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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 24 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Trial Chamber I accepted the approach taken by the Pre-Trial Chamber and suggested by the Special Representative, according to which both conscription and enlistment are forms of recruitment, in that they refer to the incorporation of a boy or a girl under the age of 15 years into an armed group, whether coercively or voluntarily. The Special Representative argued in her brief to the Court that the distinction between voluntary enlistment and forced recruitment was a distinction without meaning, as even the most voluntary of acts could be a desperate attempt to survive by children with a limited number of options. In such circumstances, any consent given by a child could not be regarded as truly voluntary in the full sense of the word. Whether the child enlisted or was conscripted, the line between voluntary and involuntary recruitment was legally irrelevant and practically superficial in the context of children’s association with armed forces or armed groups in times of conflict. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 35 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Sexual violence continues to be a prominent violation of children's rights in most situations of conflict, affecting both girls and boys dramatically. Rape and other forms of sexual violence are committed in the context of attacks against the civilian population and children are usually targeted due to their vulnerability and frequently because of their ethnicity. Violations are also committed in the context of recruitment and use of children and abductions. Girls are particularly vulnerable to abduction or recruitment by armed groups to be used for sexual purposes. Parties to conflict use sexual violence against children as a tactic to instil fear so as to assert control over people and land. It is also an increasing trend used by extremist groups to terrorize populations. For example, Boko Haram has been abducting girls from schools, and reports indicate that those girls have been forcibly married to local commanders. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2015 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2010, para. 26 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | This is an area where urgent action is required. Existing data sets on children provide a basis to build upon, but they need to be integrated beyond sectors and individual disciplines, promoting a holistic consideration of the child. Gaps in child protection areas need to be addressed and monitoring tools and indicators expanded, including to consider boys and girls of all ages and in all settings, and to address those at greatest risk. Moreover, those efforts need to incorporate children's views and perspectives, and capture their experience, and dynamic and evolving free agency. This is crucial to understand the hidden face of violence and effectively address its root causes. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2010 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 71 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Less than 30 per cent of respondents indicate 18 as the minimum age for marriage, with younger ages and different thresholds for boys and girls prevalent in a large number of countries. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2013 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 14b | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [At the consultation, in which governmental experts and representatives of United Nations agencies, international and regional organizations, human rights bodies, academia and civil society participated, a set of practical recommendations to assist States and other actors in the development of a violence-free justice system for children was drawn up. Those recommendations, included in a joint report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/21/25), address the following issues:] Protecting children from all forms of violence within the juvenile justice system. National laws, policies and procedures concerning juvenile justice should be brought into full compliance with relevant international standards, and juvenile justice reforms should pursue a child- and gender-sensitive approach and be guided by child rights principles and safeguards, including (i) the recognition of the deprivation of children's liberty as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time; (ii) the separation of children from adults and of girls from boys in a child-sensitive environment; (iii) the explicit prohibition of and effective protection of children from violence, including as a form of punishment, treatment or sentencing; (iv) the legal provision of safe and child-sensitive counselling, reporting and complaints mechanisms to prevent and respond to incidents of violence; and (v) the establishment of independent oversight and monitoring mechanisms and accountability systems for the inspection of places of detention and the prompt investigation of incidents of violence against children. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 25 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Chamber also decided to apply a broad interpretation of the term “participate actively in hostilities” to ensure justice and protection for all children associated with armed forces or armed groups. The Court held that the term included a wide range of individuals, from those on the front line (who participated directly) to the boys and girls who were involved in multiple roles that supported the combatants. The Court further refined that interpretation, using a case-by-case determination and adopting a double test: whether support was given and whether the support provided to the combatants exposed the child to real danger as a potential target. The Chamber made a clear distinction between the term “direct participation in hostilities”, which determines combatant status under international humanitarian law, and the term “actively participating in hostilities”, which is the criteria applicable to the use of children in hostilities, holding that the latter was to be interpreted broadly, and without conferring combatant status on those children. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 11 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Extremist groups have benefited from advances in technology, which have facilitated their rapid growth and led to the expansion of their territorial control, often across national borders. The military response to the threat has also raised protection challenges for children. Children caught in the middle of counter-terrorism operations have been killed and maimed and their homes and schools destroyed. In some cases, State-allied militias have been mobilized, resulting in boys and sometimes girls being used in support roles and even as combatants. Despite international calls for due process and respect for the rule of law, counter-terrorism operations often lack those elements. The Special Representative recalls that efforts to counteract extremist groups must be carried out in full compliance with international humanitarian, refugee and human rights law and must ensure that children are treated primarily as victims. