Please scroll down this page for information on the 2018 Consultation on draft Guidelines for Schools Developing a Firearms Policy, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its Optional Protocols.

‣ Media and commentary

• Impacts of armed conflict and military activities on children’s rights and the environment, and on climate change: Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 15 February 2023
• UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Multiple concerns about New Zealand’s performance on children and their rights, including need to demilitarise schools, Peace Movement Aotearoa 10 February 2023
• New Zealand and the Optional Protocol on Child Soldiers: NGO information for the 93rd Pre-Sessional Working Group of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Peace Movement Aotearoa   ‣ Report, 15 August 2022   ‣ Recommendations, 22 September 2022   ‣ Supplementary information, 29 September 2022
• New Zealand and the Optional Protocol on Child Soldiers: Information for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 29 February 2020   ‣ Report   ‣ Annex
• Increased militarisation of youth training: New Youth Development Facility Opened, NZ government, 1 June 2019
• OPAC 18: NZ featured in new report on child soldiers, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 25 May 2018   ‣ on Facebook   ‣ on Twitter   ‣ on Scoop   ‣ on Voxy News
• When should New Zealand schools have guns? Marie Russell, 28 March 2018
• Do we really want guns in our schools? Warren Lindberg, Chief Executive Officer Public Health Association, 21 March 2018
• Army told to stop kids holding guns on school visits, NZ Herald, 5 March 2018
    ‣ Comments on Facebook   ‣ NZ Herald
• Number of NZ schools with guns unknown, Radio NZ, 16 February 2018
• Grooming the next generation for war, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 7 April 2017
• Guns big part of army leadership roadshow at primary schools, Manawatu Standard, 7 April 2017
• How to explain ANZAC Day to toddlers, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 21 April 2016

‣ Consultation: draft Guidelines for Schools Developing a Firearms Policy

• Submission on the Draft Guidelines for Schools Developing a Firearms Policy, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 11 April 2018
• Submission points: Draft Guidelines for Schools Developing a Firearms Policy, Peace Movement Aotearoa, April 2018   ‣ on Facebook   ‣ formatted for printing

‣ Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC)

• OPAC 18: NZ featured in new report on child soldiers, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 25 May 2018   ‣ on Facebook   ‣ on Twitter   ‣ on Scoop   ‣ on Voxy News
• Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Peace Movement Aotearoa, August 2016
• Military Expenditure, Public Spending and the Rights of the Child: Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Draft General Comment on Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Public Spending, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 1 December 2015
• Concluding Observations on New Zealand's initial OPAC Report, Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/OPAC/CO/2003/NZL, 5 November 2003

‣ Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its Optional Protocols

• Information about New Zealand and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols is available here