International

Humanitarian Law
Report by:
Kevin Briones
Adonis Bandal
Geneva Convention of 1949

The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are at the core of international humanitarian law,
the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects.

They specifically protect people who are not taking part in the hostilities (civilians, health workers and aid
workers) and those who are no longer participating in the hostilities, such as wounded, sick and
shipwrecked soldiers and prisoners of war.

The Conventions and their Protocols call for measures to be taken to prevent or put an end to all breaches.
They contain stringent rules to deal with what are known as "grave breaches". Those responsible for grave
breaches must be sought, tried or extradited, whatever nationality they may hold.
History

The original Geneva Convention was adopted in 1864 to establish the red cross emblem signifying neutral
status and protection of medical services and volunteers. Other emblems were later recognized, and the
Geneva Conventions of 1949, the main topic of this article, confirmed them all.
Overview

● The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols is a body of Public International Law, also
known as the Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts, whose purpose is to provide minimum
protections, standards of humane treatment, and fundamental guarantees of respect to individuals
who become victims of armed conflicts.

● The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs)
and soldiers who are otherwise rendered hors de combat (French, literally "outside the fight"), or
incapable of fighting. The first Convention was initiated by what is now the International Committee
for the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC).

● This convention produced a treaty designed to protect wounded and sick soldiers during wartime. The
Swiss Government agreed to hold the Conventions in Geneva, and a few years later, a similar
agreement to protect shipwrecked soldiers was produced. In 1949, after World War II, two new
Conventions were added, and the Geneva Conventions entered into force on 21 October 1950.
 Convention (I) The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949.

The first Geneva Convention protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war.

The First Geneva Convention protects soldiers who are hors de combat (out of the battle). The 10 articles
of the original 1864 version of the Convention have been expanded in the First Geneva Convention of
1949 to 64 articles that protect the following:

• Wounded and sick soldiers

• Medical personnel, facilities and equipment
• Wounded and sick civilian support personnel accompanying the armed forces
• Military chaplains
• Civilians who spontaneously take up arms to repel an invasion
Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded,
Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12
August 1949.

● The second Geneva Convention protects wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel at sea during war.

● This Convention replaced Hague Convention of 1907 for the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention. It
closely follows the provisions of the first Geneva Convention in structure and content. It has 63 articles specifically applicable to war at sea.
For example, it protects hospital ships. It has one annex containing a model identity card for medical and religious personnel.

● With this Convention, the protection of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea was regulated for the first time in a
Geneva Convention. Prior to this, the rules on the protection of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked during naval warfare were codified in
the 1889 and 1907 Hague Conventions, which adapted the principles of the Geneva Conventions on the wounded and sick to naval warfare.

This Convention contains 63 articles. In addition to the protection of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea, these
articles provide specific protection for hospital ships, coastal rescue craft, medical aircraft and other medical transports at sea, as well as
religious, medical and hospital personnel performing their duties in a naval context. The Convention also recognizes the distinctive emblems.
It has one annex, consisting of a model identity card for medical and religious personnel attached to the armed forces at sea.
Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Geneva, 12 August 1949.

● The third Geneva Convention applies to prisoners of war.

● This Convention replaced the Prisoners of War Convention of 1929. It contains 143 articles whereas the 1929
Convention had only 97. The categories of persons entitled to prisoner of war status were broadened in accordance
with Conventions I and II.

● The conditions and places of captivity were more precisely defined, particularly with regard to the labor of prisoners
of war, their financial resources, the relief they receive, and the judicial proceedings instituted against them. The
Convention establishes the principle that prisoners of war must be released and repatriated without delay after the
cessation of active hostilities

● The Convention establishes the principle that prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after
the cessation of active hostilities. The Convention has five annexes containing various model regulations and identity
and other cards.
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.

● The fourth Geneva Convention affords protection to civilians, including in occupied territory.

