Summary: Following the General Discussion on
“Children in armed conflicts” (1992),
the CRC recommended the General
Assembly to study ways of improving
the protection of children in armed
conflicts (CRC/C/16). At its forty eight
session, the General Assembly
adopted resolution 48/157 entitled
"Protection of children affected by
armed conflicts".
A/RES/48/157
7 March 1994
General Assembly resolution 48/157 of 20 December 1993:
Protection of children affected by armed conflicts
Following the Day of General Discussion on “Children in armed
conflicts” (5 October 1992), the CRC recommended to the
General Assembly that it request the Secretary-General to study
ways of improving the protection of children in armed conflicts
(CRC/C/16). At its forty eight session, the General Assembly
adopted resolution 48/157 entitled Protection of children affected
by armed conflicts.
Here is the full text
General Assembly resolution 48/157 of 20 December 1993
Protection of children affected by armed conflicts
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, by which it
adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its
resolution 3318 (XXIX) of 14 December 1974, by which it
proclaimed the Declaration on the Protection of Women and
Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict,
Recalling that the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 1/ and
the Additional Protocols thereto, of 1977, 2/ as well as article 38
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, accord children
special protection and treatment,
Recalling the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children 3/ and the Plan of Action for
Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection
and Development of Children in the 1990s, 3/ adopted by the
World Summit for Children, held in New York on 29 and 30
September 1990, and stressing the necessity of implementing
their provisions,
Taking note of the report of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child on its third session, held at Geneva from 11 to 29 January
1993, 4/ in particular its recommendation to the General
Assembly that the Secretary-General should undertake a study of
the ways and means of improving the protection of children from
the adverse effects of armed conflicts,
Taking note also of Commission on Human Rights resolution
1993/83 of 10 March 1993, 5/
Mindful of the strong support of the World Conference on Human
Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, for the proposed
study by the Secretary-General, as reflected in paragraph 50 of
section II of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 6/
Profoundly concerned about the grievous deterioration in the
situation of children in many parts of the world as a result of
armed conflicts, and convinced that immediate and concerted
action is called for,
Convinced that children affected by armed conflicts require the
special protection of the international community and that there
is a need for all States to work towards the alleviation of their
plight,
Recognizing the valuable work done in this field by United Nations
bodies and organizations, as well as by other relevant
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations,
1. Expresses grave concern about the tragic situation of children
in many parts of the world as a result of armed conflicts;
2. Calls upon States fully to respect the provisions of the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols
thereto, of 1977, as well as those of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which accord children affected by armed
conflicts special protection and treatment;
3. Urges all Member States to continue seeking comprehensive
improvement of the situation of children affected by armed
conflicts with appropriate and concrete measures;
4. Requests bodies and organizations of the United Nations, as
well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations,
within the scope of their respective mandates, to cooperate in
order to ensure more effective action in addressing the problem
of children affected by armed conflicts;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General
Assembly at its forty-ninth session a report on those concrete
measures which have been taken, pursuant to paragraphs 3 and
4 above, to alleviate the situation of children in armed conflict;
6. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child on its third session 4/ and the
recommendations contained therein concerning the situation of
children affected by armed conflict;
7. Requests the Secretary-General to appoint an expert, working
in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights of the
Secretariat and the United Nations Children's Fund, to undertake
a comprehensive study of this question, including the
participation of children in armed conflict, as well as the relevance
and adequacy of existing standards, and to make specific
recommendations on ways and means of preventing children from
being affected by armed conflicts and of improving the protection
of children in armed conflicts and on measures to ensure effective
protection of these children, including from indiscriminate use of
all weapons of war, especially anti-personnel mines, and to
promote their physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration, in particular, measures to ensure proper medical
care and adequate nutrition, taking into account the
recommendations by the World Conference on Human Rights and
the Committee on the Rights of the Child;
8. Requests Member States and United Nations bodies and
organizations, as well as other relevant intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations, including the Committee on the
Rights of the Child, the United Nations Children's Fund, the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World
Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red
Cross, to contribute to the study requested in paragraph 7
above;
9. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a progress report on
the study to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session;
10. Invites the Commission on Human Rights to consider the
study at its fifty-first session;
11. Decides to consider this question at its forty-ninth session
under the item entitled "Necessity of adopting effective measures
for the promotion and protection of the rights of children
throughout the world who are victims of especially difficult
circumstances, including armed conflicts".
________________
1/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.
2/ Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.
3/ A/45/625, annex.
4/ CRC/C/16.
5/ See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1993,
Supplement No. 3 (E/1993/23), chap. II, sect. A.
6/ (A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.