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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 April 2020
The efforts to create a world fit for children, including for those affected by armed conflict, remain a work in progress. Increasingly, regional organizations, prime among them the African Union and its organs, are being asked to play a more meaningful role in pushing for the realization of the rights and protections of children in armed conflict. This piece explores trends and developments in respect of children and armed conflict in Africa, and offers few ideas on how the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which holds significant promise, can continue to rise to this challenge.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any organizations with which he is associated. The reference to “an insider” in the title of the article is in part linked to the author's role in the ACERWC. The author is grateful for the assistance provided by Professor I. Leeman, Dr R. Nanima and Mr N. Muhumuza.
1 See UNICEF, 25 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Is the World a Better Place for Children?, 2014, p. 9, which highlights that “[a]lthough the number of armed conflicts around the world has decreased from a peak of 52 in 1991 to 33 in 2013, the new century has already seen major conflicts”.
2 UN General Assembly, Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, UN Doc. A/51/306, 26 August 1996 (Machel Study).
3 In addition, substantial legal discussions on the protection of children in armed conflict occurred in the lead-up to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols, and it was the standards in these instruments that fed the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) and International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute that followed.
4 The UN Security Council has passed the following resolutions on the issue: UNSC Res. 1261, UN Doc. S/RES/1261, adopted at its 4,037th meeting, 25 August 1999; UNSC Res. 1314, UN Doc. S/RES/1314, adopted at its 4,185th meeting, 11 August 2000; UNSC Res. 1379, UN Doc. S/RES/1379, adopted at its 4,423rd meeting, 20 November 2001; UNSC Res. 1460, UN Doc. S/RES/1460, adopted at its 4,695th meeting, 30 January 2003; UNSC Res. 1539, UN Doc. S/RES/1539, adopted at its 4,948th meeting, 22 April 2004; UNSC Res. 1612, UN Doc. S/RES/1612, adopted at its 5,235th meeting, 26 July 2005; UNSC Res. 1882, UN Doc. S/RES/1882, adopted at its 6,176th meeting, 4 August 2009; UNSC Res. 1998, UN Doc. S/RES/1998, adopted at its 6,581st meeting, 12 July 2011; UNSC Res. 2068, UN Doc. S/RES/2068, adopted at its 6,838th meeting, 19 September 2012; UNSC Res. 2143, UN Doc. S/RES/2143, adopted at its 7,129th meeting, 7 March 2014; UNSC Res. 2225, UN Doc. S/RES/2225, adopted at its 7,466th meeting, 18 June 2015; UNSC Res. 2427, UN Doc. S/RES/2427, adopted at its 8,305th meeting, 9 July 2018.
5 Such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
6 See “Yemen War: Saudi-Led Airstrike on Bus Kills 29 Children”, BBC News, 9 August 2018, available at: www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45128367 (all internet references were accessed in June 2019).
7 Dionne Searcey, “Shootings on Video in Cameroon ‘May Not Be Isolated Cases,’ U.N. Fears”, New York Times, 25 July 2018, available at: www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/world/africa/cameroon-boko-haram-video.html; UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “UN Human Rights Chief Deeply Alarmed by Reports of Serious Rights Breaches in Cameroon”, 25 July 2018, available at: www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23404&LangID=E.
8 See ICC, “ICC Appeals Chamber Acquits Mr Bemba from Charges of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity”, 8 June 2018, available at: www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=pr1390.
9 Frederik Pleitgen, “Syria's Child Face of Aleppo Still Caught in the Middle a Year On,” CNN, 6 September 2017, available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/06/middleeast/omran-daqneesh/index.html. Also see Anne Barnard, “How Omran Daqneesh, 5, Became a Symbol of Aleppo's Suffering”, New York Times, 18 August 2016, available at: www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/world/middleeast/omran-daqneesh-syria-aleppo.html.
10 See African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), Continental Study on the Impact of Conflict and Crises on Children in Africa, 2016.
11 CDI, Children in Armed Conflict Accountability Framework: A Framework for Advancing Accountability for Serious Violations against Children in Armed Conflict, June 2015, p. iii, available at: https://bettercarenetwork.org/sites/default/files/Children%20in%20Armed%20Conflict%20Accountability%20Framework.pdf.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Machel Study, above note 2, para. 279
15 The two other relevant regional instruments mentioned are the European Convention on Human Rights and the Santiago Declaration.
