A/HRC/37/47 to instruct all 35 sector commanders to immediately end and prevent the recruitment of children. IV. Raising global awareness and mainstreaming A. Field visits and awareness-raising 36. Field visits and awareness-raising remained a central aspect of the activities of the Special Representative and her Office in the reporting period. In that regard, following the sustained exchanges with the Government of Colombia, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the process guarantors, the Special Representative travelled to Colombia in November 2017. In her exchanges with representatives of the Government, she emphasized that the reintegration of released children should be the priority of all parties. Staff of her Office also travelled on technical missions in the reporting period to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Sudan and the Sudan, in order to advance key priorities relating to children and protection from armed conflict. In October, a technical team from the Office travelled to Saudi Arabia to engage with the newly-formed child protection unit of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen to provide assistance for improving the protection of children in Yemen. 37. In terms of awareness-raising, in February 2017, the Special Representative gave an address in Brussels at the high-level opening of the international conference on children and armed conflict, organized by Belgium under the theme “Sharing experiences of developing and implementing child protection policies in conflict settings”. She also chaired a panel on the implementation of Security Council resolutions in the field. During the conference, the importance of identifying and sharing best practices between different organizations on developing and implementing child protection policies, including training and guidance, was emphasized. 38. In New York in February 2017, the President of the General Assembly convened an informal meeting to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the children and armed conflict mandate. Panellists and Member States expressed their continued strong support for the mandate, emphasizing that at a time when emerging and protracted conflicts were disrupting the lives of millions of boys and girls around the world, the mandate was more relevant than ever. On the occasion of the anniversary, the Special Representative published a booklet entitled “20 years to better protect children affected by conflict” on the work accomplished in the 20 years since the establishment of the mandate, which is available in English and French.6 39. Also in February 2017, the Special Representative participated in a ministerial-level international conference in Paris, co-hosted by the Government of France and UNICEF in collaboration with the steering group on the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Paris commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups and the Principles and Guidelines. The Special Representative delivered a speech during the plenary session and presented, among other elements, the outcome of the “Children, Not Soldiers” campaign. 40. The Office of the Special Representative also took part in an annual workshop on children and armed conflict and women, peace and security, organized by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany in Berlin in April 2017. Concrete opportunities for Member States and regional organizations to deepen their engagement with regard to the protection of children affected by conflict were put forward on that occasion. 41. In June 2017 in London, the Special Representative was invited to be part of a highlevel panel discussion on encouraging respect for the law by non-State armed groups on the 6 Available from https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/commemorating-20-years-of-work-forchildren/. 11