Africa: M - R

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

Although the government stated that all texts governing recruitment to the armed forces and police prohibited recruitment of under-18s, it was unclear whether the 1962 law providing for voluntary enlistment at 16 with parental consent had been abrogated.

There were no reports of under-18s in the security forces.

There were no reports of under-18s serving in the armed forces. The minimum age for voluntary and compulsory recruitment was 18, but it could be lowered in times of war.

There were no reports of under-18s serving in the armed forces.

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces. Some pupils at the military school received firearms training from as young as 13. No information was available on the use of under-18s by armed groups.

There was no evidence of under-18s being used in the armed forces. There were reports of children being recruited and used by armed groups and armed vigilante groups and involved in intercommunal violence and criminal gangs.

Children were recruited from Congolese refugee camps in Rwanda by armed units under the command of Laurent Nkunda, and deployed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2007. There was no evidence of under-18s in the Rwandan armed forces.