The preamble of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child calls for children to be brought up in “the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity.” These values form a foundation for a life in dignity and with aspirations for the future. At present, many children around the world face trauma, exploitation, attack, and death through direct actions of both state and non-state actors as well as neglect or omission in spite of an obligation to protect. There is a need for the international community to recognize child-specific remedies in solidarity with their aspiration for peace and enjoyment of human rights. What is at stake is the viability of the international community to uphold humanity at the universal level.
In the past two decades, the escalation of the typology of child-specific violations arising in both peace and war situations is astounding: forced transfer to impose a new nationality, maiming, forced early marriage, sexual exploitation and abuse, forced recruitment, denial of food, water, and/or medicine that inhibit growth and development, denial of education as a form of oppression/discrimination, separation from parents pursuant to immigration processes, arbitrary detention in conjunction with Counter Violent Extremism policies, and trafficking.
Children’s vulnerability is multiplied by their inter-sectoral identities correlated with gender, race, ethnicity, religion, class, migrant status, and other identities. Although there is much attention on the risk of grave violations to children in the situation of armed conflict, there appears to be a lack of recognition of states’ obligation in relation to preventing and responding to child specific violations at all times.
The media has provided heartbreaking imagery of the sacrifice of children’s rights throughout the 21st century: In 2018, the United States adopted a zero tolerance policy in which separated more than 2000 children from their parents at the border, some of whom were never reunited again. In 2020, during the pandemic, domestic abuse of girls in Latin America escalated significantly, followed by increased risk of trafficking and other sexual exploitation.[1] Since 8 February 2022, Russian Federation agents have taken at least 19,546 children to that country from Ukraine.[2] On October 7th, 2023, 32 children and babies were taken hostage by Hamas and UNICEF reported that since then over 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or both legs amputated while Save the Children stated that 10,000 children had been killed in airstrikes and ground operations.[3]
Moreover, the trend towards emergence of criminal actors to fill voids filled by defeated combatant groups in post-conflict countries, results in a transfer of risk of exploitation and abuse resulting in escalating chance of being subject to liability and incarceration for these connections.[4] The Global Risks Report 2024 highlighted the possibility of increased criminality and corruption within fragile states that will impact vulnerable groups, and this would include children.[5]
It is notable that UNICEF described the war in Gaza as a “War on Children” and that Gaza had become a “Graveyard for Thousands of Children”.[6] It is surprising that the ICJ Order of Provisional Measures on the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) (26 January 2024) includes references to children only in the citation of the criteria of forced transfer of children as part of the definition within the convention[7] (but which was not included in the provisional orders issued), and the citation of the statements delineating the trauma and harm suffered by the children in Gaza made by the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths, on 5 January 2024[8] and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, on 13 January 2024.[9]
Judges Xue and Bhandari recognized children among the victims of the hostilities in their Declarations.[10] Judges Sebutinde and Judge Ad Hoc Barak also made reference to children as among the victims of hostilities but had additional focus, the former in relation to her opinion that South Africa could try to persuade Hamas to Immediately and unconditionally release the remaining hostages[11], and the latter referring to the historical case of the Nazi “Kinder Aktion” in 1944 and the fact that Israeli children were shocked and traumatized by the attack of October 7th.[12] These reflections implicate the fact that children are often at the center of violence, hence it follows that they should be given priority in the design of peace.
The provisional orders issued by the ICJ were not child-specific-they were neutrally drafted in way in which children can be included: Israel must take all measures to prevent the commission of[13]:
killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.[14]
A question arises as to what will be included in the reports filed by Israel in accordance with the provisional orders. Will they provide information on any child-specific measures they may take in conjunction with their obligation to prevent genocide?
Realization of International Solidarity for Children requires recognition of state obligations in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 38 (4):“to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict”, but the challenge is also to provide (according to Article 39) “physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed conflicts. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.”
In comparison, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issues child-specific provisional orders in cases involving violations affecting children, this may include orders of provision of psychological or physical support to child victims, including requiring transfer to institutions for proper care, supervision of detention, guarantee of sanitation and medical care, provision of education (including scholarships), in particular follow up for placement of orphans.[15] The Inter-American Court of Human Rights espouses the Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 6(2) obligation upon states to “ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child”.[16] This includes physical, mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social development.[17] The Court has held states responsible for two-fold violations of human rights of children, by failing to prevent children from living in misery, deprived of dignity, at risk of experiencing human rights violations, and deprived of the expectation to pursue a life’s project.
It may be suggested that reports on implementation of the Provisional Measures should also include information on physical and psychological recovery and reintegration of Palestinian and Israeli children who are deeply traumatized and injured. There is an urgent need to strengthen child-centered approaches within policies and programs supported by the international community. Only when children are placed at the center can they participate in transition and consolidation of peace processes with actual enjoyment of human rights. Perhaps a child-centered approach can restore our humanity after decades of inhumane practice and policies by state and non-state actors around the world.
[1] https://reliefweb.int/report/world/surge-violence-against-girls-and-women-latin-america-and-caribbean
[2] https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15395.doc.htm#:~:text=internationally%20recognized%20borders.-,KATERYNA%20RASHEVSKA%2C%20Legal%20expert%20at%20the%20Regional%20Center%20for%20Human,and%20children%20deprived%20of%20parental
[3] GAZA: More than 10 children a day lose a limb in three months of brutal conflict | Save the Children International and Gaza: 10,000 children killed in nearly 100 days of war – occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb
[4] The New Dynamics of Child Recruitment in Colombia (insightcrime.org)
[5] https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2024/in-full/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=globalrisks&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAzc2tBhA6EiwArv-i6fLVIf8DtlS7FcnZTQ3kB4ywd0Ld0ijz9wZ6pJ4LxR6pkMTCiSdGkhoCZhsQAvD_BwE
[6] Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children (unicef.org)
[7] Para. 43
[8] Para. 47: “For children in particular, the past 12 weeks have been traumatic: No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrifying sounds of war, day in and day out.”
[9] Para 49: “This war affected more than 2 million people the entire population of Gaza. Many will carry lifelong scars, both physical and psychological. The vast majority, including children, are deeply traumatized. Overcrowded and unsanitary UNRWA shelters have now become ‘home’ to more than 1.4 million people. They lack everything, from food to hygiene to privacy. People live in inhumane conditions, where diseases are spreading, including among children. They live through the unlivable, with the clock ticking fast towards famine. The plight of children in Gaza is especially heartbreaking. An entire generation of children is traumatized and will take years to heal. Thousands have been killed, maimed, and orphaned. Hundreds of thousands are deprived of education. Their future is in jeopardy, with far-reaching and long-lasting consequences.”
[10] Para 3 in both the Declaration of Judge Xue and the Declaration of Judge Bhandari.
[11] Dissenting Opinion Judge Sebutinde at para 34.
[12] Paras 5 and 25, Dissenting Opinion Judge Ad Hoc Barak
[13] Para. 78
[14] Para 80.
[15] The Rights of the Child in the Inter-American Human Rights System (oas.org) (2008) Provisional measures adopted by the Court to protect the human rights of children and adolescents
[16] Ibid
[17] United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5 of November 27, 2003, para. 12.
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