● The Geneva Conventions, which were adopted before 1949. were concerned with combatants only, not with civilians. The events of World
War II showed the disastrous consequences of the absence of a convention for the protection of civilians in wartime.

● The Convention adopted in 1949 takes account of the experiences of World War II. It is composed of 159 articles. It contains a short section
concerning the general protection of populations against certain consequences of war, without addressing the conduct of hostilities, as such,
which was later examined in the Additional Protocols of 1977.

● The bulk of the Convention deals with the status and treatment of protected persons, situation of foreigners on the territory of one of the
parties to the conflict and that of civilians in occupied territory. It spells out the obligations of the Occupying Power vis-à-vis the civilian
population and contains detailed provisions on humanitarian relief for populations in occupied territory. It also contains a specific regime for
the treatment of civilian internees. It has three annexes containing a model agreement on hospital and safety zones, model regulations on
humanitarian relief and model cards.
Common Article 3

● Article 3, common to the four Geneva Conventions, marked a breakthrough, as it covered, for the first time,
situations of non-international armed conflicts. These types of conflicts vary greatly. They include traditional civil
wars, internal armed conflicts that spill over into other States or internal conflicts in which third States or a
multinational force intervenes alongside the government. Common Article 3 establishes fundamental rules from
which no derogation is permitted. It is like a mini-Convention within the Conventions as it contains the essential rules
of the Geneva Conventions in a condensed format and makes them applicable to conflicts not of an international
character:

• It requires humane treatment for all persons in enemy hands, without any adverse distinction. It specifically prohibits
murder, mutilation, torture, cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment, the taking of hostages and unfair trial.
• It requires that the wounded, sick and shipwrecked be collected and cared for.
• It grants the ICRC the right to offer its services to the parties to the conflict.
• It calls on the parties to the conflict to bring all or parts of the Geneva Conventions into force through so-called
special agreements.
• It recognizes that the application of these rules does not affect the legal status of the parties to the conflict.
• Given that most armed conflicts today are non-international, applying Common Article 3 is of the utmost importance.
Its full respect is required.
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International
Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977.

● Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts
● Protocol I expands protection for the civilian population as well as military and civilian medical workers in
international armed conflicts.

● Specific provisions include:

● Arts. 15, 79, Arts. 76-77 Special protections are provided for women, children and civilian medical personnel, and
measures of protection for journalists are specified.
● Arts. 17, 81 The ICRC, national societies or other impartial humanitarian organizations authorized by parties to the
conflict must be permitted to provide assistance.
Protocol I continued…

● Art. 35 Use of weapons that “cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering,” as well as means of warfare that
“cause widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment” are prohibited.
● Arts. 43-44 Protocol I seeks to clarify the military status of members of guerrilla forces in the following manner: It
includes provisions granting combatant and prisoner of war status to members
of dissident forces when under the command of a central authority. Such combatants cannot conceal their
allegiance; they must be recognizable as combatants while preparing for or during an attack.
● Arts. 51, 54 It outlaws indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and destruction of food, water and other
materials needed for survival.
● Arts. 56, 53 Dams, dikes and nuclear generating stations may not be attacked, nor can cultural objects and places of
worship.
● Art. 77 Recruitment of children under age 15 into the armed forces is forbidden.
● Art. 85 It is a war crime to use one of the protective emblems recognized by the Geneva Conventions to deceive the
opposing forces or to use other forms of treachery.
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-
International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977.

● Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-
International Armed Conflicts
● Protocol II elaborates on protections for victims caught up in high-intensity internal conflicts such as civil wars.
● It does not apply to such internal disturbances as riots, demonstrations and isolated acts of violence. Protocol II
expands and complements the non- international protections contained in Article 3 common to all four Geneva
Conventions of 1949.
● Specific provisions include:
● Art. 4 Persons who do not take a direct part or who have ceased to take part in hostilities are entitled to
respect. In all circumstances, they are to be treated humanely. Protocol II specifically prohibits violence to
the life, health and physical or mental well-being of people. In particular, it prohibits acts of murder and cruel
treatment, terrorism, hostage-taking, slavery, outrages on personal dignity, collective punishment and
pillage. These protections are considered fundamental guarantees for all persons.
Protocol II continued…

● Art. 4 Children are to be evacuated to safe areas when possible and reunited with their families.
● Art. 5 Persons interned or detained during internal conflicts are assured of the same humane treatment as specified
by the Geneva Conventions.
● Art. 7, 9 Strengthens protection of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked as well as medical and religious personnel.
● Arts. 10-11, Arts. 13-14, Art. 16 Attacks are forbidden on civilians and on “objects indispensable to civilian survival”
such as crops, irrigation systems or drinking water sources, cultural objects, and places of worship.
● Art. 18 Impartial humanitarian relief organizations, such as the ICRC, are to be permitted to continue their
humanitarian services.
Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive
Emblem (Protocol III), 8 December 2005

● Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Adoption of an Additional
Distinctive Emblem
● In December 2005, a third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions was adopted that provides for another
distinctive emblem: the red crystal.
● The red crystal is an optional emblem, equal in status to the red cross and red crescent. The red crystal may be used
in environments where another emblem could be perceived as having religious, cultural or political connotations.
Hague Convention: Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
(1954)

● The Convention seeks to ensure that cultural property, both movable and immovable, is safeguarded and respected
as the common heritage of humankind.
● The Convention encourages parties to prevent theft and vandalism of cultural property and proposes a distinctive
blue and white shield-shaped emblem to identify protected cultural property. As with the Roerich Pact, cultural
property and cultural institutions are to be protected in armed conflicts between States or between parties of the
same State as long as they are not put to military purposes. Special protection is to be given to those properties that
are listed on the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection".
● The key treaty for cultural heritage protection is the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Event of Armed Conflict (the Hague Convention). In general, it deals with the protection of cultural heritage in armed
conflict and occupation from damage and destruction and from all forms of misappropriation. It is the only
international instrument aimed specifically at protecting cultural heritage during an armed conflict and occupation,
and aimed to ensure that cultural property, both movable and immovable, was preserved and respected. It is
supplemented by two Protocols – the First Protocol adopted in 1954 and the Second Protocol adopted in 1999.
Hague Convention: Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954)

Obligations

• The commitments made by the States Parties to the Convention serve to preserve cultural heritage through the
implementation of the following measures:
• Adopting preventive measures such as preparing inventories, planning emergency measures to protect property against the
risk of fire or the collapse of buildings, and preparing the removal of cultural property to places of safety.
• Developing initiatives which guarantee respect for cultural property situated on their own territory or on the territory of
other States Parties. This involves refraining from using such property in any manner that might expose it to destruction or
deterioration in the event of armed conflict, and by refraining from all acts of hostility directed against it.
• Registering cultural property of very high importance on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special
Protection in order to obtain special protection for such property;
• Marking certain important buildings and monuments with a distinctive emblem of the Convention;
• Providing a place for eventual refuge to shelter movable cultural property;
• Establishing special units within the military forces responsible for the protection of cultural property;
• Setting sanctions for breaches of the Convention; and,
• Promoting the Convention among the general public and through target groups such as cultural heritage professionals, and
military or law-enforcement agencies.
First Protocol

What does the First Protocol cover?

