Since 1996, the issue of children affected by armed conflict has been placed firmly on the international agenda, beginning with the groundbreaking report of Graça Machel and the establishment of the mandate of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
Since then, a solid body of international legal standards has been elaborated. For example: the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies the recruitment of children into fighting forces as a war crime and a crime against humanity. The International Labour Organization's Convention No. 182 defines child soldiering as one of the worst forms of child labour. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child outlaws child soldiering, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child established 18 as the minimum age for children's participation in hostilities.
Here are links to some of the most important documents defining how the world should act to protect its children:
Recent posts
- In Historic First, Central Africa Endorses Regional Prevention Strategy on Children and Armed Conflict
- Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict: Remarks by USG CAAC Frazier
- A Year of Unthinkable Suffering: Record Number of Children in Conflict Victims of Grave Violations in 2025, With Government Forces as the Leading Perpetrator for the First Time
- Joint Statement of the AU Special Envoy on Children Affected by Armed Conflict and the UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict on the Day of the African Child
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Concludes First Visit to Haiti