A/HRC/18/38 I. Introduction 1. The present report, covering the period from May 2010 to May 2011, is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 51/77 and other subsequent resolutions of the Assembly on the rights of the child, including its most recent resolution 65/197, in which the Assembly requested the Special Representative for children and armed conflict to continue to submit a report to the Human Rights Council on the activities undertaken in discharging her mandate, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved, and challenges remaining on the children and armed conflict agenda. 2. Children continue to be disproportionately affected by armed conflict and to have their basic rights violated. They continue to be forcefully recruited, killed and maimed, abducted, subjected to sexual violence and are denied humanitarian aid. They are deprived of education, health care and access to justice. The changing nature of armed conflict has created new dilemmas for the protection of children. Not only have children become the primary targets of armed actors and are increasingly used for intelligence purposes and as human shields, they are also directly affected by targeted attacks on schools and hospitals during armed conflict. Of the total number of primary school age children in the world who do are not enrolled in school, 42 per cent — 28 million children — live in poor countries affected by conflict.1 3. There has been continued progress on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which has been ratified by 141 countries. Nevertheless, the international community must continue to fight against the impunity of violating parties in order to alleviate the suffering of children in armed conflict. The Human Rights Council is an important partner contributing to efforts to ensure the application of international norms and standards that protect children’s rights. It should continue to make the defence of the rights of children affected by armed conflict a key priority. 4. The Special Representative welcomes the adoption by the Human Rights Council of its resolution 16/12 on the protection and promotion of children working and/or living on the street. The Special Representative especially appreciates the call on States to take appropriate measures to protect children affected by armed conflict in order to reduce the risk of children resorting to working and/or living on the street. Children in conflictaffected countries in particular end up living on the street as they are often orphaned, internally displaced and stigmatized when they have been recruited and used by armed actors. 5. The Special Representative also wishes to express her appreciation for the invitation to attend the annual meeting of special rapporteurs, representatives, independent experts and chairpersons of working groups on 27 June 2011, and hopes to maintain a close relationship with the special procedures. II. Working with United Nations human rights mechanisms 6. The Office of the Special Representative is collaborating closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with a view to mainstreaming child rights issues relating to armed conflict into the work of human rights 1 GE.11-15092 United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, The hidden crisis: armed conflict and education, March 2011. 3