A/68/267 20. Drone strikes directly affect the psychosocial well-being of children and their families, as well as their economic situations and educational opportunities. The unannounced and often mixed use of drones for both surveillance and military operations has created a pervasive sense of fear in affected areas. Children have been increasingly kept away from schools because of the fear that they could be killed on their way to school or to compensate for the income lost after the death or injury of a relative due to a drone strike. 21. A growing body of reporting also contributes to an enhanced understanding of the multiple indirect adverse effects of drone strikes on children. Boys and girls have been the victims of drone strikes on schools, funeral processions and other community gatherings. Drone attacks have also led to weakening of the social fabric and of community protection mechanisms. 22. As more Member States are in the process of acquiring this technology, it is hoped that they will equally explore ways to address these concerns and mitigate the impact of drone strikes on children. B. Progress in dialogue, commitments and action plans with parties to conflict 23. In line with General Assembly resolutions 64/146, 65/197, 66/141 and 67/152 on the rights of the child, in which the Assembly called upon relevant parties to conflict to take time-bound and effective measures to end grave violations against children, progress has been made in eliciting commitments from armed forces and groups to end grave violations. Since the issuance of the previous report of the Special Representative (A/67/256), an action plan to end the recruitment and use of children was signed by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations. Significantly, provisions to halt and prevent sexual violence against children by the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo were included in the plan. In addition to the action plan to end the recruitment and use of children, signed in 2012, in the reporting period, the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia also signed an action plan to end the killing and maiming of children, the first of its kind signed by any party to the conflict. 24. Furthermore, during the Special Representative’s mission to Yemen, the Government committed to working with the United Nations to develop concrete and time-bound measures to end the recruitment and use of children by the Yemeni armed forces. This commitment marked an initial positive step and it has since been translated into a draft action plan, which was recently endorsed by an interministerial committee and is awaiting the approval of the Cabinet. 25. In Chad, the Government has intensified its efforts to reach full compliance with the action plan to end the recruitment and use of children by the Armée nationale tchadienne, signed in 2011. During the Special Representative’s joint visit with UNICEF in May, the Government adopted a 10-point road map committing to short- and medium-term measures with a view to accelerating the implementation of the action plan. 26. Dialogue has been initiated with non-State armed groups to halt and prevent grave violations against children. During the visit of the Special Representative to Yemen, she met with the leadership of the Houthi armed group and opened avenues 13-41862 5/18