Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: This report is published to mark the 10th anniversary year of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC).
[13 September 2012] -The report examines the record of states in protecting children from use in hostilities by their own forces and by state-allied armed groups. It finds for example that 10 states deployed children in hostilities as part of their national armies between January 2010 and June 2012. These are: Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the UK and Yemen. The report illustrates that whilst international commitment to ensuring the protection of children is high (over three quarters of the world’s states are party to the Optional Protocol), in practice a significant number of states have yet to translate their words into action. The report also contains a 10-point checklist to assist states and other stakeholders in assessing risk and identifying the legal and practical measures needed to end child soldier use by government forces and allied armed groups.