Committee on the Rights of the Child

Seventy-ninth session

17 September-5 October 2018

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

C onsideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the report submitted by Saudi Arabia under article 8 (1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before 15 June 2018. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State party.

1.With reference to paragraph 15 of the State party’s report (CRC/C/OPAC/SAU/1), please provide information on specific measures taken by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of the Interior to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Optional Protocol.

2.In the light of paragraphs 14 and 38–40 of the State party’s report, please provide specific information on the measures taken to disseminate the provisions of the Optional Protocol, and not only human rights in general, and whether any training on the Optional Protocol has been provided for professionals working for or with children who are likely to have been involved in armed conflicts (especially for members of the armed forces, the police, immigration officials, lawyers, judges and medical and social workers).

3.Please provide clarification on the law and practice governing the recruitment of children into the armed forces in the light of the conflicting information provided in paragraphs 24 and 46 of the State party’s report concerning the minimum age of recruitment. Please also clarify whether the State party has any plans to criminalize the recruitment of children.

4.Please indicate the measures taken to define the recruitment of children under the age of 15 as a war crime.

5.In view of the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen, and with reference to paragraphs 189–195 of the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/72/361-S/2017/821), please provide information on all investigations conducted into reported grave violations, including the killing and maiming of children and air strikes on schools and hospitals in Yemen attributed to the “coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen” led by the State party, and on the outcome of such investigations.

6.Please provide any information regarding the fate of the released 52 children who had reportedly been associated with parties to the armed conflict and handed over to the Government of Yemen, in particular those who were not reunified with their families.

7.Please indicate the mandate of the child protection unit established at the coalition headquarters in Yemen and what activities it has undertaken.

8.With reference to paragraph 52 of the State party’s report, please update the Committee on the situation of the children detained by the State party’s armed forces, their legal status and whether they are within the jurisdiction of the State party.

9.Please provide detailed information on the rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for all children affected by armed conflict and on the number of children who have benefited from those programmes.

10.Please provide information on the cooperation of the State party with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

11.In view of the fact that the State party has not signed the Arms Trade Treaty, please provide information on the measures in place to guarantee that arms and other forms of military assistance are not sold or transferred to countries where children are known to be, or may potentially be, recruited and used in hostilities by parties in armed conflict.