Can international law accountability mechanisms counter violations of children's rights during and after armed conflicts?

Children and young persons are increasingly being targeted for trafficking, sexual exploitation, recruitment as child soldiers, and other abuses. Children prove to be particularly vulnerable in situations of armed conflict, such as Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Philippines, Nepal, and Colombia. A rich combination of practitioners (including ICC, ICTY and SCSL prosecutors) and academics explore to what extent international law instruments and international criminal accountability mechanisms are useful for countering violations of children's rights during and after armed conflicts. They also analyze to what extent the tendency of profiling children's rights much more strongly than before (mainly under the umbrella of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the form of child rights-based approaches) converges with the features of international criminal accountability mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court, the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Part I. Rights of the Child and International Law: 1. General introduction Karin Arts
2. The rights of the child, law of armed conflict and customary international law William Schabas
3. Children in the law and practice of the United Nations Vesselin Popovski
4. Child participation in international accountability mechanisms Saudamini Siegrist
Part II. Practice of International Courts: 5. The rights of children and the international criminal court Luis Moreno-Ocampo
6. Strike terror no more - prosecuting the use of children in Sierra Leone David Crane
7. As if it was happening again - supporting especially vulnerable witnesses, in particular women and children, at the special court for Sierra Leone An Michels
8. Children and international criminal law David Tolbert
9. Bridging the gap - military training and international accountability regarding children Jenny Kuper
10. Litigating children's rights affected by armed conflict before the European Court of Human Rights Nuala Mole
Part III. Criminal Responsibility of Minors: 11. The age of criminal responsibilty for international crimes under international law Matthew Happold
12. What do they know? Child defendants and the age of responsibility Claire McDiarmid
13. A psychological perspective on the criminal capacity of children to commit crimes Angela Veale
14. Conclusion Hans Van Ginkel.