Security Council resolution 2427 (2018) [on children and armed conflict]
Symbol: S/RES/2427 (2018)
Date: 2018-07-09
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/73 [187] CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS
S/ X Children and armed conflict.
Subjects: UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict|UN. Security Council. Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict|CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS|RIGHTS OF THE CHILD|CHILD SOLDIERS|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF)
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: CÔTE D'IVOIRE
vote: yes
country: EQUATORIAL GUINEA
vote: yes
country: ETHIOPIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: KAZAKHSTAN
vote: yes
country: KUWAIT
vote: yes
country: NETHERLANDS
vote: yes
country: PERU
vote: yes
country: POLAND
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SWEDEN
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                    S/RES/2427 (2018)
               Security Council                                                Distr.: General
                                                                               9 July 2018




               Resolution 2427 (2018)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8305th meeting, on
               9 July 2018

                    The Security Council,
                    Reaffirming its resolutions 1261 (1999) of 25 August 1999, 1314 (2000) of
               11 August 2000, 1379 (2001) of 20 November 2001, 1460 (2003) of 30 January 2003,
               1539 (2004) of 22 April 2004, 1612 (2005) of 26 July 2005, 1882 (2009) of 4 August
               2009, 1998 (2011) of 12 July 2011, 2068 (2012) of 19 September 2012, 2143 (2014)
               of 7 March 2014, 2225 (2015) of 18 June 2015, and all relevant Statements of its
               President, which contribute to a comprehensive framework for addressing the
               protection of children affected by armed conflict,
                    Reiterating its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace
               and security and, in this connection, its commitment to address the widespread impact
               of armed conflict on children, and the long-term consequences this has for durable
               peace, security and development,
                    Convinced that the protection of children affected by armed conflict should be
               an important aspect of any comprehensive strategy to resolve conflict and sustain
               peace and stresses also the importance of adopting a broad strategy of conflict
               prevention, which addresses the root causes of armed conflict in a comprehensive
               manner in order to enhance the protection of children on a long-term basis,
                     Reaffirming the importance of promoting the United Nations ability to deliver
               on its founding determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war
               and putting emphasis on preventive diplomacy, mediation and good offices,
               peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and sustaining peace,
                     Underlining in this regard the importance of the implementation of the 2030
               Agenda for Sustainable Development, and recognizing that a strong focus is needed
               on combatting poverty, deprivation and inequality to prevent and protect children
               from all violations and abuses in particular in the context of armed conflict and to
               promote the resilience of children, their families and their communities, and the
               importance of promoting education for all and peaceful and inclusive societies for
               sustainable development,
                    Recalling that all parties to armed conflict must comply strictly with the
               obligations applicable to them under international law for the protection of children
               in armed conflict, including those contained in the Convention on the Rights of the
               Child and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of Children in armed conflict, as




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               well as the Geneva Conventions of 12th August 1949 and the Additional Protocols of
               1977,
                     Stressing the primary role of Governments in providing protection and relief to
               all children affected by armed conflict, and recognizing the importance of
               strengthening national capacities in this regard,
                     Emphasizing the vital role of the United Nations, in consultations with
               international partners and key stakeholders including regional and subregional
               organizations, to support national authorities in developing strategies for sustaining
               peace, conflict prevention and peacebuilding as well as to ensu re that these strategies
               strengthen coherence between political, security, human rights, development and rule
               of law activities, which remain the primary responsibility of Member States,
                     Recognizing the valuable contribution pertinent regional and subregional
               organizations and arrangements make for the protection of children affected by armed
               conflict,
                     Recognizing the important roles of both local and religious leaders and civil
               society networks in strengthening community-level protection, reintegration and
               combatting stigmatization of children, in particular girls, affected by armed conflict,
               including children born as a result of sexual violence in conflict,
                     Stressing that the best interests of the child as well as the specific needs and
               vulnerabilities of girls and boys should be duly considered when planning and
               carrying out actions concerning children in situations of armed conflict,
                     Stressing the importance of giving due consideration to child protection issues
               from the early stages of all peace processes, in particular the integration of child
               protection provisions, as well as of peace agreements that put strong emphasis on the
               best interest of the child, the treatment of children separated from armed groups as
               victims and focus on family and community-based reintegration,
                     Recalling the obligations of all parties to armed conflict applicable to them
               under international humanitarian law and human rights law, emphasizing that no child
               should be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily and calling on all
               Parties to conflict to cease unlawful or arbitrary detention as well as torture or other
               cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment imposed on children during
               their detention,
                     Recognizing the importance of providing sustainable, timely and appropriate
               reintegration and rehabilitation assistance to children affected by armed conflict,
               while ensuring that the specific needs of girls and boys as well as children with
               disabilities are addressed, including access to health care, psychosocial support, and
               education programmes that contribute to the well-being of children and to sustainable
               peace and security,
                    Taking note of ongoing international and regional initiatives on Children and
               Armed Conflict, including the international conference held in Paris in 2007 on
               protecting children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups
               and the follow-up conference held in Paris in 2017, and the commitments during the
               conferences,
                     Reaffirming that quality education provided in a safe environment in conflict
               areas is essential in halting and preventing recruitment and re -recruitment of children
               contrary to the obligations of parties to conflict,
                    Recognizing, in this regard, the importance of countering, notably through
               education and awareness-raising, all recruitment methods utilized by non-state armed
               groups targeting children,