• The First Protocol regulates the protection of cultural property during occupation through the following :
• Prohibition of all exportations from the occupied territory and the requirement of its return to the territory
of the State from which the property was exported;
• Prohibition of retention of cultural property. When the occupation ends, the State must return the cultural
object to the formerly occupied authorities;
• Prohibition of the sale of the cultural property. If the cultural property is sold, the purchaser is entitled to
fair compensation to be paid by the occupying power.
• The purpose of the present Protocol is to prevent the exportation of cultural property and to provide for
the restitution of illegally exported objects. In view of the difficulties of several governments in adopting
provisions on the restitution of property (the original draft contained more far-reaching provisions) it was
decided to separate them from the Convention and to adopt them in the form of a separate Protocol.
Second Protocol

● The Second Protocol aims to complement and expand the provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention:
● It creates a new category of “enhanced protection” – for cultural property of the greatest importance for
humanity;
● It increases the reactiveness of the Convention, by defining sanctions to be imposed for serious violations
with respect to cultural property and defines the conditions in which individual criminal responsibility shall
apply;
● It establishes a twelve-member Intergovernmental Committee to oversee the implementation of the
Second Protocol and de facto the Convention.
● The Second Protocol does not replace the 1954 Hague Convention; it complements it. The adoption of the
Second Protocol created a second level of protection: beyond the basic level under the 1954 Hague
Convention for its States Parties, a higher level of protection exists under the Second Protocol for its States
Parties.
Second Protocol continued…

● Enhanced protection: Given that the 1954 system of cultural property under special protection never worked, the
Second Procotol establishes a new system. Cultural property of the greatest importance for humanity can be placed
under enhanced protection provided it is adequately protected by domestic law and not used for military purposes
or to shield military sites. Enhanced protection is granted from the moment of entry in the List of Cultural Property
Under Enhanced Protection. This decision is taken by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Event of Armed Conflict, an intergovernmental committee established under the new Protocol.

Enforcement: Another development reflected in the new Protocol is the increased effort to fight impunity through
effective criminal prosecution of war criminals. The Protocol specifically defines five serious violations for which it
establishes individual criminal responsibility. States undertake to adopt appropriate legislation to make these
violations criminal offences under domestic law, to provide appropriate penalties and to establish jurisdiction over
these offences, including universal jurisdiction for three of the five serious violations. The list of serious violations
goes well beyond existing law.

Scope of application: The Second Protocol applies equally to international and non-international armed conflicts. The
extension of the application of the Second Protocol to non-international armed conflicts is essential.
1972 Biological Weapons Convention

● The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of
biological and toxin weapons. It was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD).
● The BWC is a key element in the international community’s efforts to address WMD proliferation and it has established a strong norm
against biological weapons. The Convention has reached almost universal membership with 184 States Parties and four Signatory States.
● Formally known as “The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and
Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction”, the Convention was negotiated by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva,
Switzerland. It opened for signature on 10 April 1972 and entered into force on 26 March 1975. The BWC supplements the 1925 Geneva
Protocol, which had prohibited only the use of biological weapons.
● States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention undertook “never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise
acquire or retain:

○ microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no
justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;

○ weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.”
Key Provisions

Article Provision
Undertaking never under any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile, acquire or retain biological
Article I
weapons.
Article II Undertaking to destroy biological weapons or divert them to peaceful purposes.
Undertaking not to transfer, or in any way assist, encourage or induce anyone to manufacture or otherwise
Article III
acquire biological weapons.
Requirement to take any national measures necessary to prohibit and prevent the development, production,
Article IV stockpiling, acquisition or retention of biological weapons within a State’s territory, under its jurisdiction, or
under its control.
Undertaking to consult bilaterally and multilaterally and cooperate in solving any problems which may arise in
Article V
relation to the objective, or in the application, of the BWC.
Right to request the United Nations Security Council to investigate alleged breaches of the BWC, and
Article VI
undertaking to cooperate in carrying out any investigation initiated by the Security Council.
Article VII Undertaking to assist any State Party exposed to danger as a result of a violation of the BWC.
Undertaking to facilitate, and have the right to participate in, the fullest possible exchange of equipment,
Article X
materials and information for peaceful purposes.
1980 Convention on Certain
Conventional Weapons
 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

The Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which
May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects applies two general cus-
tomary rules of international humanitarian law to specific weapons.

