![]() ![]() The CRC defines children as “every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier” (Art. ![]() The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)-adopted 20 November 1989 by the General Assembly of the UN-defines and aims to protect the rights of children at all other times, when humanitarian law is not directly applicable (in times of peace, situations of internal disturbances and tensions). These rights have become norms of customary law Rule 135 of the 2005 ICRC customary IHL study prescribes that “children affected by armed conflict are entitled to special respect and protection” in international and non-international armed conflicts. Humanitarian organizations often pay additional attention to children under five, through targeted medical or nutritional programs. The Geneva Conventions generally consider children to be all persons under the age of eighteen however, they enumerate additional specific rights and guarantees for newborn infants and children under twelve and under fifteen. International humanitarian law usually does not speak of “minors” because the age at which a child reaches legal majority varies from one country to another. They have the right to specific material assistance and to strengthened protection. In times of conflict, international humanitarian law gives children both general protection, as civilian persons taking no part in hostilities, and special protection, as particularly vulnerable and unarmed individuals. For instance, it is expressly forbidden to recruit children under the age of fifteen into the armed forces. Most provisions of international law refer to “children” under a specific age instead of “minors.” In general, international law considers children to be persons under eighteen however, it provides certain specific provisions for other ages. National laws take into account that the needs of children vary depending on their age, and they set a different minimum legal age for purposes such as employment, marriage, testifying in court, criminal liability, imprisonment, and recruitment in armies. Minor and c hild are not synonymous legal terms. In cases of emergency or exclusion, this includes humanitarian actors. Instead, external systems of protection must be developed that protect the child from violations he or she might suffer because of the social or family environment.Īll actors in society are hence directly responsible for ensuring the protection of children. The protection of children cannot be ensured by increasing their self-sufficiency, as is the case with adults. Their specific vulnerability puts them at higher risk to be deprived of basic needs such as food, water, and medical attention and otherwise abused. Instead, relief actions should seek to restore or reinforce a minimum legal framework of protection and family capacity.Ĭhildren make up 40 percent of the civilian victims in conflicts and over 50 percent of the refugees and internally displaced persons. Such actions should not take place in a legal vacuum that risks increasing children’s vulnerability to different kinds of abuse. In such situations, UNICEF and nongovernmental humanitarian actors play an important role in elaborating concrete relief actions. International and national law devotes part of its guarantees to protecting children’s regular development, within the context of family and society.Ĭhildren are greatly affected by situations of conflict, as well as situations of extreme poverty that frustrate many governments’ social programs. A child is an individual who has specific needs so as to be able to develop normally, both physically and mentally. The child’s protection must be provided by the family or, in the absence of a family, by society. The protection and defense of children’s interests are therefore entrusted by law first and foremost to their parents and relatives and, in case of failure by them, to social and judicial services. A child is a person who does not have an individual legal personality (meaning he or she is not recognized as an independent person before the law). ![]()
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