Legal Foundations
This body of law, defined by the Geneva Conventions, sets rules to limit the harmful effects of armed conflict.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
The minimum age below which recruitment is strictly forbidden and considered a war crime.
15 years
The fundamental right of every child affirmed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The right to life
The founding document that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Rome Statute
The higher minimum age mandated by the CRC's Optional Protocol for both compulsory recruitment and direct combat.
18 years
The principle that requires parties to a conflict to always tell the difference between combatants and civilians.
Distinction (or the principle of Distinction)
The unwritten rules of IHL that are binding on all parties because they are universally practiced.
What is Customary International Humanitarian Law?
The International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182 states that recruiting children under 18 for use in armed conflict is one of the worst forms of child labor. true or false?
true
This grave violation was added as a specific trigger for listing perpetrators in the UN Secretary-General's report in 2009.