A/66/256 reliable information on grave violations against children have borne fruit. The creation of country task forces on the monitoring and reporting of grave violations against children, under the leadership of the highest United Nations authority on the ground, has strengthened United Nations data-gathering capacities and improved the collection and flow of accurate information on six grave violations. This comprehensive framework of information collection contributes to a better understanding of the issue of children and armed conflict and to a greater range of appropriate responses from Headquarters and agencies and programmes in the field. To date, the monitoring and reporting mechanism has been successfully implemented in 15 country situations. 12. As a result of information collection efforts on behalf of the SecretaryGeneral, the Office of the Special Representative has, during the reporting period, prepared six country-specific reports, on the situation of children and armed conflict in Afghanistan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Iraq, the Sudan and Somalia, in consultation with relevant partners. These reports raise the profile of the children and armed conflict agenda and, through their dissemination, provide a solid information base for response by national and international child protection partners and civil society, while providing data for the academic community. D. Release of children from armed forces and groups 13. The 1996 Graça Machel study on the impact of armed conflict on children (A/51/306 and Add.1) highlighted the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups as an alarming characteristic of contemporary conflict and one which constitutes a grave violation. Since then, through advocacy and the focused efforts of national and international child protection partners, numerous children have been separated from armed forces and groups. In 2010, 11,393 children (8,624 male and 2,769 female) benefited from reintegration assistance supported by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes (see A/65/741, para. 16). 14. Marrying advocacy with practical commitment to halt the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, action plans requested by the Security Council in, inter alia, resolution 1539 (2004), also respond to General Assembly resolution 64/146, in which Member States called on all parties to conflict to take time-bound and effective measures to end all violations and abuses against children. Action plans to end grave violations against children signal a widespread acknowledgement that the impact of armed conflict on children is an affront not only to human rights and development, but also to the peace and security agenda of the United Nations. 15. To date, action plans to halt the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict have been signed with 15 State and non-State parties in 8 countries: Afghanistan, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Uganda. During the reporting period, the Afghan and Chadian security forces signed action plans to release children present in their units and put in place the legal safeguards and practical protocols necessary to prevent the recruitment and use of children. Six action plans have been successfully completed to date. The Office of the Special Representative, together with key United Nations partners, including UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO), supports advocacy for the signature of action plans and provides technical support and guidance for their preparation and implementation. 4 11-44370