Under humanitarian law, this refers in particular to article 3 common to the Four Geneva Conventions, article 24 "Measures relating to child welfare" from the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949; article 74 "Reunion of dispersed families", article 77 "Protection of children" and article 78 "Evacuation of children" all from Additional Protocol 1 of 1977.

The entire Movement - the 175 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, their International Federation and the ICRC - is confronted on a daily basis by the tragic plight of children who fall victim one way or another to armed conflict, and as a result it has adopted a plan of action intended to promote the principle that children under 18 years of age should not be recruited nor take part in hostilities, and which aims to bring about practical measures to protect and assist children affected by armed conflict. These include steps to arrange for the physical, psychological and social rehabilitation of children affected by armed conflict.

During a crisis, children may have been abandoned or left in centres, they may also be found in foster families, hospitals, medical centres, special schools or churches. However, it is not always clear whether children are in fact unaccompanied and the exact number. If they are unaccompanied, they have to be identified, registered and photographed as early as possible to determine what can be done to protect and assist them. This is particularly true for small children, where the identity and information concerning the child's origins can soon be lost.

Registration involves the collection of basic information required to protect the identity of the child and trace family members. It may include: full names of the child and parents, age, state of health, former address and current location. Children are also asked about the circumstances of their separation from their families. If they are too young to answer questions, the interviewer will seek information from anyone who knows them or whoever brought them in. As long as a child remains unaccompanied, arrangements must be made for the movements of the child to be monitored and recorded, and the information updated in the child's file.

Tracing programmes can be developed in numerous different ways. There is no best methodology. All have advantages and disadvantages and some are more appropriate to the security conditions and the social and cultural context than others. Whatever method is used, the care and protection of the child is of fundamental importance.

As with the definition of an unaccompanied child, the definition of a family member has to be clear from the outset of tracing programmes and is normally based on the cultural context, and traditional and legal responsibilities; in Rwanda an extended family can include father, mother, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, grandparents, first cousins, stepbrothers and sisters, parents-in-law and adopted parents. Some of the more obvious tracing methods are listed below:

Based on the information provided, visit child's district and other relevant place in order to interview neighbours, local authorities, religious leaders, aid organizations to help gather further information to search for the parents;

• Red Cross Messages;
• Collecting tracing requests from parents;
• Visiting the addresses of parents or family members;
• Displaying photos of unaccompanied children;
• Reading names of children or parents sought in villages or refugee camps;
• Displaying lists of persons sought in public places;
• Broadcasting names on the radio;
• Newspaper advertisements;
• Television programmes;
• Collecting, collating and cross-checking information;
• Taking children to their place of origin (with security precautions);
• Taking parents to children's centres to identify very small children (with security precautions);
• Spontaneous tracing by the families, church groups, women's organisations, private individuals or NGOs

Reuniting members of families split up by war often entails lengthy administrative procedures. Before organizing a family reunification, ICRC delegates must make sure that such a move is in the best interests of the child and will improve the situation of everyone involved, particularly in conflict areas. The agreement of each person concerned must be obtained and the family relationship carefully verified. In addition, the ICRC must obtain the necessary authorizations and visas from the warring parties and the countries involved, including countries of transit.

In Rwanda, when UACs are finally handed over to their family members they currently receive a reinsertion kit which contains: sheeting, 2 cooking pots, 1 bucket, blanket, 4 litres of cooking oil, 2 cups, soap and 2 plates.

All the information on war victims collected by the ICRC is managed in databases which are capable of processing millions of entries and are compiled in delegations throughout the world. The aim of a database is to monitor the situation of specific categories of beneficiaries of Red Cross services by keeping track of them at all times in order to guarantee their protection and to help re-establish family ties or to ascertain the fate of missing relatives. The question of confidentiality is vital when carrying out activities on behalf or in favour of unaccompanied children and precaution has to be taken when sharing and publishing information.
The ICRC has over 70 databases, the main ones concerning Rwanda (details on 448,000 individuals); the Gulf war (123,000); Israel, the occupied territories and the autonomous territories (152,000); the former Yugoslavia (140,000); Sri Lanka (37,000); Somalia (31,000); Peru (27,000), Colombia (24,000) and Afghanistan (25,000).

In time of conflict, postal and telephone communications are often disrupted and direct contacts may be impossible. In these circumstances, anyone who wishes to do so may send news of a strictly personal nature to his or her family and receive such news by means of a Red Cross message. This is a standard form with space for text and the addresses of the sender and the recipient. RCMs are an essential component of active tracing programmes, whereby family members can be traced, and family contacts restored and maintained simply and effectively. They are often the only way of getting an answer to two crucial questions: Are they still alive? Where are they now? Because those who send the messages often do not know the exact location of the relatives they are trying to trace, the ICRC may post up lists of addressees in nearby camps or villages, and asks people who find their names on the notice-boards to go to the nearest ICRC office to collect their messages and, if they so wish, to send a reply. Messages sent by UACs are screened to find out whether their parents are in other camps. In this way, parents and children can often be located at the same time.

To restore family links between people affected by war, the ICRC relies on the worldwide network of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In areas affected by conflict and in neighbouring countries, the ICRC works with staff and volunteers of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the countries concerned. Over 160 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies throughout the world make up the global network for the restoration of family ties. National Societies collect, forward and deliver RCMs, often after considerable time and effort have been spent tracing the addressees. They also collect tracing requests for missing persons and help with family reunions. Various National Society tracing services also place specialized staff at the ICRC's disposal for activities in the field. Between 1994-2000, some 30 National Society have been actively involved in the Rwandan UAC programme.

Cooperation and collaboration between all humanitarian organizations involved are critical for the care and protection of UACs. The success of such efforts in the Great Lakes region and the need to find common understanding on basic principles regarding action in favour of unaccompanied children resulted in the creation of the Interagency Standing Group on unaccompanied and separated children in emergencies (IAG). The IAG, whose members include representatives from UNICEF, UNHCR, Save the Children, World Vision, Concern Worldwide, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the ICRC, seeks to promote interagency strategic collaboration and principles and guidelines intended for organizations and individuals concerned with unaccompanied children. The guidelines are also designed to assist governments and donors in their obligations and funding decisions.