The use of child soldiers currently appears in the list of war crimes that would come under the court's jurisdiction, although there is opposition to its inclusion from the United States, as well as disagreement among other countries over the specific language of the provision. Since 1996, governments from around the world have convened periodically under United Nations General Assembly auspices to review and modify a draft statute for the Court , prepared by the International Law Commission in 1994. Creating a permanent international mechanism to ensure accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes will be a major step forward in the protection of international human rights, including children's rights. Children are increasingly the victims of crimes that would be justiciable by the court. They are often deliberately targeted as part of an orchestrated campaign to terrorize, subjugate and destroy entire communities and peoples.
Children are also targets in another sense.
One of the most alarming trends in contemporary armed conflicts is the reliance on children as soldiers. Most are adolescents, although many are under the age of ten. They are often sought after because of their immaturity and unique vulnerability, rendering them susceptible to psychological and physical control, and fear and intimidation from their commanders. Child soldiers are used to perform a variety of functions, from serving as cooks or porters to actually fighting as combatants. Drawn into armed conflicts, children may become both the victims and the perpetrators of acts of extreme violence.