While the participation of children in armed conflict has been evident for some time, internal community mobilization on the issue is fairly recent. In 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 48/157 in response to a request by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.<br /> <br /> At the present the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that approximately 300,000 children in over 40 countries worldwide are engaged in armed conflict. Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world, 120,000 can be found in Africa alone.<br /> Apart from making them direct combatants, both governments and armed groups use children as messengers, lookouts, porters, spies able to enter small spaces, and even use them as suicide bombers and human mine detectors. In the due course of such use and abuse children are forced to kill or are themselves killed, sexually assaulted, raped, forced to become wives of the commanders, exposed to drugs and forced labour, showing the cross cutting nature and magnitude of the problem of child soldiers.<br /> <br /> There are a variety of international legal standards which, at first glance, seem to give some direction and guidance in the protection of child soldiers. In spite of these legal instruments for the protection of child soldiers in Africa, however, much remains to be done as the problem is continuing at a larger scale every day and new challenges keep cropping up. This study will look into ways of addressing these problems in the context of Africa.<br /> <br /> Therefore, in order to address the issue to the best possible level, the normative framework in place may need to be strengthened. Moreover, in an attempt to be comprehensive in addressing the problem, ways of dealing with child soldiers who have allegedly committed atrocities during armed conflict should be included. This piece explores how these issues could possibly be addressed to provide for protection to the child soldier in Africa.

While the participation of children in armed conflict has been evident for some time, internal community mobilization on the issue is fairly recent. In 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 48/157 in response to a request by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.<br /> <br /> At the present the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that approximately 300,000 children in over 40 countries worldwide are engaged in armed conflict. Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world, 120,000 can be found in Africa alone.<br /> Apart from making them direct combatants, both governments and armed groups use children as messengers, lookouts, porters, spies able to enter small spaces, and even use them as suicide bombers and human mine detectors. In the due course of such use and abuse children are forced to kill or are themselves killed, sexually assaulted, raped, forced to become wives of the commanders, exposed to drugs and forced labour, showing the cross cutting nature and magnitude of the problem of child soldiers.<br /> <br /> There are a variety of international legal standards which, at first glance, seem to give some direction and guidance in the protection of child soldiers. In spite of these legal instruments for the protection of child soldiers in Africa, however, much remains to be done as the problem is continuing at a larger scale every day and new challenges keep cropping up. This study will look into ways of addressing these problems in the context of Africa.<br /> <br /> Therefore, in order to address the issue to the best possible level, the normative framework in place may need to be strengthened. Moreover, in an attempt to be comprehensive in addressing the problem, ways of dealing with child soldiers who have allegedly committed atrocities during armed conflict should be included. This piece explores how these issues could possibly be addressed to provide for protection to the child soldier in Africa.

Magister Legum - LLM / While the participation of children in armed conflict has been evident for some time, internal community mobilization on the issue is fairly recent. In 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 48/157 in response to a request by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.At the present the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that approximately 300,000 children in over 40 countries worldwide are engaged in armed conflict. Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world, 120,000 can be found in Africa alone.Apart from making them direct combatants, both governments and armed groups use children as messengers, lookouts, porters, spies able to enter small spaces, and even use them as suicide bombers and human mine detectors. In the due course of such use and abuse children are forced to kill or are themselves killed, sexually assaulted, raped, forced to become wives of the commanders, exposed to drugs and forced labour, showing the cross cutting nature and magnitude of the problem of child soldiers.There are a variety of international legal standards which, at first glance, seem to give some direction and guidance in the protection of child soldiers. In spite of these legal instruments for the protection of child soldiers in Africa, however, much remains to be done as the problem is continuing at a larger scale every day and new challenges keep cropping up. This study will look into ways of addressing these problems in the context of Africa.Therefore, in order to address the issue to the best possible level, the normative framework in place may need to be strengthened. Moreover, in an attempt to be comprehensive in addressing the problem, ways of dealing with child soldiers who have allegedly committed atrocities during armed conflict should be included. This piece explores how these issues could possibly be addressed to provide for protection to the child soldier in Africa. / South Africa

