A/68/267 the Treaty, and ammunition/munitions and parts and components are covered by its prohibition and export assessment provisions. The entry into force of the Treaty has the potential to generate a positive long-term impact on the situation of children in conflict. It forbids the transfer of arms that could be used in the commission of attacks directed against civilians, including children, grave breaches of international humanitarian law and war crimes defined by international agreements to which a State is a party, such as the crime of child recruitment under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, under the Treaty’s export assessment provisions, exporting States are requested to assess whether arms transfers would directly or indirectly lead to serious acts of violence against women and children, including killing and maiming, but also recruitment and use and, if an overriding risk is identified, to refrain from them. 94. The Arms Trade Treaty, if duly enforced, has the potential to curb the recruitment and use of children in conflict through the prohibition of arms sales to States parties that engage in child recruitment, falling in line with the long-standing interpretation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child of States parties’ obligations to do so under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The Treaty’s contribution to reducing the plight of children in conflict can thus be understood as being twofold: seeking to curb both armed violence against children and the recruitment and use of children. V. Recommendations 95. The Special Representative urges Member States that have not done so to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and to enact effective national legislation and policies to criminalize the recruitment and use of children by armed forces. She calls upon the international community to support those efforts, including by providing the necessary technical and financial support to concerned Member States to end the recruitment and use of children in armed forces. 96. In line with her initiative to end the recruitment and use of children by government armed forces in conflict by 2016, the Special Representative calls upon the Member States concerned to intensify their collaboration with the United Nations and other child protection actors and share best practices. In this regard, she calls upon donors to provide adequate and sustained funding for the implementation of action plans. She also calls upon those Member States that have not yet signed an action plan with the United Nations to do so without delay. 97. The Special Representative calls upon Member States, regional organizations and any other actors involved in peace processes to systematically mainstream children protection concerns by including specific child protection expertise in mediation teams and by integrating child protection provisions in ceasefire arrangements, political settlements, peace agreements and relevant implementation mechanisms. In this regard, she also encourages United Nations partners to work together to develop technical guidance. 13-41862 17/18