Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update - August 2023

Recommendations to the Security Council

IRAQ Da’esh is listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s (SG) latest annual report (S/2023/363) on children and armed conflict (CAAC) for all five “trigger” violations against children. The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been delisted for recruitment and use, “conditional upon the finalization of all pending action plan activities and the continued absence of recruitment and use of children.” In September, the SG is expected to report on UNAMI, pursuant to SCR 2682 (2023) and, in the same month, UNITAD’s mandate will be up for renewal, per SCR 2651 (2022). In 2022, the UN verified 202 grave violations against children in Iraq, and as of December 2022, 936 children remained in detention on national security-related charges, including actual or alleged association with armed groups. The majority of child casualties verified in 2022 (67 percent) were caused by explosive remnants of war (ERW). The Security Council should:

• Call for swift and full implementation of the action plan to prevent recruitment and use of children by the PMF;

• Recall that all children allegedly associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) should be treated primarily as victims, including those allegedly associated with armed groups designated as terrorist by the UN and those who may have committed crimes, their reintegration should be prioritized, and detention should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate time; encourage the Government to continue its efforts to repatriate children held in Northeast Syria, following a rights-based approach, in accordance with their duty under international law;

• Encourage the development and signing of a handover protocol to facilitate the release of children to child protection actors for reintegration and other support services; urge donors to provide longterm, predictable funding for reintegration;

• Call on the Government to implement international legal instruments on improvised explosive devices, landmines, and other ERW, and to promote mine clearance and explosive ordnance risk education; urge all parties to avoid the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas (EWIPA);

• Call on all parties to swiftly and fully implement the recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on CAAC (SCWG-CAAC), as elaborated in its fourth conclusions on Iraq.

The United States is the lead country on Iraq.