A/69/212 6. Access to education and health care during conflict is a growing concern. In recent years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the impact of attacks on schools and hospitals and of the military use of schools. During the reporting period, the monitoring and reporting on and response to those violations have been further strengthened by increased advocacy and the development of operational strategies to prevent and end such practices by parties to conflict. The guidance note entitled “Protect Schools and Hospitals: end attacks on education and health care” launched by the Special Representative jointly with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and the draft Lucens guidelines for protecting schools and universities from military use during armed conflict, are two noteworthy initiatives in that regard. However, more must be done to mitigate the devastating impact of the worrisome increase in attacks on educational and medical facilities. 7. Advocacy to protect schools and raising awareness about the need to adhere to international humanitarian law must be undertaken during times of peace but become even more urgent during times of conflict. The cumbersome process of rebuilding a school and restoring a community’s trust in its safety often leaves children without education for months or years. In a current conflict, such as that in the Syrian Arab Republic, this is a key concern. The United Nations and its partners are trying to ameliorate the situation through the “No Lost Generation” campaign. 8. Radicalized groups with ideological motives are gaining prominence in a number of conflict settings, including Iraq, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic. Such ideologically driven warfare poses an additional threat to the well-being of children, often leading to an increase in the indiscriminate killing and maiming of civilians, targeted attacks on school facilities and sexual violence. In many situations, children are forced to participate in the conflict through ideological indoctrination or, conversely, become the target of attacks themselves by such groups in the name of ideology. In the parts of the Syrian Arab Republic controlled by extremist groups, such as the Islamic State, all regular education activities have ceased. In such areas, children are increasingly subjected to radicalized ideological education that incites to violence, or are refused access to education based on their gender or other personal attributes. In Nigeria, the abduction of more than 250 school girls, and the killing of boys and girls in attacks on schools by Boko Haram, are tragic examples of how radicalized extremist armed groups are targeting children. 9. The radicalization of armed groups poses a number of challenges. New measures and strategies to address these challenges, including counter-terrorism strategies, are often seen through a security lens, which can have worrying consequences for children. With changing perceptions of the status of combatants within the counter-terrorism framework, children recruited and used by radical armed groups are no longer primarily seen solely as victims of armed conflict but may also be considered perpetrators. Such conflation often leads to the detentio n of children accused of association with an armed group, which further complicates the task of addressing the variety of violations committed against children in situations of armed conflict. Given that many counter-terrorism strategies typically involve the long-term deprivation of liberty and sometimes solitary confinement of individuals involved in perceived or actual terrorist activities, the implications for children in such circumstances constitute a growing and grave concern. 14-58528 3/18