Ending the six grave violations against children in conflict

The Office of the Special Representative has advocated concertedly ending impunity particularly for six categories of crimes against children in situations of armed conflict which have been classified as war crimes:

• Killing or maiming of children;
• Recruitment or use of children as soldiers;
• Attacks against schools or hospitals;
• Denial of humanitarian access for children;
• Abduction of children;
• Rape and other grave sexual abuse of children;

To advance the goal of protecting children during armed conflict and ending the impunity of perpetrators, the UN Security Council - its resolution 1612 of 2005 - established a Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and a Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) to systematically monitor, document and report on these heinous abuses of the rights of children. It also led to systematic listing in the annual report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council of parties to conflict recruiting or using child soldiers.

Then with resolution 1882 (2009), the Council designated the killing and maiming of children, as well as rape and other sexual violence, as critical priorities too and has called on parties to armed conflict to prepare and implement action plans to address these violations. In the resolution, the Council also calls for enhanced communication and information-sharing between its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and relevant Security Council sanctions committees as a step towards targeted measures against persistent perpetrators.

Addressing these violations has represented a specific focus of the advocacy and dialogue with parties to conflict, and the primary themes around which the Special Representative has organized her visits to situations of concern.

For further information on these six grave violations, read our Working Paper "The Six Grave Violations against Children during Armed Conflict: The Legal Foundation."