Internationally Recognized Child Protection Terminology1

Conceptual clarity is important for ensuring that all stakeholders define and interpret terms
in the same way. Similarly, legal concepts between states need to be compatible if bilateral
and international cooperation are to be effective.

The following terms have been officially defined by the Committee on the Rights of the
Child, other treaty bodies and United Nations organizations or multilateral intergovernmental bodies, or are found in international laws, or norms or standards that have
been endorsed by at least 3 United Nations entities, including UNICEF. Given the need for
conceptual clarity within, among and between states, the use of these official definitions is
recommended.

Abandoned Explosive Ordnance (AXO): Explosive ordnance that has not been
used during an armed conflict, that has been left behind or dumped by a party to an
armed conflict, and which is no longer under control of the party that left it behind or
dumped it. Abandoned explosive ordnance may or may not have been primed, fuzed,
armed or otherwise prepared for use. (Source: Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons, Protocol V, adopted 2003, entered into force 2006)2

A child associated with an armed force or armed group: Any person below 18
years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed
group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys, and girls used as
fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only
refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities. (Source: The Paris
Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed
Groups, February 2007)

This paper was developed by the Child Protection Section UNICEF Headquarters and the UNICEF Innocenti
Research Center in January 2010, and updated in October 2012.
2
AXOs are Explosive Remnants of War (ERW)

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Alternative care:

Provided where the childs own family is unable, even with

appropriate support, to provide adequate care for the child, or abandons or relinquishes
the child. It may take the form of informal care or formal care. With respect to the
environment where it is provided, alternative care may be: kinship care, foster care,
other forms of family-based or family-like care placements, residential care, or
supervised independent living arrangements. (Source: Guidelines for the Alternative
Care of Children, paragraphs 5 and 28 (b),( c), 2009)3

Ammunition: Shall mean the complete round or its components, including cartridge
cases, primers, propellant powder, bullets or projectiles that are used in a firearm,
provided that those components are themselves subject to authorization in the
respective State Party. (Source: Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and
Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted
2001, entered into force 2005)

Anti-Personnel Mines (APM): A mine designed to be exploded by the presence,

proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more
persons. Mines designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a
vehicle as opposed to a person that are equipped with anti-handling devices, are not
considered APM as a result of being so equipped. (Source: Mine Ban Treaty, Article 2,
1997)

Armed forces: The military institution of a State with a legal basis, and supporting the
institutional infrastructure (salaries, benefits, basic services, etc) (Source: The Paris
Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed
Groups, February 2007)

The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (Guidelines) was formally endorsed by the UN General
Assembly (UNGA) on 20 November 2009.

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Armed groups: Groups distinct from armed forces as defined by Article 4 of the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict. (Source: The Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children
Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, February 2007)

Attacks on schools or hospitals: Attacks include the targeting of schools or medical

facilities that cause the total or partial destruction of such facilities. Other interferences
to the normal operation of the facility may also be reported, such as the occupation,
shelling, targeting for propaganda of, or otherwise causing harm to schools or medical
facilities or its personnel.4 (Source: MRM Guidelines and Field Manual, Annex 2,
Page 1, 2011)

Armed violence: The intentional use of physical force, threatened or actual, with
arms, against oneself, another person, group, community or State that results in loss,
injury, death and/or psychosocial harm to an individual or individuals and that can
undermine a communitys, countrys or regions security and development
achievements and prospects. (Source: Report of the Secretary General on Promoting
development through the reduction and prevention of armed violence, A/64/228, 2009)

Birth registration: Registering of a child at birth with name, nationality and right to
know and be cared for by parents. (Source: Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Article 7, adopted 1989, entered into force 1990)

Booby trap: An explosive or non-explosive device, or other material, deliberately

placed to cause casualties when an apparently harmless object is disturbed or a
normally safe act is performed.

(Source: AAP-6 NATO Glossary of Terms and

Definitions, 2012)

A school denotes a recognizable education facility or learning site. Education facilities and learning sites
must be recognized and known by the community as a learning space and marked by visible boundaries.
Medical facilities are places where the sick and wounded are collected and /or provided with health care
services.

