Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty-sixth session

26 May–13 June 2014

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the initial report submitted by Jordan under article 8, paragraph 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 (15 pages maximum), if possible before 1 March2014.

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State p arty.

With reference to paragraph 15 of the State party report, please provide information on the exact role played by the Ministry of Defence in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the Optional Protocol.

Please provide information on the training activities related to the Optional Protocol for professionals working for and with children who are likely to have been involved in armed conflict, especially for members of the armed forces, the police, immigration officials, lawyers, judges, and medical and social workers.

With reference to paragraph 12 of the State party report, please provide updated information on the measures taken to address the lack of data on offences set forth in the Optional Protocol. Please also provide precise data on the number of child victims of offences under the Protocol among refugee and asylum-seeking children living within the jurisdiction of the State party.

With reference to paragraphs 28, 32 and 33 of the State party report, please indicate what measures the State party has taken to address the existing discrepancies in current legislation, which provide for different minimum age of recruitment into the armed forces, and to enact a clear prohibition of recruitment under 18 years of age.

With reference to paragraph 69 of the State party report, please clarify if the recruitment of children is explicitly listed as illegal recruitment punished under article 24 of the Military Criminal Code. Please also explain why the recruitment and use of children below 15 years of age in armed conflict is not considered as a war crime.

Please clarify if articles 141 to 144 of the criminal code explicitly criminalize the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict by non-State armed groups.

With reference to paragraph 37 of the State party report, according to which there are no volunteers into the armed forces, please clarify for what activities children above 17 may be recruited. Please also supplement information provided in paragraph 39 of the State party report and explain the measures in place to ensure that recruitment of 17–year–old children is genuinely voluntary and in accordance with the provisions of the Optional Protocol.

With respect to military schools referred to in paragraphs 40 to 43 of the State party report, please indicate what is the minimum age of entry into these schools, the proportions of academic and military training in the curricula and whether students enrolled in these schools are trained to use firearms.

Please provide information on whether there is extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes covered under the Optional Protocol in the State party and, if so, under which specific legislation.

Please describe the measures to identify children who are especially vulnerable to practices contrary to the Optional Protocol due to their economic and social status. Please also provide information on procedures in place to identify at the earliest stage refugee and asylum-seeking children or children in migrant situations who may have been or who are at risk of being recruited and/or used in hostilities, and to arrest those who recruit children in refugee camps and host families.

Please provide detailed information on the rehabilitation programmes for children affected by armed conflict. In particular, please provide detailed statistics on the number of children who, over the last three years have benefited from Government-sponsored reintegration programmes and services. Data should be disaggregated by sex, ethnicity and national origin.

Please indicate whether there is any national legislation prohibiting the trade and export of arms, including small arms and light weapons, as well as military assistance to countries where children are involved in armed conflict.

Please provide information on the inclusion of refugee children from the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq and the State of Palestine in the public school system, and indicate whether all children receive tolerance and peace education in the school system.