Guiding Principles for the Domestic Implementation of a Comprehensive System of Protection for Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups

On the basis of its legal work and its activities in conflict situations, the ICRC has reached the conclusion that, although some important questions have not yet been fully addressed in legal instruments, most of the suffering endured by children during armed conflicts can be prevented or alleviated if there is greater respect for and more scrupulous implementation of existing rules. Unfortunately, experience clearly demonstrates that, in the absence of practical measures of implementation developed at the domestic level, accepted rights and obligations are often a dead letter.

It was with this in mind that the ICRC decided to work on the development of a set of Guiding Principles for the Domestic Implementation of a Comprehensive System of Protection for Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, presented for the first time in this publication. The Guiding Principles are the result of a consultation process that included detailed examination of the various rules and principles relevant to the protection of children affected by armed conflicts. They also benefited from the work carried out during a meeting of experts organized by the ICRC in December 2009 (Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups: Implementation of International Norms on the Recruitment and Participation of Children in Armed Conflicts, Geneva, 7-9 December 2009).