A/HRC/43/38 conflict further. Children actually or allegedly associated with armed groups, including foreign fighters, should be treated first and foremost as victims, and the best interests of the child should be the primary consideration. The detention of those children should remain a measure of last resort, for the shortest time possible, and their reintegration and rehabilitation must be prioritized. 23. The Special Representative welcomes the fact that the Human Rights Council reaffirmed these principles in its resolution 42/11 on human rights in the administration of justice, including juvenile justice. In line with the resolution, the Special Representative calls upon Member States to consider establishing or strengthening existing independent, child-friendly and gender-sensitive national monitoring and complaints mechanisms so as to contribute to safeguarding the rights of children deprived of their liberty. She also emphasizes that justice mechanisms, specifically for juvenile justice, have to be strengthened in affected countries. That requires that, inter alia, a minimum age of criminal responsibility be applied without exception, regardless of the gravity of the offence or whether it is terrorism related. The Special Representative recalls that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its general comment No. 24 (2019) on children’s rights in the child justice system, encourages States parties to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years and commends States parties that have a higher minimum age (15 or 16 years). Children who exceed the minimum age of criminal responsibility but are under the age of 18 years should be prosecuted in a specialized juvenile justice system, without exception. The Special Representative also recalls that, under international law, it is prohibited to impose the death penalty upon persons who were under 18 years of age at the time the offence was committed. 24. With respect to the global study on children deprived of liberty, mandated by the General Assembly, the Office of the Special Representative continued to participate in the thematic research group on children deprived of liberty relating to armed conflict and national security. In March 2019, her Office participated in the final expert meeting on the study in Venice. On 8 October 2019, at the occasion of the presentation to the General Assembly of the report of the Independent Expert leading the United Nations global study on children deprived of liberty (A/74/136), the Special Representative participated in a panel discussion in New York on the topic and issued with United Nations partners a joint press release calling for an end to children’s deprivation of liberty. Killing and maiming of children 25. At the time of writing, the number of children verified as killed and maimed in 2019 exceeded the verified numbers for all other grave violations, in particular in Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. In Afghanistan, children were killed and maimed in increasing suicide and complex attacks by the Taliban, including during the presidential elections in September, and in continuing high numbers of aerial attacks. In the Syrian Arab Republic, the number of children killed and maimed increased as a result of shelling and airstrikes in continued hostilities in and around Idlib. In Yemen, while the overall number of child casualties decreased, the number of children killed increased, including through airstrikes, ground fighting, improvised explosive devices, landmines and explosive remnants of war. Myanmar saw a significant increase of children killed and maimed, partly due to the escalation of conflict between the Tatmadaw Kyi and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State. Rape and other forms of sexual violence against children 26. Rape and other forms of sexual violence against conflict-affected children remained significantly underreported, particularly when perpetrated against boys. Stigma, fear, a lack of holistic services for survivors, widespread impunity for perpetrators, intimidation and access constraints to verify incidents are some of the challenges that contributed to underreporting. 27. At the time of writing, the highest figures for rape and other forms of sexual violence against children committed in 2019 continued to be verified in Somalia, followed by the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sexual violence against children was often perpetrated in the context of other grave violations. In 6