• Girl child soldiers

Girl child soldiers

To support efforts to strengthen and develop policy and programmes to prevent and or address the grave rights violations against girls in conflict situations, this paper documents and analyses some of these violations. It discusses existing international initiatives and reviews the most pertinent international legal standards relating to these violations. Finally, it offers recommendations on preventing and or addressing those harms.

The paper observes that there are few documented good practices regarding the prevention of grave rights violations against girls (or boys) once a conflict breaks out, but offers some examples, including:

• the creation of the posts and deployment of child protection officers and advisors
• international initiatives by civil society to prevent, document, expose, and redress rights violations against girls in situations of armed conflict
• dialogue by local leaders and international humanitarian officials with commanders of fighting forces and groups aimed countering abduction and using, recruiting, conscripting or enlisting girls in armed forces and groups
• the establishment of a referral system that coordinates medical and legal assistance to women who have been raped
• the inclusion of women in camp security forces
• the development of community monitoring and reporting system for sexual exploitation and child abuse for both camp and non-camp populations
• training of displaced young people as HIV and AIDS educators in Eritrea.

The paper recommends that:

• the United Nations Security Council and Member States should act to impose targeted measures such as embargoes and travel restrictions against governments and groups found to systematically carry out any of grave rights violations
• governments should provide adequate support to agencies tasked with monitoring and reporting
• governments should bring national legislation in line with international norms regarding the rights of women and girls
• heads of peacekeeping missions, government military and security forces, and humanitarian agencies should establish clear monitoring and accountability mechanisms for members of their operations
• UNICEF and its partners should develop mechanisms to more systematically and thoroughly gather information from child protection officers in the field, particularly through debriefing of officers
• governments, the United Nations, NGOs and their partners should continue to develop and support policy and programmes that provide war-affected girls and their children with access to quality education and training in technical skills that will enable them to pursue productive and sustainable livelihoods.

• Full text of document
• Publisher details
• Send to a friend