国际人道法与人权法对使用致命武力攻击儿童兵的限制

Restraints Imposed by IHL and IHRL on the Use of Lethal Force in Attacks Targeting Child Soldiers

为保护儿童权利免遭武装冲突所害,国际法禁止征募儿童、使用儿童直接参加敌对行动。然而,国际人道法的现有规则默认参战儿童可以像成年战斗员那样被视为合法攻击目标,并且没有对使用致命武力攻击儿童兵施加限制。这不仅与前述禁止性规范的保护目标背道而驰,而且也忽视了国际法对儿童生命权的特别尊重与保护。就对儿童兵使用不加限制的致命武力而言,当国际人道法和人权法均具备可适用性时,仅在前者被确立为特别法因而优先于后者时,其合法性才得以证成。分析表明,特别法原则无法证成不加限制的致命武力的合法性。妥善的做法是限制对儿童兵使用致命武力,当具体情况表明致命武力为明显不必要时,应优先考虑俘虏或非致命方法。采取这一立场既可以最大程度地保护武装冲突中儿童的权利,也不至于妨碍交战双方追求军事胜利。

While under international law children are protected from recruitment and direct participation in hostilities with the purpose of safeguarding them against the detrimental eff ects of armed confl ict,they are tacitly permitted to be targeted and subjected to unrestricted lethal force in the same status as adult combatants under the existing international humanitarian law(IHL)once recruited.The above IHL rules are confusingly incongruous,reflecting the neglect of the particular respect and protection of children’s right to life under international law.This paper argues that when both the IHL and the international human rights law(IHRL)are applicable,the use of unrestricted lethal force in attacks targeting child soldiers obtains its legitimacy only if the IHL rules governing hostilities are determined as les specialis and thus overwhelm the IHRL norms that protect the right to life of children.However,the principle of les specialis fails to justify the legality of such attack.It is appropriate to impose restraints on the use of lethal force against child soldiers.Where specifi c circumstances show that lethal force is obviously unnecessary,priority should be given to capture or non-lethal methods.Adopting such a position could not only contribute to the respect and protection of children’s rights in armed confl ict,but also avoid hindering the belligerents’pursuit of military victory.