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![]() ![]() In 2020, over 8,500 children were recruited by armed forces according to the latest Annual Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. This corresponds to more than 93,000 children taking part in hostilities, including in fighting roles. ![]() According to the Study on the evolution of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate 1996-2021, more than a third of all grave violations since 2005 involved the recruitment and use of children by parties to conflicts. Today, as children continue to be used in hostilities, OPAC remains critical. Ratified by 172 countries, all of which committed not to recruit anyone under 18 for the battlefield, the OPAC has been a beacon in the establishment of a global consensus that children have no place in war. “At least 170,000 children have been released from armed forces and armed groups since the inception of the children and armed conflict mandate and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) adopted in May 2000 has played a role in this achievement. Their joint statement to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of OPAC and on the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers is as follows: GENEVA, New York (11 February 2022) – The UN Child Rights Committee and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, today jointly call on Member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC), to commit to ending and preventing the recruitment of children in their armed forces and to criminalize the recruitment and use of children. International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers 12 February 2022 ![]()
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