Legal Analysis on Protection of Children under International Armed Conflict: Democratic Republic of Congo Case

Jacques KABANO
Pascal NZUNGIZE

ABSTRACT
The law of armed conflict is one of the most comprehensively regulated areas of international law, since the first international treaty on the subject, the 1864 convention for the amelioration of condition of the wounded in armies in the field, states have adopted dozens of treaties regulating the conduct of armed conflict, covering the conduct of hostilities, the treatment of civilians and captured combatants permissible weapons and protection of cultural property. A hallmark of nearly all of these treaties and conventions is the obligations of states that became parties to the treaty or convention to inform and educate their both military and civilian regarding the rights and obligations enshrined in the treaties in question. Children suffered from many challenges during Congo wars, although the war in the DRC officially ended in 2003, internal displacement and movement into neighboring countries seems to continue as thousands of children have been in active combat.3 Twelve thousand five hundred girls have been forced to join the rebel forces for support and sexual roles. Sometimes states do not realize their responsibility to protect, to promote, to respect and to fulfill the rights of children as human beings. Therefore, the responsibility of the state, a group or an individual part to the conflict must be established in order to obtain the reparation of those violations. In this paper we will discuss on the applicability of the Geneva Convention on Congo case.

Keywords: International humanitarian law, Democratic Republic of Congo, Child rights, Geneva Conventions