The report led to the adoption of the General Assembly’s Resolution 51/77, which created the mandate and recommended that the Secretary-General appoint a Special Representative on the impact of armed conflict on children. In her ground-breaking report presented to the General Assembly, Graça Machel, a former Minister of Education of Mozambique, highlighted the disproportionate impact of war on children and identified them as the primary victims of armed conflict. With this Resolution, the General Assembly renewed the SRSG-CAAC mandate for three years and among other things, requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to: “increase her engagement with States, United Nations bodies and agencies, regional organizations and especially subregional organizations and to increase public awareness activities, including by collecting, assessing and disseminating best practices and lessons learned, in accordance with the existing mandate.” Timelineġ996 – Graça Machel Report, ‘’The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children’’ The mandate of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict has been renewed and expanded by the General Assembly since 1996, with the latest Resolution (A/RES/72/245) adopted on 24 December 2017. Strong engagement from the international community and the United Nations’ highest bodies has enabled the Special Representative’s mandate to remain in constant evolution to better address the needs of children affected by war. The mandate of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict was created by the UN General Assembly in December 1996 to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, raise awareness, promote the collection of information about the plight of children affected by war and foster international cooperation to improve their protection. Voices for Children Affected by ConflictĬlick to read more about the history of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretaty-General for Children and Armed Conflict.ACT TO PROTECT children affected by conflict.Virtual Summer School on Child Protection in Armed Conflict.Ratification status of the Optional Protocol.

OPAC – Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Children and armed conflict mandate