38.
Notes with appreciation the Agenda for War-Affected Children adopted by the International
Conference on War-Affected Children, held in Winnipeg, Canada, in September 2000, and efforts by regional
organizations, in particular the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union, the
Economic Community of West African States, the Organization of American States and the Organization of
African Unity, to include prominently the rights and protection of children affected by armed conflict in their
policies and programmes;
39.
Calls upon States:
(a)
To end the recruitment of children and their use in armed conflicts contrary to international law,
including obligations assumed under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict and Convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for
the elimination of the worst forms of child labour (No. 182) of the International Labour Organization;
(b)
When ratifying the Optional Protocol, to raise the minimum age for voluntary recruitment of
persons into their national armed forces from that set out in article 38, paragraph 3, of the Convention, bearing in
mind that under the Convention persons under 18 years of age are entitled to special protection, and to adopt
safeguards to ensure that such recruitment is not forced or coerced;
(c)
To ensure that children are not forcibly or compulsorily recruited into their armed forces;
(d)
To take all feasible measures to prevent recruitment and use of children by armed groups, as
distinct from the armed forces of a State, including the adoption of legal measures necessary to prohibit and
criminalize such practices;
40.
Calls upon:
(a)
All States and other parties to armed conflict to respect fully international humanitarian law
and, in this regard, calls upon States parties to respect fully the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12
August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977;
(b)
All States and relevant United Nation bodies and agencies and regional organizations to
integrate the rights of the child into all activities in conflict and post-conflict situations and to facilitate the
participation of children in the development of strategies in this regard, making sure that there are opportunities
for children’s voices to be heard;
(c)
All States and relevant United Nations bodies to continue to support national and international
mine action efforts, including through financial contributions, mine awareness programmes, mine clearance,
victim assistance and child-centred rehabilitation, taking note of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, and welcomes the
positive effects on children of concrete legislative and other measures with respect to anti-personnel mines, and
also taking note of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other
Devices (Amended Protocol II) to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain
Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects,
and the implementation of these instruments by those States that become parties to them;
41.
Recommends that, whenever sanctions are imposed, in particular in the context of armed
conflict, their impact on children be assessed and monitored and, to the extent that there are humanitarian
exemptions, they be child-focused and formulated with clear guidelines for their application, in order to address
possible adverse effects of the sanctions, and reaffirms the recommendations of the General Assembly and the
International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent;
VII. RECOVERY AND SOCIAL REINTEGRATION
Reaffirming paragraph 57 of its resolution 2000/85,
page 9
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