Concept Note Human Rights Council Side-Event Child’s Rights Approach to the Implementation of the Tools of the Children and Armed

Background The mandate of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG CAAC) was established by the UN General Assembly in December 1996 (A/RES/51/77) to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, raise awareness, promote the collection of information about the plight of children affected by war and enhance international cooper. [...] The adoption in 2000 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict marked a new significant advance in the protection of children in armed conflict, and in particular the prohibition of the recruitment of children into armed forces and groups and their participation in hostilities. [...] - The Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers were launched in 2017 and comprise 17 principles to prioritize the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers in UN peacekeeping operations. [...] 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the recommendation by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to the General Assembly requesting the Secretary-General to undertake a study on the impact of armed conflict on children in January 1993. [...] This is a timely occasion to reinforce the child rights approach to the implementation of the tools of the CAAC mandate through further collaboration with relevant partners including Member States, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and civil society organizations.