Mindful of the necessity of taking into consideration the economic, social and political root causes of the
involvement of children in armed conflicts,
Convinced of the need to strengthen international cooperation in the implementation of the present Protocol, as
well as the physical and psychosocial rehabilitation and social reintegration of children who are victims of armed
conflict,
Encouraging the participation of the community and, in particular, children and child victims in the
dissemination of informational and educational programmes concerning the implementation of the Protocol,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not
attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct part in hostilities.
Article 2
States Parties shall ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 18 years are not compulsorily
recruited into their armed forces.
Article 3
1. States Parties shall raise the minimum age for the voluntary recruitment of persons into their national armed
forces from that set out in article 38, paragraph 3, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, taking account
of the principles contained in that article and recognizing that under the Convention persons under the age of
18 years are entitled to special protection.
2. Each State Party shall deposit a binding declaration upon ratification of or accession to the present Protocol
that sets forth the minimum age at which it will permit voluntary recruitment into its national armed forces and
a description of the safeguards it has adopted to ensure that such recruitment is not forced or coerced.
3. States Parties that permit voluntary recruitment into their national armed forces under the age of 18 years
shall maintain safeguards to ensure, as a minimum, that:
(a) Such recruitment is genuinely voluntary;
(b) Such recruitment is carried out with the informed consent of the person's parents or legal guardians;
(c) Such persons are fully informed of the duties involved in such military service;
(d) Such persons provide reliable proof of age prior to acceptance into national military service.
4. Each State Party may strengthen its declaration at any time by notification to that effect addressed to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall inform all States Parties. Such notification shall take effect
on the date on which it is received by the Secretary-General.
5. The requirement to raise the age in paragraph 1 of the present article does not apply to schools operated by
or under the control of the armed forces of the States Parties, in keeping with articles 28 and 29 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Article 4
1. Armed groups that are distinct from the armed forces of a State should not, under any circumstances, recruit
or use in hostilities persons under the age of 18 years.
2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to prevent such recruitment and use, including the adoption of
legal measures necessary to prohibit and criminalize such practices.
3. The application of the present article shall not affect the legal status of any party to an armed conflict.
Article 5
Nothing in the present Protocol shall be construed as precluding provisions in the law of a State Party or in
international instruments and international humanitarian law that are more conducive to the realization of the
rights of the child.
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