Committee on the Rights of the Child
Sixty-first session
17 September – 5 October 2012
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
List of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the consideration of the initial report of Albania (CRC/C/OPAC/ALB/1)
The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (15 pages maximum), if possible before 2July 2012.
The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State p arty .
1.Please indicate which body is responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Optional Protocol.
2.With reference to the State party’s information that compulsory recruitment have been stopped since September 2009 as a result of the Government’s decision to create a professional army according to NATO standards, please provide information on what type of training on the principles and provisions of the Optional Protocol has been provided to the armed forces, in particular those engaged in peacekeeping operations.
3.In view of the absence of a specific prohibition of non-State armed groups in Albanian legislation, please clarify what measures the Government intends to undertake to prevent the possible recruitment or use in hostilities of persons under the age of 18 by non-State armed groups, including the adoption of legal measures necessary to prohibit and criminalize such practices, in accordance with article 4 of the Optional Protocol.
4. Please provide information on whether the Optional Protocol can be invoked to request extradition for the crimes of unlawful recruitment of children and their use in hostilities under the Optional Protocol and whether the Albanian criminal law establishes jurisdiction for such crimes.
5.Please 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 at risk of being recruited and/or used in hostilities in order to help extend rehabilitation and social reintegration to the victims of such acts, in accordance with article 7, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol. In addition, please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex and nationality, on the number of refugee and asylum-seeking children who may have been involved in or victims of armed conflict and were returned to their country of origin during 2009, 2010 and 2011.
6.Please provide information on whether national legislation prohibits the export and trade of arms, including small arms and light weapons, as well as military assistance to countries where children are involved in armed conflict.