A/HRC/19/68 K. Child soldiers19 92. The Commission found evidence to suggest that the Qadhafi Government recruited and used children under the age of 18 in its armed forces, in breach of the State’s obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The Commission interviewed four minors detained by the thuwar as a result of their participation in combat. They were held together with adults in contravention of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Commission was also concerned to receive reports of children involved in fighting alongside the thuwar or in providing logistical support at frontlines, but determines that further investigation is needed. L. Pillaging20 93. The Commission received reports of theft on a small scale perpetrated by Qadhafi forces during the conflict. It established that members of the thuwar and other groups of armed men were responsible for widespread pillaging and destruction of public and private property across the country during phases II and III of the conflict. The victims included entire communities perceived as Qadhafi loyalists and individuals seen as having provided support to Qadhafi forces during the conflict, as well as their relatives (sometimes even distant ones). Such violations were mostly committed after cities fell under the control of the thuwar or during the arrest of perceived loyalists at their homes. In some cases documented by the Commission, relatives of the alleged loyalists were driven out of their homes or prevented from returning by members of the thuwar who had appropriated their homes and other belongings. Evidence of pillage by the thuwar was found in – but was not limited to – Abu Kammesh, Al Zawiyah, Awaniya, Bani Walid, Garabulli, Tawergha, Tiji, Tripoli and Sirte. 94. The Commission is concerned that no full, impartial or independent investigations appear to have been conducted into any of allegations of pillage and the destruction of property. At times, Government officials downplayed the gravity of the violation, noting that Qadhafi forces had done the same thing to the opposition and that “now it is their turn”. IV. Accountability21 A. Introduction 95. The mandate given to the Commission includes a requirement to identify those responsible, to make recommendations, in particular, on accountability measures, all with a view to ensuring that those individuals responsible were held accountable”. The Commission therefore strove to identify individuals who might have been responsible for violations and crimes either directly or through command responsibility. It decided not to include the names of these individuals, apart from senior figures who are publicly known, in the present report. 96. The Commission also reviewed institutional and legislative issues, and the efforts of the interim Government to ensure accountability in the longer term. 19 20 21 18 See ibid., chap. III, sect. K. See ibid., chap. III, sect. L. See ibid., chap. IV.