PREVENTING RECRUITMENT AND ENSURING ADEQUATE REINTEGRATION

 

Children must be protected from recruitment and use by armed forces and armed groups Those who have experienced recruitment and/or use by any armed force or armed group must be released without precondition, treated primarily as victims, and provided adequate reintegration support.

 

  • Work towards prohibiting the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups in domestic law

  • Develop, disseminate, and implement command directives, standard operating procedures, military doctrine, codes of conduct, and other regulations and policies for State armed forces on the protection of children

  • Establish adequate age assessment procedures to exclude children from recruitment into armed forces or armed groups

  • Endorse and implement the Paris Commitments to Protect Children from Unlawful Recruitment or Use by Armed Forces or Armed Groups and the accompanying Paris Principles

  • Endorse and implement the Vancouver Principles

  • Establish and implement handover protocols for all children associated with armed forces and armed groups, encountered during military operations and children in military custody, to civilian child protection personnel for their protection and reintegration

  • Treat children recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups first and foremost as victims of violations of international law

  • Put in place legislation, procedures, and bodies or institutions that will facilitate efforts to minimize the number of children deprived of their liberty in armed conflict

  • Treat all children who are in contact with justice systems in a child-sensitive manner

  • Revise national legislation where necessary to bring it into compliance with the UN CRC, international juvenile justice standards, and in children’s best interest

  • Support delivery of holistic, multi-sectoral, sustainable, long-term, trauma-informed, age- and gender-responsive reintegration support at the scale required