The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict – Towards Universal Ratification

Bibliographic Data

ID12191964
AuthorsRadhika Coomaraswamy (1Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume18
Issue4
Pages535-549
Publication date2010-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe International Journal of Children s Rights (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0927-5568 • E-ISSN: 1571-8182
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/157181810x527978
OpenAlexW2049816342
LanguageEN
Citations received3

The changing nature of modern warfare has increasingly exposed children, both boys and girls, to direct involvement in armed conflict. In order to bring this horrible practice to a halt, the international community ten years ago adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, establishing eighteen as the minimum age for compulsory recruitment and participation in hostilities. This article presents an overview of the legislative history, legal framework and key provisions of the Optional Protocol. It also discusses the experience and practices of the International Criminal Court and the issue of children and criminal responsibility. The paper further elaborates on the needs and difficulties of war-affected children for reintegration into their communities, with special attention to psychosocial health and the building of livelihood skills

Alternative medicine · Armed conflict · Convention · Convention on the Rights of the Child · Criminology · Human rights · International community · Legislature · Livelihood · Political science · Politics · Protocol (science · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Ratification · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Health and Conflict Studies · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Medicine

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