Children in Armed Conflict

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.

The purpose of this Handbook is to provide actors with guidance on how to coordinate child protection responses in humanitarian contexts in order to ensure more predictable, accountable and effective child protection responses in emergencies around the world. This Handbook is designed for situations where the international community is formally engaged with the humanitarian response and where the cluster system has been activated, and may be useful for contexts where there is no cluster approach. Chapter 8 "Monitoring and reporting grave violations of children's rights" on page 116 covers accountability for violations against children in armed conflict.

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.

This resource aims to establish common principles amongst child protection actors. It provides guidance on strengthening coordination, improving the quality of programming, and improving accountability within child protection work. Standard 11 on page 102 examines children associated with armed forces or armed groups and provides key actions, measurements, and guidance notes on advocacy, awareness, prevention, release, identification and verification, interim care, family tracing and reunification, reintegration, and family reunification. Standard 14 on page 128 discusses justice for children and provides key actions and measurement indicators.

This resource aims to clarify existing obligations of State parties, facilitate respect for existing obligations, and promote the implementation of relevant legal provisions. It contains recommendations by the ICRC for practical, regulatory, and legal measures to promote the effective domestic implementation of international rules to protect children affected by armed conflict. This resource considers specific issues such as recruitment, juvenile justice, preventative measures, reparations, transitional justice, and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs.

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 aims to assist donor governments, workers, employers and NGOs to combat trafficking in children for labor, sexual, and other forms of exploitation. Exploitation is defined to include the forced or compulsory recruitment of children. The training manual includes three textbooks, an exercise book, and facilitator’s guide.

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.

This resource provides an overview of the legal standards and responsibilities to protect women and girls. It discusses issues such as displacement, prevention, reintegration, participation in peacebuilding processes, and the administration of justice during displacement for formal, traditional, and transitional mechanisms. Chapter 6 provides an overview of the international and regional legal framework. This resource is intended for UNHRC staff, both at headquarters and in the field, and protection partners.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Intended as a practical reference for practitioners in emergency settings, this resource is designed for field, headquarters, and Save the Children partner organization staff members who design and manage children and war programs. It discusses child soldiers and their vulnerabilities, the international framework, and a programming framework that includes demobilization and reintegration, and a process for program design.

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.