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2015 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 25 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | This is an area where urgent action is required and to which the Special Representative pays priority attention. Existing data sets on children provide a basis to build upon, but they need to be integrated beyond sectors and individual disciplines, to promote a holistic consideration of the child. Gaps in child protection areas need to be addressed and monitoring tools and indicators expanded to cover boys and girls of all ages and in all settings, and to identify those at greatest risk. Moreover, these efforts need to incorporate children's views and perspectives, and capture their experience, and dynamic and evolving agency. This is crucial to understand the hidden face of violence and to address its root causes effectively. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2011 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 46 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Education has a unique potential to generate an environment where attitudes condoning violence can be changed and non-violent behaviour can be learned. Schools are well placed to break patterns of violence and provide skills to communicate, to negotiate and support peaceful solutions to conflicts. However, this potential is in marked contrast with the daily reality of millions of children. Within and around educational settings, both girls and boys continue to be exposed to violence, including verbal abuse, intimidation, physical aggression, and in some cases sexual abuse. At times they are also victims of gang violence and assault. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 80 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Second, the work conducted over the past three years has also helped to gain a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of violence and of the need to maintain a holistic view of the child when initiatives for the prevention and elimination of violence are pursued. It is critical to address the cumulative exposure of girls and boys to various manifestations of violence in different contexts, and throughout the child's life cycle. Indeed, for children at risk, violence in the home, in the school and in the community is a continuum, spilling over from one setting to another, and at times persisting across generations. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 108 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Violence is a frequent dimension of children's lives. It occurs in various forms and contexts and has serious and long-lasting consequences on their well-being and development. Prevention and elimination efforts need to address those dynamics and invest in the social inclusion of girls and boys at special risk, for whom the multiple dimensions of deprivation go hand in hand with a cumulative exposure to violence. Enhancing families' capacity to protect and care for their children and preventing child abandonment and placement in residential care remain crucial dimensions of that process. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 70 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Data and research are indispensable if we are to expose the hidden face of violence and address its root causes; understand perceptions and attitudes regarding this phenomenon, including among girls and boys of various ages and social backgrounds; identify children at greater risk and effectively support them; and assess the economic costs of violence and the social gains that can be achieved through steady investment in prevention. These are areas where consolidated partnerships and the acceleration of efforts will remain of the essence. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2011 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 23 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Around the world, countless numbers of girls and boys fall victim to harmful practices. Often violent in nature, these practices compromise the development and education of the child, have serious and long-lasting health and psychological consequences, and may result in disability or death. At the same time, positive experiences have led to the successful abandonment of these practices and a lasting commitment by concerned communities to prevent their occurrence and safeguard the protection of children's rights. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2013 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 86 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | If a peace agreement exclusively refers to the separation of child combatants, many children and youth, especially girls and those serving in so-called support functions, in particular victims of sexual violence, are at risk of being excluded from adequate reintegration assistance. Peace agreements should acknowledge the special needs of girls and provide for the establishment of rehabilitation programmes, health-care and counselling services for all boys and girls separated from armed forces and groups. Specific consideration should also be given to concerns regarding the protection of vulnerable children, such as refugee and internally displaced children, children separated from their families, unaccompanied minors and children orphaned by war. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2013 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 3 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The effect of armed conflict on children during the reporting period was unyielding, with the Central African Republic, Israel and the State of Palestine, Libya, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen serving as regrettable examples where the situation worsened to a significant degree or saw no improvement. In the Central African Republic, a breakdown in law and order led to more intense violence between armed groups and the large-scale forced displacement of children, particularly since September. Nearly 2,000 children have been separated from armed groups by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners in the Central African Republic in 2015. These children are now at risk of being re-recruited owing to the persistent instability and lack of appropriate reintegration programmes. In South Sudan, witnesses and survivors of government offensives between May and August 2015 gave horrifying accounts of children being thrown into burning houses, run over by military vehicles and hanged from trees, and of girls being killed if they resisted rape. In several instances, boys were reportedly found castrated and killed after attacks. In Yemen, heavy aerial bombardments and ground operations since the end of March 2015 have dramatically increased the number of child casualties and had a devastating impact on access to education in an already highly precarious environment. Nearly all parties to the conflict on the ground in Yemen have engaged in widespread child recruitment, with information indicating that four times as many children were recruited in the six-month period from March to September 2015 than in the whole of 2014. In the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq, the increasingly complex conflict and persistent violations of international law are taking an ever-increasing toll on the civilian population, as evidenced by rising displacement and refugee outflows. Libya is also facing worsening instability, violence and localized conflicts, and the rising tensions and violence in the State of Palestine and Israel show no signs of abating at the end of the reporting period. