A draft accord to outlaw the use of child soldiers has been agreed.

Under the United Nations agreement reached in Geneva, the minimum age for conscription and voluntary deployment into battle is to be raised to 18.

But negotiators failed to agree the same age limit for voluntary recruitment into the armed forces after arguments from the UK and US.

Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children as young as 15 can be recruited and sent into battle.

All 191 countries that have signed the UN convention now have the choice of committing themselves to the new age limits.

President Clinton praised the draft accord and said he would urge the American Senate to approve it. He described it as an important advance for human rights.

Campaign for ban

Pressure groups have spent six years campaigning for an outright ban on child soldiers.

Jo Becker, of Human Rights Watch, said: "It is a very significant advance over existing standards in that it sets a clear minimum age of 18 for participation in armed conflict."

But she added that the failure to secure an 18 age limit for voluntary recruitment had weakened the protocol.

The US and UK had argued against the higher limit on voluntary recruits because they already accept soldiers at 17 and 16 respectively.

The UN estimates that more than 300,000 children under 18 are involved in about 30 conflicts across the world.

Seven year-olds

Child soldiers have been reported taking part in conflicts in Sudan, Colombia, Angola, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

In Sierra Leone children as young as seven have been reported taking part in the country's civil war.

Olara Otunnu, the UN special envoy for children in armed conflict, said: "These developments have set us free to concentrate on what really matters, which is the curbing of child soldiering on the ground."

Under the agreement, the 18 year age limit applies to both government and rebel forces. Rebels are also banned from enlisting volunteers until they are 18.

Governments must declare the minimum age for enrolment and provide safeguards to ensure it is voluntary and has parental consent.

The accord will be subject to approval from UN bodies before being put up for signature by governments