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

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 Skjelbaek'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 waraffected 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.