Protecting Children in Armed Conflict and Natural Disaster

A guide to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Humanitarian Law and complementary mechanisms, principles and programmatic guidelines. The primary objective of this study is to improve the knowledge of how the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its two Optional Protocols and the Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I and II, as part of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), complement each other. The study aims to cover emergencies, armed conflicts or natural disasters, in situations where these instruments apply and to give an account of when in a given situation CRC and IHL respectively offer the most comprehensive protection for children. This is reflected in part one of the study. A secondary objective is to review important international mechanisms, principles and programmatic guidelines which complement CRC and IHL. Part two of the study presents such an overview. The study offers recommendations on how SCS and Conventions, Recommendations, Optional Protocols, partners can better use CRC, the Fourth Geneva Convention and the complementary mechanisms and principles to protect children.