Republic of Seychelles

Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.

Population: 80,000 (42,000 under 18)
Government armed forces: 450
Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
Voluntary recruitment age: 18; younger with parental consent
Voting age: 18
Optional Protocol: signed 23 January 2001
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II, ILO 138, ILO 182; ACRWC

No information was available on the presence of under-18s in the armed forces. Volunteers could be recruited under the age of 18 with parental consent so it was possible that under-18s were present in the armed forces.

Context

In February 2004 President Albert René, who came to power in a bloodless coup in 1977, announced that he would be stepping down in favour of his Vice-President.1 The President retained direct control of the Departments of Defence, Police and Internal Affairs, and therefore of all the security forces.2

Government

National recruitment legislation and practice

In its report of May 2002 to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Seychelles stated that there was no conscription. It also reported that the age for voluntary military service in the Defence Forces was 18 years and that exceptions required the written consent of a parent or guardian.3 No clarification of these exceptions appeared to have been provided when the Committee discussed the report.4

The National Youth Service, a one-year program for school students that included paramilitary training, was replaced with a non-compulsory fifth year of secondary school in 1999.5


1 BBC, "Seychelles leader to step down", 2 February 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk.

2 Ministry of Administration and Manpower Development, Circular No. 4 of 2004, 5 May 2004.

3 Initial report of Seychelles, UN Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.64, 3 May 2002, http://www.ohchr.org.

4 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of initial report of Seychelles, UN Doc. CRC/C/SR.816, September 2002; Concluding observations, UN Doc. CRC/C/15/Add.189, 9 October 2002.

5 US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2000, February 2001; Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1997, January 1998, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr/c1470.htm.

Disclaimer:

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.