16 Office of the SRSG CAAC, “Graça Machel and the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children”, available at: https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/about-us/mandate/the-machel-reports/. See also UNGA Res. 48/157, “Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflicts”, UN Doc. A/RES/48/157, 7 March 1994.
17 UNICEF, above note 1, p. 28.
18 Machel Study, above note 2, paras 279–280.
19 See Report of the Secretary General: Children and armed conflict (16 May 2018) (A/72/865-S/2018/465) paras 11, 17, 256.
20 UNSC Res. 2427, UN Doc. S/RES/2427, adopted at its 8,305th meeting, 9 July 2018. The other main resolutions of the Security Council that address the protection of children affected by armed conflict are listed in above note 4.
21 Report of the Secretary General, above note 19, paras 256, 257.
22 Ibid., para. 257.
23 See Statement summary of His Excellency Tekeda Alemu, Permanent Representative of the Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia to the UN in New York, in UN, “Security Council Seeks to Strengthen Protections for Children in Armed Conflict, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2427 (2018)”, 9 July 2018, available at: www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13412.doc.htm.
24 See Statement summary of His Excellency Christof Heusgen, Permanent Representative of the Government of the Germany to the UN in New York, in UN, above note 23.
25 See UNSC Res. 2427, UN Doc. S/RES/2427, 2018, Preamble, paras 5, 8, 10, 11, 39.
26 These three Security Council resolutions are listed in above note 4.
27 See SRSG CAAC, “Working with Member States”, available at: https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/about-us/working-with-the-united-nations/security-council-working-group/.
28 The European Union has also adopted a policy on the protection of children affected by war, entitled the European Union Policy on the Rights of Children Affected by Armed Conflict.
29 SRSG CAAC, above note 27.
30 Ibid.
31 See NATO, Protection of Children in Armed Conflict – the Way Forward, March 2015.
32 SRSG CAAC, above note 27.
33 Ibid.
34 Remarks by NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller at the International Conference on Children and Armed Conflict, 13 February 2017, available at: www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_140895.htm?selectedLocale=en.
35 Ibid.
36 See, for instance, Thompson, Bankole, “Africa's Charter on Children's Rights: A Normative Break with Cultural Traditionalism”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 41, No. 2, 1992Google Scholar; Mezmur, Benyam Dawit, “The African Children's Charter versus the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Zero-Sum Game?”, SA Public Law, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2008Google Scholar.
37 See, for instance, Ekundayo, Osifunke, “Does the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) only Underlines and Repeats [sic] the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)'s Provisions? Examining the Similarities and the Differences between the ACRWC and the CRC”, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 5, No. 7(1), 2015Google Scholar.
38 ACRWC, Art. 26.
39 Ibid., Art. 11(6).
40 Lee Muthoga, “Introducing the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, paper delivered at the International Conference on the Rights of the Child, Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 1992.
42 Morocco joined the AU in January 2017 and is the only country among the six countries that has not yet signed the Charter.
43 Gose, Michael, The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: An Assessment of the Legal Value of its Substantive Provisions by Means of a Direct Comparison to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2002, p. 28Google Scholar.
44 ACRWC, Art. 22(3).
45 Ibid., Art. 22(2).
46 CRC, Art. 41; OPAC, Art. 5.
47 ACRWC, Art. 1(1).
48 See Constitution of South Africa, 1996, Section 28(1)(i); Constitution of Burundi, 2005, Article 45.
49 In Madagascar, by way of example, the minimum age of recruitment for national service has been raised to 18 years by Act No. 2005-037 of 20 February 2006. In Algeria, while the age for voluntary recruitment is unclear, the National Service Code explicitly states that the age for conscription into the regular armed forces is set at 19 years.
50 Including the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as some countries in Eastern Europe and Asia.
51 Child Soldiers International, “The Issue”, 2016 (website no longer available).
52 For instance, the Seychelles, despite being a State party to the ACRWC, still maintains the possibility of under-18s being recruited into the armed forces as its Defence Act does not explicitly prohibit the enlistment of any person under the age of 18 years.
