This report is Child Soldiers International’s written submission to the 2012 Universal Periodic Review on the United Kingdom. The report provides information regarding recruitment and use of children by British armed forces. It raises issues concerning national legislation, adherence to international human rights standards and implementation of the recommendations of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. This submission further describes the implementation of human rights obligations and commitment, including the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Child Soldiers International has two principal recommendations. Firstly it recommends that the UK should immediately withdraw its reservation to the article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children and armed conflict, and implement an absolute prohibition on the deployment of children into hostilities, in all circumstances. The second recommendation is that the UK should immediately raise the armed forces minimum recruitment age to 18 years.