Switzerland is to press for a ban on child soldiers during a United Nations meeting in Geneva over the next two weeks.

Switzerland is to press for a ban on child soldiers during a United Nations meeting in Geneva over the next two weeks.

The foreign ministry says its key demand will be the implementation of a minimum recruiting age of 18 for army service. Currently, international law stipulates that children must be at least 15 years old before they can serve.

The meeting of the UN working group aims to strengthen the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Switzerland is part of a growing majority of countries in the working group that want to push through new rules to safeguard children by the end of the meeting on January 21.

Since talks began five years ago, the move has been opposed by the United States, Britain, Cuba and Pakistan. The US argues that 17 year-olds should be allowed to begin military careers on a voluntary basis even if it means combat duty.

The UN and a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including the Swiss-based group, Terre des Hommes, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, estimate that 300,000 children under the age of 18 are actively involved in conflicts around the globe. They say that industrialised countries must set an example by supporting an overall prohibition, regarded as essential to stop the forcible recruitment of children in Africa and Asia by governments as well as armed groups.

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