53 For a detailed discussion on this, see Hailbronner, Michaela, “Laws in Conflict: The Relationship between Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights”, African Human Rights Law Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2016CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Fowkes, James, “The Relationship between IHL and IHRL in Peacekeeping Operations: Articulating the Emerging AU Position”, Journal of African Law, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2017CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
54 ACRWC, Arts 22(1), 22(3).
55 Viljoen, Frans, “The Relationship between International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the African Human Rights System: An Institutional Approach”, in De Wet, Erika and Kleffner, Jann (eds), Convergence and Conflicts of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Military Operations, Pretoria University Law Press, Pretoria, 2014, p. 303Google Scholar.
56 See Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 31 (entered into force 21 October 1950); Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 85 (entered into force 21 October 1950); Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 135 (entered into force 21 October 1950); Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 287 (entered into force 21 October 1950) (GC IV); Protocol Additional (I) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 1125 UNTS 3, 8 June 1977 (entered into force 7 December 1978) (AP I); Protocol Additional (II) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts1125 UNTS 609, 8 June 1977 (entered into force 7 December 1978) (AP II). Article 77 of AP I (“Protection of Children”), which applies in international armed conflicts, and Article 4(3) of AP II (special care of children), which applies in non-international armed conflicts, are of critical importance.
57 See, for example, GC IV, Arts 23, 38; AP I, Art. 70(1); AP II, Art. 4(3)(a); AP I, Art. 78(2); GC IV, Art. 38.
58 See for example, AP I, Art 75(2)(b), 77(1); AP II, Art. 4(2)(e); GC IV, Art. 68(4); AP I, Art. 77(5); AP II, Art. 6(4).
59 See GC IV, Arts 25–26, 136–140; AP II, Art. 4(3)(b); GC IV, Arts 24(3), 50(2).
60 See GC IV, Arts 50(1), 50(3); GC IV, Art. 50(2), 50(4); GC IV, Art. 50(5); GC IV, Art. 51(2).
61 See, for example, GC IV, Art. 82(2), 82(3); AP I, Art. 77(4); GC IV, Arts 76(4), 89(5), 94(2–3).
62 Henckaerts, Jean-Marie and Doswald-Beck, Louise (eds), Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol. 1: Rules, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005, Rule 120CrossRefGoogle Scholar, “Accommodation for Children Deprived of Their Liberty”, available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule120.
63 Ibid., Rule 135, “Children”, available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule135.
64 Ibid., Rule 136, “Recruitment of Child Soldiers”, available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule136.
65 Ibid., Rule 137, “Participation of Child Soldiers in Hostilities”, available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule137.
66 Ang, Fiona, Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Article 38, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 2005, pp. 5–6Google Scholar.
67 Ibid. See also Chirwa, Danwood Mzikenge, “The Merits and Demerits of the African Children's Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child”, International Journal of Children's Rights, Vol. 10, 2002, p. 168CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
68 ACRWC, Art. 32.
69 Ibid., Art. 44(1)(a).
70 Ibid., Articles 44, 45.
71 ACERWC, above note 10.
72 Save the Children International, The War on Children: Time to End Grave Violations against Children in Conflict, 2018, available at: www.savethechildren.org.uk/content/dam/global/reports/education-and-child-protection/war_on_children-web.pdf 7
73 Ibid.
74 ACLED, Conflict Trends No. 55: Real-Time Analysis of African Political Violence, February 2017, p. 8, available at: www.acleddata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ACLED_Conflict-Trends-Report-No.55-February-2017_pdf..pdf.
75 “Massive Car Bomb Blast Rocks Somalia's Mogadishu”, Al Jazeera, 14 October 2017, available at: https://tinyurl.com/ukpm6fo; “Mogadishu Bombing Death Toll Rises to 358”, Al Jazeera, 21 October 2017, available at: https://tinyurl.com/quklttj.
76 UN Human Rights Council, Res. 36/27, 29 September 2017, para. 4.
77 UNICEF, “Nearly 900 Children Released from Armed Group in North-East Nigeria”, 10 May 2019, available at: www.unicef.org/nigeria/press-releases/nearly-900-children-released-armed-group-north-east-nigeria; “Militia Frees Hundreds of Child Soldiers in Nigeria”, Africa News, 10 May 2019, available at: www.africanews.com/2019/05/10/militia-frees-over-800-child-soldiers-in-nigeria/.
