CRC/C/ERI/CO/3
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6. Special protection measures
(arts. 22, 30, 38, 39, 40, 37 (b)-(d), 32-36 of the Convention)
Refugee and internally displaced children
68.
The Committee regrets that the State party has not ratified the 1951 Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees and does not adequately collaborate with humanitarian agencies in
order to ensure protection of internally displaced children.
69.
The Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Ratify the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees;
(b)
Extend further cooperation with humanitarian agencies in order to assist
refugee and internally displaced children;
(c)
Take all measures to guarantee protection of refugee children in line with
international human rights and refugee law, while taking into account the Committee’s
general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children
outside their country of origin.
Children in armed conflict
70.
The Committee welcomes that the minimum age for recruitment is set to 18; however, it
is concerned over reports of forced underage recruitment and at the detention and ill-treatment of
boys under the age when they are required to serve their compulsory military service.
Furthermore, the Committee is concerned over the lack of physical and psychological recovery
for children affected by armed conflict, in particular those who were displaced and separated
from their parents and those affected by landmines.
71.
The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Take all possible measures to prevent the recruitment of children and
enforce its legislation strictly;
(b) Provide physical and psychological recovery measures for all children
affected by armed conflict, including those separated from their parents and landmine
victims, while paying particular attention to female-headed households;
(c)
Consider ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court;
(d) Resume support to the operation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission
in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) in order to seek sustainable peace in the region.