SECTION 1: Key Principles to Protect the Rights of the Child
While Addressing a State’s Security Concerns
egy adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 recognizes that effective counter-terrorism measures
and protection of human rights are not conflicting
goals, but rather are complementary and mutually
reinforcing. For example, a national criminal justice
system based on respect for human rights and the
rule of law is considered one of the best means for
effectively countering terrorism.57 At the same time,
conditions under which human rights are violated
are recognized as being conductive to violent extremism.58 As the Secretary-General António Guterres
has also stressed, “Without a firm basis in human
rights, counter-terrorism policies can be misused
and abused. They can actually make us less safe, by
undermining good governance and the rule of law….
[T]errorism is fundamentally the denial and destruction of human rights, and the fight against terrorism
will never succeed by perpetuating the same denial
and destruction.”59
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In light of the above, the present section
seeks to identify overarching international human
rights and humanitarian law requirements that apply when States are developing and implementing
measures relevant to children affected by the foreign fighter phenomenon. The section identifies how
States must comply with the relevant international
legal principles, including those affirmed under Security Council resolutions on children and armed
57 General Assembly resolution 72/284 (2017), preamble.
conflict.60 These principles are discussed in the
context of the relevant Security Council resolutions on counter-terrorism, which repeatedly
highlight that all counter-terrorism measures
should be in compliance with international law,
particularly human rights and humanitarian law.
1.1 Rights of Children Under International
Law and Corresponding State Obligations
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As stated above, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child has been ratified by nearly all
Member States. Many of its provisions are now also
part of customary international law that binds all
States, even if they have not ratified the Convention.
All States parties to the Convention have an
obligation to apply the rights and provisions under it to each child within their jurisdiction. All
rights under the Convention always apply to all
children, including during periods of armed conflicts
and are non-derogable. States parties should make
every effort to ensure that the rights and provisions
under the Convention are implemented at all times,
including during times of armed conflict.
1.1.1 States’ Obligations Towards a Child in Its
Territory and Towards a Child Outside of Its
Territory
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The Convention on the Rights of the Child
provides that States parties must ensure, without
discrimination, the rights of all children within
58 General Assembly resolution 70/674 (2015), Plan of Action
to Prevent Violent Extremism (United Nations Plan of Action to
Prevent Violent Extremism).
59 Secretary-General’s speech at SOAS, University of London,
on “Counter-terrorism and human rights: winning the fight while
upholding our values”, 16 November 2017, available at www.
un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-11-16/secretarygeneral’s-speech-soas-university-london-“counter-terrorism.
60 There are 12 progressively stronger resolutions on children and armed that form the basis of child protection in
conflict settings, including extremist contexts. The Security
Council adopted the resolution 2427 in July 2018, the latest
in that regard.
23.