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Child: A child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under
the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. (Source: Convention on the
Rights of the Child, Article 1, adopted 1989, entered into force 1990)

Child exploitation: (In the context of child trafficking): Exploitation shall include, at a
minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual
exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude
or the removal of organs. (Source: Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Article 3, adopted 2000,
entered into force in 2003)

Child labour: Is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their
potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
Child labour takes place when working children are too young to work by legal
standards set by their country or when they are engaged in hazardous work, that is,
work that is potentially harmful to their physical, social, psychological or educational
development. The ILO Convention 138 establishes the age of 15 as the legal minimum
age for employment. (Source: ILO Convention No. 138, Minimum Age for Admission
to Employment and Work, adopted 1973, entered into force 1976)

Child marriage: Marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 is recognized in

international legal instruments to be a violation of the childs human rights (Source:
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article
16, paragraph 2, adopted 1979, entered into force in 1981; Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 21,
Equality in Marriage and Family Relations, 1994; Convention on the Rights of the
Child, General Comment No. 4, Adolescent Health and Development in the context of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2003)

Child pornography: Any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in

real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a
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child for primarily sexual purposes. (Source: Optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography, Article 2, adopted 2000, entered into force 2002). More recently the
international community commonly refers to child abuse materials or exploitation
of children in pornography, to reflect the wide spectrum of child abuse materials
and to highlight the exploitative aspects of this phenomenon.5

Child prostitution: The use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any
other form of consideration. (Source: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography,
Article 2, adopted 2000, entered into force 2002). More recently the international
community often refers to sexual exploitation of children in prostitution or
exploitation of children in prostitution, which highlights the exploitative aspects of
this phenomenon.6

Child recruitment or use: Recruitment or use of children under the age stipulated in
the international treaties applicable to the armed force or armed group in question or
under applicable national law. (Source: The Paris Principles and Guidelines on
Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, February 2007)

Child sensitive: Means an approach that balances the childs right to protection and
that takes into account a childs individual needs and views. (Source: Guidelines on
Justice in matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, 2005)

This document uses terminology that adheres to the language of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. However, there has
been an evolution in the terminology used since the adoption of the Optional Protocol, with many
organizations now preferring to use the terms child abuse materials and exploitation of children in
pornography, to reflect the wide spectrum of child abuse materials and to highlight the exploitative aspects of
this phenomenon.
6
This document uses terminology that adheres to the language of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. However, there has
been an evolution in the terminology used since the adoption of the Optional Protocol, with many organizations
now preferring to use the terms sexual exploitation of children in prostitution or exploitation of children in
prostitution, which highlight the exploitative aspects of this phenomenon.

Page 5 of 26

Child sexual abuse:

a) Engaging in sexual activities with a child who, according to the relevant provisions
of national law, has not reached the legal age for sexual activities;
b) Engaging in sexual activities with a child where:
use is made of coercion, force or threats; or
abuse is made of a recognised position of trust, authority or influence over the
child, including within the family; or
abuse is made of a particularly vulnerable situation of the child, notably because
of a mental or physical disability or a situation of dependence.

It should be noted that the provisions of paragraph a) are not intended to govern
consensual sexual activities between children under the age of 18 years. (Source:
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual
Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Article 18, adopted 2007, entered into force in 2010)

Child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation also include: Child prostitution
and, child pornography, the participation of a child in pornographic performances
(including recruiting, coercing and causing a child into participating in pornographic
performances or profiting from or otherwise exploiting a child for such purposes and
knowingly attending performances involving the participation of children), intentional
causing, for sexual purposes, of a child who has not reached the legal age for sexual
activities, to witness sexual abuse or sexual activities, even without having to
participate, and the solicitation of children for sexual purposes. (Source: Council of
Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and
Sexual Abuse, Articles 18-23, adopted 2007, entered into force 2010). More recently
the international community often refers to sexual exploitation of children in
prostitution or exploitation of children in prostitution, and child abuse
materials or exploitation of children in pornography, to highlight the exploitative
aspects of these phenomena and to reflect the wide spectrum of child abuse material.

