A/HRC/40/28 to experience acts of terrorism (see A/70/674). 24 Many States have focused their public spending on counter-terrorism on the military, law enforcement, intelligence and targeted prevention programmes. Allocations to social services and development have often stagnated or even declined, which may breach the obligation of States to take steps to the maximum of their available resources to realize economic, social and cultural rights. 25 Effective counter-recruitment strategies must address structural inequalities, discrimination and marginalization, providing communities with mechanisms to address grievances and providing children with the means to meet their basic needs and participate fully in society, including access to education in a school environment that is safe for both boys and girls and access to vocational programmes and income-generating activities (see A/HRC/12/22).26 31. States that permit the voluntary recruitment of children into their armed forces risk normalizing the idea of children as fighters capable of taking full responsibility for their actions, making it difficult for the population to view children recruited by terrorist groups primarily as victims.27 32. Where children are at risk of forced recruitment by terrorist groups, States must take effective measures to prevent their abduction and exploitation, including from schools, orphanages, other institutions and, where they exist, camps for refugees or internally displaced persons. In preventing recruitment by terrorist groups, States should prioritize existing, evidence-based strategies for the prevention of exploitation of children and of juvenile crime.28 Terrorist recruiters may use similar grooming techniques to those observed in the sexual exploitation of children.29 Where such similarities exist, good practices and lessons learned should inform prevention strategies. States should collect data to identify the drivers and patterns of recruitment in order to target, improve and evaluate policies and programmes. 33. Where children are identified or reported as being at risk of exploitation by a terrorist group, an individual assessment based on clear criteria should be conducted to determine whether there are objective grounds for that consideration. Attempts to recruit children should constitute serious offences under national criminal law and States must take measures to identify and prosecute perpetrators, while respecting due process rights. 30 Where a child is at ongoing risk of or potentially traumatized by attempted recruitment, a multidisciplinary best interests assessment, giving adequate weight to the views of the child, should determine any response. Actions may include tailored mentoring and exposure to counter-narratives, in particular from victims of terrorism, former terrorists, peers and role models (see S/2017/375).31 States should monitor and evaluate interventions to determine their effectiveness, and collect data to enable detection of any direct or indirect discrimination in the referral process. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 8 See also Mary Caprioli, “Primed for violence: the role of gender inequality in predicting internal conflict”, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 49, No. 2 (April 2005). See International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 2 (1), and Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 4. The Committee on the Rights of the Child regularly addresses recommendations to States on this issue. See, for example, CRC/C/OPAC/DZA/CO/1, paras. 23–24. Where permitted, voluntary recruitment of children above the age of 15 into State armed forces must respect appropriate safeguards. See Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, art. 3. See United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency and Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice. Asaad Almohammad, “ISIS child soldiers in Syria: the structural and predatory recruitment, enlistment, pre-training indoctrination, training and deployment”, International Centre for CounterTerrorism (2018). See Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, art. 4. See also Global Counterterrorism Forum, Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Good Practices for a More Effective Response to the FTF phenomenon (2014).