12 October 2006 - Update 22: Launch of the Violence Study
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- UN General Assembly Discusses Study
- Side Events: Highlights of activities surrounding the launch of the Study
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This list is the primary means of communication for NGOs interested in the UN Study on Violence Against Children and for the Subgroup on Children and Violence. Updates are sent approximately once a month. Please feel free to forward these updates to others who may be interested.
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UN General Assembly Discusses Study [news]
[NEW YORK, 11 October 2006] – The Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children was launched today at the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York by the Independent Expert leading the Study, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
The report was officially presented to the Third Committee of the General Assembly in a three hour session during which a number of high level speakers offered their support to the Study, including the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, Anders Nordstrom, Acting Director General of the World Health Organisation, and Mehr Khan, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The President of the UN General Assembly said that there was a clear need for international partnership to address the root causes of violence and she encouraged all governments to consider its recommendations with a view to tackling its problems.
Professor Pinheiro talked about the process of the study and emphasised that it had been a participatory one, involving governments, UN agencies, scholars, civil society and children and young people themselves.
He highlighted that violence took place in all settings, in schools, in the community, in workplaces, in institutions and in the family. “Tackling violence can be most challenging in the private sphere,” he said, “but violence does not stop at the door of the family home nor at the gates of the school. All violence can and must be prevented by every society.”
He asked government representatives to strongly endorse the overarching recommendations that are in his report – recommendations that apply to the five settings. He ended by re-stating that children were tired of being called the future and tired of words without actions.
Over twenty children and young people have to come to New York from 19 countries around the world to represent children worldwide and take part in discussions around the launch. The young person who delivered their statement. Cora from Philippines, said that tackling violence needed everyone – children, parents, the community and governments - to work together.
She said that it was “time for one of you to remember that you had a childhood, that maybe you are a mother or a father. Take a second and ask yourself: What kind of life do I want for my child? – if you are thinking about a bright future, an open-minded, equal and fair society, it means you can, and hopefully will change something for all of us.”
In closing, she said “it is, last but not least, the moment that we ask for what’s been our right from birth: our right to survival, dignity, health, development and participation; our right to be protected from violence against children. We the children and young people need your support to end violence. We can do it – but only with your support.”
Government delegates were then given the opportunity to take the floor. Comments and questions were received from the following: Finland, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Brazil, Singapore, Canada, Cuba, Sierra Leone, Egypt, New Zealand, Syria, Japan, Cote d'Ivoire, Saudi Arabia, China, the US and Kenya.
Singapore said that they supported the Study but disagreed with the recommendation for a ban on corporal punishment as Singapore "still believes corporal punishment was an effective and acceptable form of discipline."
The US Representative focused his response on violence in the family and said he agreed with UNICEF's recommendations that they should help prevent families being destroyed in the first place and that families should be supported with creative initiatives and help to promote healthy marriages. He said that the US did not necessarily agree with every sentence of the report, but urges that the most serious forms of violence be tackled.
Moushira Khattab, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, who spoke on behalf of Egypt said that a follow-up mechanism was needed and the appointment of a special representative cannot wait until the completion of the UN reform process. New Zealand also expressed interest in this follow up mechanism and asked for further clarification.
The NGO Advisory Panel, which has worked alongside Professor Pinheiro since the beginning of the process prepared a series of recommendations for follow up based on the key recommendations of the study. These include strong endorsement and follow-up and the appointment of a Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence against Children.
In a statement issued on the day of the launch, the Advisory Panel explains “that the recommendations in the study did not emerge from a vacuum. They are the result of an extensive consultation process that has involved governments, non-governmental organisations, the UN system, and most importantly, children themselves.
The unprecedented participation of children—in the nine regional consultations, in national consultations, in advisory panels, and submissions from child-led organisations—is truly unprecedented for a UN process. They have spoken with urgency about the devastation that violence brings to their lives, and the imperative that it stop.”
