Parliament urges to condemn and combat violence against minors and its use in armed conflicts

Eduardo González The Spanish Parliament has urged the Government to condemn and combat all forms of violence against minors” and to support, within the European Union, the “full compliance” of the obligations established in the different Conventions regarding the participation of children in armed conflicts. The non-legislative proposal, presented by the Socialist Parliamentary Group and approved in its terms by the Joint Commission for the European Union on December 19, urges the Executive to “continue condemning and combating all forms of violence against minors, to protect them and defend their rights, including their physical, mental and psychosocial health, as well as access to basic services.” It also calls for continued support within the European Union and among its member States for “full compliance with the obligations established in the various Conventions on the involvement of children in armed conflicts” and for continued promotion, “in international bodies and multilateral forums”, of policies to strengthen the protection of the civilian population against the humanitarian consequences arising from armed conflicts. The motion also urges the Government to “continue promoting, in international bodies and multilateral forums, efforts to resolve conflicts and prevent serious violations of the rights of minors, as well as respect, defence and fulfilment of their rights and protection in accordance with international humanitarian law and human rights law.” The motion was rejected by an amendment from the far-right party Vox, which calls on the government to “promote the implementation of exhaustive forensic tests on all unaccompanied illegal immigrants under the guardianship of regional governments to accurately determine their age, with the minimum possible margin of error and in order to avoid fraud”, as well as to “promote the development of a general protocol for determining the age of illegal immigrants under the guardianship of regional governments, which includes the implementation of more exhaustive forensic and medical tests, such as an X-ray of the iliac crest of the hip”.

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