XXII - Responding to the Most Vulnerable: Child Victims of International Crimes

Summary

In the last decade, more than 2 million children have died

as a direct result of armed conflict, and more than three times

that number have been permanently disabled or seriously injured.

An estimated 20 million children have been forced to fl ee their homes,

and more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families.

Some 300,000 child soldiers – boys and girls under the age of 18 –

are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide.

INTRODUCTION

It is widely acknowledged that the latter part of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century witnessed a shift in both the tactics and targets of modern warfare. Whereas armies of one nation once confronted those of another, during this period most wars were waged and fought between factions with in the same nation. A shift in targets from trained and uniformed soldiers to unprotected, innocent civilians also occurred. The international justice community recognized the plight of the victims of such armed conflicts which, in many cases, included entire communities of people. In efforts to ensure an appropriate criminal justice response to international crimes (including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide) committed either in international or internal armed conflict settings, several international criminal tribunals and courts were created. The establishment of these criminal justice mechanisms served to increase attention to victims of international crimes in general and also to particularly vulnerable victims. In this regard, while victims of gender and sexual violence have attracted attention, child victims of international crimes – perhaps the most vulnerable of all victims due to a combination of physical, psychological, economic and political factors – are the focus of this chapter.

In the years since the above statistics appeared in UNICEF's 2005 Humanitarian Action Report, they have been routinely quoted in numerous publications relating to children and armed conflict. This fact has signalled a critical need to respond to this particular group of victims. Child victims of international crimes represent a priority for the international community as the needs of arguably the most vulnerable victims of the most heinous crimes known to humankind must be addressed.