A/HRC/15/58 protection of children. The Special Representative pointed out that 131 children had been killed by aerial bombardment during 2009. Uganda 61. During her visit to Uganda from 28 May to 6 June 2010, the Special Representative raised the need to develop standard operating procedures for the release and repatriation of children associated with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) with Aronda Nyakairima, head of Uganda’s national army (UPDF). During joint military offensives in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UPDF has come into contact with children who are either in the front line, associated with LRA, or being held captive. 62. The Special Representative also attended the first Review Conference on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Kampala. She gave a keynote address stressing the impact of the Rome Statute on victims and affected communities. VIII. Conclusion and recommendations 63. The Special Representative welcomes and appreciates the strengthened collaboration between her Office and the United Nations human rights system, and reiterates her continued support, including sharing regular information and advocating the protection of children affected by armed conflict. The Special Representative emphasizes that unless all parties to conflict adhere to their commitments, comply with their international obligations and are held accountable for non-compliance, the plight of children in situations of armed conflict risks deterioration. To this end, the Special Representative offers the following recommendations. Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict 64. State parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child are encouraged to strengthen national and international measures for the prevention of recruitment of children into the armed forces or armed groups and their use in hostilities. In particular, those measures include signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and enacting legislation that explicitly prohibits and criminalizes the recruitment of children into armed forces or groups and their use in hostilities; exercising extraterritorial jurisdiction in order to strengthen the international protection of children against recruitment; taking measures to implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; and submitting timely reports to the Committee under the Optional Protocol. 65. States are encouraged, to establish 18 as the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into armed forces when depositing their binding declaration (under article 3) upon ratification of the Optional Protocol. States which have ratified but not adopted the straight-18 policy are urged to reconsider their declarations in order to raise the minimum age to 18. 66. In light of the fact that ratification and the implementation processes of the Optional Protocol place a clear resource burden on some States which are willing to ratify the instrument, leadership by one or more countries which have already ratified is encouraged, to provide both financial and technical assistance. 15