Page 6 of 26

Child associated with armed forces or armed group (CAAFAG): Any person
below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or
armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys, and girls used
as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only
refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities. (Source: The Paris
Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed
Groups, February 2007)

Child victims and witnesses: Children and adolescents under the age of 18 who are
victims of crime(s) or witnesses to crime(s), regardless of their role in the offence or in
the prosecution of the alleged offender or groups of offenders. (Source: Guidelines on
Justice in matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, 2005)

Children without parental care: All children not living in the overnight care of at
least one of their parents, for whatever reason and under whatever circumstances.
Children without parental care who are outside their country of habitual residence or
victims of emergency situations may be designated as unaccompanied or separated.
(Source: Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, Article 28 (a), 2009)

Cluster Munition: A conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release

explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those
explosive submunitions. (Source: Convention on Cluster Munitions, Article 2, 2008)

Corporal punishment of children: Corporal or physical punishment is any

punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain
or discomfort, however light. Most involves hitting (smacking, slapping,
spanking) children, with the hand or with an implement a whip, stick, belt, shoe,
wooden spoon, etc. But it can also involve, for example, kicking, shaking or throwing
children, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling hair or boxing ears, caning, forcing
children to stay in uncomfortable positions, burning, scalding, or forced ingestion. In
the view of the Committee, corporal punishment is invariably degrading. (Source:
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Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 8, The right of the child
to protection form corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of
punishment, paragraph. 11, 2006)

Debt bondage: The status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his (or
her) personal services or of those of a person under his (or her) control as security for a
debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the
liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively
limited and defined. (Source: Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery,
the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, Article 1, adopted
1956, entered into force 1957)

Demining: Humanitarian demining activities which lead to the removal of mine and
ERW hazards, including technical survey, mapping, clearance, marking, postclearance documentation, community mine action liaison and the handover of cleared
land. Demining may be carried out by different types of organisations, such as NGOs,
commercial companies, national mine action teams or military units. Demining may be
emergency-based or developmental. (Source: International Mine Action Standards,
2004)

Denial of humanitarian access: The intentional deprivation of or impediment to the

passage of humanitarian assistance indispensable to children's survival, by the parties
to the conflict, including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the
Geneva Conventions; and significant impediments to the ability of humanitarian or
other relevant actors to access and assist affected children, in situations of armed
conflict. The denial should be considered in terms of childrens access to assistance as
well as humanitarian agencies ability to access vulnerable populations, including
children. There is a need to break down different types of constraints on access and
their consequences into specific patterns, in order to address the restriction. E.g. it is
insufficient to report that access is impeded by insecurity. There are many different
types of insecurity involving different actors with various purposes and motivations.
Page 8 of 26

Upon reporting, country teams should provide information of the type of constraints;
which humanitarian actors were affected; which relief goods could not get through;
and also of the nature of the impact on the civilian population.
The types of restrictions to report include the actual denial of medical, food, education,
other essential supplies into areas; instances where children have died as they have not
been allowed to cross checkpoints in ambulances to obtain essential emergency
medical care (which is to be reported as two separate violations); threats to and killing
/injuring of humanitarian workers; and other significant impediments to humanitarian
agencies that affect access to children.
(Source: MRM Guidelines and Field Manual, Annex 2, Page 7, 2011)

Deprivation of liberty: This means any form of detention or imprisonment or the

placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting, from which this person is
not permitted to leave at will, by order of any judicial, administrative or other public
authority. (Source: Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty,
Article 11(b), 1990)

Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR): A process that contributes

to security and stability in a post-conflict recovery context by removing weapons from
the hands of combatants, taking the combatants out of military structures and helping
them to integrate socially and economically into society by finding livelihoods.
(Source: The Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed
Forces or Armed Groups, February 2007)

Discrimination on the basis of disability: This means any distinction, exclusion or

restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or
nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural,
civil or any other field. It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of

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reasonable accommodation. (Source: Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities, Article 2, adopted 2006, opened for signature 2007)

Disabilities: Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical,
mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers
may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with
others. (Source: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 2,
adopted 2006, entered into force 2008)

Early childhood: Definitions of early childhood vary in different countries and

regions, according to local traditions and the organization of primary school systems.
In some countries, the transition from preschool to school occurs soon after 4 years
old. In other countries, this transition takes place at around 7 years old. In its
consideration of rights in early childhood, the Committee on the Rights of the Child
wishes to include all young children: at birth and throughout infancy; during the
preschool years; as well as during the transition to school. Accordingly, the Committee
proposes as an appropriate working definition of early childhood the period below the
age of 8 years. (Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No.
7, Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood, paragraph 4, 2005)

