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Summary: The Statement was prepared by Members of the NGO Advisory Panel to the UN Study on Violence Against Children.
Statement to the Third Committee The indepedent expert’s ground breaking study has brought to light the horrific scale of violence suffered by children at the hands of adults around the world. It makes clear that unconscionable violence affects boys and girls of all ages, in all nations, developed and developing alike. We have no choice to to acknowledge that this is a global problem, with devastating effects in all regions of the world. The Study has found that too often, violence is perpetrated by those responsible for the child’s safety and well-being—their parents, teachers, their guardians, the police. Children often have no place to go to report such violence, and no recourse when it occurs. They are betrayed not only by those who subject them to beatings, sexual violence, torture or even murder, but also by the authorities who fail to protect them or take appropriate action to hold perpetrators accountable. The Study provides important directions forward. Its recommendations comprehensively address the need for prevention, protection and response. It highlights effective and promising programs and initiatives that are already in place and should be expanded and replicated. It also reminds states of the clear legal obligations that they have accepted under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other instruments to protect children from all forms of violence. We urge all member states to strongly endorse the Study’s recommendations in the rights of the child resolution, and to commit to full implementation at the national level. In particular, we urge member states to meet the time-bound recommendations made by the independent expert: The recommendations in the study did not emerge from a vaccuum. They are the result of an extensive consultation process that has involved governments, non-governmental organizations, 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 organizations—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. The shocking findings of the study, the momentum that has been built during the study process, and the expectations of the children who have participated in the the study require not only endorsement and implementation of the Study’s recommendations, but also an on-going mechanism to ensure effective follow-up at the international level. We strongly support Prof. Pinheiro’s recommendation for the appoirntment of a Special Representative to the Secretary-General on violence against children. The widespread and devastating impact of violence against children revealed by the Study demands leadership and attention at the highest level of the UN. We need a high-level global advocate who can maintain attention to the epidemic of violence against children and keep it squarely on the international agenda; and who can systematically monitor progress in implementing the Study’s recommendations. We need a high-level figure who can complement and enhance—but not duplicate— the existing work of UN agencies, special mechanism and bodies; and who can deal with violence against children in a comprehensive way, filling the many gaps left by existing mechanisms. We need a single focal point, who will be accessible to NGOs and children who find it difficult to navigate a complicated UN bureaucracy, who will maintain the active involvement of children, and maintain the momentum of the Study, including the energy and interest generated by its regional and thematic consultations. We believe that a Special Representative to the Secretary-General on violence against children can best achieve these goals. The recommendation for a Special Representative reflects extensive consultation. It is supported by UNICEF, the OHCHR, and WHO, the key UN agencies that participated in the Study, and it is supported by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. It is supported by NGOs and by children. We urge governments to act on this recommendation now, during this General Assembly, and not defer it to some later date. We wish to commend the independent expert for his invaluable work to expose both the routine and the horrendous levels of violence that children endure and his commitment to extensive consulation with all stakeholders. We now urge member states to respond by strongly supporting the Study’s recommendations, and ensuring high level follow-up through the establishment of a Special Representative to the Secretary General. [Please note that permission was not granted to deliver the statement to the Third] Committee]
from the NGO Advisory Panel for the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children
· to prohibit all forms of violence, including all corporal punishment, harmful tradition practices and sexual violence against children in all settings by 2009; and
· to develop a multi-faceted, coordinated and integration national plan of action to respond to violence against children by 2007.