(1) The United Kingdom reaffirms the Paris Commitments to Protect Children Unlawfully Recruited or Used by Armed Forces or Armed Groups on their 10th anniversary. The United Kingdom draws particular attention to Paris Commitment 3, to ensure that conscription and enlistment procedures comply with applicable international law, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and Paris Commitment 5, to seek the release of all children unlawfully recruited or used by armed forces or armed groups unconditionally and at all times including during armed conflict. Having regard to the legal framework concerning the recruitment and use of children and the Paris Commitments the United Kingdom endorses the guidance set out in both the Paris Principles and the Vancouver Principles, which seek to prioritize and further operationalize child protection within UN peacekeeping missions, in advance of the launch of the Vancouver Principles on 15 November 2017.

* Founding Member