A/71/205 and the instruments put in place by the Security Council, has been built upon and utilized in work to reduce other grave violations. Rape and other forms of sexual violence against children is a central concern in the majority of situations of armed conflict. There is a developing consensus among Member States that sexual violence against children must be stopped, and progress has been made in recent years in the area of accountability, particularly in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Progress has also been made in highlighting the impact of attacks on schools and hospitals, although attacks still continue at alarming levels. A prominent recent development in protecting schools and hospitals are the collective advocacy efforts, on the basis of such Assembly initiatives as the right to education in emergency situations (see resolution 64/290), to convince parties to conflict that using schools in conflict is unacceptable. The development of the Safe Schools Declaration, which had been endorsed by 54 Member States at the time of writing in July 2016, is an important development in this regard. B. Update on the “Children, not soldiers” campaign 29. During the reporting period, the “Children, not soldiers” campaign continued to demonstrate that a listing in the annexes of the report of the Secretary -General on children and armed conflict is a call for action that will lead to concrete improvements for the protection of children. In a notable advance, in March 2016, the emerging global consensus that children do not belong in security forces in conflict was consolidated by the signature of an action plan with the Government of the Sudan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children by its security forces. 30. The political support generated by the campaign from Member States, regional organizations and civil society remained strong during the period, and commitment by Governments led to a significant reduction in verified cases of recruitment and use of children by national security forces, especially in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and the Sud an. 31. The Government of Afghanistan endorsed age assessment guidelines for use in recruitment processes and expanded child protection units in national police recruitment centres. In accordance with the Myanmar joint action plan, in 2015, 146 former child soldiers were released and reintegrated from Government forces into their communities. In September 2015, Myanmar signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. 2 The Democratic Republic of the Congo made substantial progress, and in September 2015, the Minister of Defence endorsed a road map outlining pending activities for the full implementation of the action plan. 32. Despite the positive developments, gaps remain in all countries concerned by the campaign, including, as outlined in the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (see A/70/836-S/2016/360 and Add.1), gaps in the systematic prevention of and accountability for the recruitment and use of children. 33. Progress in Somalia remains limited, and South Sudan and Yemen have suffered serious setbacks. Those situations illustrate how relapse into conflict and __________________ 2 16-12896 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2173, No. 27531. 9/18