Targeting of children in non-international armed conflicts

Abstract

Albeit the prohibition of recruitment and use in hostilities of children is an established norm of international law, recognized under both international humanitarian law and international human rights law, the problem still remains. The main actors responsible for this reality are non-state armed groups (NSAGs), which kept recruiting and involving children in various tasks, including direct participation in hostilities (DPH). This in turn generates a dilemma regarding targetability of such children: whether to extend the special protection afforded to them by international law from being recruited and/or used in hostilities for targeting purposes as well. Additionally, the difficulty to determine targeting rules in the context of non-international armed conflicts (NIACs), which led to controversies as to targetability of even adult members of NSAGs while they do not take a direct part in hostilities, exacerbates the dilemma. This piece, accepting persuasiveness of the proposal in the ICRC Interpretive Guidance that those members of armed groups who have continuous combat function (CCF) are targetable, in addition to civilians taking a direct part in hostilities, questions whether children with such function/role are targetable in the same manner as adults of the same position. It is argued here that though children can be targeted during their DPH or when they have CCF, there is support in the law that the notions of DPH and CCF should be applied to them differently than adults. The piece also analyzes if the same means and methods used to target adults could be lawful when employed against children.