Explosive Remnants of War (ERW): Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Abandoned

Explosive Ordnance (AXO) (Source: Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons,
Protocol V, adopted 2003, entered into force 2006)

Family strengthening services: A range of measures to strengthen children and

families parenting courses and sessions, the promotion of positive parent-child
relationships, conflict resolution skills, opportunities for employment, income
generation and, whereby required, social assistance. (Source: Guidelines for the
Alternative Care of Children, paragraph 33 (a), 2009)

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Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): Female genital mutilation comprises

all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or
other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The

WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA Joint Statement classified female genital mutilation into four

types. Experience with using this classification over the past decade has brought to
light some ambiguities. The present classification therefore incorporates modifications
to accommodate concerns and shortcomings, while maintaining the four types. In
addition, sub-divisions were created, to capture more closely the variety of procedures,
when necessary. Although the extent of genital tissue cutting generally increases from
Type I to III, there are exceptions. Severity and risk are closely related to the
anatomical extent of the cutting, including both the type and amount of tissue that is
cut, which may vary between the types. Type IV comprises a large variety of practices
that does not remove tissue from the genitals. Though limited research has been carried
out on most of these types, they appear to be generally less associated with harm or
risk than the types I, II and III, that all consist of removal of genital tissue. Complete
typology with sub-divisions:
Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).
When it is important to distinguish between the major variations of Type I mutilation,
the following subdivisions are proposed: Type Ia, removal of the clitoral hood or
prepuce only; Type Ib, removal of the clitoris with the prepuce.
Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without
excision of the labia majora (excision).
When it is important to distinguish between the major variations that have been
documented, the following subdivisions are proposed: Type IIa, removal of the labia
minora only; Type IIb, partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora;
Type IIc, partial or total removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora.
Note also that, in French, the term excision is often used as a general term covering
all types of female genital mutilation.

Page 11 of 26

Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting
and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without excision of
the clitoris (infibulation).
Type IIIa: removal and apposition of the labia minora; Type IIIb, removal and
apposition of the labia majora.
Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical
purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.
(Source: WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA Joint Statement, 1997)

Firearms: Any portable barrelled weapon that expels, is designed to expel or may be
readily converted to expel a shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive,
excluding antique firearms or their replicas. (Source: Protocol against the Illicit
Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and
Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, adopted 2001, entered into force 2005)

Forced or compulsory labour: All work or service which is exacted from any person
under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person had not offered himself
voluntarily. (Source: ILO No. 29, Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory
Labour, Article 2, adopted 1930, entered into force 1932)

Formal care: All care provided in a family environment which has been ordered by a
competent administrative body or judicial authority, and all care provided in a
residential environment, including in private facilities, whether or not as a result of
administrative or judicial measures. (Source: Guidelines for the Alternative Care of
Children, Article 28 (b), 2009)

Foster care: Situations where children are placed by a competent authority for the
purpose of alternative care in the domestic environment of a family other than the
childrens own family, that has been selected, qualified, approved and supervised for
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providing such care. (Source: Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, Article
28 (c), 2009)

Gender-based Violence (GBV): GBV is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is
perpetrated against a persons will and that is based on socially ascribed (gender)
differences between males and females. While men and boys can be survivors of some
type of GBV (particularly sexual violence), around the world, GBV has a greater
impact on women and girls. Throughout any emergency, may forms of GBV occur be
it physical, sexual, psychological, economic or social violence. Examples of GBV
throughout the life-cycle include (but are not limited to): sex-selective abortion,
different access to food and services, sexual exploitation and abuse including
trafficking, child marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry/;bride price abuse,
honor killing, domestic or intimate partner violence, deprivation of inheritance or
property. (Source: IASC Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in
Humanitarian Setting, 2005)

Harmful practices:7 These include, but are not limited to:

(a) Corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment;
(b) Female genital mutilation;
(c) Amputations, binding, scarring, burning and branding;
(d) Violent and degrading initiation rites; force-feeding of girls; fattening; virginity
testing (inspecting girls genitalia);
(e) Forced marriage and early marriage;
(f) Honour crimes; retribution acts of violence (where disputes between different
groups are taken out on children of the parties involved); dowry-related death and
violence;
(g) Accusations of witchcraft and related harmful practices such as exorcism;
(h) Uvulectomy and teeth extraction.

Recent global developments may result in updated definitions of harmful practices. Specifically, the CRC
Committee and CEDAW Committee are currently drafting a joint General Recommendation/General Comment
on harmful practices and updating current guidance to States Parties in which updated definitions will be issued.

Page 13 of 26

(Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 13, The Right of
the Child to Freedom from all forms of Violence, paragraph 29, 2011)

Hazardous work: ILO Convention 182 defines hazardous work as one of the a worst
form of child labour - work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is
carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. The Convention
itself does not define what this includes, instead leaving it to the countries to do so in
the form of what we commonly call the hazardous work list. But the ILOs Worst
Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190), the non-binding guidelines
that accompany Convention No. 182, gives some indication as to what work should be
prohibited. It urges member States to give consideration to: work that exposes children
to physical, emotional or sexual abuse; work underground, under water, at dangerous
heights or in confined spaces; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools,
or that involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads; work in an unhealthy
environment, which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances,
agents or processes or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their
health; work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or
during the night or work that does not allow for the possibility of returning home each
day. (Source: ILO Convention No. 182, Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention,
adopted in 1999, entered into force in 2000; ILO Recommendation 190, Prohibition
and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999)

Household chores: Children engaged within their household in unpaid household

services (that is, unpaid production of domestic and personal services by a household
member for consumption within the same household). The Resolution concerning
statistics of child labour (RCL) adopted at the 18th International Conference of Labour
Statisticians (ICLS) in 2008 recognizes that unpaid household chores are potentially
important in giving rise to child labour. Within the framework of the RCL, some
countries have started to define excessive unpaid household services (defined in terms
of hours) as constituting child labour. (Source: Resolution concerning statistics of

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child labour (RCL) adopted at the 18th International Conference of Labour

Statisticians, 2008)

Informal care: Any private arrangement provided in a family environment, whereby

the child is looked after on an ongoing or indefinite basis by relatives or friends
(information kinship care) or by others in their individual capacity, at the initiative of
the child, his/her parents or other person without this arrangement having been ordered
by an administrative or judicial authority or a duly accredited body (Source:
Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, Article 28 (b), 2009)

Inter-country adoption: (i) The Convention shall apply where a child habitually
resident in one Contracting State ("the State of origin") has been, is being, or is to be
moved to another Contracting State ("the receiving State") either after his or her
adoption in the State of origin by spouses or a person habitually resident in the
receiving State, or for the purposes of such an adoption in the receiving State or in the
State of origin. (2) The Convention covers only adoptions which create a permanent
parent-child relationship. (Source: Hague Convention on Protection of Children and
Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, Article 2, 1993)

International Mine Action Standards (IMAS): Documents developed by the UN on

behalf of the international community, which aim to improve safety and efficiency in
mine action by providing guidance, by establishing principles and, in some cases, by
defining international requirements and specifications. (Source: International Mine
Action Standards, 2004)

Juvenile: A juvenile is a child or young person who, under the respective legal
systems, may be dealt with for an offence in a manner which is different from an adult.
(Source: Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, adopted
by General Assembly resolution 40/33, 1985)

Page 15 of 26

Kinship care: Family-based care within the childs extended family or with close
friends of the family known to the child, whether formal or information in nature.
(Source: Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, Article 28 (c), 2009)

Killing or maiming of children: Killing and maiming of children as a result of direct

targeting, cross-fire, landmines, cluster munitions, improvised explosive devices or
other indiscriminate explosive devices are included. Torture can also be reported under
this category. Killing: Any action in the context of the armed conflict that results in
the death of one or more children. Maiming: Any action that causes a serious or
permanent or disabling or scarring or mutilation injury to a child. (Source: MRM
Guidelines and Field Manual, Annex 2, Page 1, 2011)

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS): Any type of local or outside
support that aims to protect or promote psychosocial well-being and/or prevent or treat
mental disorder. Although the terms mental health and psychosocial support are
closely related and overlap, for many aid workers they reflect different, yet
complementary, approaches. (Source: IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and
Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, Page 1, 2007)

