A/76/224 I. Introduction 1. Guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, by which the Assembly established the mandate, the Special Representative of the Secretary -General on Violence against Children is a global, independent advocate for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. In its resolution 73/155, the Assembly reaffirmed its support for the work of the Special Representative, recognizing the progress achieved and the role of the mandate in promoting further implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children, as well as in supporting Member States in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2. The year covered in the present report was a year like no other, marked by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its unprecedented global impact. In her previous report to the General Assembly (A/75/149), the Special Representative stressed that the pandemic was exposing children to an ever greater risk of violence by exacerbating the inequalities that already threatened their physical, emotional and mental well-being long before the current crisis. 3. One year on, the damage caused by the pandemic was – and continues to be – even worse than anticipated. The impact on children is unlikely to end as the pandemic recedes: past experience suggests that the surges in interpersonal violence that are commonplace during the acute phase of a crisis are often sustained for years, even when the crisis itself has ebbed away. 1 4. The present report covers the immediate and long-term impact of the pandemic on violence against children, as well as the progress made and the challenges that remain in guaranteeing the protection of children and ensuring that no child is left behind. It sets out the action taken and the results achieved by the Special Representative over the past year to respond to the pandemic and to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. It also highlights the action taken by children themselves to prevent and respond to violence and to support each other’s well-being, highlighting the need to safeguard the empowerment of children in preventing and responding to the violence that they face. 5. With less than eight years until the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – and with the impact of the pandemic posing such a severe threat to progress – there is an urgent need to invest in an inclusive, resilient and safe recovery that works for and with children. In the context of the implementation of the Goals and building back better in the post-pandemic recovery, the Special Representative has emphasized the need to invest in integrated services for children – including child protection, mental health, physical health, education and justice – while ensuring that robust and inclusive social protection systems are in place to support children and their families. II. Impact of the pandemic on children: more severe than predicted 6. It was clear from the earliest days of the pandemic that it would have a farreaching, long-term and profoundly damaging impact on children. In her previous report, the Special Representative noted that school closures, confinement, movement restrictions and additional family stress had heightened the risks of children being exposed to violence. __________________ 1 2/17 Yasmin B. Kofman and Dana R. Garfin, “Home is not always a haven: the domestic violence crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 12, No. S1 (August 2020). 21-10227