Volume 19, Issue 60 (4-2025)
MLJ 2025, 19(60): 1170-1186 |
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Seyednasseri M M. The Right to Mental Health of Children in Armed Conflicts: From Normative Gaps to Binding Obligations in International Law. MLJ 2025; 19 (60) :1170-1186
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-2011-en.html
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-2011-en.html
Medical Ethics and Law Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Background and Aim: The accelerating transformations in the nature of modern conflicts, particularly in recent decades, reveal that children are not only the direct victims of physical violence in wars but also suffer from deep and enduring psychological trauma. Nevertheless, international law has thus far neglected the recognition and effective protection of the mental health dimensions of children’s right to health in situations of armed conflict. While foundational human rights and humanitarian instruments affirm the right to health, its psychological dimension - especially concerning children affected by war - has not been independently or systematically addressed. The absence of a precise definition of the "right to mental health of children during armed conflict" and the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms have marginalized war-related psychological harm within the global legal order. This neglect represents not only a normative gap but also a deficiency in the accountability of states and international institutions toward future generations. The primary objective of this research is to examine the legal and normative foundations of the child’s right to mental health in international law, to analyze its position in human rights and humanitarian instruments and practices and to explore its potential crystallization as a customary international obligation in light of recent institutional, judicial and procedural developments.
Method: This study employs a descriptive - analytical and comparative approach. Data have been gathered from binding international legal instruments, judgments and reports of international judicial and quasi-judicial bodies and analyses of the practices of humanitarian and human rights organizations. The findings are interpreted through systematic legal reasoning and normative interpretation.
Ethical Considerations: Honesty and integrity were observed in reporting the literature, citing sources and avoiding any form of bias.
Results: Although international instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions refer to the protection of the child’s physical and mental health, the notion of mental health remains largely at the level of an interpretive and non-autonomous norm. The absence of normative coherence, the dispersion of responsibilities among states and non-state actors and the weakness of implementation and monitoring mechanisms constitute key barriers to the effective realization of this right. However, emerging jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court, reports of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Security Council resolutions indicate a gradual process of customary formation and the recognition of this right as part of states’ erga omnes obligations.
Conclusion: The study concludes that the right to mental health of children in armed conflict is not merely a humanitarian concern but a fundamental component of state obligations to ensure human dignity and sustainable peace. The gradual customary crystallization of this right requires a re-evaluation of the international responsibility framework, the establishment of independent monitoring mechanisms and the integration of psychosocial support into post-conflict recovery policies.
Please cite this article as:
Seyednasseri MM. The Right to Mental Health of Children in Armed Conflicts: From Normative Gaps to Binding Obligations in International Law. Medical Law Journal. 2025; 19: e76.
Method: This study employs a descriptive - analytical and comparative approach. Data have been gathered from binding international legal instruments, judgments and reports of international judicial and quasi-judicial bodies and analyses of the practices of humanitarian and human rights organizations. The findings are interpreted through systematic legal reasoning and normative interpretation.
Ethical Considerations: Honesty and integrity were observed in reporting the literature, citing sources and avoiding any form of bias.
Results: Although international instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions refer to the protection of the child’s physical and mental health, the notion of mental health remains largely at the level of an interpretive and non-autonomous norm. The absence of normative coherence, the dispersion of responsibilities among states and non-state actors and the weakness of implementation and monitoring mechanisms constitute key barriers to the effective realization of this right. However, emerging jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court, reports of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Security Council resolutions indicate a gradual process of customary formation and the recognition of this right as part of states’ erga omnes obligations.
Conclusion: The study concludes that the right to mental health of children in armed conflict is not merely a humanitarian concern but a fundamental component of state obligations to ensure human dignity and sustainable peace. The gradual customary crystallization of this right requires a re-evaluation of the international responsibility framework, the establishment of independent monitoring mechanisms and the integration of psychosocial support into post-conflict recovery policies.
Please cite this article as:
Seyednasseri MM. The Right to Mental Health of Children in Armed Conflicts: From Normative Gaps to Binding Obligations in International Law. Medical Law Journal. 2025; 19: e76.
Keywords: Child Mental Health, Armed Conflict, International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, Customary Obligations, State Responsibility
Type of Study: Original Article |
Received: 2025/07/2 | Accepted: 2025/11/8
Received: 2025/07/2 | Accepted: 2025/11/8
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