Aspiration #9 Aspiration 9: Every child is free from the impact of armed conflicts and other disasters or emergency situations. By 2020, States • should have prescribed 18 years or above as the minimum age of recruitment into the armed forces, and effectively enforced this standard; • should have empowered children and young people to be forces for peace and conflict prevention; children and young people are an integral part of successful efforts to prevent conflict and build peace; it follows that they should be specifically included in any attempt at addressing the structural and more immediate causes of conflict; • should have ensured the systematic and timely investigation into and prosecution of crimes against children in the context of armed conflict, and provided assistance to victims; • should have addressed the root causes of conflict, in order to eliminate the impact of armed conflicts on children and ultimately to build a more resilient and sustainable protective environment for children in urban and rural contexts; • should have adopted specific measures to end impunity for violations against children; that those responsible for violating the rights of children during armed conflict are held accountable and are punished; • should have adopted specific measures that end impunity for violations against children in armed conflict; these measures should extend to States not involved in the conflict, by way of adopting extraterritorial provisions for relevant crimes, ensuring that national provisions comply with the rules and provisions of the International Criminal Court (ICC); applying the universality principle where relevant; ensuring that domestic legislation criminalises arms trade to countries with a track record of the illegal recruitment of children; • should have reviewed their domestic legislation and practice in order to abolish the arms trade to countries where children take part in armed conflict, including the trade in small arms and light weapons; • should have included disaster preparedness as part of the school curriculum; • should have reviewed and adjusted its disaster management and response policies and programmes to ensure that the needs of children and their families are identified and cared for; 55