Abstract
This article explores the intersection between international human rights and child protection
norms in armed conflicts, with a focus on bridging global standards and domestic implementation
realities. It examines the normative frameworks established by international human rights law
(IHRL), international humanitarian law (IHL), and international criminal law (ICL), as reflected
in instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Optional Protocol on
the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC), the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), and the Paris Principles. The paper argues that while these
instruments collectively provide comprehensive protection against recruitment, exploitation, and
abuse of children, significant gaps persist in their translation into domestic practice, particularly
in conflict-affected African states like Nigeria. Legal fragmentation, institutional weaknesses, and
socio-economic vulnerabilities undermine enforcement and perpetuate cycles of child recruitment
and victimization. Through an analysis of Nigeria’s Child Rights Act (2003) and its uneven
adoption across states, the paper demonstrates how weak institutional capacities, poor
reintegration programs, and punitive security approaches hinder effective protection. The study
also highlights international criminal accountability through the Lubanga case at the
International Criminal Court (ICC) as a precedent for deterrence but notes that international
justice alone cannot fill domestic enforcement gaps. It concludes by proposing holistic reforms
involving legal harmonization, capacity building, socio-economic investment, and child-sensitive
operational mechanisms as pathways toward effective protection, reintegration, and
accountability, ensuring that normative commitments translate into real-world safeguards for
children in armed conflict situations.