|
|
|
|
International Justice and Children
|
The development of coherent and effective policies and operational guidelines on the interaction between international criminal justice and other accountability mechanisms on: (a) crimes committed against children; (b) crimes committed by children; and (c) crimes witnessed by children are of critical importance to the effectiveness, functioning and credibility of international and national post-conflict accountability mechanisms, in contributing to the end of impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide with a view to the restoration of the rule of law and the promotion and protection of human rights. NPWJ has experience and specific expertise on the issue of children and international criminal justice, having co-authored the seminal book on the subject with the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre and having cooperated closely with UNICEF in drafting a brief on the customary law status of child soldiers that was submitted to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the case of The Prosecutor v Hinga Norman.
The issue of children and their participation in international criminal justice and other accountability mechanisms continues to grow in relevance and urgency, particularly given the number of child victims, witnesses and perpetrators of crimes under international law, and the measures being taken to address the issues by various actors, including the ICC. The participation of children in international criminal justice and other accountability mechanisms is now one of the major policy issues facing international criminal justice today.
|
|
|
|
|
