Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty-eighth session

14 May-1 June 2018

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties

List of issues in relation to the report submitted by Algeria 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 16 February 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.Please state which government entity is responsible for implementation of the Optional Protocol and which mechanisms are used to ensure coordination with regional and local authorities. Please also indicate the impact of the 2015 Child Protection Act and the National Action Plan for Children (2008-2015) on issues related to the Optional Protocol and state whether a new action plan will be developed.

2.Please provide information on the mechanisms and procedures used to collect data on the implementation of all aspects of the Optional Protocol.

3.Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex and socioeconomic background on the number of children in Cadets of the Nation academies.

4.Please provide disaggregated data on:

(a)The number of children who have benefited from programmes and policies to prevent radicalization, including through information, education and communication;

(b)The number of children used in hostilities in Algeria who have been included in demobilization and reintegration programmes; and

(c)The number of refugee children who have been involved in armed conflict and who have benefited from child protection mechanisms.

5.Please also indicate the approximate number of children who have been recruited and used in hostilities by non-State armed groups, including Al-Qaida and Jund al-Khilafah fi Ard al-Jaza'ir, and the number of children who have been detained in connection with the fight against terrorism.

6.Please indicate what measures have been taken to provide legal, psychological or other training to persons working with children who have been recruited by armed groups or child victims of violence committed by armed groups.

7.Please indicate the minimum age for voluntary recruitment.

8.Please indicate, for Cadets of the Nation academies: the minimum age of entry; whether pupils are subject to military law and military discipline; whether they are given weapons training; what their military status is in the event of mobilization; whether there are independent complaints mechanisms; whether pupils have the right to leave the academy at any time; and whether they are under obligation to enlist in the national army after completion of their studies.

9.Please explain what measures are taken to ensure that children in Cadets of the Nation academies receive an education that includes the values of human rights, the rights of the child and humanitarian law. Also indicate the protection measures in place to guarantee the right of children to be heard, including during the admissions process and throughout their school careers, and their right to express their points of view and seek, receive and impart information of all kinds.

10.Please state whether the State party criminalizes the recruitment and use of children under 18 years of age in the national armed forces, non-State armed groups, the police force, civil defence forces and private security firms.

11.Please indicate whether the State party has established and assumes extraterritorial jurisdiction, without applying the principle of dual criminality, for all offences covered by the Optional Protocol. Please also indicate whether the State party includes all offences covered by the Optional Protocol in extradition treaties with other Member States.

12.Please describe the measures and provisions in place to prevent children being used in armed conflict or recruited by armed groups, and to provide assistance to those who are, including through information, education and communication campaigns, social programmes and refugee protection programmes.

13.Please indicate the measures in place to protect child victims of armed conflict, enlistment or other violations of the provisions of the Optional Protocol, including child refugees and child migrants, giving particular attention to their protection from reprisals, as well as measures to promote their physical and psychosocial well-being, rehabilitation and social reintegration.