78 UNICEF, above note 77.
79 SRSG CAAC, 20 Years of the Children and Armed Conflict Mandate, August 2016, p. 5, available at: https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Children-in-Conflict_WEB.pdf.
80 Ibid.
81 Ibid.
82 Child Soldiers International, above note 51.
83 David D. Kirkpatrick, “On the Front Line of the Saudi War in Yemen: Child Soldiers From Darfur”, New York Times, 28 December 2018, available at: www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/world/africa/saudi-sudan-yemen-child-fighters.html?searchResultPosition=3.
84 SRSG CAAC, Annual Report: Children Faced with Unspeakable Violence in Conflict as Number of Grave Violations Increased in 2017, 16 May 2018, available at: https://undocs.org/s/2018/465.
85 SRSG CAAC, Annual Report of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict, UN Doc. A/70/836–S/2016/36020, April 2016, para. 9, available at: www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=s/2016/360&referer=/english/&Lang=E.
86 SRSG CAAC, above note 79.
87 Ibid., para. 6.
88 Ibid.
89 Ibid, para. 7.
90 Ibid.
91 As of 25 May 2019, these countries were Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the CAR, Chad, Côte D'Ivoire, the DRC, Djibouti, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan and Zambia.
92 Morocco Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/MAR/1, 19 June 2012, para. 13.
93 Ibid., para 19.
94 Angola Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/AGO/1, 23 February 2017, para. 22.
95 Egypt Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/EGY/1, 17 March 2010, para. 30.
96 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations to the Algeria Report, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPA/DZA/CO/1, 22 June 2018, para 19.
97 DRC Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/COD/1, 19 April 2011, paras 43–44.
98 Ibid., paras 47, 49.
99 Sudan Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/SDN/1, 16 December 2009, para. 22.
100 Ibid., para. 55.
101 Ibid., para. 53.
102 Angola Report, above note 94, para 18.
103 Uganda Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/UGA/1, 17 July 2008, para. 19.
104 Ibid., para. 14.
105 Ibid., paras 14, 46–48.
106 Ibid., para. 28.
107 Ibid., para. 52.
108 Algeria Concluding Observations, above note 96, para. 29.
109 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations to the Guinea Report, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/GIN/CO/1, 25 October 2017, para. 21.
110 Malawi Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/MWI/1, 20 June 2016, para. 4.2.
111 Ibid., para. 83.
112 Madagascar Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/MGD/1, 5 November 2014, para. 101.
113 Ibid., para. 22.
114 Ibid., para. 79.
115 Ibid.
116 Benin Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/BEN/1, 24 November 2017, para. 60.
117 Rwanda Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/RWA/1, 6 December 2011, para. 70.
118 Ibid., para. 83.
119 Save the Children International, above note 72, p. 7.
120 Ibid.
121 Noman Benotman and Nikita Malik, The Children of Islamic State, 2016, p. 23, available at: https://f-origin.hypotheses.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/2725/files/2016/04/the-children-of-islamic-state.pdf.
122 Ibid. Also see Ludovico Iaccino, “It's Not Just ISIS and Boko Haram, Child Soldier Recruitment is a Problem in Many Countries”, International Business Times, 24 October 2015, www.ibtimes.co.uk/focus-its-not-just-isis-boko-haram-child-soldier-recruitmentproblem-many-countries-1525390.
123 Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. S/2019/280, 29 March 2019, p. 5.
124 Ibid.
125 Ibid., p. 6.
126 Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, UN Doc. S/2018/250, 23 March 2018, p. 5.
127 Child Soldiers International, “Submission to the 75th Pre-session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Cameroon”, August 2016 (website no longer available).
128 UNICEF, “Nigeria Regional Conflict: 10-Fold Increase in Number of Children Used in ‘Suicide’ Attacks”, 12 April 2016, available at: www.unicef.org/media/media_90827.html.
129 SRSG CAAC, above note 84, para. 9.
130 See, for example, Children and armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, UN Doc. A/59/695–S/2005/72, 9 February 2005, para. 68.
