A/HRC/39/49 para. 22). In Australia, children as young as 14 years old could face revocation of their citizenship for accused terrorism offences.25 53. Some States have adopted measures to prevent children from travelling abroad to join terrorist groups. However, some of these measures also seem punitive in nature. For instance, in Denmark, authorities may confiscate minors’ passports and refuse to issue new ones unless the parents agree. In the Netherlands, the Child Care and Protection Board may impose family supervision, custody in childcare institutions, curfews and confiscation of identity documents of aspiring teenage combatants and children whose parents intend to travel to a conflict zone. 26 Thus, it is essential that States adopt the most appropriate measures that seek protection, and not punishment, of children and their families. IV. Conclusions and recommendations General recommendations 54. The Working Group urges Member States to criminalize in national legislation the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18 years in armed conflict. It stresses the importance of investigating, prosecuting and sanctioning those responsible for such crimes at the national level, and providing a remedy to victims of violations committed by all persons and entities within its jurisdiction. The Working Group calls upon Member States to support international efforts in this respect as well. 55. The Working Group urges all Member States that have jurisdiction over private military and security companies that recruit children to put an end to their cooperation with such companies and to prosecute those responsible for such recruitment. Additionally, it recommends that States end any cooperation with or support for any non-State armed groups that recruit and use children in armed conflict. 56. The Working Group urges Member States to treat children allegedly associated with non-State armed groups primarily as victims and to respect the special protections that international law accords children. 57. The Working Group stresses that States should set a minimum age of criminal responsibility below which a child cannot be found to have the capacity to engage in criminal conduct. When children have committed crimes during their association with armed groups, the best interests of the child should remain a primary consideration. This means that judicial proceedings should be undertaken as a last resort, the child should be tried in a juvenile justice system, the privacy of the child should be respected, the child should be able to participate effectively in the proceedings and sentences should be rehabilitative rather than punitive. 58. The Working Group is concerned about the current punitive approach taken by some States to children associated with armed groups and reminds all States of their legal obligation to uphold the principle of the best interests of the child. With regard to the use of detention against children for their alleged association with armed groups, the Working Group is of the view that detention of children should be used only as a last resort in compliance with international juvenile justice standards. 59. The Working Group stresses that responses to the phenomenon of the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict should focus on the separation, rehabilitation and reintegration of children. States should address root causes that foster child recruitment into armed conflicts and take preventive, not punitive, measures aimed at protecting children from being recruited into armed conflict. 25 26 14 Francesca Capone, “‘Worse’ than child soldiers? A critical analysis of foreign children in the ranks of ISIL”, International Criminal Law Review, vol. 17, No. 1 (2017), pp. 161–185. Ibid.