A/HRC/25/46 7. As part of the process of implementing the action plan signed by the Government of South Sudan on 12 March 2012, the Military Justice and Legal Affairs Directorate has issued a military order and a directive to further strengthen the Sudan People’s Liberation Army Act (2009) prohibiting the recruitment and use of children and the military use of schools. The directive and the military order set out punitive disciplinary measures, both administrative and judicial, against any SPLA personnel contravening the above-mentioned prohibitions. In May 2012, the SPLA issued a new policy directive on halting the recruitment and use of children, in the context of a recruitment campaign. As a result of this directive, a total of 450 children (421 boys and 29 girls) who had come for voluntary enlistment were turned away. 8. Following the Special Representative’s engagement with the Government of Yemen during her visit in November 2012, and in the context of the ongoing support of the United Nations for the transition in Yemen, the Government of Yemen undertook a comprehensive revision of national legislation related to military laws, along with concrete steps to end the recruitment and use of children in its armed forces. Through Cabinet resolution No. 212 (2012), the Government of Yemen formalized its commitment to end the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups in conflict, in line with the Paris Commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups. In 2013, the Government agreed to review the implementation of its commitment to end child recruitment in armed conflict, with the adoption of Cabinet resolution No. 1 (2013). 9. During the reporting period, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict highlighted the need to end impunity for perpetrators of grave violations against children in Sudan (S/AC.51/2012/1), South Sudan (S/AC.51/2012/2), Colombia (S/AC.51/2012/4), Myanmar (S/AC.51/2013/2) and Yemen (S/AC.51/2013/3), and in the Central African region affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) (S/AC.51/2013/1), by conducting timely, rigorous and systematic investigations of perpetrators of violations and abuses and bringing those responsible to justice. 10. The Security Council Working Group also highlighted the need to ensure accountability for the LRA in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan (S/AC.51/2013/1), and recalled the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and enlistment of children. The Working Group stressed the need to consider a broad range of other options to increase pressure on the LRA, as a persistent perpetrator of violations against children affected by armed conflict. 11. The Special Representative welcomes the designation by the Security Council Committee of five additional military leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo pursuant to Security Council resolution 1533 (2004),2 with regard to serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children and women in situations of armed conflict. The Special Representative also welcomes the Committee’s call to all armed groups to release children in their ranks and to stop any future recruitment.3 Furthermore, in its resolution 2127 (2013) on the situation in the Central African Republic, the Security Council stressed its intention to consider imposing targeted travel and financial sanctions against perpetrators of grave violations against children. 2 3 4 See the news items at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2012/sc10876.doc.htm, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2012/sc10842.doc.htm and http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2012/sc10812.doc.htm. See the news item at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2012/sc10872.doc.htm.