A/HRC/37/47 participants to highlight the concerns about children and armed conflict relevant to their work. European Union 45. In February and June 2017, the Special Representative addressed the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union and in June 2017, she also addressed the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights and met in Brussels with the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights. During those meetings, views and information were exchanged on the impact of armed conflict on children and on ways to further strengthen the cooperation between the European Union and the Office of the Special Representative with regard to the protection of children affected by armed conflict. League of Arab States 46. Pursuant to the cooperation agreement between the League of Arab States and the Office of the Special Representative signed in 2014, the Special Representative continued to engage with the League of Arab States, including to advocate for ratification by all members of the League of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and to explore areas for further cooperation and joint advocacy for the protection of children affected by armed conflicts in the region. Building on that progress, the Office will seek to further deepen engagement with the League during the next reporting period. North Atlantic Treaty Organization 47. The Special Representative engaged with NATO, with a view to deepening the partnership on the issue of children and armed conflict. In January 2017 in New York, she met with the Commander of the Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces Afghanistan, and in February 2017 in Brussels, she met with the Deputy Secretary-General of NATO to discuss ways to further strengthen the protection of children in NATO-led operations. 48. The Office of the Special Representative contributed to the development of NATO policies and guidelines on children and armed conflict, including through attending a training session on children and armed conflict in September held in Izmir, Turkey, and participated in discussions on operationalizing the policy in the Resolute Support Mission, which were held in December 2017 in Kabul. Organization of Islamic Cooperation 49. In 2017, the Office of the Special Representative continued its collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in particular with the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission and held a number of meetings to discuss issues of mutual interest and areas for future engagement. C. Building support with civil society 50. Strengthening relationships with academia and civil society and NGOs working on the issue of children and armed conflict is a key priority for the Special Representative. She addressed Member States and civil society organizations through a video message at the second international conference on safe schools, held in Buenos Aires in March 2017. In addition, in recent months, the new incumbent has held joint briefings to share information on her priorities for the Office and to discuss ways of maintaining the focus on the children and armed conflict agenda. The Special Representative met with over 50 organizations, in London, Brussels, Geneva, New York and a number of other places in the second half of 2017. In Geneva, close collaboration has continued with the Child Rights Connect working group in order to mainstream the work on children and armed conflict in a number of Geneva-based processes. 13