Children in Armed Conflict

This Toolkit is based upon the "Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict" and designed to assist national Ministries of Defense, military trainers, officers and soldiers, and their equivalent for non-state armed groups, involved in the planning and conduct of military operations. The Toolkit includes training materials, and guidance for planning and executing military operations to assist with decisions about the use and targeting of institutions dedicated to education. It can also support peace operations ranging from the deployment of individual and small numbers of unarmed military observers, through individual and formed police units, to battlegroup and battalion sized military units.

These are guidelines from the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF). The document describes an age assessment process to prevent enlisting underage members into the national armed forceswhen identity documents are not available. Prepared by experts, practitioners, military officials, and UNICEF, these principles suggest an assessment based on five components including direct interviews with the individual, interviews with family and community members, crosschecking of all available information, documentation, and referral to services and reintegration. Child sensitive age assessment techniques are provided operating within international human rights obligations. This document and annexed checklists are applicable to both national armed forces and armed groups in order to ensure the enforcement of the international humanitarian law obligation to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to reform the recruitment process to prevent the violation before it happens. This resource is available in both English and Dari.

This resource supports investigating and punishing crimes of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution. It is based off a series of seminars and includes the perspectives of judges, prosecutors, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, journalists, and human rights practitioners. In addition to contextualizing both crimes under international law and in armed conflict, the resource includes guidance for investigation, using forensic science, and identifying direct and indirect victims of enforced disappearance. It discusses three specific situations (p.48-56) in which children are considered victims of enforced disappearance: when subject to enforced disappearance; when born during the captivity of a mother subjected to enforced disappearance; and when a parent, legal guardian, or other relative is subject to enforced disappearance. This resource was written in Spanish and translated to English, and is available in both languages.

This Framework is a practical resource that promotes accountability for serious violations of international law committed against children in armed conflict (CAC). It responds to the significant gap that exists in preventing and remedying these serious violations - and is designed to assist policymakers and practitioners working at all levels to bridge this gap. It provides individuals and organizations working in child protection, justice, peacebuilding, and related fields with a comprehensive definition and structure for understanding CAC accountability and practical guidance for developing well-informed, context-specific, and feasible options for advancing CAC accountability.

This resource is the Spanish version of the "Children in Armed Conflict Accountability Framework." El Marco de Rendición de Cuentas frente a los niños, las niñas y los jóvenes afectados por los conflictos armados es un recurso práctico que promueve mecanismos para abordar casos de violaciones graves derecho internacional cometidas contra los niños, las niñas y los jóvenes en situaciones de conflicto armado (rendición de cuentas sobre NNJ). Elaborado como respuesta al importante vacío existente en materia de prevención y reparación de este tipo de violaciones, este Marco aporta los siguientes elementos: 1. una definición completa y estructura para entender la cuestión de la rendición de cuentas sobre NNJ; 2. orientaciones metodológicas prácticas que pueden ser adaptadas y aplicadas en diferentes contextos con el objeto de aumentar las acciones de rendición de cuentas sobre NNJ.

In response to the use of schools and universities by parties to armed conflict, this resource establishes six guidelines to protect schools and universities. These guidelines are intended to assist actors planning military operations and organizations monitoring armed conflict. The annexes include the international legal framework and examples of domestic law and practices.

This resource is intended for practitioners implementing the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) and covers technical components of the MRM. It considers issues such as guiding principles, monitoring, information management, reporting, and engaging with parties to the conflict, as well as guidance on both establishing and phasing out the MRM. The annexes include action plan templates, listing and delisting criteria, and the international legal foundations. This field manual is part of the MRM Tools website, which also includes the MRM Guidelines, Training Toolkit, and Global Good Practices Study.

This resource describes the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) and its efforts to achieve accountability and compliance with international law and child protection standards. Intended for practitioners implementing the MRM, this resource outlines the roles and responsibilities for implementing actors, reporting requirements, and linkages between the MRM and response and advocacy. These guidelines are part of the MRM Tools website, which also includes the MRM Field Manual, Training Toolkit, and Global Good Practices Study.

This resource lists 9 principles for youth participation in peacebuilding. Principles include promoting young people’s participation for successful peacebuilding, valuing young people’s diversity and experiences, being sensitive to gender dynamics, involving young people in all stages of peacebuilding and post-conflict programming.

This resource shares lessons learned and best practices from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and outlines the need for a global strategy to deal with the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence crimes. It recognizes that sexual violence is committed against women, men, and children. It examines the investigation phase, pre-trial and trial phase, and appeal and post-trial phase. Annex D provides an example investigation work plan. Annex E provides an interview checklist.