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                 Reaffirming its call on all parties to armed conflict to comply with their
           obligations under international humanitarian law, and underlining the importance of
           safe and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to civilians in armed conflicts,
           and reaffirming the Security Council’s role in promoting an environment that is
           conducive to the facilitation of humanitarian access to those in need,
                 1.    Strongly condemns all violations of applicable international law involving
           the recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflict as well as their
           re-recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence,
           abductions, attacks against schools and hospitals as well as denial of humanitarian
           access by parties to armed conflict and all other violations of international law,
           including international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law,
           committed against children in situations of armed conflict and demands that all
           relevant parties immediately put an end to such practices and take special measures
           to protect children;
                 2.   Reaffirms that the monitoring and reporting mechanism will continue to
           be implemented in situations listed in annex I and annex II (“the annexes”) to the
           reports of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, in line with the
           principles set out in paragraph 2 of its resolution 1612 (2005), and that its
           establishment and implementation shall not prejudge or imply a decision by the
           Security Council as to whether or not to include a situation on its agenda;
                 3.     Calls upon States and the United Nations to mainstream child protection
           into all relevant activities in conflict prevention, conflict and post -conflict situations
           with the aim of sustaining peace and preventing conflict;
               4.   Reaffirms the important role the Special Representative on Children and
           Armed Conflict can play in contributing to conflict prevention;
                 5.    Stresses the important role of the Special Representative for Children and
           Armed Conflict in carrying out her mandate regarding the protection of children
           affected by armed conflict, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions,
           and stresses in particular, within the context of her mandate, the importance of
           facilitating better collaboration among United Nations partners at the field level and
           between the United Nations and concerned Governments, and in supporting the UN
           Country Task Forces to enhance dialogue with concerned UN agencies, Governments
           and parties to an armed conflict, including by securing concrete commitments and
           advocating for appropriate response mechanisms, in this regard requests the Special
           Representative to continue engaging proactively with UN agencies, Member States,
           regional and subregional organizations, and non-state armed groups and calls on the
           Special Representative, together with relevant child protection actors, to compile
           comprehensive best practices in order to implement them when appropriate;
                 6.   Stresses the importance of regular and timely consideration of violations
           and abuses committed against children in armed conflict, in this regard welcomes the
           sustained activity of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflic t and invites
           the Working Group to make full use of tools within its mandate to promote the
           protection of children affected by armed conflict, including through increasing
           engagement with concerned Member States, in light of ongoing discussions on
           enhancing compliance;
                 7.   Acknowledges that serious abuses and violations of human rights or
           violations of international humanitarian law, including against children, can be an
           early indication of a descent into conflict or escalation of conflict, as well as a
           consequence thereof;
                8.    Expresses its commitment to consider and use the tools of the United
           Nations system to ensure that early warning of potential conflicts translates into early,

