A/67/230 61. While stronger efforts remain critically needed, the following lessons, also highlighted by the above-mentioned regional reviews, can help guide the work ahead: (a) It remains urgent to promote a national child-centred, integrated, multidisciplinary and time-bound strategy on violence against children and to mainstream the protection of children from violence as a concern for all relevant central and decentralized authorities and as a core component of the national policy agenda; (b) It is critical to establish effective high-level coordinating mechanisms with the necessary authority and influence, and to clarify the role and responsibilities of departments and institutions dealing with violence against children in order both to avoid overlap and to promote synergies, and to train relevant professionals on child-sensitive violence prevention and response mechanisms; (c) The allocation of resources for violence-related action is indispensable, including at the decentralized level; (d) The active involvement of all stakeholders, including academia, civil society and child-led organizations, is crucial for a successful process of implementation, monitoring and evaluation. B. Legal protection of children 62. The survey confirms that there have been important legislative developments to secure the protection of children from violence. Over 80 per cent of respondents indicate that they have a significant body of laws on violence, consisting either of overall legal prohibition or separate pieces of legislation addressing the various manifestations of violence. At the same time, the gap between law and implementation remains wide and challenging. 63. The protection of children from sexual exploitation is the area where most decisive progress has been made. Over 90 per cent of respondents highlight a legal prohibition of sexual violence against children, including prostitution; a ban on the procurement or offering of children for pornography, and on the possession and dissemination of images of child abuse, including via the Internet. Information from United Nations reports, including concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, confirm an accelerated rate of legislative activity in this area, although additional serious efforts remain necessary to promote effective implementation and address gaps and emerging concerns, including the protection of children from sale, the rise in child trafficking, the low number of prosecutions, the lack of data and the limited allocation of resources. 13 64. Although dimensions of the problem such as those mentioned above will require considerable work, this is an area where the positive influence of sustained advocacy and mobilization efforts can be seen, including efforts in support of the campaign for the ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and of the follow-up to the World Congresses against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. __________________ 13 12-45164 See, for example, International Labour Office, Accelerating Action against Child Labour (2010); UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2009); International Organization for Migration, IOM 2011 Case Data on Human Trafficking: Global Figures & Trends (2012). 17