Keywords: The employment and recruitment of child soldiers, Armed forces, The active involvement of children, Non-international armed conflicts.

Armed conflicts have constantly had destructive effects on nonmilitary personnel. Children as a vulnerable group of nonmilitary personnel constantly need to receive more protection in armed conflicts. The reality of the contemporary armed conflicts justifies offering more protection to children. Therefore, in the military rules of most countries, it is prohibited to employ children in the armed forces. However, the armed groups which engage in non-international armed conflicts with considering inequality in resources and equipment and also this thought that the legal obligations are not binding for them to use and employ children in different ways such as voluntarily, unofficially and even forcibly. International humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal law with adopting an extended approach have prohibited all forms of the employment (involvement) of children. On the other side, the problem which has made the international community notice is the participation of children in armed conflicts that it exists in a variety of ways such as direct participation, indirect participation and serving in support functions. Despite the prohibition of direct and indirect participation of children in armed conflicts according to International humanitarian law (IHL), the important problem in armed conflicts is to serve in support functions that with the absence of the explicit prohibition in the treaty-based law, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its first judgment in the Lubanga case in the existence of the particular circumstances has prohibited this act.