On July 17, 1998, in Rome, delegates representing 160 countries voted by an overwhelming majority to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) to try persons charged with committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Upon its establishment, the court will provide a powerful deterrent to the conscription, enlistment, or use in hostilities of children under the age of fifteen years conduct defined as a war crime in the ICC statute. The statute also included other important measures to protect children in armed conflict: it recognized intentional attacks on educational institutions as a war crime, provided special arrangements for children as victims and witnesses, and exempted children below the age of eighteen from prosecution by the court. Making the Treaty Work: International Criminal Court Ratification Campaign Promises Broken: The International Criminal Court Press Releases: Argentina Embraces War Crimes Court February 2001 Germany Commended on International Court December 2000 South Africa Praised on International Court November 2000 | |  | |
 Easy Targets: Violence Against Children Worldwide 
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