These customary rules are:

1. the prohibition on the use of weapons that are indiscriminate and
2. the prohibition on the use of weapons of a nature to cause unnecessary suffering or superfluous
injury.

The Convention is comprised of a framework instrument and five individual protocols that regulate
specific categories of weapons. Although it contains detailed rules for specific weapons that raise
humanitarian concerns, the Convention does not lessen the obligation of states to refrain from using
weapons not covered by the Convention, but which would nonetheless violate customary rules of
international humanitarian law.
 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

Protocol I – Non-Detectable Fragments:

It is prohibited to use any weapon the primary effect of which is to injure by fragments
which in the human body escape detection by X-rays.

Protocol II – Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices
This Protocol relates to the use on land of the mines, booby-traps and other devices
defined herein, including mines laid to interdict beaches, waterway crossings or river crossings, but
does not apply to the use of anti-ship mines at sea or in inland waterways.

Protocol III – Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons

"Incendiary weapon" means any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire
to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof,
produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target.
Incendiary weapons can take the form of, for example, flame throwers, fougasses, shells,
rockets, grenades, mines, bombs and other containers of incendiary substances.
 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Protocol IV – Blinding Laser Weapons:
It is prohibited to employ laser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat
function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that
is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices. The High Contracting Parties shall not
transfer such weapons to any State or non-State entity.

Protocol V – Explosive Remnants of War:

In conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and of the rules of the international
law of armed conflict applicable to them, High Contracting Parties agree to comply with the obligations
specified in this Protocol, both individually and in cooperation with other High Contracting Parties, to
minimize the risks and effects of explosive remnants of war in post-conflict situations. This Protocol
shall apply to explosive remnants of war on the land territory including internal waters of High
Contracting Parties.
1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

For the purpose of this Protocol V – Explosive Remnants of War:

1. Explosive ordnance means conventional munitions containing explosives, with the exception of
mines, booby traps and other devices as defined in Protocol II of this Convention as amended on 3 May
1996.
2. Unexploded ordnance means explosive ordnance that has been primed, fused, armed, or otherwise
prepared for use and used in an armed conflict. It may have been fired, dropped, launched or projected
and should have exploded but failed to do so.
3. Abandoned explosive ordnance means explosive ordnance that has not been used during an armed
conflict, that has been left behind or dumped by a party to an armed conflict, and which is no longer
under control of the party that left it behind or dumped it. Abandoned explosive ordnance may or may
not have been primed, fused, armed or otherwise prepared for use.
4. Explosive remnants of war means unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance.
5. Existing explosive remnants of war means unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance
that existed prior to the entry into force of this Protocol for the High Contracting Party on whose
territory it exists.
1993 Chemical Weapons Convention
 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of
Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction belongs to the category of instruments of international law
that prohibit weapons deemed particularly abhorrent.
As soon as the First World War was over, chemical and bacteriological methods of warfare
were condemned by public opinion, and their use was prohibited by the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The
adoption of the Convention reinforces a basic principle of the law relating to the conduct of hostilities,
that is that the right of parties to an armed conflict to choose means and methods of warfare is not
unlimited.
The Convention, which was negotiated as part of the Conference on Disarmament, was
opened for signature in Paris on 13 January 1993. It entered into force on 29 April 1997, and is now
binding on the vast majority of states. In addition, the prohibition on use of chemical weapons is
considered customary in both international and non-international armed conflicts, applying to all states
and non-state actors, including those who are not a party to the Convention (Rule 74 of the ICRC study
on customary IHL).
1997 Ottawa Convention on
anti-personnel mines
 1997 Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines
Prohibitions: States-parties commit to not using, developing, producing, acquiring, retaining, stockpiling, or transferring anti-
personnel landmines, which are defined by the treaty as mines "designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a
person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons." APLs that are remotely triggered, such as claymores, is not
proscribed, nor are anti-vehicle mines, including those equipped with anti-handling devices, which are designed to protect anti-
vehicles mines from being tampered with or moved. The treaty also forbids signatories from assisting or encouraging any other
state or party from engaging in the activities outlawed by the treaty.