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2016 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Second, in countries where legislation has been enacted, further measures are required to narrow the gap between law and practice. The concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography indicate that, in more than half of the countries reviewed, the legislation on child prostitution needs to be amended, including to ensure the protection of boys. The concluding observations on the implementation of the Convention indicate that, in at least one third of countries, legislative provisions on other forms of sexual violence are inadequate, as they fail to criminalize rape or to provide an adequate definition of sexual abuse. Similarly, research conducted by the Child Rights Information Network indicates that in at least 40 countries, children are at risk of being sentenced to violent forms of punishment, including whipping, flogging, caning or amputation, and that in a number of countries the law still allows children to be sentenced to death. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2011 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 20a | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [The outcomes of the expert consultation are set out in a thematic report, to be launched during the commemoration of the 2012 International Day of the Girl Child, and include the following overarching recommendations:] Legislation plays a crucial role in the social process of abandonment of harmful practices against girls and boys, and is a core dimension of States' accountability for the protection of children from violence; this includes the obligation to ensure harmonization of all legislation, including customary and religious laws, with international human rights standards, and to ensure the establishment of a legal definition of the child in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 33 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In their recommendations, children highlighted three major issues. Firstly, they expressed deep concern at the high levels of violence affecting their lives - in schools, the community, the workplace and the home. Girls underscored the particularly high risk of sexual violence, and boys the special risk of severe forms of physical abuse, crime-related violence and homicide. Children called for their effective protection from violence in all contexts and at all times. They ranked protection from violence as their second highest priority, immediately after education. For them, education is crucial to develop children's talents and skills and to promote healthy lifestyles, and it is important in preventing violence and discrimination, countering intolerance, and enhancing dialogue and critical thinking. As they noted, receiving an inclusive and high-quality education helps prevent fear and abuse, as well as violence-related school dropout, early pregnancy, child marriage and child labour. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2015 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 39 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Violence against girls and boys is also a concern echoed by the Secretary-General in his report mentioned in paragraph 3 above. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2015 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Another aspect that tends to be underestimated is the trauma boys face as perpetrators or witnesses of sexual violence. They may be forced to commit rapes either directly by their commander or indirectly through peer pressure. Many may be forced to witness sexual violence perpetrated by others. It should be noted that through the jurisprudence of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1998, Furundzija case), forcing an individual to witness acts of rapes and other sexual violence is considered as sexual torture under international law. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2010 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In the reporting period, the Special Representative has engaged in extensive advocacy to protect children who have been deprived of their liberty for association with parties to conflict. Joint endeavours have helped to ensure appropriate protection of the rights of children separated from armed groups. For example, in the Sudan, following the Special Representative's visit and in the light of extensive efforts by many United Nations entities, 21 boys detained for their alleged association with a non-State armed group were released and pardoned by the President on 8 September 2016. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2017 | ||
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 14 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In addition, in November 2010, during the visit of the Special Representative, the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia committed to work towards an action plan to release girls and boys within the ranks of the Government forces and allied militias. In Myanmar, action plan negotiations between the Government and the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of children in the Tatmadaw Kyi are ongoing. In the Sudan, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Justice and Equality Movement and the United Nations on 21 July 2010, paving the way towards the signing of an action plan. On 22 December 2010, JEM/Peace Wing submitted a draft action plan to the United Nations, to be implemented in West Darfur. In Chad, some 1,000 children were released by 12 armed opposition groups during the reporting period. In April 2011, the Government of Chad prepared an action plan to address the recruitment and use of children by the Armée nationale tchadienne, which is ready for signature with the United Nations. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict | SRSG report |