This resource lays out guidelines for implementing programs that protect education from attack. Included is a 10-step guideline for working in collaboration with local communities, examples for various case studies around the world, and strategies for staffing, working with local partners, and using child participation. The document uses Cote d’Ivoire as a case study of how communities worked with UN agencies and international NGOs and presents key findings.

Part of the Manual on Domestic Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), this resource provides two possible model legislative provisions intended to guide States in the drafting of legislation which prohibits the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict. The first model text uses the “straight 18” approach while the second text follows existing provisions in treaty and customary law. This resource provides commentary on the models, as well as sources from international law, national legislation, and other practice.

Intended to emphasize programs on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that include men and boys, this resource provides guidance on accessing survivors, providing protection, and delivering medical, legal, and social services. It contains key considerations for inclusive SGBV programming and a list of key resources.

This resource provides an overview of the international legal framework, and explains the practical applicability of the law and standards as they relate to children and armed conflict. This resource also discusses internally displaced children; sexual violence against children; child labor; children and landmines and cluster bombs; children and small armed and light weapons; child victims, witnesses and perpetrators of crimes; and the role of children in peace processes.

This resource is intended to accompany the Integrated DDR Standards (IDDRS) document. As an operational guide, this resource summarizes key guidance from each IDDRS module. Guidance 5.20 and 5.30 focus on youth and children DDR; it examines reintegration programming, advocacy, and prevention of recruitment.

This resource examines principles for mainstreaming children and youth participation. It provides guidance on engaging children and youth through a variety of programs, such as radio programs, training, mentoring, and theatre. This resource also provides examples of indicators, evaluation tools, and a case study on Sierra Leone.

Intended for practitioners, this resource explores the concept of amnesty and considers the relationship between amnesties and other processes of transitional justice, such as truth commissions, the right to remedy and reparations, and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs. This resource also incorporates relevant rules of international law and United Nations policy when drafting amnesties.

In order to support implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), this resource examines constitutional and legislative reforms in favor of the rights of children. Taking a human rights-based approach, it considers various guiding principles, rights of victims, prevention, criminalization, and processes and entry points for constitutional and legislative reforms.

This resource is intended to provide guidance for children’s activities in pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis contexts, with particular attention to achieving justice for children at the national level. This resource includes nine guiding principles and a framework for a justice approach to child protection and child participation.

This resource provides guidelines on security sector reform and governance and the design, implementation, and evaluation of such programs. Intended to inform donor support for SSR, this resource specifically targets development, security, rule of law, and diplomatic actors. This resource also discusses developing an integrated approach to SSR for countries emerging from conflict and related issues such as transitional justice and disarmament demobilization, and reintegration programs.

This resource is intended as a practical guide for explaining and implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the two Optional Protocols. This resource summarizes each article and provides comments, recommendations, and an implementation checklist. The appendices include a list of other key legal and policy instruments.

The Paris Commitments and Principles and Guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups consolidate global humanitarian knowledge and experience in working to prevent recruitment, protect children, support their release from armed forces or armed groups and reintegrate them into civilian life. The Paris Principles and Commitments build on the Cape Town principles and best practices on the recruitment of children into the armed forces and on demobilization and social reintegration of child soldiers in Africa (Cape Town principles) which were adopted in 1997.

The second volume in the ICTJ’s Advancing Transitional Justice Series, this resource is comprised of a collection of essays that explores the issue of vetting in a variety of countries and contexts. Chapter 13 examines vetting and transitional justice. The appendix includes operational guidelines for vetting public employees in post-conflict settings.

This resource identifies issues related to children who have been associated with armed forces and groups and have then been released and reintegrated into their families or communities. It highlights several important points such as successful reintegration techniques, special consideration for girls, and a child rights approach to reintegration. It also gives consideration to preventing re-recruitment, community-based initiatives, and increasing children’s livelihood and vocational training.

This resource was created as a companion to the UN’s Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. It was intended to help guide non-governmental and civil society organizations advocate for victims’ rights as primary concern in state action.

This resource aims to provide guidance for local grassroots organizations in the protection of children from sexual violence and sexual exploitation. It explores relevant legal and policy frameworks and existing protection frameworks. This resource also includes key actions to minimizing the risks of sexual violence, such as advocacy and campaigning, protection committees, creating safe spaces, and psychosocial support and education. The annex includes checklists for action.