Mental violence against children (also sometimes referred to as emotional

violence): Mental violence, as referred to in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, is often described as psychological maltreatment, mental abuse, verbal abuse
and emotional abuse or neglect and this can include:
(a) All forms of persistent harmful interactions with the child, for example, conveying
to children that they are worthless, unloved, unwanted, endangered or only of value
in meeting anothers needs;
(b) Scaring, terrorizing and threatening; exploiting and corrupting; spurning and
rejecting; isolating, ignoring and favouritism;
(c) Denying emotional responsiveness; neglecting mental health, medical and
educational needs;

Page 16 of 26

(d) Insults, name-calling, humiliation, belittling, ridiculing and hurting a childs

feelings;
(e) Exposure to domestic violence;
(f) Placement in solitary confinement, isolation or humiliating or degrading conditions
of detention; and
(g) Psychological bullying and hazing by adults or other children, including via
information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones and
the Internet.
(Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 13, The Right of
the Child to Freedom from all Forms of Violence, paragraph 21, 2011)

Mine: A munition designed to be placed under, on or near the ground or other surface
area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of person or a vehicle.
(Source: Mine Ban Treaty, Article 2, 1997)

Mine action: Activities which aim to reduce the social, economic and environmental
impact of mines and ERW. Mine action is not just about demining; it is also about
people and societies, and how they are affected by landmine and ERW contamination.
The objective of mine action is to reduce the risk from landmines and ERW to a level
where people can live safely; in which economic, social and health development can
occur free from the constraints imposed by landmine and ERW contamination, and in
which the victims needs can be addressed. Mine action comprises five complementary
groups of activities: a) Mine/ERW Risk Education (MRE); b) humanitarian demining,
i.e. mine and ERW survey, mapping, marking and clearance; c) victim assistance,
including rehabilitation and reintegration; d) stockpile destruction; and e) advocacy
against the use of APM. (Source: International Mine Action Standards, 2004)

Mine risk: The probability and severity of physical injury to people, property or the
environment caused by the unintentional detonation of a mine or ERW. (Source:
International Mine Action Standards, 2004)

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Mine Risk Education (MRE): Activities which seek to reduce the risk of injury from
mines/ERW by raising awareness and promoting behavioural change including public
information dissemination, education and training, and community mine action liaison.
(Source: International Mine Action Standards, 2004)

Mine risk reduction: Those actions which lessen the probability and/or severity of
physical injury to people, property or the environment. [Adapted from ISO Guide
51:1999(E)] Mine risk reduction can be achieved by physical measures such as
clearance, fencing or marking, or through behavioural changes brought about by
MRE. (Source: International Mine Action Standards, 2004)

Neglect and negligent treatment: Neglect means the failure to meet childrens
physical and psychological needs, protect them from danger, or obtain medical, birth
registration or other services when those responsible for childrens care have the
means, knowledge and access to services to do so. It includes:
(a) Physical neglect: failure to protect a child from harm, including through lack of
supervision, or failure to provide the child with basic necessities including
adequate food, shelter, clothing and basic medical care;
(b) Psychological or emotional neglect: including lack of any emotional support and
love, chronic inattention to the child, caregivers being psychologically
unavailable by overlooking young childrens cues and signals, and exposure to
intimate partner violence, drug or alcohol abuse;
(c) Neglect of childrens physical or mental health: withholding essential medical care;
(d) Educational neglect: failure to comply with laws requiring caregivers to secure
their childrens education through attendance at school or otherwise; and
(e) Abandonment: a practice which is of great concern and which can
disproportionately affect, inter alia, children out of wedlock and children with
disabilities

in

some

societies.

(Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 13, The
Right of the Child to Freedom from all forms of Violence, paragraph 20, 2011)

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Organized Criminal Group: Organized criminal group shall mean a structured group
of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the
aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences in order to obtain, directly
or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.

(Source: United Nations

Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000)

Physical violence against children: This includes fatal and non-fatal physical
violence. It includes:
(a) All corporal punishment and all other forms of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment; and
(b)

Physical

bullying

and

hazing

by

adults

and

by

other

children.

(Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 13, The
Right of the Child to Freedom from all forms of Violence, paragraph 22, 2011)

Recruitment: Compulsory, forced and voluntary conscription or enlistment of

children into any kind of armed force or armed group. (Source: The Paris Principles
and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups,
February 2007)

Refugee: A person, who owing to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of

race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinions
is outside of the country of his nationality and is unable or owing to such fear, is
unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. (Source: Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees, Art 1A (2), 1951, as modified by the 1967 Protocol)

Reintegration: The process through which children transition into civil society and
enter meaningful roles and identities as civilians who are accepted by their families
and communities in a context of local and national reconciliation. Sustainable
reintegration is achieved when the political, legal, economic and social conditions
needed for children to maintain life, livelihood and dignity have been secured. This
process aims to ensure that children can access their rights, including formal and nonPage 19 of 26

formal education, family unity, dignified livelihoods and safety from harm. (Source:
The Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or
Armed Groups, February 2007)

Release: The process of formal and controlled disarmament and demobilization of

children from an armed force or armed group as well as the informal ways in which
children leave by escaping, being captured or by any other means. It implies a
disassociation from the armed force or armed group and the beginning of the transition
from military to civilian life. Release can take place during a situation of armed
conflict; it is not dependent on the temporary or permanent cessation of
hostilities. Release is not dependent on children having weapons to forfeit. (Source:
The Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or
Armed Groups, February 2007)

Residential care: Care provided in any non-family-based group setting, such as places
of safety for emergency care, transit centres in emergency situations, and all other
short and long-term residential care facilities including group homes. (Source:
Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, Article 28 (c), 2009). Other terms
used for this form of care are institutional care and orphanages.

Restorative justice: Restorative justice programme means any programme that uses
restorative processes or aims to achieve restorative outcomes.
Restorative outcome means an agreement reached as the result of a restorative process.
Examples of restorative outcomes include restitution, community service and any other
programme or response designed to accomplish reparation of the victim and
community, and reintegration of the victim and/or the offender.
Restorative process means any process in which the victim, the offender and/or any
other individuals or community members affected by a crime actively participate
together in the resolution of matters arising from the crime, often with the help of a fair
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and impartial third party. Examples of restorative process include mediation,

conferencing and sentencing circles. (Source: Economic and Social Council
Resolution 2000/14, Basic principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in
Criminal Matters, 2000)

Rule of law: Refers to a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and
entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws that are
publically promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which
are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as
well, measures to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality
before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law,
separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, avoidance of
arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency. (Source: The rule of law and
transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies, Report of the SecretaryGeneral, S/2004/616, 2004)

Sale of children: Any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person
or group of persons to another for remuneration or any other consideration. (Source:
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Article 2, adopted 2000, entered
into force 2002)

Self-harm: This includes eating disorders, substance use and abuse, self-inflicted
injuries, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and actual suicide. Suicide

among

adolescents is of particular concern to the Committee. (Source: Committee on the

Rights of the Child, General Comment 13, The right of the child to freedom from all
forms of violence, paragraph 28, 2011)

Separated Child: A child separated from both parents or from their previous legal or
customary primary care-giver, but who may nevertheless be accompanied by another

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relative. (Source: Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, 2009 Article 28 (a);
Inter-agency Guidelines on Unaccompanied and Separated Children, 2004)

Serfdom: The condition or status of a tenant who is by law, custom or agreement

bound to live and labour on land belonging to another person and to render some
determinate service to such other person, whether for reward or not, and is not free to
change his status. (Source: Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the
Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, Article 1, 1957)

Slavery: Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the
powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. (Source: Slavery Convention,
Article 1, adopted in 1926, entered into force in 1927)

Slave trade: The slave trade includes all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or
disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the
acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by
sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in
general, every act of trade or transport in slaves (Source: Slavery Convention, Article
1, adopted in 1926, entered into force in 1927). This means and includes all acts
involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to
slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or
exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a person acquired with a
view to being sold or exchanged; and, in general, every act of trade or transport in
slaves by whatever means of conveyance. (Source: Supplementary Convention on the
Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to
Slavery, Article 7, 1927)