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               concrete preventive action, including towards the goal of protecting chil dren and with
               a view to building sustainable peace, by or in coordination with the most appropriate
               United Nations or regional actor, in accordance with the Charter of the United
               Nations;
                     9.   Stresses that the prevention of conflicts remains a primary responsibility
               of States and actions undertaken within the framework of conflict prevention by the
               United Nations should support and complement, as appropriate, the conflict
               prevention roles of national governments;
                    10. Expresses concern at regional and cross-border nature of violations and
               abuses against children affected by armed conflict and requests Member States,
               United Nations peacekeeping, peacebuilding and political missions and United
               Nations country teams, and calls on regional and subregional bodies, within their
               respective mandates and in close cooperation with the Governments of the countries
               concerned, to establish appropriate strategies and coordination mechanisms for
               information exchange and cooperation on child protection concerns, in particular on
               cross-border issues, bearing in mind relevant conclusions by the Security Council
               Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and paragraph 2 (d) of its resolution
               1612 (2005);
                     11. Encourages regional and subregional organizations and arrangements to
               continue mainstreaming child protection into their advocacy, policies, programmes
               and mission planning as well as to train personnel and include child protection staff
               in their peacekeeping and field operations and establish, within their secretariats,
               child protection mechanisms, including through appointing child protection focal
               points, as well as develop and expand regional and subregional initiatives to prevent
               violations and abuses against children affected by armed conflict;
                     12. Expresses deep concern at the high number of children killed or maimed,
               including as a direct or indirect result of hostilities between parties to armed conflict
               and of incidents of indiscriminate attacks against civilian populations, including those
               involving aerial bombardment, excessive use of force, landmines, explosive remnants
               of war and improvised explosive devices and use of children as human shields and
               urges all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian
               law, in particular the principles of distinction, proportionality and the obligation to
               take all feasible precautions to avoid and in any event minimizing harm to civilians
               and civilian objects;
                     13. Calls upon all parties to armed conflict to allow and facilitate safe, timely
               and unhindered humanitarian access to children, respect the exclusively humanitarian
               nature and impartiality of humanitarian aid and respect the work of all United Nations
               humanitarian agencies and their humanitarian partners, without distinction, and
               strongly condemns the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving
               civilians, particularly children, of objects indispensable to their survival, inc luding
               willfully impeding relief supplies;
                     14. Recalls the importance of ensuring that children continue to have access
               to basic services during the conflict and post-conflict periods, including, inter alia,
               education and health care, and urges Member States, United Nations bodies and civil
               society to take specifically into account girls’ equal access to education;
                     15. Strongly condemns attacks as well as threats of attacks in contravention of
               applicable international law against schools and/or hospitals, and protected persons
               in relation to them and reiterates its deep concern at the closure of schools and
               hospitals in situations of armed conflict as a result of attacks and threats of attacks
               and urges all parties to armed conflict to refrain from actions that impede children ’s
               access to education and to health services;


