Vaiko statusas ginkluoto konflikto metu ; The status of a child in armed conflict

Abstract

Children who appears to be in the territory of armed conflict, can be divided in two large groups according to the Intenational Law. Firstly, there is children who participate in conflicts directly engaging in combat or act indirectly trough such acts as seeking and sending military information and transporting arms and munitions, they are refered in this master thesis as child soldiers. Next group is known as child civilians, who do not participate in military activities, however, they are still affected by conflict. The international law prohibits recruitment and participation in hostilities of child soldiers. Among others this prohibition brings into focus such issues: the type of participation with which international law is concerned; minimum age of recruitment and the specific situation of children who are 15 to 18 years old; whether there is effective mechanism of implementation; what is the extent of duty upon states, and many more. Also, the possibility of prosecution when the child soldiers seriously violate international criminal law is discussed. Lastly, the short study of three recent armed conflicts where the child soldiers were massively recruited is provided. International law seeks to provide child civilians with protection and care both because children are regarded as a part of the general civilian population and also because children are one of the more vulnerable groups in the population for which internation humanitarian law provides special protection and assistance. Both types of protection are disccused in the work, together, the special status of child prisoner of war is revealed. The main aim of the master thesis is to provide comprehensive study of international law concerning the child in armed conflict.