37 Additional Protocol II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of NonInternational Armed Conflicts, of June 8, 1977 (hereinafter “Additional Protocol II”) to which the State is a party,192 and customary international humanitarian law, 193 as complementary instruments and in consideration of their specificity on this subject. 110. International humanitarian law protects children in a general way as part of the civilian population, that is, as persons who do not participate actively in hostilities, who should receive humane treatment and not be subject to attacks. Complementarily, children, who are most vulnerable to suffering violations of their rights during armed conflicts, benefit from special protection on account of their age, for which reason the States must provide them with the care and assistance they require. Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child194also reflects this principle. Within the array of measures included in treaties of international humanitarian law are those aimed at preserving the family unit and facilitating the search, identification and reunification of families dispersed as a result of armed conflict and, particularly, of unaccompanied and separated children. Furthermore, in the context of non-international armed conflicts, the State’s obligations to children are defined in Article 4(3) of Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions, which states that: “b) all appropriate steps shall be taken to facilitate the reunion of families temporarily separated […].”195 111. In light of these considerations, the State had a responsibility to protect the civilian population during the armed conflict, especially the children, who were in a situation of greater vulnerability and risk of having their rights affected. However, in this case, State agents acted completely outside the law, using official structures and facilities to perpetrate the forced disappearance of children through the systematic repression of certain segments of the population, considered as subversives or guerrillas, or in some way opposed to the Government. Consequently, the Court decides that the State interfered with the family life of the then girl Emelinda Lorena Hernández and of the then boys José Adrián Rochac Hernández, Santos Ernesto Salinas, Manuel Antonio Bonilla and Ricardo Abarca Ayala, by illegally abducting and retaining them, violating their right to remain in their family group and to establish relationships with other individuals who formed part of it, in violation of Articles 11(2) and 17 of the American Convention, in relation to Articles 19 and 1(1) thereof. sick shall be collected and cared for. An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict. The Parties to the conflict should further endeavor to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention. The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.” El Salvador is a party to Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, regarding the protection of victims of armed conflicts not of an international character since November 23, 1978. 192 Cf. International Committee of the Red Cross, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol. I, edited by Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, 2007. 193 194 Article 38 stipulates that: 1. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child. 2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities. 3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years, States Parties shall endeavor to give priority to those who are oldest. 4. In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross this obligation requires that “Parties to the conflict must do their best to restore family ties, i.e., they should not only permit searches undertaken by members of dispersed families, but they should even facilitate them.” Commentary on Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 concerning the protection of victims of armed conflicts not of an international character. Subparagraph B. Reunion of Families, para. 4553. 195