News articles

Record number of protests against Armed Forces Day across the UK

Joint press release by ForcesWatch and the Peace Pledge Union

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Declining interest in Armed Forces Day welcomed by peace campaigners

Peace campaigners have welcomed the news that there will be no national event for Armed Forces Day this year, as no local councils have come forward to host it. Local events to mark Armed Forces Day (29th June) this weekend are facing growing resistance from groups and individuals concerned about its uncritical portrayal of war and the armed forces.

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Stop recruiting children, rights groups tell MoD

Twenty major children’s and human rights organisations have written to the UK government today, calling for an end to the recruitment of children by the UK armed forces.

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More military ethos in schools

Schools Week report on the government's continuing attempts to instill more military ethos in schools.

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Scottish Government ignores child rights concerns around armed forces activities in schools

Quakers in Scotland and ForcesWatch are disappointed that the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament have decided to close further investigation of how to implement their own recommendations around oversight of armed forces activities in schools.

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British army targets youngest and poorest for riskiest roles

A new report from the Child Rights International Network shows that the British army is intentionally targeting young people from deprived backgrounds for the roles carrying the greatest risks in war.

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Armed Forces Day is a propaganda tool for arms firms and the military – and the public are footing the bill

Joe Glenton in The Independent about the 10th year of Armed Forces Day, an annual day of 'family-fun' and celebration of militarism, with heavy costs to local councils and the involvement of some of the world's largest arms companies.

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New report calls for regulation of military marketing that targets young people

A report published today (27 February 2019) critiques the armed forces’ marketing practice in selling their careers to vulnerable adolescents. This comes in the wake of the Army's controversial new 'Snowflake' recruiting campaign.

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Adverse health effects of recruiting child soldiers

This editorial in BMJ Paediatrics Open (2019, vol 3, issue 1) discusses the issues raised in the Medact report, The recruitment of children by the UK Armed Forces: a critique from health professionals, which brought together evidence highlighting the increased risk of death and injury for those recruited under the age of 18. The authors, Reem Abu-Hayyeh and Guddi Singh, contributed to the content and launch of the report Selling the military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK by ForcesWatch and Medact.

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UK army minimum recruitment age should be raised to 18 – survey

ICM survey was commissioned by campaigners against child soldiers

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