CYIL vol. 12 (2021)

CYIL 12 (2021) TOWARD STRENGTHENING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN … as for ransom, and indoctrination. 63 Abductions have harmful physical and psychological consequences not only on their direct victims but also on their families and communities. 64 In 2019, the United Nations verified abduction of 1,683 children, with over 95 per cent of cases perpetrated by non-state actors, mainly in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria. 65 Unlike IHRL, 66 IHL and ICL do not expressly prohibit abduction. 67 IHL offers an indirect way of protection through the provisions on recruitment and use in hostilities for the purpose of rape and sexual violence, arbitrary detention, slavery, forced labor, with the intention of using children as hostages, as part of the forced displacement of a civilian population or as part of enforced disappearances. 68 If abductions are carried out with the intention to destroy in whole or in part a protected group and entail “forcible transfer of children of a targeted group to another group,” they may amount to the crime of genocide. 69 Similarly, enslavement and enforced disappearance which might contain the abduction element are forms of crimes against humanity. 70 Abduction can be also an element of war crimes such as conscripting children. 71 There is no specific definition of abduction conducted in the context of an armed conflict. The MRM Field Manual defines abduction as unlawful removal, seizure, capture, apprehension, taking or enforced disappearance of a child either temporarily or permanently for the purpose of any form of exploitation of the child. This includes, but is not limited to, recruitment in armed forces or groups, participation in hostilities, sexual exploitation or abuse, forced labour, hostage-taking and indoctrination . 72 As some authors point out, the purpose in the above definition may unnecessarily narrow down the scope and exclude situations in which children are abducted with different motivation. 73 On the other hand, the phrase “but is not limited to” indicates that the list is not exhaustive and the definition covers also acts committed with other purposes, though still in the context of exploitation. In her 2018 report, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict identified the need to provide more conceptual clarity to child protection practitioners on how to better differentiate abduction from other practices against a child’s liberty, such as illegal and arbitrary detention. 74

63 UN Doc. A/HRC/40/49, para. 8. 64 Fatima, Protecting Children , p. 287. 65 UN Doc. A/74/845-S/2020/525 of 9 June 2020, para. 11. 66 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 35. 67 Fatima, Protecting Children , p. 288. 68 Ibid. , p. 291. 69 Rome Statute, Article 6(e). 70 Ibid. , Article 7(1)(c), Article 7(1)(i). 71 Ibid. , Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi), Article 8(2)(e)(vii). 72 UNICEF, Field Manual, p. 10.

73 Fatima, Protecting Children , p. 288. 74 UN Doc. A/HRC/40/49, para. 12.

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