During recent armed conflicts - such as those in Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda - public attention was repeatedly caught by images of children, both as civilians and as soldiers. Those conflicts, like so many others, were vivid reminders that where there is armed conflict there are also, almost always, children. Soldiers and officers fulfil many roles in relation to such children - sometimes as combatants, sometimes as humanitarian workers, sometimes as protectors, and/or sometimes as enemies and abusers. This book aims to address three main questions: what are the obligations of...

Each year, many thousands of child civilians are killed, injured, or otherwise physically and psychologically harmed as a result of armed conflicts. There is a considerable body of international law which aims to minimize the harm inflicted on these children, and yet it is little known, or observed. This text focuses exclusively on child civilians. It addresses three main questions: what are the precise rules incorporated in the pertinent body of law, and what are its implementation mechanisms?; how effective is it (with reference to recent conflicts involving Iraq) in helping to achieve some...