English abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to reach what is intentioned of the child who can Take full advantage of the protection rules which are prescribed by the conventions of International humanitarian law and the International law of Human Rights in armed conflicts, and discuss those conventions by studying the mandatory rules of the parties in international & non-international armed conflicts, as well as cognition of the efforts of the international community in reducing the phenomenon of recruitment and engaging children in armed conflicts, on the other hand highlighting the role of the International Criminal Court in restricting of the gross violations of the prescribed protections for children in armed conflicts via answering the following questions:
1. Who is the person who is considered a child in accordance to International Humanitarian Law?
2. What are the international conventions on children 'protection in armed conflicts?
3. What are the utmost efforts of the international community to reduce the number of victims of the armed conflicts from children?
4. What is the utmost degree of the International Criminal Court contribution in developing the rules of international law on children' protection during armed conflicts, and whether it has exercised its jurisdiction on the crimes related in this regard?
For answering the above queries we have been discussed a number of topics relating to the protection of children during armed conflicts, and our research divided into three chapters. The introductory chapter handled the historical development of the protection of children during armed conflicts through the ages, as well as the prescribed protection for children in the monotheistic religions, as the first chapter handled the aspects of general protection of children during armed conflicts, then the second object of the research discussed the special protection 'aspects for this fragile category and the reasons for taking decisions for their special protection. The second chapter handled children 'protection from the risk of recruitment and their engaging in armed forces' processes, and the meaning of what is meant by this principle and the responsibility of States who violated this obligation, as well as the international criminal responsibility of individuals. The research displayed some of the issues which dealt by the International Criminal Court in violation the principle, and the risks results via recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities. The research concluded a number of results through the study of this topic as follows:
1.International and non-International armed conflicts has been going on
for centuries, but the brutality of today's conflicts and the power of military arsenals are what motivated the international community to strengthen legal frameworks that provide legal protection for children as they represent a large segment of war-affected and victims as a result of wars.
2.Differentiation' principle between combatants and non-combatants comes at the forefront of the principles governing armed conflicts between parties. This principle applied that parties of the conflict shall at all times differentiate between people who are engaged in hostilities directly, and among those who not involved in such hostilities, in pursuit of them as much as possible to spare civilians the scourge of war and to protect them from the effects of armed conflict.
3. Children, according to their civil attributes, and because they are not taking part in hostilities, they obtained general protection such as that enjoyed by the rest of the civilian population, which is particularly protection against the excesses of hostile parties to international conventions and practices of war.
4.Children take satisfaction with the special protection guaranteed by the provisions of International Humanitarian Law as well as the International Law of Human Rights. Among the aspects of the special guaranteed protections for the rights of children is providing the emergency relief to them, and offering them family reunion to whom separated as a result of the armed conflict, moreover the inadmissibility of the implementation of sentencing for death for children under the age of eighteen years or issuing any judgment for this punishment, in addition to other forms of protection.
5 .Children are still subject to recruitment by the National Armed Forces in the event of international and non-international conflicts, and their recruitment by armed groups becomes a serious humanitarian problem. Statistics has revealed from the International Labor Organization in 2002 that about 300.000 children at least working as soldiers in organizations and armed groups, and participating in combat operations department in more than 41 countries in the world.
6. The Security Council is considered the executive organ of the United Nations, and has taken a number of decisions regarding children and armed conflicts. The Security Council considered that the recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities is a clear violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, and the rules of international law of human rights, and considered it - without a doubt - the responsibility of the state and whoever support in violation of such commitments.
7 .Judgment of condemnation issued by the International Criminal Court against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for sentenced him imprisonment for fourteen-year-is consider a historical judgment for the International Criminal Court in terms of children' recruitment or using them in hostilities.