Smuggling: The procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or

other material benefit of the illegal entry of a person into the State Party of which the
person is not a national or a permanent resident. (Source: UN Protocol Against the
Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, Article 3(a), adopted 2000)
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Solicitation of children for sexual purposes: Intentional proposal, through

information and communication technologies, of an adult to meet a child who has not
reached the legal age for sexual activities, for the purpose of engaging in sexual
activities or the production of child pornography. (Source: Council of Europe
Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual
Abuse, Article 23, 2007)

Landmine/ERW Survivor: Persons either individually or collectively who have

suffered physical, emotional and psychological injury, economic loss or substantial
impairment of their fundamental rights through acts or omissions related to the use of
mines or the presence of ERW. Mine/ERW survivors or victims include directly
impacted individuals, their families, and communities affected by landmines and
ERW. (Source: International Mine Action Standards, 2004)

Torture: Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third
person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a
third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or
suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a
public official or other person acting in an official capacity. (Source: Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Article 1, adopted in 1984, entry into force 1987)

Torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of children: This

includes violence in all its forms against children in order to extract a confession, to
extra-judicially punish children for unlawful or unwanted behaviours, or to force
children to engage in activities against their will, typically applied by police and lawenforcement officers, staff of residential and other institutions and persons who have
power over children, including non-State armed actors. Victims are often children who
Page 23 of 26

are marginalized, disadvantaged and discriminated against and who lack the protection
of adults responsible for defending their rights and best interests. This includes
children in conflict with the law, children in street situations, minorities and
indigenous children, and unaccompanied children. The brutality of such acts often
results in life-long physical and psychological harm and social stress. (Source:
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 13, The Right of the
Child to Freedom from all forms of Violence, paragraph 26, 2011)

Trafficking: (a) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of

persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of
abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of
vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others
or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices
similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs; ()
(c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the
purpose of exploitation shall be considered trafficking in persons even if this
does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
(d) Child shall mean any person under eighteen years of age. (Source: Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children, Article 3, 2000)

Unaccompanied child (sometimes called unaccompanied minors): Children who have

been separated from both parents and other relatives and are not being cared for by an
adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for doing so. (Source: Inter-agency
Guidelines on Unaccompanied and Separated Children, 2004)

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO): Exploded Ordnance that has been primed, fuzed,
armed or otherwise prepared for use or used. It may have been fired, dropped,
launched or projected yet remains unexploded either through malfunction or design or
Page 24 of 26

for any other reason. (Source: International Mine Action Standards, 2004). Like
AXO, UXO constitute ERW.

Victim (of landmines/cluster munitions/ERW): All persons who have been killed or
suffered physical or psychological injury, economic loss, social marginalisation or
substantial impairment of the realisation of their rights. This includes persons directly
impacted, as well as their affected families and communities. (Source: Convention on
Cluster Munitions, Article 5, 2010)

Violence against children: The Convention on the Rights of the Child in its Article
19 protects children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse,
neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse,
while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of
the child.
General Comment 13 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child describes violence
to represent all forms of harm to children as listed in article 19, paragraph 1 CRC, in
conformity with the terminology used in the 2006 United Nations study on violence
against children (UNSVAC), although the other terms used to describe types of harm
(injury, abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment and exploitation) carry
equal weight. (Source: Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 19, paragraph
1, adopted 1989, entered into force 1990; and Committee on the Rights of the Child,
General Comment No. 13, The Right of the Child to Freedom from all forms of
Violence, paragraph 17, 2011)

Violence among children: This includes physical, psychological and sexual violence,
often by bullying, exerted by children against other children, frequently by groups of
children, which not only harms a childs physical and psychological integrity and wellbeing in the immediate term, but often has severe impact on his or her development,
education and social integration in the medium and long term. Also, violence by youth
gangs takes a severe toll on children, whether as victims or as participants. Although
Page 25 of 26

children are the actors, the role of adults responsible for these children is crucial in all
attempts to appropriately react and prevent such violence, ensuring that measures do
not exacerbate violence by taking a punitive approach and using violence against
violence. (Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 13,
The Right of the Child to Freedom from all forms of Violence, paragraph 2, 2011)

Worst forms of child labour:

(a) All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking
of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including
forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of
pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the
production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely
to harm the health, safety or morals of children. (Source: ILO Convention No. 182,
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, Article 3, adopted in 1999, entered into
force in 2000)

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