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Involvement of children in armed formations during the military conflict in Donbas

The armed conflict in the east of Ukraine has significantly increased the risk of children participation in armed formations.Before the conflict started, the recruitment of children to armed formations was not considered as a serious problem in Ukraine. As a result, the existing gaps in legislation and the unpreparedness of governmental ministries to react to the problems became visible at the start and in the course of the armed resistance. It is enough to become acquainted with the outcomes of the 56th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (17 January – 4 February 2011) to conclude that there are issues in legislation and practice which in the conditions of the armed conflict lead to negative consequences. For example, this concerns the recommendation of the explicit prohibition in the Criminal Code of recruiting and involving children in hostilities etc.

Authors: Serhiy Burov, Olexiy Lazarenko, Ganna Ianova, Anastasiya Nekrasova, Volodymyr Shcherbachenko

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Date of publication: September 2016