A/HRC/40/49 the Force and put in place child protection systems to mitigate the impact of its operations on children.3 59. The Special Representative continued her engagement and cooperation with other United Nations entities, including UNICEF, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Department of Political Affairs, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children and on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. For instance, on 3 December 2018, the Special Representative joined forces with some of the above-mentioned entities to issue a press release condemning reports of 150 women and girls being brutally raped over a 10-day period from 19 to 29 November near Bentiu, South Sudan, while on their way to collect food for their families. She also initiated cooperation with the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth to ensure that the voice of children affected by conflict is heard and that children are able to fully realize their potential as agents of change for peace. The launch of Youth2030: the United Nations Youth Strategy on 24 September 2018 provides a strong basis for cooperation. 60. The Office of the Special Representative also increased its cooperation with UNODC, in particular with regard to trafficking as it relates to children affected by armed conflict and the protection of children affected by violent extremism. E. Working with civil society 61. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are important enablers for and multipliers of the Special Representative’s work and, as such, key partners. As announced in her previous report, strengthening relationships with civil society and NGOs working on the issue of children and armed conflict was a key priority for the Special Representative during the reporting period. To that end and to foster synergies regarding advocacy and the documentation of best practices, in 2018 the Special Representative launched a consultative process with NGOs. A two-fold increase compared to last year in the number of meetings and briefings held by the Special Representative with NGOs based in New York is reflective of this enhanced dialogue. At the same time, the Special Representative continued to interact regularly with NGOs in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and held meetings with civil society representatives during her field trips. 62. That proactive approach led to increased opportunities to join forces with civil society partners. For example, the Special Representative was a keynote speaker at an event on the theme of “Hidden victims: sexual violence against boys and men in conflict”, organized by the All Survivors Project on 11 December 2017 in New York, and at the event “OPAC turns 18” on 21 February 2018, co-organized by Child Soldiers International. In February, the Special Representative was invited to Stockholm as a speaker for a Board meeting of the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children. To promote child participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, she co-organized with World Vision the event “Hear our voices: listening to children affected by conflict” in the margins of the high-level debate at the seventy-third session of the General Assembly. In addition, the Special Representative voiced her support for initiatives promoting better protection for children through video messages, including the “Girls Get Equal” campaign by Plan International, launched on 11 October 2018. 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. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 63. The Special Representative remains deeply concerned at the scale and severity of grave violations committed against children in 2018 and calls upon the Human 3 16 See conclusions on Mali (S/AC.51/2018/1/Rev.1).