LegalizeΝόμοι — ΦΕΚ A' 312/2002
ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΕΩΣ F
ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑΣ
ΤΕΥΧΟΣ ΠΡΩΤΟ Αρ. Φύλλου 312 10 Δεκεμβρίου 2002
Κύρωση του Προαιρετικού Πρωτοκόλλου της Σύμβασης για τα Δικαιώματα του Παιδιού, σε σχέση με την ανάμι?ξη παιδιών σε ένοπλη σύρραξη.
Ο ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΣ
ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑΣ
Εκδίδομε τον ακόλουθο νόμο που ψήφισε η Βουλή: Άρθρο πρώτο Κυρώνεται και έχει την ισχύ, που ορίζει το άρθρο 28 παρ. 1 του Συντάγματος, το Προαιρετικό Πρωτόκολλο της Σύμβασης για τα Δικαιώματα του Παιδιού σε σχέση με την ανάμιξη παιδιών σε ένοπλη σύρραξη, που υιοθετήθη?κε από τη Γενική Συνέλευση του Οργανισμού Ηνωμένων Εθνών στις 25 Μαΐου 2000 και υπογράφηκε από την Ελ?λάδα στις 7 Σεπτεμβρίου 2000, το κείμενο του οποίου σε πρωτότυπο στην αγγλική γλώσσα και σε μετάφραση στην ελληνική έχει ως εξής: 6321 Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution A/RES/54/263 of 25 May 2000 The States Parties to the present Protocol, Encouraged by the overwhelming support for the Con?vention on the Rights of the Child, demonstrating the widespread commitment that exists to strive for the pro?motion and protection of the rights of the child, Reaffirming that the rights of children require special pro?tection, and calling for continuous improvement of the sit?uation of children without distinction, as well as for their devel?opment and education in conditions of peace and security, Disturbed by the harmful and widespread impact of armed conflict on children and the long-term conse?quences it has for durable peace, security and develop?ment, Condemning the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict and direct attacks on objects protected un?der international law, including places that generally have a significant presence of children, such as schools and hospitals, Noting the adoption of the Rome Statute of the Inter?national Criminal Court, in particular, the inclusion therein as a war crime, of conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years or using them to participate actively in hostilities, in both international and non-international armed conflicts, Considering therefore that to strengthen further the im?plementation of rights recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child there is a need to increase the protec?tion of children from involvement in armed conflict, Noting that article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child specifies that, for the purposes of that Convention, a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier, Convinced that an optional protocol to the Convention that raises the age of possible recruitment of persons into armed forces and their participation in hostilities will con?tribute effectively to the implementation of the principle that the best interests of the child are to be a primary consider?ation in all actions concerning children, Noting that the twenty-sixth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in December 1995 rec?ommended, inter alia, that parties to conflict take every fea?sible step to ensure that children below the age of 18 years do not take part in hostilities, Welcoming the unanimous adoption, in June 1999, of In?ternational Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which prohibits, inter alia, forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, Condemning with the gravest concern the recruitment, training and use within and across national of children in hostilities by armed groups distinct from the armed forces of a State, and recognizing the responsibility of those who recruit, train and use children in this regard, Recalling the obligation of each party to an armed con?flict to abide by the provisions of international humanitari?an law, Stressing that the present Protocol is without prejudice to the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, including Article 51, and relevant norms of humanitarian law, Bearing in mind that conditions of peace and security based on full respect of the purposes and principles con?tained in the Charter and observance of applicable human rights instruments are indispensable for the full protection of children, in particular during armed conflicts and foreign occupation, Recognizing the special needs of those children who are particularly vulnerable to recruitment or use in hostilities contrary to the present Protocol owing to their economic or social status or gender, Mindful of the necessity of taking into consideration the economic, social and political root causes of the involve?ment of children in armed conflicts, Convinced of the need to strengthen international cooper?ation in the implementation of the present Protocol, as we!l as the physical and psychosocial rehabilitation and social reintegration of children who are victims of armed conflict, Encouraging the participation of the community and, in particular, children and child victims in the dissemination of informational and educational programmes concerning the implementation of the Protocol, Have agreed as follows: Article 1 States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct part in hostilities. Article 2 States Parties shall ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 18 years are not compulsorily recruited into their armed forces. Article 3
States Parties shall raise the minimum age for the vol?untary recruitment of persons nto their national armed forces from that set out in article 38, paragraph 3, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, taking account of the principles contained in that article and recognizing that un?der the Convention persons under the age of 18 years are entitled to special protection.
