Denial of Humanitarian Access to Children

Early in the children and armed conflict (CAAC) agenda, the Denial of Humanitarian Access (DHA) to children was identified as a critical issue affecting children in conflict areas and other situations of violence. Over the years, cases of the DHA, as reported through MRM, on grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict have been steadily on the rise. DHA is one of the six grave violations the United Nations is monitoring through the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) as established by the Security Council resolution 1612 (2005). Between 2005 and 2024, more than 30,000 DHA incidents have been verified. DHA, as defined within the CAAC agenda, and as specified in this document, does not exist in a vacuum but is informed by a comprehensive body of international legal norms and standards designed to protect the rights and well-being of children in times of conflict, including international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This Guidance Note results from extensive consultations with field staff and partners involved in the MRM. This document provides specific and practical guidance to field colleagues involved in MRM implementation. It helps identify incidents to be verified through the monitoring and reporting of DHA violations, including attribution as mandated by the Security Council. The guidance is to ensure coherence and consistency in verifying and reporting on DHA within the CAAC agenda. It endeavours to devise a global approach that is applicable across all situations of concern on the CAAC agenda while concurrently recognizing and accommodating the specificities inherent to each unique context.