A/69/212 promote new ratifications of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; and to solicit their support for the Children, Not Soldiers campaign. 33. In May, in Addis Ababa, the Special representative was invited to chair a side-event with African States in respect of the Children, Not Soldiers campaign to discuss specific challenges, best practices and strategies towards ending the recruitment and use of children by Government forces. The event was organized by Luxembourg with the assistance of the African Union. An informal group of interested partner States was formed to advance the discussion in Addis Ababa. 34. In May, the Special Representative co-hosted an event in New York with France to take stock of progress made and remaining challenges since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1539 (2004), in which the Council formalized the action plan process to end the recruitment and use of children. The event, in which UNICEF and the Permanent Representatives of Benin and Luxembourg to the United Nations also participated, highlighted that action plans had proved to be effective tools to protect children affected by conflict and echoed repeated calls by the General Assembly for Member States to take effective measures to end all grave violations against children. 35. In June, the Special Representative participated in the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, co-hosted by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, William Hague, and the Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie. The summit galvanized global political support to combat sexual violence in conflict, and for the first time gathered voices from all geographical horizons and backgrounds to speak about the issue. The Special Representative seized the opportunity to bring the issue of sexual violence against children to the forefront and to reinforce the messages delivered by the United Nations and civil society partners. 36. Throughout the reporting period, the Special Representative consistently engaged with Member States in respect of her agenda through the permanent missions in New York, either during events with regional organizations or field visits. She has also engaged bilaterally with Member States interested in providing support and technical assistance for the implementation of the children and armed conflict agenda. Her bilateral engagements with officials from countries affected by conflict situations have been in support of their efforts to end and prevent grave violations against children. 37. For example, in June, she participated in a high-level round table event on the recruitment and use of children by national armed forces, with a particular focus on the reintegration of children, at the invitation of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The round table was attended by ministerial delegations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Somalia and provided a forum for sharing experiences and lessons learned from countries that had ended the recruitment and use of children and for those making progress on aspects of the reintegration of children separated from armed forces and armed groups. The round table reinforced similar discussions held in Geneva, Switzerland, in March and in Addis Ababa in May and highlighted the importance of sharing experiences in respect of promoting national ownership. A declaration of commitment was issued at the conclusion of the round table. 14-58528 9/18