A/HRC/43/76 trucks stormed the gendarmerie station in Goundam, Timbuktu region. During the attack, a 14-year-old boy from the Songhaï community was reportedly fatally shot in the head. The child was reportedly a talibé (student of a Koranic school) who was wandering around the gendarmerie station in search of food. The Independent Expert has already mentioned the 22 children (of 35 victims) killed in the village of Sobane Da on 9 June 2019 in the context of intercommunal violence. The Independent Expert also notes that, on 14 June 2019, traditional hunters shot and killed an 11-year-old boy working in the fields around the village of Birga-Peul in Mopti region. 54. The Independent Expert is pleased to note that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict made a first visit to Mali from 9 to 13 July 2019. The MINUSMA Human Rights and Protection Division supported her activities in Bamako and, on 10 July, in Mopti. The main purpose of the visit was to discuss the situation of children affected by armed conflict in Mali, to assess progress and challenges, to help identify needs and to provide an appropriate response to put an end to serious violations of children’s rights. Following the visit, the Government of Mali reaffirmed its commitment to the protection and promotion of the rights of the child and pledged to strengthen its collaboration with the Office of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral for Children and Armed Conflict. In addition, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General has established a new initiative, the Group of Friends of Children Affected by Armed Conflict in Mali, co-chaired by Belgium and the Niger, and launched a new advocacy campaign, entitled Act to Protect Children Affected by Armed Conflict. She has recommended, inter alia, the holding of a national conference on prevention and the protection of children and the establishment of a national plan for the prevention of serious violations of children’s rights, as well as a national campaign on child protection, focusing on prevention and awareness-raising, and the effective implementation of the measures provided for in the Safe Schools Declaration, signed in Oslo in May 2015. 55. The Independent Expert reiterates his concern that the Child Protection Code has never entered into force and notes that Mali does not comply with its international obligations in respect of children’s rights. The Independent Expert also notes that, during its universal periodic review in January 2018, Mali agreed to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure.2 56. The Independent Expert has already expressed concern about the closure of schools because of the activities of extremist groups that impose a strict religious ideology, kill, threaten and destroy materials. At the time of the Independent Expert’s visit, more than 1,000 schools had been closed. The Independent Expert has received information that violent extremist groups appear to have launched a campaign against Malian public schools since the start of the school year on 2 October 2019. At 6 a.m. on 26 October, six armed members of a violent extremist group stormed the village of Timdirma and imposed a religious sermon on the villagers from the local mosque, before burning the school’s furniture. Similar events were reported in the village of Mékéré on 27 October 2019. Both areas are situated to the east of Timbuktu. On 28 October 2019, two members of a violent extremist group threatened the teachers in Gaina village school and demanded that they stop teaching French. The fact of thousands of children being out of school will have an impact on Mali’s future. There is an urgent need to find a solution, including by considering transferring students unable to go to school to safer areas where they can enjoy their right to education. E. Refugees and internally displaced persons 57. The Independent Expert notes that, as at 30 September 2019, there were 138,900 refugees in the country. He also notes that, according to information received, the number of internally displaced persons has doubled for the second consecutive year. There had been 2 12 A/HRC/38/7, para. 115.8. GE.20-00529