23 November 2006 - Update: The Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children 25
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- UN Adopts Resolution on the Rights of the Child [news]
- World Report on Violence Against Children - Launch in Geneva [news]
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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 Adopts Resolution on the Rights of the Child [news]
Every year, the General Assembly hears updates on the situation of children’s rights and adopts an omnibus resolution based on these updates. This year, the GA heard reports from the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, on the follow-up to the Special Session on Children, and on the Status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
As Professor Pinheiro, the Independent Expert leading the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children, presented his final report to this year’s session of the GA, a section of the Resolution is dedicated to violence against children. Even though the Resolution does not specifically reflect all of Pinheiro’s recommendations, the GA says it ‘welcomes the Independent Expert’s Study and takes fully into account its recommendations’.
Save the Children said they also welcomed the Independent Expert's report and would "continue their global fight against violence and lobby governments and the International community to urgently ban all forms of violence against children, including sexual abuse and exploitation, corporal punishment and all other forms of degrading punishment, wherever they occur.”
Further on, the GA commends the Independent Expert on the ‘unprecedented level and quality of participation by children’. Roberta Cecchetti who spoke on behalf of the NGO Group Subgroup on Children and Violence, emphasised Professor Pinheiro’s strong leadership in the process and said that “the content of the Study would not be the same if that level and quality of participation had not been encouraged, sustained and defended.”
Finally, she said “we encourage all States to take stock of such an experience and create space for the participation of girls and boys in designing and implementing policies to prevent and respond to violence against children.”
Even though the Study Report recommends the appointment of a Special Representative to the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence Against Children, the GA does not make any decisions on this issue, but invites Professor Pinheiro to ‘give support to the first year of effective follow-up to its recommendations […] to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session a report on progress made in the initial phase of the follow-up and to anticipate the necessary strategy for follow-up to the implementation of the study’.
Both the NGO Group Subgroup on Children and Violence, and the NGO Advisory Panel to the Study have been campaigning for such an advocate to be appointed by the GA, referring to the establishment of the SRSG on Children and Armed Conflict as an outcome of Graça Machel’s report. Roberta Cecchetti said “we as NGOs, are ready to continue to support the Independent Expert and all the stakeholders in the implementation of the recommendations.”
Save the Children said they “will also continue to advocate for the appointment of a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Elimination of Violence against Children, with the mandate and resources required to provide leadership and oversight of the issue.”
The Resolution received 176 votes in favour, with no abstentions. Only the United States voted against the Resolution, for a number of reasons, including the fact that they are not a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Finally, the General Assembly requested that next year’s resolution should focus on violence against children. This year’s Resolution had focused on children living in poverty who had no access to nutrition or sanitation facilities.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10547&flag=news
Further information:
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
1 St John's Lane
London EC1M 4AR
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6866 or 67; Fax: + 44 020 7012 6899
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.crin.org
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World Report on Violence Against Children - Launch in Geneva [news]
[GENEVA, 20 November 2006] – The UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children was launched in Geneva on the occasion of the Universal Day of the Child, also celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Committee on the rights of the child and 17 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This launch marked the publication of the book: ‘World Report on Violence Against Children’, which complements a shorter report that was presented at the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly on 11 October 2006 in New York. The purpose of this event was to discuss follow up to the Study with NGOs, young people, representatives from governments and UN Agencies.
Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Independent Expert who leads the Study, started by saying that the ‘history of violence is a tale of silence; we are still waiting for the emancipation of children in terms of their rights being recognised’ and he hoped that this Study would contribute to combating this silence.
He went on to say that independently of what the General Assembly will decide in terms of the future of the Study, some tasks for Member States and UN agencies were clear: to widely disseminate the Study, to ensure high level attention to the recommendations of the Study by the UN, including treaty bodies, Special Procedures and the Human Rights Council.
Moushira Khattab from the Committee on the Rights of the Child said that UN agencies should continue to work together to provide States parties with assistance in their implementation of the recommendations, however this was not enough, as there is a need for a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.
Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, President of the Human Rights Council, said he wanted to organise an event on violence against children at the 4th Session of the Human Rights Council in March or April 2006 to help disseminate the report, look at cooperation between UN agencies and discuss how Special Procedures can be strengthened.
Roberta Cecchetti, from Save the Children, also Convenor of the NGO Group Subgroup on Children and Violence emphasised the role that NGOs have had in facilitating and supporting the participation of boys and girls. She asked the various representatives of the UN agencies present to ensure they would continue to involve children, young people and NGOs in their follow up activities.
Jo Becker from Human Rights Watch and Chair of the NGO Advisory Panel said this Study needs a high level global advocate as was established after the publication of Graça Machel’s Study on children and armed conflict. ‘We regret it seems unlikely Member States will establish such an office but we hope they will commit to this in the coming years. For our part, we remain committed to continuing our work’ she said.
Jane Connors from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said her office was currently discussing its role in follow up and implementation, including what sort of support it can provide to States, who have the prime responsibility in implementing the recommendations, followed by the UN and civil society.
She said OHCHR would support the Independent Expert ‘as he follows implementation of his recommendations from now until the next General Assembly meeting where he will report on progress’ referring to the possibility of his mandate being extended for another year, hence postponing a decision on the appointment of a Special Representative.
Marta Santos Pais, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, said there remained three major challenges: that violence remains widely accepted and condoned, that violence is still formally accepted as educational, a form of punishment or discipline, and that it remains hidden and absent from statistical data.
Other speakers included two young representatives who had participated at regional meetings, representatives from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNESCO.
The General Assembly is expected to vote on a Resolution on the Rights of the Child shortly, which would include recommendations on the Study findings. Information about the outcome of the voting will be available on the CRIN Violence website. In the meantime, read more about child rights at the General Assembly.
Further information
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
1 St John's Lane
London EC1M 4AR
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6866 or 67; Fax: + 44 020 7012 6899
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=11379
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This Update is an electronic mailing list administered by the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN), in collaboration with the co-chairs of the NGO Advisory Panel and the NGO Subgroup on Children and Violence. CRIN does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to this Update. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.
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