In a letter to Governments, Jaap Doek, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which had initially requested that this study be undertaken in 2001, expressed the support of the Committee for the Special Representative “to act as a high-profile global advocate to promote prevention and elimination of all violence against children, encourage international and regional cooperation and ensure follow-up to the present recommendations”.
Following today's session, members of the Third Committee will draft a resolution on children's rights based on the recommendations of the Violence Study.
More information:
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Side Events: Highlights of activities surrounding the launch of the Study
[NEW YORK, 12 October 2006] – The second day of events linked to the launch of the Violence Study started with a press conference with Professor Pinheiro and heads of the UN agencies. The Crown Prince Haakon of Norway then met with some of the young people to hear about their individual experiences and roles in the process of the Study.
Meeting between the Crown Prince of Norway and the children
The Crown Prince asked the five young people who were from Ethiopia, Canada, Norway, Nepal and Slovenia why and how they were representing their countries at the launch of the Study. All of them had been chosen to attend this event by their peers back home. Most of them had been participating in other events related to the Violence Study, including regional consultations.
The Crown Prince then asked them if they felt the situation for children had improved since they got involved in the Study process. Martin from Slovenia said a law to ban corporal punishment was being prepared by his government, and should come into force in 2008.
Getachew from Ethiopia said that his country had a big problem with harmful traditional practices but that the Study had helped to highlight this. Shakti from Nepal said that the fact that they were present at the General Assembly yesterday and were given the floor to talk was a positive development for all young people.
Roundtable discussion
Children and young people then took part in a roundtable discussion with high level guests, including Professor Pinheiro, the Crown Prince of Norway, Rima Salah, Anders Nordstrom, Jaap Doek, Maud de Boer Buquicchio, and many more. The discussion was moderated by Moushira Khattab of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, but children and young people were the ones putting questions to the guests which had been submitted by children and young people around the world over the last few days.
Some of the questions included what follow-up mechanism would be set up, what can the UN do to ensure governments follow through with their commitments, what the role of the private sector was on the issue of child labour, what was the Council of Europe doing in terms of trafficking of children, how could Pinheiro and NGOs ensure that children remain involved in any follow mechanism, etc.
Read the full transcript of the questions and answers here.
Launch of child friendly report
After the roundtable discussion, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made a surprise visit to UNICEF house to meet the children and young people during the launch of the child friendly Study materials, organised by Save the Children Sweden, authors of the child friendly report.
Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro and Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Executive Director of Save the Children Sweden, welcomed Mr Annan, showed him the child friendly report of the Study, and talked to him about children's contribution to the Study launch activities.
The Secretary General then met with the children and young people who all introduced themselves to him one by one. They told him about their involvement in the Study process, expressed their concern about specific issues related to violence against children and thanked him for meeting with them today. He encouraged the children to talk about their work within the Study to their parents, schools and communities and expressed his support for the Study.
Mr Annan then took pictures with the children and shook many hands before taking his leave. His last minute decision to come himself to meet the children was welcomed by everyone, from Paulo Pinheiro to the children and young people, as it will significantly raise the profile of the Study and publicise the recommendations worldwide.
Charlotta Petri Gornitzka, Executive Director of Save the Children Sweden then thanked Paulo Pinheiro for having made the Study process a ‘truly participatory process’, involving children and other stakeholders. She said that Save the Children welcomed the Study’s recommendations, and emphasised their support for the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General for violence against children. She also said they strongly supported the explicit ban on all forms of violence including corporal punishment and sexual exploitation in all settings, including in the home. Finally, she said it was crucial to keep the momentum as “children are expecting us to act”.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said that his study would not have been made possible ‘without the help of the real experts: children and young people’. He said he hopes they will recognise their input in the final recommendations of the Study. He welcomed the child friendly report as a very useful tool, particularly as it meant it would be disseminated much more widely than it would have been otherwise.
Maud de Boer Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Europe said that the roundtable discussion that took place earlier had demonstrated the importance of involving children and young people in discussions.
Download the report: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=10627
More information:
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
1 St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6866 or 67; Fax: + 44 020 7012 6899
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.crin.org/violence
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