A/HRC/40/69 45. Early marriage is not new in South Sudan, with 52 per cent of girls in South Sudan married by the age of 18 years. The bride price paid for wives in the context of economic and physical insecurity linked to the conflict, as well as misconceptions of physical protection offered by marriage, has led to an increase in child marriage. Early marriage is an obstacle to the realization of women’s and girls’ rights, including to health and quality education. The Commission encourages the Government to take active steps towards meeting its commitment to ending child marriage by 2030. 46. The Commission acknowledges the legal and policy reforms aimed at eradicating discrimination against women and gender inequality, including the adoption of the national action plan on women, peace and security and the accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol. Substantively, the lives of South Sudanese women and girls have not improved, because of discriminatory traditional practices. 47. The United Nations and UNMISS remain committed to fighting sexual exploitation and abuse. Between early 2018 and January 2019, seven cases of sexual exploitation and abuse involving 18 alleged UNMISS perpetrators have been registered in the United Nations database on sexual exploitation and abuse. These cases were swiftly investigated, resulting in the repatriation of members of the Ghanaian Formed Police Unit who had been implicated in sexual activity with women at the UNMISS protection of civilians site in Wau. The Commission welcomed the swift action by the United Nations in dealing with these cases, noting the complex jurisdictional environment and the need to ensure justice for the victims. VIII. Impact of the conflict on children 48. Children continue to be killed and injured in South Sudan as a result of being directly targeted or caught in the crossfire of ongoing military operations. In all three regions on which the Commission focused in this mandate, it found evidence of violence against children, including deliberate attacks. The Commission heard accounts of children being shot in the back as they fled, and being deliberately beaten, including a baby being swung against a tree. The Commission also continued to document cases of sexual violence against children, including the rape of girls as young as 7 years of age and the sexual mutilation of a 12-year-old boy. 49. While the recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups has been declining in South Sudan, with approximately 1,000 children having been released and demobilized from several groups in 2018, thousands remain. The Commission continued to receive information about abductions and the forcible recruitment of children. 50. The rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers remains a challenge given the shortage of services, including in hard-to-reach areas, the lack of social and psychosocial resources, the lack of education and employment opportunities and the risk of rerecruitment. 51. Children make up over 60 per cent of South Sudanese internally displaced persons and refugees. Many have been separated from their parents and guardians and have undertaken arduous, risky journeys to safety unaccompanied. They are particularly vulnerable to physical violence, psychological distress from being exposed to traumatic events, recruitment into armed forces and armed groups, and limited access to education and health care. While there has been progress with respect to family tracing and reunification, even with the peace agreement, it will be a long road before displaced children are resettled into the support of their communities. 52. Access to education is particularly concerning: South Sudan has the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world, with at least 2.2 million school-age children not attending school. While educational opportunities have been a challenge since before the conflict, the situation has been exacerbated as schools have been closed due to the conflict, having been targeted, damaged or occupied for military purposes. Even where schools are operational, they are severely underresourced. Teachers are regularly not paid, 7