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                 16. Expresses deep concern at the military use of schools in contravention of
           applicable international law, recognizing that such use may render schools legitimate
           targets of attack, thus endangering children’s and teachers’ safety as well as children’s
           education and in this regard:
                (a) Urges all parties to armed conflict to respect the civilian character of
           schools in accordance with international humanitarian law;
                 (b) Encourages Member States to take concrete measures to deter the use of
           schools by armed forces and non-State armed groups in contravention of applicable
           international law;
                 (c) Urges Member States to ensure that attacks on schools in contravention of
           international humanitarian law are investigated and those responsible duly prosecuted;
                (d) Calls upon United Nations country-level task forces to enhance the
           monitoring and reporting on the military use of schools;
                 17. Stresses the need to swiftly address, notably through education and
           awareness-raising, all recruitment methods utilized by non-state armed groups
           targeting children and encourages Member States to exchange good practices to this
           effect;
                 18. Remains gravely concerned by the human rights abuses and violations of
           international humanitarian law committed by all non-state armed groups, including
           those who commit acts of terrorism, including abuses and violations such as mass
           abductions and sexual and gender-based violence, particularly targeting girls, which
           can cause displacement and affect access to education a nd healthcare services, and
           emphasizing the importance of accountability for such abuses and violations;
                19. Stresses the need to pay particular attention to the treatment of children
           associated or allegedly associated with all non-state armed groups, including those
           who commit acts of terrorism, in particular by establishing standard operating
           procedures for the rapid handover of these children to relevant civilian child
           protection actors;
                 20. Expresses grave concern at the use of detained children for information
           gathering purposes, and emphasizes that children who have been recruited in violation
           of applicable international law by armed forces and armed groups and are accused of
           having committed crimes during armed conflicts should be treated primaril y as
           victims of violations of international law, and urges Member States to comply with
           applicable obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and
           encourages access for civilian child protection actors to children deprived of liberty
           for association with armed forces and armed groups;
                 21. Urges Member States to consider non-judicial measures as alternatives to
           prosecution and detention that focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration for
           children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups taking into account
           that deprivation of liberty of children should be used only as a measure of last resort
           and for the shortest appropriate period of time, as well as to avoid wherever possible
           the use of pretrial detention for children, and calls on Member States to apply due
           process for all children detained for association with armed forces and armed groups;
                 22. Welcomes the launch of a process to compile practical guidance on the
           integration of child protection issues in peace processe s and underlines the
           importance of engaging armed forces and armed groups on child protection concerns
           during peace processes and in the peacebuilding process and calls upon Member
           States, United Nations entities, the Peacebuilding Commission, and other pa rties
           concerned to integrate child protection provisions, including those relating to the
           release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed

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               groups, as well as provisions on the rights and well-being of children, into all peace
               negotiations, ceasefire and peace agreements, and in provisions for ceasefire
               monitoring, and taking into account children’s views, where possible, in these
               processes;
                     23. Calls upon Member States, United Nations entities, including the
               Peacebuilding Commission and other parties concerned to ensure that the views of
               children are taken into account in programming activities throughout the conflict
               cycle, and to ensure that the protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of
               children affected by armed conflict are fully incorporated and prioritized in all post -
               conflict recovery and reconstruction planning, programs and strategies as well as in
               efforts on peacebuilding and sustaining peace and encourage and facilitate
               consideration of the views of children in these processes;
                     24. Urges concerned Member States to mainstream child protection and ensure
               that the specific needs of girls and boys are fully taken into account at all stages of
               disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration processes (DDR), including through
               the development of a gender- and age-sensitive DDR process;
                     25. Urges concerned Member States, when undertaking security sector
               reforms, to mainstream child protection and ensure that the specific needs of girls and
               boys are fully taken into account, such as the inclusion of child protection in military
               training and standard operating procedures, including on the handover of children to
               relevant civilian child protection actors, the establishment of child protection units in
               national security forces, and the strengthening of effective age assessment
               mechanisms to prevent underage recruitment, while stressing in the latter regard the
               importance of ensuring universal birth registration, including late birth registration
               which should remain an exception;
                     26. Encourages Member States to focus on long-term and sustainable
               reintegration and rehabilitation opportunities for children affected by armed conflict
               that are gender- and age-sensitive, including access to health care, psychosocial
               support, and education programmes, as well as raising awareness and working with
               communities to avoid stigmatization of these children and facilitate their return, while
               taking into account the specific needs of girls and boys, to contribute to the well -
               being of children and to sustainable peace and security;
                     27. Stresses the importance of long-term and sustainable funding for mental
               health and psychosocial programming in humanitarian contexts and ensuring all
               affected children receive timely and sufficient support, and encouraging donors to
               integrate mental health and psychosocial services in all humanitarian responses;
                     28. Urges both local and religious leaders to publicly condemn and advocate
               ending and preventing violations and abuses against children, and to engage with
               governments, the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders to supp ort
               reintegration of children affected by armed conflict in their communities, including
               by raising awareness to avoid stigmatization of these children;
                     29. Welcomes the steps taken by a number of Member States to make
               international commitments to protect children affected by armed conflict, including
               through the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
               the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and calls on Member States
               that have not yet done so to ratify this instrument;
                     30. Stressing the importance of accountability for all violations and abuses
               against children in armed conflict and calls on all States to continue to address
               impunity by efforts to strengthen national accountability mechanisms, including
               building investigative and prosecutorial capacities, ensuring that those responsible
               for violations and abuses against children are brought to justice and held accountable

