Child in conflict

CHILDREN ASSOCIATED WITH ARMED FORCES OR ARMED GROUPS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS TO PROTECT THESE CHILDREN The physical and psychological impact on children and their communities across generations cannot be underestimated. It deprives them of their rights and their childhood. 1989: The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1999: ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2000: The Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict 2005: Security Council Resolutions 1612 2007: The Paris Commitment and Paris Principles 2009: Security Council Resolution 1882 2011:Security Council Resolution 1998 It is estimated today that tens of thousands of children - some as young as eight years old - are involved in at least 15 armed conflicts around the world. Children are used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks and for sexual purposes including being used as 'wives Some are forcibly recruited or abducted; others are driven to join by poverty, abuse, discrimination and ideology, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against themselves and their families. Stopping this is complicated. The key is prevention – to address Since 1998 more than 100,000 children have been released and received support for their reintegration. the social, security, political and economic factors that lead to child recruitment. A child associated with an armed force or armed group is any person under 18 years of age who IRAISTORY CÁRE is part of any kind of regular or ir- regular armed force or armed group in any capacity. The term "child soldier" is dis- couraged as it does not accurately reflect the range of roles in which boys and girls are recruited and used for military purposes, and for whose release UNICEF advocates. SHOOL Often girls and boys are abducted from their schools, homes or villages and brought to camps. They may be used as combatants, porters or for sexual purposes. UNICEF and partners negotiate with governments and armed groups for the release of children; some of them escape by themselves. In some cases, the children are reunited immediately with their families. Others are cared for in transit centers or by foster families before returning To ensure adequate reintegration of the children, it is important that they and the concerned community benefit from a range of support. to their families. In both cases, the children receive psychosocial assistance, medical care, and social and economic support. unicef http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58007.html http://www.unicef.org