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[NEW YORK, 1 May 2009] - It has been a long time coming, and some lost heart altogether, but the UN has finally answered the calls of child rights advocates across the world and appointed a top-level official on violence against children. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon today announced the appointment of Marta Santos Pais as his Special Representative on Violence Against Children (SRSG). Human Rights Watch's Jo Becker, co-Chair of the NGO Advisory Council for the follow-up to the UN Study on Violence Against Children, told CRIN: "We’ve waited a long time for this appointment, and are delighted that Marta Santos Pais will be taking on this critical new mandate. "The SRSG will be a powerful voice for children, and a force to challenge the entrenched laws, attitudes and practices that still cause children to suffer intolerable violence. We are incredibly eager to work with her to make sure that the important recommendations that came out of the UN Study are fully implemented." The establishment of the post was one of 12 recommendations of the UN Study on Violence Against Children, concluded in 2006. The Study, by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, found that millions of children throughout the world live with the devastating effects of violence, including injuries, disabilities, life-long emotional and psychological effects, sometimes death, as well as significant economic and other costs to society. The study recommended that "governments act to establish a Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG)." The role of the SRSG would be to " act as a high-profile global advocate to promote prevention and elimination of all violence against children". The new role Marta Santos Pais is currently Executive Director of UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, based in Florence, Italy. She also served on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Peter Newell, Co-Chair of the NGO Advisory Council and Coordinator of the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, said the new position was crucial. He said: “Making a success of this long-awaited appointment is of huge importance to children in all States. Marta’s demonstrated deep commitment to children’s status as rights holders, her fearless advocacy of difficult issues and her very broad international experience should enable her and her office to quickly build on the momentum established by Paulo Pinheiro’s Study. "The task, as the Study set out, is enormous and urgent. As Paulo reported to the UN in 2007: “Children are sick of being called ‘the future’: they want to enjoy their childhood, free of violence, now!””. Delay In October 2007, the NGO Advisory Council launched a petition, signed by over 1,000 NGOs from across the world, calling on Member States to implement the Study's recommendations, including the appointment of the SRSG. The 2007 General Assembly resolution on the rights of the child endorsed the NGO request, demanding that the "the Secretary-General... appoint for a period of three years a Special Representative on violence against children, at the highest possible level" (58)1. The resolution was adopted on 18 December 2007 by a vote of 183 to 1. The GA's resolution on the rights of the child in November 2008 went on to express "deep concern about the delay in the appointment of a new Special Representative on violence against children [...] and requests the Secretary-General to fully comply with the request and to take urgent action to appoint, in accordance with the resolution, at the highest possible level and without delay, a Special Representative". During the debate on the rights of the child at the Human Rights Council session in March, a number of experts from the UN, representatives from Europe and Latin America, as well as a number of States, expressed their concern regarding the delay in the appointment and called, once again, on the SG to appoint the SRSG without further delay. Further information