A/HRC/42/CRP.1 dead by a sniper outside his home in the north-west of the city when he and his mother had returned there to collect some belongings after having been displaced to the centre of Ta’izz following fighting in their area.1039 (For additional information on sniper incidents, see chapters on Tai’zz and the Battle of Aden). 671. Children’s fundamental rights to life and protection from violence, injury and abuse have been severely affected, and in some cases violated by parties to the conflict. In addition to physical injuries, their exposure to life-threatening events will, in many cases, likely lead to long-term mental health disorders. Given the protracted nature of the conflict in Yemen, parties to the conflict must immediately take all actions necessary to protect children, including by ensuring that preventive and mitigating measures are in place during the conduct of military operations. To ensure the protection of children, such operations must also respect international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.1040 3. Child recruitment into the armed forces or armed groups and use of children in hostilities by parties to the conflict 672. The Group of Experts documented the recruitment and use of children under 18 by all parties to the conflict since September 2014, including some under the age of 15. This included 33 first-hand accounts of children recruited and in some cases used in hostilities by armed forces and groups in Yemen since September 2014. 1041 673. Both international humanitarian law and international human rights law contain provisions on recruitment into armed forces or groups and use of children in hostilities. 1042 While article 1 of the CRC provides that a child is every human being below the age of 18 years, only the recruitment and use of children who have not attained the age of 15 is prohibited under international humanitarian law.1043 674. With regard to the recruitment and use of children in hostilities under international human rights law, Yemen acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, (hereinafter “Optional Protocol to the CRC”), which raises the ban on the compulsory recruitment and use of children in hostilities to all children under 18 years. Yemen is also party to the International Labour Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (No.182).1044 Yemen has passed a corresponding national law that includes a ban on recruiting and using children under the age of 18 as 1039 Confidential Sources on File. Echoing the Secretary General’s words, “Children did not start the war in Yemen, but they are paying the highest price”. S/2019/453, para 68. 1041 Confidential Sources on File. 1042 See ICRC Customary IHL Study, rules 136 and 137; Article 4(3)(c), Additional Protocol II. See also Convention of Rights of the Child (hereinafter CRC), 1989, Article 38; International Labour Organization Convention 182, Articles 1, 2 and 3; and, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, (2000) 39 ILM 1285 (Hereinafter, ‘Optional Protocol II’ or ‘Protocol’), Articles 2, 3 and 4. 1043 There is wide recognition that the recruitment of children under 15 and their use to participate actively in hostilities is a war crime (as a serious violation of international humanitarian law) incurring individual criminal responsibility. For children under 18, the dispositions vary. The Optional Protocol to the CRC has raised the minimum age from 15 years (as set out in the CRC, article 38(3)) with certain specific conditions. The Protocol prohibits States parties from accepting the voluntary enlistment of children under the age of 15 (Article 3.1) and prohibits the compulsory recruitment of all children (Article 2). States parties to the Optional Protocol are also required to take all feasible measures to keep all children from directly participating in hostilities. The Protocol prohibits the recruitment of children under 18 year-old by armed groups (Article 4). Similarly, see the Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, UN Doc. S/2002/1299 (26 November 2002), paragraph 31. 1044 Yemen ratified on 15 June 2000 the Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, number 182, which prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children (that is, all persons under 18) for use in armed conflict. 1040 161