This resource is intended to guide practitioners on a range of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration activities and programs. Module 5.20 looks specifically at youth and DDR and considers socio-economic reintegration strategies for youth and young-ex-combatants, gender issues, and socio-political integration. Module 5.30 examines children and DDR and considers programming, access of children to DDR programs, prevention of recruitment and re-recruitment of children, and DDR programming for girls.

Written for United Nations field staff and others responsible for institutional and personnel reform in post-conflict states, this resource provides an overview of vetting as a tool of institutional reform and transitional justice. It also explores the conditions of transitional personnel reform, operational guidelines for assessment and designing the vetting process, and considerations regarding the political conditions surrounding reform.

This UN General Assembly resolution provides principles related to State's obligations concerning reparations to victims of international humanitarian and human rights abuses. Victims have a right to be treated humanely and with respect, to access justice and relevant information, and to be afforded adequate and effective reparation without discrimination.

Using case studies from Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, this resource focuses on strategies to prevent children’s recruitment in armed forces and groups. Strategies to prevent recruitment include developing targeted messages, avoiding separation, providing alternative care, schooling and skills training, and improving livelihoods. Intended to inform initiatives by governments, the UN, and non-governmental organizations, this resource also provides an overview of what constitutes voluntary and forced recruitment.

This resource provides best practices and lessons learned in programming for children affected by armed conflict, with a focus on child soldiers. In addition to an overview of the relevant international legal standards regarding the recruitment and use of children, this resource also provides a grid to evaluate proposals or design programs to support former child soldiers. Other tools include a risk probability and impact matrix and checklists on prevention, demobilization, and reintegration.

This resource provides frameworks and guidelines to conflict-sensitive programming in the fields of development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding. It examines conflict-sensitive planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, sectoral approaches, and approaches for mainstreaming conflict sensitivity.

Intended for staff of Save the Children, this document provides guidelines for programs related to children associated with armed groups and armed forces. The resource contains an overview of key protection issues, international standards, and Save the Children’s program experience. It also considers prevention, monitoring and reporting of recruitment and re-recruitment, challenges facing girls, and children conceived or born to girls in armed groups and armed forces.

Part of OHCHR’s professional training series, this resource organizes major human rights topics for police. Relevant international human rights standards on topics such as investigations, arrest, detention and the use of force are explored. This resource is designed to complement OHCHR’s International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement and Human Rights and Law Enforcement: A Trainer’s Guide.

This resource aims to help child protection actors within governmental and non-governmental organizations advocate for the ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC). This resource emphasizes the monitoring and reporting requirements of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

This resource provides guidance for protection of refugees against sexual and gender-based violence. It provides guiding principles and considers prevention strategies through transforming socio-cultural norms, rebuilding community support systems, improving accountability systems, and monitoring and documenting of sexual and gender-based violence. The annex includes a code of conduct and sample report forms.

This resource considers ethical issues and challenges around involving children in M&E programs given children’s right to part to participate. It provides an overview of what participation means and issues such as accountability, protection of children’s best interests, informing children, informed consent, and equity and non-discrimination. It also includes a checklist of questions for research and monitoring and evaluation managers when including child participation in research.

Part of OHCHR’s professional training series, this resource provides an outline of training on human rights topics, group exercises, instructions, guidance for trainers, and handouts, including on the protection of juveniles. This resource is designed to complement OHCHR’s International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement and the Human Rights Standards and Practice for the Police: Expanded Pocket Book on Human Rights for the Police.

Drawing on case studies from Angola and El Salvador, this resource provides examples, techniques and checklists on prevention, demobilization, and reintegration of child soldiers. It considers issues such as family reunification and community-based networks, psychosocial and traditional healing, and education and economic opportunity. It also includes checklists, lessons learned, and the international legal framework.

This resource provides guidance for practitioners working with children involved in armed conflict. Part 1 includes an overview of the responsibilities of states, the international community, and non-state armed groups, and the legal framework that grounds all action to protect children associated with fighting forces. Part 2 addresses the military recruitment of children.

Adopted at the Symposium on the 'Prevention on recruitment of children into armed forces and on demobilization and social reintegration of child soldiers in Africa,' the Cape Town Principles and Best Practices provide guidance on prevention of child recruitment, demobilization of child soldiers, and reintegration into family and community life. This resource provides guiding principles, such giving priority to children in a demobilization process or considering the special protection needs of children who leave armed groups before the end of hostilities.