A/71/205 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 70/137, the General Assembly requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to continue to submit reports to it and the Human Rights Council on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining on the children and armed conflict agenda. The request stemmed from the mandate given by the Assembly in its resolution 51/77, in which it recommended, inter alia, that the Special Representative raise awareness and promote the collection of information about the plight of children affected by armed conflict and foster international cooperation to ensure respect for children’s rights in these situations. In line with that mandate, and as requested by the Assembly in its resolution 70/137, the present report provides an update on the “Children, not soldiers” campaign. It also highlights progress made over the past year and outlines the immediate priorities, as well as a longer-term vision, to advance the children and armed conflict agenda in collaboration with States Members of the United Nations, United Nations entities, regional and subregional organizations and civil society. II. Taking stock of the children and armed conflict agenda A. Overview of trends and challenges 2. The Special Representative will submit the present report to the General Assembly 20 years after the adoption of resolution 51/77, by which it created the children and armed conflict mandate. The twentieth anniversary of the mandate provides an opportunity to take stock of the many achievements and to highlight areas where progress is still required. In the ground-breaking report by Graça Machel on the impact of conflict on children (A/51/306), which was presented to the Assembly in 1996, she described the extreme brutality to which millions of children caught up in conflicts were exposed and demonstrated the centrality of the issue to the international human rights, development and peace and security agendas. 3. While there has been substantial progress in the last two decades, as outlined in this report, serious challenges for the protection of children affected by armed conflict continued in the second half of 2015 and in early 2016. The intensity of grave violations increased in a number of situations of armed conflict. The proliferation of actors involved in armed conflicts was a particular concern. Crossborder aerial operations conducted by international coalitions or individual Member States, especially in populated areas, resulted in highly complex environments for the protection of children. The impact on children of the collective failure to prevent and end conflict is severe, with regions in turmoil and violations against children intensifying in a number of conflicts. The violations are directly related to the denigration of respect for international humanitarian and human rights law by parties to conflict. 4. Protracted conflicts have had a substantial impact on children. In the Syrian Arab Republic, according to the Special Envoy for Syria, the conflict has caused the deaths of more than 400,000 people, including thousands of children. In 2/18 16-12896