This thesis examines some flaws in the interpretation and application of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction ('the Hague Convention) and how this has led to the inadequate protection of children against the impact of domestic and family violence. These inadequacies have been identified in the inconsistent interpretation and application of Article 13(1) b) amongst Contracting States. This thesis seeks to address the disparity through a comprehensive analysis of the issues and its root causes, whilst conducting an empirical study with the aim of proposing policy recommendations. The demographics of taking parents shows that the majority of them are primary carer mothers as opposed to non-resident fathers. Added to this, UN global statistics reveal that 30% of women have experienced intimate partner violence and 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners. It is also now recognised that violence and abuse between parents may expose a child to the grave risk of harm. Therefore, domestic violence does not have to be perpetrated on the child directly to suffer harm. The thesis derives its purpose from the conclusions of the Sixth Meeting of the Special Commission that allegations of domestic violence and the risks to the child are not always adequately and promptly examined. The thesis analyses the inconsistencies in the approach by Contracting States towards Article 13 (1) b) in cases involving domestic violence, with a particular focus on case law and the empirical survey that was carried out as a part of this doctoral research. The thesis aims to identify best practices and provide recommendations which it is hoped has influenced the Working Group in the preparation of the draft Guide to Good Practice at the Hague Conference. It is anticipated that the Guide to Good Practice on Article 13 (1) b) will greatly assist judges on measures to improve upon its interpretation and application in cases involving allegations of domestic violence. The underlying rationale is that it is possible to achieve real consistency. Judges need to be aided with a roadmap of the correct approach to analysing the grave risk of harm, whilst addressing evidential and resource issues. It is suggested that the starting point should always be an 'effective examination' of the allegations of domestic violence, rather than first considering protective measure on the basis of an assumption that the allegations are true. An “effective examination” should take place by means of a 'thorough, limited and expeditious' investigation, in line with X v Latvia (Application no. 27853/09) Grand Chamber [2013]. The recommendations put forward in this thesis combine the principle of 'effective examination' and a stronger recognition of the role of the Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. The objective is to help unify the interpretation and application of Article 13(1) b) in cases concerning domestic violence across Contracting States.

This study is intended to address the problem of international parental child abduction from Islamic and international perspectives.  During a decade of working as a judge in the state of Qatar a number of cross-border child abduction cases occurred involving GCC, Arab and Western parents.  In none of these cases has the Hague Convention on The Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980) been consulted or mentioned.  There is no evidence that the attention of Qatari judges has ever been drawn to the existence of this important international treaty. However, for the reasons given throughout this study, it will be argued that The Hague Convention is too important to be totally ignored by Muslim countries, while these countries will probably start to face an increasing number of cross-border child abduction cases.  The benefits of acceding to the Convention are made clear by considering a diversity of international cases where the solutions of the Convention best serve the welfare of the abducted children by procedurally ordering their prompt return to their habitual residence, thus putting to an end an arbitrary act of abduction unjustifiably carried out by one of the carers.  It is hoped that in the end this research will bring Islamic and Convention understandings closer to each other with regard to the problem of international parental child abduction.

No abstract provided. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2011.

This thesis examined the extent to which South Africa has domesticated the international provisions protecting foreign migrant children. The thesis further investigated procedural gaps and makes recommendations in respect of law and procedure to ensure the adequate protection of the rights of undocumented foreign migrant children in South Africa.

No description available.

No description available.

"Internal globalization" has become a common phenomenon which, among other things, has increased the number of mixed-national couples due to the greater mobility of people and the globalization of trade and commerce. Unanticipated difficulties can follow from the breakdown of such relationships for both children and parents if the custodial parent leaves the family's former habitual residence with the child. This is especially true for the left-behind parent. / The starting point for this study was the discussion among experts as to whether an Additional Protocol to the 1980 Child Abduction Convention might resolve the inherent weak protection of access rights. To answer this question concerning the necessity of such an Additional Protocol, this thesis provides an overview of the relevant existing and future international legal frameworks that address child protection and parental responsibilities and shows the evolution in child law from a formerly neglected issue to a high-profile topic. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)