While all six grave violations merit equal attention, Watchlist notes that an incremental expansion of the trigger violations will provide time to assess the abilities of the Children and Armed Conflict architecture to respond to the unique monitoring, reporting, and response needs of each grave violation. The gradual expansion to all six grave violations ensures that children affected by this range of abuses are afforded equal protection and services, and avoids the impression amongst potential or actual perpetrators that some abuses are more acceptable than others.
Based on the broad range of attacks on schools and hospitals that have been monitored by the UN-led MRM, NGOs and networks such as the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, Watchlist recommends that the Security Council:
Request the Secretary-General to include in the annexes to his reports on children and armed conflict those parties to armed conflict that engage, in contravention of applicable international law, in attacks against schools and hospitals, and credible threats or attacks against schoolchildren and educational and medical personnel, in situations of armed conflict.
Read Watchlist’s Briefing Note “Next Steps to Protect Children in Armed Conflict” for more details and recommendations.
