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Summary

The present report is submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to its resolution 73/155 on the rights of the child, in which it requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to continue to submit reports to the Assembly on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate and on the progress achieved in advancing the children and armed conflict agenda. The report covers the period from August 2018 to July 2019 and describes trends, issues of concern and progress made over the past year, including the mainstreaming of child protection issues within the United Nations system. It also provides information on the field missions of the Special Representative, her vision, including her engagement with regional and subregional organizations and international partners, as well as information on her Office’s new campaign, Act To Protect. It outlines a number of challenges and priorities in her agenda and concludes with a set of recommendations to enhance the protection of children affected by armed conflict.

I. Introduction

1. In its resolution 73/155, the General Assembly requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to continue to submit reports to it and the Human Rights Council on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate, including information on her field visits, on progress achieved and challenges remaining on the children and armed conflict agenda. The request stemmed from the mandate given by the Assembly in its resolution 51/77, in which it recommended, inter alia, that the Special Representative raise awareness and promote the collection of information about the plight of children affected by armed conflict and foster international cooperation to ensure respect for children’s rights in these situations.

2. In line with that mandate, and as requested by the Assembly in its resolution 73/155, the present report provides information on current trends regarding children affected by armed conflict and gives an overview of emerging issues and challenges.
   It also highlights the ongoing engagement with parties to conflict to end and prevent grave violations as well as efforts undertaken with State and non-State actors to raise global awareness and catalyse action on this issue. The present report also makes reference to steps taken by the Special Representative in response to the request contained in General Assembly resolution 72/245 to increase her engagement with States, United Nations bodies and agencies, regional and subregional organizations and to increase public awareness activities, including by collecting, assessing and disseminating best practices and lessons learned, in accordance with the existing mandate.