S/RES/2143 (2014)
the International Criminal Court, and notes that the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed
conflict requires State parties to set a minimum age of 18 for compulsory
recruitment and participation in hostilities and to raise the minimum age for
voluntary recruitment from that set out in article 38, paragraph 3, of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and to take all feasible measures to ensure that members
of their armed forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct
part in hostilities;
6.
Welcomes in this context the campaign “Children, Not Soldiers” initiated
by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed
Conflict and UNICEF, in collaboration with other United Nations partners, with a
view to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children by Government armed
forces in conflict by 2016;
7.
Urges in this regard concerned Governments to undertake all efforts in
order to ensure that no children are in their ranks in conflict, in particular through
the development and implementation of time-bound action plans; calls on Member
States, all relevant United Nations entities, NGOs and the donor community to
support in their various capacities the campaign “Children, Not Soldiers”,
recognizing that its goal can only be attained through partnership and active
involvement of all;
8.
Invites the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children
and Armed Conflict to inform the Security Council about the campaign “Children,
Not Soldiers”, including about process and progress in delisting concerned parties;
9.
Further urges Member States, United Nations entities and other parties
concerned to ensure that child protection provisions, including those relating to the
release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed
groups, are integrated into all peace negotiations and peace agreements;
10. Reiterates the Security Council’s readiness to adopt targeted and
graduated measures against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses
committed against children, taking into account the relevant provisions of its
resolutions 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011) and 2068 (2012)
and to consider including provisions pertaining to parties to armed conflict that
engage in activities in violation of applicable international law relating to the rights
and protection of children in armed conflicts, when establishing, modifying or
renewing the mandate of relevant sanctions regimes;
11. Stresses the need to exclude genocide, crimes against humanity, war
crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children from amnesty laws
and other similar provisions and strongly encourages concerned States to establish a
vetting mechanism to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are not included
in the ranks of the army or other security forces;
12. Emphasizes the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and
to investigate and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity,
war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children and highlights in
this regard the contribution of the International Criminal Court, in accordance with
the principle of complementarity to national criminal jurisdictions as set out in the
Rome Statute;
4/6
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