A/HRC/4/45 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 51/77 of 12 December 1996, which created the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict and requested that the Special Representative submit an annual report to the Commission on Human Rights, a request most recently reiterated in resolution 60/231 of 23 December 2005, and to Human Rights Council decision 2/102. The report should be read in the context of the report of the Special Representative to the General Assembly (A/61/275 and Corr.1) and the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly and the Security Council (A/61/529-S/2006/826 and A/61/529/Corr.1-S/2006/826/Corr.1), the sixth annual report on this subject. This report highlights the significant advances made in the efforts of the international community to ensure tangible protection for children affected by armed conflict and outlines strategies that will be undertaken to ensure the institution of an “era of application” of international child protection standards and norms since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) on 26 July 2005. Further, this report recognizes that the creation of the Human Rights Council places human rights on an equal footing with security and economic development. The Council hence serves as an important component of and a critical partner in efforts to ensure the application and enforcement on the ground of international norms and standards to protect children’s rights and to end impunity for violating parties. The Office of the Special Representative considers the Human Rights Council as a crucial “destination for action”, where the protection of children affected by armed conflict will be addressed within its mandate and responsibilities. 2. Today, in over 30 situations of concern around the globe, children are being brutalized and callously used to advance the agendas of adults. It has been estimated that over 2 million children have been killed in situations of armed conflict; another 6 million have been rendered permanently disabled; and more than quarter of a million children continue to be exploited as child soldiers. Thousands of girls are being subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence and exploitation, and girls and boys are being abducted from their homes and communities on an unprecedented scale. Schools and hospitals, which should be safe havens for children, are also increasingly becoming prime targets of attack by armed groups. Further, in many situations, parties to conflict systematically deny humanitarian agencies access to territories under their control, with devastating consequences for civilian populations, especially children. 3. In the course of the past year, despite the progress that has been made, children have been subjected to new, tragic experiences of terror, deprivation and utter vulnerability in the Middle East, Lebanon, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Darfur and eastern Chad. In other situations, such as in Haiti, where the dynamics of conflict are very different, children also face similar grave violations of their rights, including systematic recruitment into armed groups, death and maiming, either through direct or indirect involvement in violence, abductions and sexual violence. There is an increasing concern that some armed groups are engaging in indiscriminate attacks and the use of disproportionate force against civilians in situations of armed conflict, in blatant disregard of international humanitarian and human rights principles. Further, recent evidence indicates that the recruitment and use of child soldiers and other grave violations are beginning to “migrate” within regions such as the Great Lakes region of Africa.