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| 2011 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 15 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Throughout the world, countless numbers of girls and boys fall victims to harmful practices, including female genital mutilation or cutting, early and forced marriage, degrading initiation rites, breast ironing, son preference, stoning, honour killings, forced feeding, witchcraft rituals and many other less-known forms of harmful practice. Often violent in nature, these practices compromise the development and education of the child, have serious and long-lasting health and psychological consequences, and may result in disability or death. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2012 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2015, para. 81 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The drugs trade typically uses children and adolescents for the most dangerous activities, such as monitoring territory, the transport and retail sale of drugs, or theft. Some children may end up being associated with criminal activities, including human trafficking, kidnapping and extortion and contract killings. Boys and girls may participate in human trafficking from an early age, as guides, lookouts or informants. Thereafter, they may be required to take care of safe houses and prevent escapes and later they may be armed and become involved in more dangerous tasks. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2015 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 121 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Violence is a frequent dimension in children's lives. It occurs in various forms and contexts and has serious and long-lasting consequences on their well-being and development. Prevention and elimination efforts need to address these dynamics and invest in the social inclusion of girls and boys at special risk, for whom the multiple dimensions of deprivation go hand in hand with a cumulative exposure to violence. Enhancing families' capacity to protect and care for their children, and preventing child abandonment and placement in residential care remain crucial dimensions of this process. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2013 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2013, para. 7 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The urgency of protecting children from violence has clearly not diminished. Indeed, the magnitude and impact of this phenomenon remain high level and deeply distressing. For countless children, life is defined by one word: fear. In their early years and throughout adolescence, children endure violent disciplinary practices in schools, in care and justice institutions and within the home. Armed and community violence undermines their daily life and development; millions of children experience violence in work settings, including domestic work; trafficking is on the increase; in some countries, inhuman sentencing is still imposed on boys and girls; and harmful practices persist, with long-lasting consequences for children's rights. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2013 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 25 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | We must consolidate the gains that have been made, grasp the lessons we have learned, and redouble our efforts to shape a dynamic, forward-looking strategy to ensure children's freedom from violence everywhere and at all times. With this in mind, the global survey sets out eight imperatives which should be vigorously pursued:
- All Governments should develop and promote a national, child-centered, integrated, multidisciplinary and time-bound strategy to prevent and address violence against children.
- An explicit legal ban on all forms of violence against children must be enacted as a matter of urgency, backed by detailed measures for implementation and effective enforcement.
- Policy initiatives and legal measures should be accompanied by increased efforts to overcome the social acceptance of violence against children.
- There must be an ongoing commitment to strengthen children's meaningful participation.
- All Governments must invest in the social inclusion of girls and boys who are particularly vulnerable.
- Governments must recognize the crucial importance of building strong data systems and sound evidence to prevent and address violence against children.
- A stronger focus is needed on the factors that influence levels of violence and the resilience of children, their families and communities. These include poverty, deprivation and inequality; weak rule of law, organized crime and political instability; mass population movements; and environmental degradation and natural disasters.
- As the international community considers the future global development agenda beyond 2015, violence against children, including the most vulnerable and marginalized girls and boys, should be recognized as a priority and a cross-cutting concern. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2014 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 20 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | At the same time, however, progress has been too slow, too uneven and too fragmented to make a genuine breakthrough in the protection of children from violence. Countless girls and boys of all ages continue to be exposed to the cumulative impact of different forms of violence as a result of reactive, ill-coordinated and ill-resourced national strategies; dispersed and poorly enforced legislation; and low levels of investment in family support and gender- and child-sensitive approaches and mechanisms to support child victims and fight impunity. Overall, data and research remain scarce and incipient - insufficient to overcome the invisibility and acceptance of this phenomenon and to safeguard children's freedom from violence at all times. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2014 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2014, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The urgency of this cause has clearly not diminished. Indeed, the magnitude and impact of this phenomenon remains high and deeply distressing. For millions of children, life is defined by one word: fear. In their early years and throughout adolescence, children endure violent disciplinary practices in schools, in care and justice institutions and also within the home. Community violence and organized crime undermines their daily life and development; millions of children experience violence in work settings, including domestic work; child trafficking is on the increase; and in some countries, boys and girls face the risk of inhuman sentencing and harmful practices persist, with long-lasting consequences for the enjoyment of children's rights. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2014 | ||
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | This is no time for complacency. Around the world, millions of girls and boys of all ages continue to be exposed to appalling levels of violence, in their neighbourhoods, in their schools, in institutions aimed at their care and protection, and also within the home. | Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children | SRSG report |
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| 2017 |