A/67/256 III. Children and armed conflict: areas of development A. Prevention of child recruitment 38. Children become associated with armed forces and groups for various reasons. In some situations, they are forcibly recruited or abducted by armed elements, or coerced and intimidated into joining them. Recruitment of children also takes place in the context of poverty, discrimination, revenge and loyalty to an ethnic, religious or tribal group. Often, insecurity and displacement propel children, especially those who have become separated from their families, to join an armed group for protection and survival. 39. Given the complex set of factors influencing child recruitment, prevention strategies, to be successful, require a holistic approach. Broadly, three approaches to prevention can be identified: effective legal prevention mechanisms at the national level, strengthening community protection mechanisms at the local level and providing children with alternatives to mobilization. 1. Development, dissemination and enforcement of the law 40. The criminalization of underage recruitment and the domestication of international norms and standards against the recruitment and use of children are crucial first steps in the prevention of child soldiering. Setting the parameters of who can be lawfully recruited into armed forces and groups, and ensuring that those who do not abide by those parameters may receive punishment, is the basis for regulation. Effective criminalization can be hindered by amnesties and de facto immunities granted to members of armed forces suspected of serious human rights abuses and/or armed groups that will become part of a national army in the framework of a peace process. In developing legal provisions, care must be taken to ensure that amnesties are not applicable to individuals who recruited or recruit children. 41. Laws are not effective, however, if there is no implementation or awareness of their existence. Measures to foster their dissemination are therefore also critical for prevention. These may include the creation of child protection units in the military, which have played an important role in countries such as South Sudan and the Sudan. Educational training programmes to inform armed forces and groups of the legal protection for children during armed conflict are equally important in increasing awareness of and compliance with international norms. 42. At the national level, effective investigations and prosecutions are potentially powerful prevention tools but are often hindered by lack of resources and capacity. The failure to investigate grave violations against children or to sanction those responsible is often linked to broader accountability issues. Short of systematic prosecution, a system for deterrence should be built through the prosecution of the most persistent violators. In addition, practical measures can be implemented by Governments to prevent underage recruitment, such as free birth registration or alternative mechanisms for age verification, in addition to conscription policies and mandatory vetting procedures to monitor child recruitment by national armies. 12-45308 11