A/HRC/4/45 page 8 Parties in Nepal Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) Parties in the Philippines 1. 2. 3. Abu Sayyaf Group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) New People’s Army (NPA) Parties in Sri Lanka 1. 2. Karuna faction Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Parties in Uganda 1. 2. Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Government armed forces and defence units (a) Local defence units (b) Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) 2. Killing and maiming 8. In many conflict situations, children have been deliberately killed or maimed by parties to conflict, often in extremely brutal ways. Children also tend to get caught in the crossfire, including indiscriminate shelling and bombardments, resulting in a large number of deaths and injuries. The Office of the Special Representative continues to be concerned about reports received of the killing and maiming of children by parties to conflict in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Nepal and Uganda. 3. Rape and other grave sexual violence 9. Girls and women most often experience armed conflict as civilians, suffering acts of extreme violence including rape and other grave sexual violence. Refugee and internally displaced girls and women are especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation by armed forces and groups, and in some cases even by United Nations peacekeepers. The Office of the Special Representative has received reports that girls and women are increasingly being subjected to rape and grave sexual violence in times of heightened conflict in Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan, Colombia and Uganda. 4. Abductions 10. The abduction of children by parties to conflict as part of systematic campaigns of violence has been an increasing concern. Children are being abducted from their homes, schools and refugee and internally displaced camps, exploited for forced labour, sexual slavery and forced recruitment, and trafficked across borders. The Office of the Special Representative is also actively investigating persistent reports of abductions of children by parties in situations of conflict in Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Uganda.