16 and 17 is detrimental to international efforts to end the use of children in military settings.”

Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, said people campaigning for a ban on under-18s were wrong to “draw an analogy between what the army does and the situation of child soldiers around the world”.

He added concerns about welfare needed to be balanced against the opportunities presented to 16 to 17-year-olds recruits, adding:

“I suggest that anyone who wants to see the positive way individuals can and do improve their lives visits the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.

“On my visits there, what appalled me was the fact that the education system had failed individuals, but the army had given them a second chance with raising basic numeracy and literacy skills.

“Individuals who would possibly not have had an opportunity to have a fulfilled career were able to do so through the work undertaken at the Army Foundation College.”

Defence minister Johnny Mercer told the debate the government took its duty of care to entrants aged under 18 “extremely seriously”. He added:

“Close attention has been given to this subject in recent years, especially after the tragic deaths at Deepcut.

“We have robust, effective and independently verified safeguards in place to ensure that under-18s are cared for properly.”

The committee voted against the clause by nine votes to two.

Eight Conservatives and one Labour MP voted against; two SNP MPS voted in favour.

Do you have a family member at the College and have a view on this story? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk