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Violence against children, and ways to stem that violence, figured prominently in a discussion between Member States and United Nations officials from the field of child rights, at the start of a multi-day discussion on the promotion and protection of the rights of children convened by the Third Committee of the General Assembly (what is this?). In her first appearance before the Committee, Marta Santos Pais, the Secretary-General's newly appointed Special Representative on Violence against Children, said she was counting on mutual support between herself and Member States to identify the most promising initiatives to stamp out violence against children. She made that statement in response to numerous questions posed by Member States on how she planned to conduct her work, and what role Governments were expected to play in the dispatch of her mandate. Ms. Santos Pais, who assumed her post last month, said violence against children was an area where action was urgently needed. According to UNICEF, more than 85 per cent of children between 2 and 14 years of age experienced physical punishment or psychological aggression. National studies, although limited in number, confirmed similar rates. Available research suggested that between 500 million and 1.5 billion children endured some form of violence each year. She noted that widely ratified treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the International Labour Organization's Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, provided the normative foundation for the prevention and elimination of such violence. A 2006 United Nations Study on Violence against Children ‑‑ developed under the leadership of Paulo Pinheiro, while he was the United Nations' Independent Expert on Violence against Children ‑‑ would be her "navigation chart". That study had helped to challenge the acceptance of violence against children, she said. In a lengthy question-and-answer session with Member States, she explained that the Special Representative's mandate had been established for a period of three years. In that time, she would focus on the development of a national strategy in each State and the introduction of a legal ban on all forms of violence against children. She would also promote the establishment of a national data collection system and research agenda. She talked of promising developments in those areas, saying that 24 countries had already established a comprehensive and explicit legal ban on violence against children, with many others following suit. Several countries had reinforced legislation to protect children from violence in schools, such as India with its ban on corporal punishment. Others were introducing laws on child trafficking and sexual exploitation or female genital mutilation, or were placing limits on early and forced marriage. However, she also acknowledged that the international community was lagging behind on those goals. The Study on Violence against Children had set a deadline of 2007 for national strategies. Initiating legal reforms, as well as establishing a system of data collection, was to have been in place by the end of 2009. Read her full speech: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=21127 Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, who addressed the Committee alongside Ms. Santos Pais, also highlighted the mutually reinforcing relationship between Member States and the Secretary-General's Special Representatives. She said the General Assembly's engagement had been "key" to the work of her Office, and that the world body had served as an "enabler" on ensuring the protection of children. She said two resolutions of the Security Council had been particularly helpful to the cause. Resolution 1882 (2009) on children and armed conflict stipulated that sexual violence against children and the killing and maiming of children during conflict would no longer be tolerated, and that parties with a pattern of such behaviour would be named and shamed by the Secretary-General in his annual report to the Council. Resolution 1888 (2009) called for a Special Representative on Sexual Violence, and for information to be collected on parties that committed sexual violence. "These developments stem from resolutions in the General Assembly through which Member States have collectively expressed their commitment to fight sexual violence in wartime, paving the way also for the Security Council to take decisive action," she said. Also delivering statements were Omar Abdi, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Yanghee Lee, Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, who provided highlights on recent work by their organizations. The representatives of Sweden (speaking on behalf of the European Union) and Namibia (speaking on behalf of the Southern African Development Community) delivered country statements. Earlier in the day, the Committee heard from remaining speakers on a previous agenda item, the advancement of women. Those speakers were the representatives of Tunisia, Rwanda, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Burundi, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Nepal, Morocco, Lesotho, Serbia, Togo and Botswana. The representatives of the International Labour Organization, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Organization for Migration also spoke on that issue. Further information