Statement by India at the 40^th Session of the Human Rights Council (25 February – 22 March 2019) under Agenda Item 3 : Clustered ID with SRSG on Violence against Children, and Children and Armed Conflict, delivered by Dr. A. Sudhakara Reddy, Counsellor (Legal), Permanent Mission of India [Geneva, 05 March 2019]

Mr. President,

We thank the SRSG for her report on this important topic ‘children and armed conflict’.

2. We take note of the two situations highlighted by SRSG and the specific issues that are highlighted in her report. Thisincludes: the question of ending and preventing child abduction by parties to conflict and the issue of children who were recruited and used as foreign fighters in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic. India deplores the situation of abducting children and using them as mercenaries in the situations of armed conflicts.

3. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Children have been conferred basic human rights, including certain specific rights according to their special needs. Similarly the Convention imposes several obligations on States Parties to promote the welfare of children. Therefore, the Convention is a composite instrument comprising of a group of rights borrowed from several other international treaties, applicable to children in different situations.

4. It may be recalled that situations involving armed conflicts are dealt with by the Convention. Under Article 38 of the Convention States undertake to respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to children in armed conflicts and ensure that children under 15 do not take a direct part in hostilities. It is further supplemented by Optional Protocol to the Convention to ensure that children under the age of 18 shall neither be recruited nor conscripted into the armed forces. India is a party to the said Protocol.

5. In 2013, India adopted the National Policy for Children to help in the implementation of various programmes and schemes for children. The policy gives top priority to right to life, health and nutrition, and attaches greater significance to child development, education, protection and participation.

6. We reaffirm our commitment to national and international efforts to promote and protect the rights of children. India recognises the importance of the rights of the children in all situations for their overall development.

I thank you Mr. President.