Child rights and the necessity for an Optional Protocol for the Protection of Children in Armed Conflicts

This year marks the 35th and 100th anniversaries of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) and Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1924), and the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions (1949). Yet, shockingly, this year’s United Nations (UN) Report on Children and Armed Conflict decries the ‘… complete disregard for child rights, notably the inherent right to life’ in today’s escalating armed conflicts.1 According to the UN, in 2023 a total of 32 990 grave violations were verified against 22 557 children. The number of children killed (5301) and maimed (6348) increased overall by a staggering 35% as compared with 2022, and, in Israel and Palestinian territories by 155%, Sudan 480% and Myanmar 123%. Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine and other regions have also been affected.1 Verification of Palestinian children killed is ongoing. In most modern conflicts, 90% of casualties are civilians, including children. Through direct harm, destruction of infrastructure, blockades, sanctions, and repeated dislocations—armed conflicts cause physical, mental, developmental and behavioural trauma to children that often affect them long after cessation of hostilities.1–4 An estimated 3.2 million children under 5 years of age died in armed conflicts between 2000 and 2019.2 Why do international laws, conventions and statutes provide insufficient protection to children, and can this be improved? In 2002 the Rome Statute established the International Criminal Court to complement national courts in litigating individuals that commit grave crimes, such as Crimes of Genocide, defined as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. War crimes are also included and are defined as severe breaches of the Geneva Conventions. The latter outlines how civilians, …