A/HRC/40/28 building the resilience of children, including through exposure to targeted counternarratives.41 43. Some States have created a legal duty for teachers and other educators to report children who may be at risk of recruitment, with sanctions for failure to report. Such measures risk undermining the purpose of education, which relies on the free flow of ideas in an environment of respect and mutual trust, and are not in the best interests of the child (see A/HRC/31/65). Adolescence in particular is a developmental stage characterized by rebellion against authority and the testing of opinions, and where children express support for terrorism that is best addressed through open discussion in which their educators and peers can counter violent extremist narratives (see S/2017/375).42 Educators should not be required to act as law enforcement officials, but rather law enforcement and social services should work to develop relationships of trust with all communities so that concerned individuals can report situations of potential risk of recruitment confident that the authorities will focus on the protection of the child and fully respect his or her rights. 44. Where they exist, offences such as justifying terrorism or extremist activity must be clearly defined to avoid unnecessary or disproportionate interference with the fundamental freedoms of opinion, expression, association, religion or belief (see A/HRC/37/52 and A/HRC/31/65).43 Expressions of support for particular groups, acts or ideologies that do not rise to the level of incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, or to committing terrorist acts, should not constitute criminal offences. 44 45. Any counter-terrorism measures that may interfere with the child’s right to privacy must be provided in law and be necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate aim. States must ensure that children, at a minimum, have a right to know that personal data concerning them has been retained and processed, to access the data, to rectify data that is inaccurate or outdated and to delete or rectify data unlawfully or unnecessarily stored (see A/HRC/39/29). IV. Children associated or suspected of association with terrorist groups 46. Children’s roles within terrorist groups vary from support roles, such as domestic workers or porters, to identifying possible recruits, spying, scouting targets and participation in terrorist acts. Girls are at particular risk of sexual abuse and forced or early marriage. The term “recruitment” should be understood broadly to encompass all of those roles.45 Some terrorist groups enforce loyalty through drug use or physical, psychological or sexual violence. They may threaten violence against children or their families if the child becomes disillusioned and attempts to leave. This complex landscape does not lend itself to simple solutions to child association that could apply in every context, but international human rights law provides an essential framework for identifying, implementing and evaluating the most effective interventions for the dissociation and reintegration of children. 41 42 43 44 45 See Committee on the Rights of the Child, report on the 2014 day of general discussion on digital media and children’s rights, available from www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/ Discussion2014.aspx. See also https://en.unesco.org/preventing-violent-extremism/edu-as-tool. See also Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34 (2011) on the freedoms of opinion and expression. See International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 19 and 20. In the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and Security Council resolution 1624 (2005) States are called upon to prohibit by law incitement to commit terrorist acts in accordance with their obligations under international law. See Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups. See also generally Radikha Coomaraswamy, “The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict – towards universal ratification”, International Journal of Children’s Rights, vol. 18, No. 4 (January 2010). 11