The President of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, organized this informal meeting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

The panel discussion will provide the opportunity to:
1. Review achievements of the children and armed conflict mandate over the past 20 years;
2. Discuss challenges and ways to strengthen the protection of children in armed conflict including in the context of the 2030 agenda;
3. Discuss ways to promote assistance, rehabilitation, health care and education to children affected by armed conflict.

Speakers will include: H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly; H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General; Ms. Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Mr. Forest Whitaker, Artist, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and SDG Advocate; Mr. Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF; Mr. Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs; Mr. El Ghassim Wane, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; Ms. Ilwad Elman, Director of Programs and Development, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, Somalia.
Presentations by the panellists will be followed by interventions from Member States, the UN system and civil society.