A/HRC/43/38 In Mali, the regions of Mopti and Timbuktu were particularly affected by incidents of violence against humanitarian personnel, equipment and infrastructure, carjacking and the abduction of humanitarian personnel. In Mopti, humanitarian interventions were hampered by the need to obtain special security permits from the Government for the movement of trucks and motorbikes. In Yemen, incidents mostly involved bureaucratic impediments to humanitarian movements, violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities, and restrictions of the movement of organizations, personnel or goods into the country. In January 2019, in the districts of Qatabir and Munabbih, Sa’dah Governorate, the Houthis prevented the United Nations from delivering food intended for close to 2,000 children under the age of 2 years and more than 5,000 pregnant and/or lactating women. B. Progress in ending and preventing grave violations against children 34. While the number of grave violations against children remained high, important progress to end and prevent violations was achieved during the reporting period. 35. In Afghanistan, the law on protecting child rights (Child Act) was enacted in March 2019 by Presidential Decree. While the criminalization of bacha bazi and child recruitment was included in the revised Penal Code of 2018, the Child Act provides specific protection measures. The Child Act was a priority of the road map of 2014 for the implementation of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces action plan of 2011 signed with the United Nations. On 16 June 2019, the national commission on the protection of child rights, established by the Child Act to oversee and evaluate its implementation and coordinate all stakeholders, held its first meeting. 36. In the Central African Republic, the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Families and the Protection of Children submitted to Parliament for adoption during the third quarter of 2019 a new law on child protection, which includes the criminalization of the recruitment of children into armed forces and groups. In June and August 2019, following advocacy by the United Nations, the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique and the Union patriotique pour la paix en Centrafrique each signed action plans to end and prevent child recruitment and use, sexual violence against children, the killing and maiming of children, and attacks against schools and hospitals, and to undertake preventive measures regarding abductions and the denial of humanitarian access. 37. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations engaged with 24 factions of armed groups, leading to the signature of unilateral road maps to end child recruitment and use and other grave violations. Up until September 2019, 1,221 children had been released as a result. 38. Concerning Mali, the Coordination des mouvements de l’Azawad organized several workshops for its commanders and members to raise awareness on children’s rights and the action plan of 2017 with the United Nations. Dialogue and capacity-building activities were conducted with the Plateforme and the Mouvement pour le salut de l’Azawad, which joined the Plateforme in July 2019, to elicit commitments to end and prevent grave violations against children and to release children from their ranks. 39. In Myanmar, as welcomed in Human Rights Council resolution 42/3 on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, the new law on children’s rights was enacted on 29 July 2019, with a dedicated chapter on children and armed conflict criminalizing all six grave violations. In January 2019, the interministerial committee on preventing grave violations against children in armed conflict was established by Presidential Order. In September 2019, the Government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. 40. In Nigeria, within the framework of the Civilian Joint Task Force action plan of 2017, the United Nations conducted 37 verification missions between January and September 2019, which led to the identification and separation of 571 children used by the Civilian Joint Task Force between 2013 and 2017. 41. In the Philippines, the law on children in situations of armed conflict was enacted on 10 January 2019. This legislation contains important provisions to improve the protection 8