The Normative Framework Behind the (Non-)Recognition of Children Born of War in International Criminal Law

Abstract

Abstract This article traces the normative development in international criminal law on children born of war (cbow—i.e., children born in the context of an armed conflict to one parent who belongs to a local community and one parent who is an opposing combatant, fighter or peacekeeper). In a historical cross-contextual approach, primary and secondary sources, and particularly jurisprudence of international criminal courts from 1945 to today, are interpreted in reference to political psychologist Inger Skjelbæk’s epistemology conceptualising conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence as carrying essentialist, structuralist and socio-constructivist implications. The analysis traces how cbow as a group of victimised but underacknowledged war-affected children have come to be understood in international justice. The findings point to avenues for normative refinement that would facilitate a more coherent and unbiased integration of their interests into the practice of international courts.