A/HRC/43/38 endorsement of other instruments that will improve the protection of children, such as the Paris Principles, the Safe Schools Declaration and the Vancouver Principles. 12. The Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee continued to raise the situation of children affected by armed conflict in the national reviews of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Special Representative took note of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the report submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic (CRC/C/SYR/CO/5). The Committee urged the Syrian Arab Republic, inter alia, to fully implement Law No. 11 of 2013 prohibiting the recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities, and to take prompt measures to investigate, prosecute and sanction the perpetrators. It further urged the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure that no child is deprived of liberty for his or her real or alleged association with parties to the conflict, and that a child in this situation was treated primarily as a victim and referred to reintegration services or the juvenile justice system, as appropriate. The Office of the Special Representative will continue to work with United Nations colleagues in the Syrian Arab Republic to provide support for the implementation of those recommendations. 13. The Special Representative continued to cooperate closely with human rights mechanisms, in particular the Human Rights Council and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Regarding the Human Rights Council, the Special Representative submitted contributions to the universal periodic reviews of Iraq and Libya. During the interactive dialogues on Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen in 2019, for which her Office had submitted contributions in the previous reporting period, States highlighted the protection needs of children in the context of the armed conflict in these countries and reiterated the points noted in the Special Representative’s submissions. The Office of the Special Representative will support these States in implementing the recommendations relating to children and armed conflict. 14. The Special Representative continued her engagement with the special procedures of the Human Rights Council to exchange information and identify common areas of concern. In Geneva in March 2019, she participated in a panel discussion organized by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons and the Global Protection Cluster on improving the protection of internally displaced children, and in New York in October 2019, in a side event on protecting internally displaced children, organized by the Special Rapporteur. In June 2019, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 38/18, she met with the rapporteurs mandated by the Council to chair and facilitate the intersessional seminars on the contribution of the Council to the prevention of human rights violations. In July and November 2019, she had a discussion with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic and, in March 2019, she participated by video message in a side event on the situation of children affected by conflict in the Central African Republic and the peace process, organized in Geneva by the Independent Expert. In October 2019, the Special Representative had a meeting with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. The same month, her Office met with the Special Rapporteur on the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. Her Office also provided inputs for multiple reports and field missions of special rapporteurs and independent experts and regularly collaborated with commissions of inquiry on situations of mutual interest. 15. Within the United Nations system, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continued to be an important partner for the Special Representative, including through its field level participation in the monitoring and reporting mechanism. The Office of the Special Representative participated in the review of the implementation of the human rights due diligence policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces, with children and armed conflict concerns being a strong aspect of the policy. Her Office also closely cooperated with OHCHR on the implementation of child protection provisions contained in the compliance framework of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel. 4