131 See Geneva Academy, The War Report: Armed Conflicts in 2017, 2018, pp. 82–83 and footnotes therein, available at: www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/The%20War%20Report%202017.pdf. It is to be noted that the Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC through UNSC Res. 1970 of 26 February 2011.
132 See Geneva Academy, above note 131, pp. 82–83 and footnotes therein.
133 See UN, “Security Council Asks Secretary-General to Replace Contingents from Countries Failing to Hold Sexual Predators Accountable”, 11 March 2016, available at: www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12277.doc.htm.
134 Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, above note 123, p. 8. The charges referred to in Nigeria are brought mainly under the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act of 2013.
135 Ibid., p. 9.
136 Report of the Secretary-General, above note 126, p. 7.
137 Ibid., p. 4. See “DRC Court Sentences 12 to Life for Child Rapes, Murder”, news24, 13 December 2017, available at: www.news24.com/Africa/News/drc-court-sentences-12-to-life-for-child-rapes-murder-20171213.
138 Report of the Secretary-General, above note 126, pp. 8–9.
139 Ibid., p. 8.
140 Geneva Academy, above note 131, p. 113.
141 This was established in March 2017.
142 This panel conducted hearings from September to October 2017, and concluded its activities in November 2017.
143 Geneva Academy, above note 131.
144 The ACRWC is silent on the issue of international cooperation; the OPAC has detailed provisions on this topic.
145 For a comprehensive and critical discussion of the law, see Carmody, Heather L., “The Child Soldiers Prevention Act: How the Act's Inadequacy Leaves the World's Children Vulnerable”, California Western International Law Journal, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2012Google Scholar.
146 Section 5 of the CSPA prohibits the provision of assistance in the form of finances, training or arms sales to countries whose governmental armed forces or government-supported armed groups (including paramilitaries, militias and civil defence forces) recruit or use child soldiers.
147 Rachel Stohl and Shannon Dick, “President Trump, You Can Stop the Use of Child Soldiers,” CNN, 27 April 2017, available at: www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/opinions/trump-child-soldiers-opinion-stohl-dick/index.html.
148 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations to the United States of America Report, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/USA/CO/2, June 2013, paras 10, 40–41.
149 Ibid.
150 Ibid., paras 10, 41.
151 Ibid., para. 6.
152 See Stimson Center, “US Military Assistance to Governments Using or Supporting the Use of Child Soldiers FY10-FY17 under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act”, available at: https://tinyurl.com/qlpz4kc.
153 Ibid.
154 Ibid.
155 Ibid.
156 Ibid.
157 According to Human Rights Watch, by 2016 “Nigeria was included for the second year in a row, based on the use of child soldiers by the Civilian Joint Task Force, a government-allied force used to fight the armed group Boko Haram”. Human Rights Watch, “US: Don't Fund Child Soldiers Abroad”, 30 June 2016, available at: www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/30/us-dont-fund-child-soldiers-abroad.
158 According to Human Rights Watch, by 2016 “Rwanda, which had been included in 2013 and 2014 but removed in 2015, reappeared after officials recruited child soldiers from a refugee camp”. Ibid.
159 A full waiver was granted in 2012 and 2013, and partial waivers were granted in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
160 Including for direct commercial arms sales.
161 See Human Rights Watch, “US: Don't Finance Child Soldiers; Obama Administration Aid Waivers Undercut US Law”, 4 October 2011, available at: www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/04/us-dont-finance-child-soldiers.
162 Tim Molyneux, Why Is the U.S. Still Supporting Countries that Recruit Child Soldiers?, 21 October 2017, available at: www.newsweek.com/child-soldiers-united-states-trump-689265.
163 Committee on the Rights of the Child, above note 148, para. 31.
164 Ibid.
165 Ibid., para. 31.
166 Human Rights Watch, above note 157.
167 CRC Committee, Response to List of Issues under OPAC: United States of America, available at: CRC/C/OPAC/USA/Q/3-4/Add.1, 23 March 2017, para. 33.
168 These are International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Direct Commercial Sales, Foreign Military Sales, Excess Defense Articles, Section 1206, and Peacekeeping Operations.
169 Human Rights Watch, “United States: Compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict: Submission from Human Rights Watch to the Committee on the Rights of the Child”, 5 May 2017, p. 2.
