July 15, 2011
This week, The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1998, adding recurrent attacks on schools and hospitals to the violations that may subject an entity to the listing and “naming and shaming” requirements of the mechanisms to protect children in armed conflict.
Under the resolution, the procedure may be triggered not only by recurrent attacks against facilities but by recurrent attacks or threats against “protected persons,” which under international humanitarian law include civilians not taking part in hostilities and medical personnel. Given the broad interpretation the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict has given to “hospitals,” we can expect that many health facilities will be covered.
The operative language of the resolution is as follows:
3. Recalls paragraph 16 of its resolution 1379 (2001) and requests the Secretary-General to also 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;
(a) in recurrent attacks on schools and/or hospitals
(b) in recurrent attacks or threats of attacks against protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals in situations of armed conflict, bearing
Download the resolution at http://www.un.org/children/conflict/_documents/CAACRES1998.pdf [PDF]