Argentina
Practice Relating to Rule 135. Children
Argentina’s Law of War Manual (1969) provides that the parties to the conflict shall take the necessary measures for children under seven years of age to ensure that “their maintenance, the exercise of their religion and their education are facilitated in all circumstances. The latter shall, as far as possible, be entrusted to persons of a similar cultural tradition.”
The manual also states: “The occupying Power shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children.”
The manual adds:
Should the local institutions be inadequate for the purpose, the occupying Power shall make arrangements to ensure the maintenance and education, if possible by persons of their own nationality, language and religion, of children who are orphaned or separated from their parents as a result of the war and who cannot be adequately cared for by a near relative or friend.
Argentina’s Law of War Manual (1989) provides, with respect to non-international armed conflicts: “Children shall receive the assistance and care they require, in particular concerning their education, including their religious or moral education.”