Article

Special protection of children during armed conflicts under the Geneva Conventions regime

R.K. Dixit

• ISIL Yearbook of international humanitarian and refugee law, vol. 1, 2001, p. 12-35

English

This article examines and evaluates the rules, adopted under the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the two Additional Protocols of 1977, which provide special protections for children in times of armed conflict. The article categorizes the various provisions in 23 substantive areas, 16 of which relate to children generally and seven of which are specific to combatant children. The author examines the underlying rationale of the provisions, draws the reader’s attention to the use and interpretation of specific terms, and elucidates the connections between the disparate provisions. While this existing body of law covers a wide range of areas and situations from which arise the need for special protections for children, the author submits there are significant problems with observance of the laws in practice. The author thus attributes the continued suffering of children in armed conflicts to the implementation of the Geneva Conventions regime. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

• ISIL yearbook of international humanitarian and refugee law / THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
• ISIL yearbook of international humanitarian and refugee law [Vol. 1, 2001] / THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW