A/HRC/40/28 A. Prohibition of the recruitment of children 47. Recruitment of children under the age of 15 into non-State armed groups is prohibited under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which further obligates States to take all feasible measures to ensure such children do not take a direct part in hostilities (art. 38). In the context of an armed conflict, the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the protection of victims of international and non-international armed conflicts prohibit the recruitment of children under the age of 15 46 and using such children to participate actively in hostilities constitutes a war crime. 47 48. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict extends that protection to all children, providing that non-State armed groups shall not recruit or use in hostilities children under the age of 18 and that States parties shall take all feasible measures to prevent such recruitment and use (art. 4). The Committee on the Rights of the Child has considered the term “armed groups” to include terrorist, guerrilla and paramilitary groups operating in situations that may not reach the threshold to qualify as a non-international armed conflict under international humanitarian law, or are not recognized as such by the State. 48 49. The international community reiterated its commitment to end the recruitment of children in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which it required States to take immediate and effective measures to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers (Goal 8, target 8.7) and the abuse, exploitation, trafficking, torture and all forms of violence against children (Goal 16, target 16.2). 50. In the context of an armed conflict, States must take account of the special protections afforded to children under international law. In particular, States should ensure that military personnel receive training on child protection measures, including the referral or handover of any associated children to civilian child protection actors. 49 B. Criminal responsibility of recruiters and associated children 51. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict provides that States should criminalize the recruitment or use in hostilities of children under 18 by non-State armed groups (art. 4 (2)). Children, as victims of that crime, should not face criminal charges for the fact of their association with a terrorist group. States should investigate and prosecute adults who recruit children or order them to commit terrorist acts. A strict application of this principle may prevent leaders of terrorist groups from seeking impunity by assigning the worst atrocities to children. Targeted sanctions against terrorist leaders responsible for the six grave violations that result in listing in the reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (killing and maiming of children, recruitment or use of children as soldiers, sexual violence against children, abduction of children, attacks against schools or hospitals and denial of humanitarian access for children) are another useful tool in the fight against impunity.50 52. In some cases, there may be evidence that an associated child above the age of criminal responsibility has committed a crime. In such circumstances, States should prioritize non-judicial measures focusing on the rehabilitation and reintegration of the child rather than prosecution and detention. 51 Any criminal charges brought against a child must 46 47 48 49 50 51 12 Additional Protocol I, art. 77, and Additional Protocol II, art. 4 (3) (c). See Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, arts. 8 (2) (b) (xxvi) and 8 (2) (e) (vii). See, for example, CRC/C/OPAC/DZA/CO/1; CRC/C/OPAC/COL/CO/1; CRC/C/OPAC/IND/CO/1; CRC/C/OPAC/MEX/CO/1; and CRC/C/OPAC/PHL/CO/1. See also Human Rights Council resolution 35/34. See Security Council resolution 2225 (2015). See https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/six-grave-violations/. See Security Council resolution 2225 (2015) and Global Counterterrorism Forum, Neuchâtel Memorandum on Good Practices for Juvenile Justice in a Counterterrorism Context (2015).