In this report, Lazarenko notes that adolescents between ages 16 to 18 who attend vocational educational institutions in conflict-affected areas are at a particularly high risk of involvement in armed forces/groups or sexual exploitation. He notes currently there are 44 vocational education institutions in operation in conflict-affected areas with about 13,500 adolescent students in attendance/residence. Institutions in the Donetsk region cannot provide an adequate protective environment.
According to this report, the Ukraine government recently adopted legislation to prohibit children’s participation in hostilities or armed conflicts. Lazarenko notes that there is no criminal law, however, that criminalizes recruitment of children in the armed services.
The report also discusses a study that found that VEI students both in the north and the south of the Region of Donetsk are practically unaware of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding the children’s participation in armed conflicts. Eighty-two percent of students had not heard of laws governing children’s participation in armed conflicts.