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           without undue delay, including through timely and systematic investigation and
           prosecution, the results of which are made public, and ensure that all victims have
           access to justice as well as to the medical and support services that they need;
                 31. Emphasizes the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and
           to investigate and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity,
           war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children and highlights in
           this regard the contribution of the International Criminal Court, in matters that are
           within its jurisdiction, and in accordance with the principle of complementarity to
           national criminal jurisdictions as set out in the Rome Statute;
                 32. Reiterates the Security Council’s readiness to adopt targeted and
           graduated measures against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses
           committed against children, taking into account the relevant provisions of its
           resolutions 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011) and 2068 (2012) and
           to consider including provisions pertaining to parties to armed conflict that engage in
           activities in violation of applicable international law relating to the rights and
           protection of children in armed conflicts, when establishing, modifying or renewing
           the mandate of relevant sanctions regimes;
                 33. Recognizes the role of United Nations peacekeeping operations and
           political missions in the protection of children, particularly the crucial role of child
           protection advisers in mainstreaming child protection and leading monitoring,
           prevention and reporting efforts in missions, and in this regard reiterates its decision
           to continue the inclusion of specific provisions for the protection of children in the
           mandates of all relevant United Nations peacekeeping operations and political
           missions, encourages deployment of child protection advisers to such missions, and
           calls upon the Secretary-General to ensure that the need for and the number and roles
           of such advisers are systematically assessed during the preparation and renewal of
           each United Nations peacekeeping operation and political mission, and that they are
           speedily recruited, expeditiously deployed, and properly resourced where appointed,
           in a transparent manner, and encourages the United Nations Secretariat, including
           DPKO and DPA, to take into account child protectio n when briefing the Council on
           country-specific situations;
                34. Stresses the importance of mainstreaming the protection of children into
           the Secretary-General’s efforts to mobilize all partners and stakeholders in support of
           more effective United Nations peacekeeping;
                 35. Calls for the continued implementation by United Nations peacekeeping
           operations of the Secretary-General’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation
           and abuse as well as to ensure full compliance of their personnel with the United
           Nations code of conduct, reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to continue to
           take all necessary measures in this regard and to keep the Security Council informed,
           and urges Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries to continue taking appropriate
           preventive action, such as mandatory predeployment child protection training
           including on sexual exploitation and abuse, and to ensure full accountability in cases
           of such conduct involving their personnel;
                 36. Urges all United Nations entities, including peacekeeping missions,
           political missions, peacebuilding offices, United Nations offices, agencies, funds and
           programmes to give full attention to violations against children in the application of
           the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy on United Nations Support to non -United
           Nations Security Forces;
                 37. Urges all parties concerned, including Member States, United Nations
           entities, as well as financial institutions to support, as appropriate, bearing in mind
           national ownership, the development and strengthening of the capacities o f national

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               institutions and local civil society networks for advocacy, protection, reintegration
               and rehabilitation of children affected by armed conflict, particularly children
               released from armed forces and non-State armed groups, as well as national
               accountability mechanisms with timely, sustained and adequate resources and
               funding;
                     38. Reiterates its requests to the Secretary-General to continue to submit
               comprehensive annual reports to the Council on the implementation of its resolutions
               and Presidential statements on children and armed conflict and to ensure that in all
               his reports on country-specific situations the matter of children and armed conflict is
               included as a specific aspect of the report and expresses its intention to give its full
               attention to the information provided therein, including the implementation of
               relevant Security Council resolutions and the recommendations of its Working Group
               on Children and Armed Conflict, when dealing with those situations on its agenda;
                     39. Recognizes the link between abductions, recruitment, sexual violence and
               trafficking and that children in situations of armed conflict can be especially
               vulnerable to trafficking in persons in armed conflict and to these forms of
               exploitation, and encourages relevant parts of the UN system, and international and
               regional bodies, within their respective mandates to work to address this issue;
                    40.   Decides to remain actively seized of this matter.




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