United Nations Security Council resolution 1261, adopted unanimously on 25 August 1999, in the first resolution to address the topic, the Council condemned the targeting of children in

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regul ...

including the recruitment and use of

child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, inclu ...

. The security council was informed prior to the adoption of the resolution that 300,000 children from the age of seven or eight were serving as soldiers,

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...

or supporting roles in armed conflicts in more than 30 countries around the world. It was also told that wars within the past decade, armed conflicts had killed 2 million children.

Resolution

Observations

The preamble of the resolution noted recent efforts to bring to an end the use of child soldiers in violation of

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

, including the

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1 ...

and the

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...

which prohibits forced

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

of children under the age of fifteen in armed forces or the participation in war crimes.

Acts

The security council expressed concern at the effect of armed conflict on children and the long-term effects on peace, security and development. It strongly condemned the targeting of children in conflict via murder,

mutilation Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to Bodily harm, severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunction ...

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...

, displacement or use in the military. All concerned parties were called upon to comply with their obligations under international law, in particular the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conv ...

and the

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Co ...

and violators and bring violators to justice. The parties were also urged to ensure the protection of children (particularly with respect to gender-based violence) and to take their welfare and rights seriously during peace negotiations and additionally to facilitate the delivery of

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

to children. The council supported the efforts of the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

(UNICEF),

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR),

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of ...

and

Special Representative of the Secretary-General A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representati ...

for Children and Armed Conflict. It underlined the importance of the safety, security and

freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights ...

for United Nations and humanitarian personnel and urged all countries and the United Nations system to ensure an end to the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict through political efforts and the

demilitarisation Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of state armed forces; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects. For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and military ...

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...

, rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers. The council recalled the provisions of Resolution 1209 (1998) concerning the effects of the proliferation of arms on vulnerable groups, particularly children and in this regard reminded states to restrict arms transfers that would provoke or prolong conflict. The resolution reaffirmed the Security Council's readiness when dealing with situation of children in armed conflict to: :(a) ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population and taking into account the needs of children; :(b) support the protection and resettlement of displaced children through the UNHCR and others; :(c) consider the impact on children when adopting measures under Article 41 of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

concerning sanctions; :(d) consider appropriate responses when buildings or sites used by children were targeted in armed conflict. Finally, the Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

was asked to ensure that United Nations personnel had appropriate training on the rights and welfare of children and to report to the council by 31 July 2000 on the implementation of the current resolution.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 1999 1261 1261 August 1999 events

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links