170 ACRWC, Art. 44(1)(a).
171 ACERWC, Guidelines for Initial Reports of States Parties under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 2004 (Guidelines for Initial Reports), available at: www.acerwc.africa/initial-reports-guidelines/.
172 ACERWC, Guidelines on the Form and Content of Periodic State Party Reports Submitted Pursuant to Article 43(1)(b) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 2015 (Guidelines on Periodic Reports), available at: www.acerwc.africa/initial-reports-guidelines/.
173 See, for instance, Alston, Philip, “The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights”, in UN, Manual on Human Rights Reporting, Geneva, 1997, p. 67Google Scholar.
174 Guidelines for Initial Reports, above note 171, para. 14(c).
175 Ibid., para. 21(a)(ii).
176 It is to be noted that, unlike Article 22 of the ACRWC, the Guidelines omit the reference to “direct” in “direct part in hostilities”.
177 Guidelines on Periodic Reports, above note 172, para. 29(d).
178 Ibid., para. 30(c).
179 The number of reports overdue was forty-six. See OHCHR, “Compliance by States Parties with Their Reporting Obligations to International Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Note by the Secretariat”, UN Doc. HRI/MC/2017/2, 2 May 2017, para 10.
180 Ibid., para. 11.
181 Ibid.
182 UN, “Conduct in UN Field Missions”, available at: https://conduct.unmissions.org/sea-subjects. See also UN Secretary-General, Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: A New Approach, UN Doc. A/71/818, 28 February 2017, p. 47.
183 “Conduct in UN Field Missions”, above note 182.
184 South Africa, the DRC, Congo, Morocco, Cameroon, Burundi, Tanzania, Gabon, Niger, Senegal, Benin, Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
185 Bangladesh, Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, Guatemala, Romania, Uruguay, El Salvador, Fiji, Germany, Indonesia, Moldova, Paraguay, the Philippines and Slovakia.
186 ACRWC, Art. 44.
187 Table of cases available at: www.acerwc.africa/table-of-communications/.
188 See Hansungule and Others (on behalf of children in Northern Uganda) v The Government of Uganda, Communication 1/2005, 2005 (Uganda Decision). The communication related specifically to events in Northern Uganda from 2001 to 2005.
189 See Mezmur, Benyam Dawit, “The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: An Update”, African Human Rights Law Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2006, p. 564Google Scholar; Sloth-Nielsen, Julia and Mezmur, Benyam Dawit, “Like Running on a Treadmill? The 14th and 15th Sessions of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child”, African Human Rights Law Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2010, pp. 547–548Google Scholar.
190 Uganda Decision, above note 188, para. 6.
191 Ibid., para. 17.
192 Ibid., para. 81.
193 Ibid., para. 44.
194 Ibid.
195 Ibid., para. 38.
196 Ibid., para. 81(1–5).
197 Ibid., para. 81(6).
198 Two communications that have benefited form implementation hearings are Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Open Society Justice Initiative on Behalf of Children of Nubian Descent in Kenya v. The Government of Kenya, and The Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria) and La Recontre Africaine pour la Defense Des Driots de l'Homme (Senegal) v. The Government of Senegal.
199 Uganda Decision, above note 188, para. 36.
200 Ibid.
201 Ibid., para. 51.
202 Apart from Article 45 of the ACRWC, investigative missions are governed by the Guidelines on the Conduct of Investigations by the ACERWC.
203 Held from 7 to 16 April 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
204 ACERWC, Report on the Advocacy Mission to Assess the Situation of Children in South Sudan, August 2014 (South Sudan Mission Report), available at: www.refworld.org/docid/545b4e384.html.
205 ACERWC, Mission Report of the ACERWC to Assess the Situation of Children Affected by the Conflict in Central African Republic, December 2014 (CAR Mission Report), available at: www.refworld.org/publisher,ACERWC,,,555c51244,0.html.
206 South Sudan Mission Report, above note 204, pp. 21–27.
207 Ibid., above note 204, p. 26.
208 CAR Mission Report, above note 205, p. 28.
209 Ibid., p. 29.
210 Such as Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
211 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Summary Record of the 1835th Meeting, UN Doc. CRC/C/SR.1835. November 2013, paras 45–46.