Each State Party shall deposit a binding declaration upon ratification of or accession to the present Protocol that sets forth the minimum age at which it will permit vol?untary recruitment into its national armed forces and a de?scription of the safeguards it has adopted to ensure such recruitment is not forced or coerced.
States Parties that permit voluntary recruitment into their national armed forces under the age of 18 years shall maintain safeguards to ensure, as a minimum, that: (a) Such recruitment is genuinely voluntary; (b) Such recruitment is carried out with the informed con?sent of the person’s parents or legal guardians; (c) Such persons are fully informed of the duties involved in such military service; Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall in?form all States Parties. Such notification shall take effect on the date on which it is received by the Secretary-Gen?eral.
The requirement to raise the age in paragraph 1 of the present article does not apply to schools operated by or under the control of the armed forces of the States Parties, in keeping with articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 4
Armed groups that are distinct from the armed forces of a State should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities persons under the age of 18 years.
States Parties shall take all feasible measures to pre?vent such recruitment and use, including the adoption of legal measures necessary to prohibit and criminalize such practices.
The application of the present article shall not affect the legal status of any party to an armed conflict. Article 5 Nothing in the present Protocol shall be construed as precluding provisions in the law of a State Party or in inter?national instruments and international law that are more conducive to the realization of the rights of the child. Article 6
Each State Party shall take all necessary legal, admin?istrative and other measures to ensure the effective imple?mentation and enforcement of the provisions of the pre?sent Protocol within its jurisdiction.
States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of the present Protocol widely known and pro?moted by appropriate means, to adults and children alike.
States Parties shall take all feasible measures to en?sure chat persons within their jurisdiction recruited or used in hostilities contrary to the present Protocol are demobi?lized or otherwise released from service. States Parties shall, when necessary, accord to such persons ali appro?priate assistance for their physical and psychological re?covery and their social reintegration. Article 7
States Parties shall cooperate in the implementation of the present Protocol, including in the prevention of any ac?tivity contrary thereto and in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons who are victims of acts contrary thereto, including through technical cooperation and fi?nancial assistance. Such assistance and cooperation will be undertaken consultation with the States Parties con?cerned and the relevant international organizations.
States Parties in a position to do so shall provide such assistance through existing multilateral, bilateral or other programmes or, inter alia, through a voluntary fund estab?lished in accordance with tne rules of the General Assem?bly. Article 8
Each State Party shall, within two years following the entry into force of the present Protocol for that State Party, submit a report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child providing comprehensive information on the measures it has taken to implement the provisions of the Protocol, in?cluding the measures taken to impiement the provisions on participation and recruitment.
Following the submission of the comprehensive re?port, each State Party shall include in the reports it submits to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in accordance with article 44 of the Convention, any further information with respect to the implementation of the Protocol Other States Parties to the Protocol shall submit a report every five years.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child may request from States Parties further information relevant to the im?plementation of the present Protocol. Article 9
The present Protocol is open for signature by any State that is a party to the Convention or has signed it.
The present Protocol is subject to ratification and is open to accession by any State. Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary - Gen?eral of the United Nations.
The Secretary - General, in his capacity as depositary of the Convention and the Protocol, shall inform all States Parties to the Convention and all States that have signed the Convention of each instrument of declaration pursuant to article 3. Article 10
The present Protocol shall enter into force three mon?ths after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession.
For each State ratifying the present Protocol or acced?ing to it after its entry into force, the Protocol shall enter in?to force one month after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession. Article 11
Any State Party may denounce the present Protocol at any time by written notification to the Secretary - General of the United Nations, who shall thereafter inform the other States Parties to the Convention and all States that have signed the Convention. The denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary - General. If, however, on the expiry of that year the denouncing State Party is engaged in armed conflict, the denunciation shall not take effect before the end of the armed conflict.
Such a denunciation shall not have the effect of re?leasing the State Party from its obligations under the pre?sent Protocol in regard to any act that occurs prior to the date on which the denunciation becomes effective. Nor shall such a denunciation prejudice in any way the contin?ued consideration of any matter that is already under con?sideration by the Committee on the Rights of the Child pri?or to the date on which the denunciation becomes effec?tive. ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΕΩΣ (ΤΕΥΧΟΣ ΠΡΩΤΟ) 6323 they indicate whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary - General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
An amendment adopted in accordance with para?graph 1 of the present article shall enter into force when it has been approved by the General Assembly and ac?cepted by a two-thirds majority of States Parties.
When an amendment enters into force, it shall be bind?ing on those States Parties that have accepted it, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of the present Pro?tocol and any earlier amendments they have accepted. Article 13
The present Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally au?thentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.
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