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Resolution 2204 (2018)
Protecting children affected by armed conflicts
1. Children across Europe and the
world are affected by wars and armed conflicts. They are victims
of life-threatening violence or witnesses of such violence, they
have lost or been separated from their parents or other caregivers,
they are deprived of basic social services, such as health care
and education, or they have been recruited as child soldiers and
thus forced to take part in conflicts themselves.
2. From a European viewpoint, many of these children seem to
be living in distant places that are beyond the reach of European
stakeholders, such as those in the terrible conflict situations
currently observed in Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Myanmar. However, many
children also live in European areas marked by so-called “unresolved”
or “frozen” conflicts, or by post-conflict situations. Regardless
of the geographic location of conflicts, all European States are
concerned in one way or another, whether as a member of relevant international
organisations, as a party to ongoing conflicts, as an economic partner
of conflicting parties or as one of the countries receiving refugees
arriving from conflict zones.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly is very concerned about the short-
and long-term consequences of armed conflicts on children: they
are directly affected in their daily lives, their physical and mental
development and their ability to trust other human beings and public
institutions. Many of them will be traumatised for their entire lives
and see their chances in life compromised. Children that experience
armed conflicts also grow up with the understanding that violence
is an acceptable means of settling conflicts with other countries
or between ethnic or religious groups, and may reproduce it in their
later lives.
4. International law is very clear about the protection of children
– any person under the age of 18 – and the need to give primary
consideration to their best interests in all circumstances (as enshrined
in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)).
Children benefit from general protection to civilians and special
protection granted by the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and its 1977 Additional
Protocol, as recalled by Article 38.4 of the UNCRC calling on States
parties to “take all feasible measures to ensure protection and
care of children who are affected by an armed conflict”.
5. In the light of the evident gap observed between international
obligations and their respect by all States parties, the Assembly
calls on the Council of Europe member States to:
5.1. invest in the prevention of
conflicts, and children’s involvement therein, both through continuous political
dialogue and negotiation, and by promoting and supporting the peaceful,
sustainable development of countries involved in ongoing conflicts
or threatened by the outbreak of a conflict;
5.2. intervene, wherever they have the power to do so, to put
an end to ongoing conflicts by reminding parties in a conflict and
their partners of their international commitments, bilaterally or
through multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) or the
Council of Europe, and by promoting the peaceful resolution of conflicts,
thus avoiding further innocent victims among the civilian population,
including children;
5.3. educate children and young people who have experienced
traumatising armed conflicts on non-violent approaches to ending
aggression and conflict, in order to make them resilient to the
trans-generational transmission of violence and allow them to grow
up in a culture of constructive dialogue as a means of overcoming
substantial differences between nationalities or ethnic groups,
both through European initiatives taken by the Council of Europe
or the OSCE in their field work with young people and through more
bilateral approaches;
5.4. reinforce child protection and support mechanisms and
action at all levels, by:
5.4.1. developing welfare programmes
and improving socio-economic conditions and opportunities for children
and their families, both in conflict countries and in countries
welcoming refugees;
5.4.2. facilitating the work undertaken by international organisations
and non-governmental organisations working in the field by providing
political and financial support according to actual needs and international
standards (for example in terms of the number of carers guaranteed
for a given number of children);
5.4.3. ensuring access of international organisations and NGOs
to children in need and continuity of programmes within conflict
zones;
5.5. support and rehabilitate child soldiers and other children
actively involved in conflicts by:
5.5.1. treating them
as children and not like adult offenders throughout all proceedings;
5.5.2. placing them in the care of child-protection agencies
instead of in detention centres, thus facilitating their reintegration
into society, including normal education systems, job markets and social
life;
5.5.3. involving them in peace-building activities where appropriate
to allow them to share their experiences with other young people
(taking care to avoid reviving their trauma);
5.6. welcome and support children who have left conflict zones
by:
5.6.1. providing specialised support to children who
are refugees, migrants or internally displaced, who have experienced
violent and traumatic situations, and children and young people returning
from territories controlled by Daesh, when they arrive in safe destinations,
including in different European countries, and in particular by
giving them psychological assistance and support, with appropriate
therapy for post-traumatic stress, as quickly as possible after
their arrival in the host country;
5.6.2. training all professionals dealing with refugee children
to avoid reviving their trauma or breaking down their personal defence
mechanisms and to help them create new positive life experiences
for themselves;
5.6.3. ensuring the children’s access to the language of the
host country through appropriate and specific language integration
programmes put in place by the host country as quickly as possible;
5.6.4. facilitating and encouraging specific assistance in the
form of vocational training to child refugees, migrants and internally
displaced persons when they arrive in safe destinations, including
in European countries, in order to ensure their economic and social
integration in the host country.
5.7. get involved in European activities concerning children
in armed conflicts and promote existing Council of Europe standards
in this field, such as the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights
of the Child (2016-2021), which calls for children to be protected
against violence, including in armed conflicts, for action to be
taken to rebuild their trust after having experienced such violence
and for the setting up of child-friendly legal and administrative
procedures.