APL Destruction and Clearance: Each state party is expected to destroy all APLs stockpiled in arsenals, except those retained
for demining training, within four years of becoming bound by the treaty. Collectively, state parties have destroyed more than 50
million stockpiled landmines, with only five states, at most, still to complete destruction. For instance, Ukraine and Greece have
missed their deadlines to complete destruction and still have not met their deadlines set by the Treaty as of 2021.
Within 10 years of its entry into force date, each country is required to destroy all APLs under its jurisdiction and
control, including those planted in the soil. A country may request renewable extensions of up to 10 years to complete this
clearance task. A majority of participants at a meeting of states-parties or review conferences must approve an extension request.
Many states have sought and received extensions and more than 25 countries have completed clearance of all mined areas.
 1997 Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines
Cooperation and Assistance: The treaty calls on any state party "in a position to do so" to assist other states-parties in
aiding mine victims, providing demining assistance, and helping with mine destruction. States-parties are expected to be as
helpful as possible in making sure all states-parties have access to equipment, material, and scientific and technological
information for implementing the treaty without "undue restrictions.“

Transparency: Each state party is to provide the United Nations with a comprehensive report on the numbers, types, and
locations of all APLs under its control as well as the status of all programs for destroying APLs. An initial report is required 180
days after the treaty becomes legally binding for each state party, and thereafter reports are expected annually by April 30.

Compliance: The treaty did not create an implementation or verification body or outline punitive measures for
noncompliance. A state party may question the compliance of another state party, and a special meeting of states-parties can
be convened to address the allegation. States parties can establish a fact-finding mission to investigate the alleged
noncompliance and, if necessary, call on the state party in question to address the compliance issue.

Amendment and Withdrawal: Treaty amendments can be proposed, and then approved by two-thirds of all states-
parties attending a special amendment conference. A state party may withdraw from the treaty six months after submitting
an instrument of withdrawal, though it will not take effect if the country is engaged in armed conflict.
 2000 Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on
the involvement of children in armed
conflict
 2000 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict

Introduction of the Protocol

The optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts was adopted on May 25, 2000, in New
York, by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The origin of the optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts
The civil conflicts of the 1990 years, notably in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda,
Burundi, Somalia, etc.) were marked by the massive usage of children in battle by the armed forces. It is a new category of
fighters that appear: children-soldiers. Throughout the world, the pictures of these children with weapons of war, were at the
origin of a conscious awareness and generated the indignation of the international community that then hastened to react.
It is the ILO that will be the first organization to react, in the Convention 182 on the Worse Forms of Children
Labor, while defining the recruitment of children in the armed conflicts as one of the worst forms of exploitation.
The authors of the international Convention relating to the rights of the child of 1989,also evoke this problem in
Article 38 of the Convention. Nevertheless, the recruitment of children is not prohibited. The convention simply foresees the
possibility to recruit children in armed conflicts, with the only condition that they are more than 15 years old. Moreover, to
compensate for this gap and to rectify this Article, the United Nations decided to adopt an optional Protocol to the Convention,
concerning the involvement of children in armed conflicts.
 2000 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict

What is in the Protocol:

The optional Protocol concerning the involvement of children in armed conflicts definitely
prohibits the recruitment of children in armed forces. Henceforth, the States have the obligation and the
public responsibility to forbid the enlisting of a person under 18 years old in the war.

This protocol reminds you that the children have neither the maturity, nor the necessary
physical and mental development to understand the seriousness and the consequences of their enlisting in
the armed forces.

The protocol condemns the phenomenon of children-soldiers and gives a very wide definition of
this expression in order to be able to protect the largest number of children involved in armed conflicts.
According to the protocol, a child-soldier can be a sexual or domestic slave, a cook, a sentinel, a minor or
mines remover… recruited by force or voluntarily.