A/66/256 abused, beaten, exploited and manipulated by commanders to commit criminal acts, ranging from minor security offences to war crimes. Although the need for some form of formal accountability is acknowledged, diversion from the judicial system is more suitable for children. Alternatives that take the best interest of the child into consideration and promote the reintegration of the child into his or her family and community include non-judicial mechanisms such as restorative justice measures, truth-telling, traditional healing ceremonies and reintegration programmes. 31. The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that States seek alternatives to judicial proceedings for children at the national level and that any solution needs to take into account “the child’s assuming of a constructive role in society.” For children, understanding and acknowledging a past wrongdoing plays a crucial role in their psychosocial development and reintegration process. Accountability based on restorative approaches contributes to a child’s rehabilitation and reconciliation with his or her community. 32. The Office of the Special Representative is finalizing a working paper which will explore the issue of the responsibility and accountability of children who have committed criminal acts during armed conflict and the alternatives that can be used to assist children in reintegrating into society. The purpose will be to bring conceptual clarity to the issue by examining the international legal framework related to the detention of children; the treatment and rights of children in detention; and the protection of children who are subject to prosecution and trial. It will also discuss other, non-judicial justice mechanisms with more rehabilitative functions. B. Child protection and security sector reform 33. In recent years, at the request of Governments or the Security Council, United Nations bodies have played an increasing role in assisting national actors in their efforts to develop accountable and effective security institutions on the basis of non-discrimination, respect for human rights and the rule of law. Support has ranged from facilitating discussions on security arrangements as part of wider negotiations between parties to a prospective peace agreement, to technical advice on and/or support for the implementation of security sector reform plans. In this context, child protection considerations are central to efforts to build rights-based, accountable security systems. 34. The security needs of marginalized or socially excluded groups, particularly those of children and women, should be taken into account when developing plans for security sector reform. Security institutions should integrate the protection of children as a priority area of their mandates; threats to children have often been overlooked, resulting in the exposure of children to grave violations, both in conflict and peacetime. In countries such as the Sudan and South Sudan, the establishment of specialized child protection units in the armed forces has gone a long way to ensuring timely response to cases of violations against children and has helped raise awareness of child rights and welfare among the security forces more widely. Such positive initiatives should be replicated elsewhere. In addition, in order to prevent mobilization of children, recruitment protocols must ensure rigorous age verification: civil registry records, when incomplete or inaccurate, must be supplemented by other procedures to ascertain age. 8 11-44370