A/HRC/39/49 of 18. Those individuals were recruited through social media, smuggling networks operating across borders and direct contact with extremists operating in various towns. Boys as young as 17 years were recruited to fight in the Syrian Arab Republic. There were also cases of fathers taking children to that country. In addition, there have been allegations of human trafficking in camps in the Syrian Arab Republic run by foreign fighters, where children were reportedly sold to people in other countries (see A/HRC/33/43/Add.1, para. 63). In Belgium, the Working Group learned of a case of a 13-year-old child being recruited by foreign fighters (see A/HRC/33/43/Add.2, para. 21). D. Motivational factors that result in children being associated with nonState armed groups 30. Children are lured into armed groups for various interrelated reasons. Across conflicts, there is no evidence of any single motivation or cause for child association with armed groups. 6 Socioeconomic conditions, including poverty, duress, other forms of deprivation of resources and opportunities and physical and financial insecurity, are traditionally seen as the major factors behind children’s enlistment in non-State armed groups. Some children living in conflict-affected areas become associated with these groups in order to be reunited with their family members or simply because of a lack of alternatives, especially when armed groups are in physical and economic control of the community. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some girls joined armed groups to escape the constant and terrifying attacks on their villages. Others joined to escape poverty and hunger. These girls were reportedly lured to join armed groups as they believed from their peers that they could obtain money and goods from the groups.7 A 17-year-old Iraqi boy joined Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for the purpose of receiving free medical treatment for his heart condition.8 31. Research shows that children living in areas controlled by armed groups, such as Syrian children living under the control of ISIL, often cited the need to support themselves and their families as a reason for joining these groups. On the other hand, children and young people who travel from outside appear less motivated by financial incentives. Indeed, many of those travelling from outside the Syrian Arab Republic actually lose money by joining an armed group, as they have to pay to be smuggled into the country.9 The Working Group acknowledges that certain structural motivating factors alone cannot justify the phenomenon of foreign children from peaceful and stable settings being lured into terrorist groups in armed conflicts. One of the focuses of the Working Group’s study on foreign fighters was to examine the motivational factors causing many individuals to leave their country of origin or habitual residence to become involved in violence as part of an insurgency or non-State armed group in an armed conflict. Some of those foreign children joined armed groups for ideological reasons, and some joined because of internal feelings, for example a feeling of revenge, a sense of purpose or a need for a sense of belonging. 32. As demonstrated by those children travelling from peaceful places to fight in armed conflicts, although the vast majority of children associated with armed groups are forcibly abducted or recruited, there are a few cases where children seem to have joined armed groups “voluntarily”. Regarding these “voluntary” recruits, search shows that, even if it appears voluntary to the individual child, from a psychological and social point of view children’s choice to join and remain in armed groups cannot be considered “voluntary”. For 6 7 8 9 8 Siobhan O’Neil and Kato Van Broeckhoven, “The road to a better future”, in O’Neil and Van Broeckhoven, Cradled by Conflict. Child Soldiers International, “What the girls say: improving practices for the demobilisation and reintegration of girls associated with armed forces and armed groups in Democratic Republic of Congo” (London, 2017). Available at www.child-soldiers.org/Handlers/Download.ashx? IDMF=e57e9cb2-cd70-4dc2-8681-e29bc6f3622b. Mara Revkin, “I am nothing without a weapon — understanding child recruitment and use by armed groups in Syria and Iraq”, in O’Neil and Van Broeckhoven, Cradled by Conflict, pp. 103–140. O’Neil and Van Broeckhoven, “The road to a better future”.