212 UN, “Security Council Adopts Resolution Stating Readiness to Impose Sanctions on Armed Groups Persistently Violating Rights of Children”, 19 September 2012, available at: www.un.org/press/en/2012/sc10769.doc.htm.
213 Committee on the Rights of the Child, China State Party Report, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/CHN/1, June 2012, para. 105.
214 Ibid.
215 Adopted with fourteen supports and one abstention (Egypt). See UN, “Security Council Asks Secretary-General to Replace Contingents from Countries Failing to Hold Sexual Predators Accountable”, 11 March 2016, available at: www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12277.doc.htm. For a detailed discussion on the drafting, debate and adoption of the resolution, see Jeni Whalan, Dealing with Disgrace: Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping, International Peace Institute, New York, August 2017, available at: www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/IPI-Rpt-Dealing-with-Disgrace2.pdf.
216 The preambular paragraphs of the resolution express “deep concern about the serious and continuous allegations and under-reporting of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers and non-United Nations forces”. UNSC Res. 2272, UN Doc. S/RES/2272, 11 March 2016.
217 Ibid., para. 1.
218 Ibid., paras 2, 3, 8.
219 UN, Report of the High-Level Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, 16 June 2015, para. 260.
220 AU Executive Council, “Decision on the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)”, Doc. EX.CL/1091(XXXIII), July 2018, para. 5.
221 AU Executive Council, “Decision on the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)”, Doc. EX.CL/1033(XXXI), July 2017, para. 8.
222 AU Executive Council, “Decision on the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)”, Doc. EX.CL/977(XXIX), July 2016, para. 7.
223 AU Executive Council, “Decision on the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)”, Doc. EX.CL/923(XXVII), July 2015, para. 6.
224 Ibid.
225 Ibid., para. 7.
226 AU Executive Council, “Decision on the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)”, Doc. EX.CL/744(XXI), July 2012, para. 7.
227 Ibid., para. 9.
228 On 8 May 2014, for the first time, the PSC, at its 434th meeting, held an open session exclusively devoted to the children and armed conflict topic. This was held as a follow-up to the 420th meeting of the PSC, held on 18 February 2014 with the ACERWC.
229 PSC, “Press Statement of the 841th [sic] PSC Meeting on the Theme: ‘Children Affected by Armed Conflicts in Africa’”, 14 May 2019, available at: www.peaceau.org/en/article/press-statement-of-the-841th-psc-meeting-on-the-theme-children-affected-by-armed-conflicts-in-africa.
230 A similar inquiry has been made in respect of the Security Council. See, for example, Sarah M. Field, “UN Security Council Resolutions Concerning Children Affected by Armed Conflict: In Whose ‘Best Interest’?”, International Journal of Children's Rights, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2013.
231 Ibid., p 161.
232 AU, “Concept Note on the Establishment of the Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan”, para. 7, available at: https://tinyurl.com/rfo99vr.
233 AU, Final Report of the African union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan, 14 October 2014, para. 16, available at: www.peaceau.org/uploads/auciss.final.report.pdf.
234 Ibid., para. 13.
235 Ibid., para. 17.
236 See discussions above on investigative/advocacy missions.
237 Human Rights Council, “President of Human Rights Council appoints Members of Commission of Inquiry on Burundi”, 22 November 2016, available at: www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=20910&LangID=E.
238 Human Rights Council, Res. 33/24, “Situation of Human Rights in Burundi”, UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/33/24, 30 September 2016, para. 1.
239 Ibid., para. 2.
240 See, for example, OHCHR, “Burundi – A Knife or a Steel Bar? How Would You Prefer to Be Killed?”, 4 September 2017, available at: www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/BurundiAknifeorasteelbar.aspx; Jessica Hatcher, “Burundi Instability Adds to Risks for Children Surviving on the Streets”, The Guardian, 24 November 2015, available at: www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/24/burundi-instability-children-surviving-streets-violence-bujumbura-unicef-crisis.
241 OHCHR, Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, UN Doc. A/HRC/36/54, 11 August 2017, para. 47.
242 Ibid., para 48.
243 See Human Rights Council, “Commission of Inquiry on Burundi”, available at: www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIBurundi/Pages/CoIBurundi.aspx.