A/66/227 Cooperation, the League of Arab States, the South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children, MERCOSUR and the Council of Europe. In addition, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have been active supporters. 21. In spite of these important developments, vigorous efforts are still needed. First, efforts to introduce an explicit legal ban on all forms of violence against children need to be scaled up: globally, fewer than 5 per cent of children benefit from legal protection from all forms of violence in all settings. 22. 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. 23. In short, although steps have been taken in many countries to prohibit violence against children in some forms and contexts, only a few have introduced comprehensive bans. Moreover, law enforcement has remained weak, with limited dissemination and understanding of the changes introduced. Efforts to monitor the impact of legal reform, to address emerging concerns and to ensure well-coordinated and well-resourced services and programmes to support victims in their healing and long-term reintegration have been scarce. 24. The Geneva expert consultation on law reform provided a strategic platform for the review of initiatives and positive experiences in various countries of the world, the acknowledgement of progress, and reflection on critical factors facilitating or compromising the legal protection of children from violence in the five settings identified in the study. The meeting also included the identification of opportunities to accelerate progress and promote technical advice in this critical area. 25. The meeting resulted in important conclusions and recommendations to ensure the freedom of children from violence in various forms and settings, including sexual abuse and exploitation, trafficking, harmful traditional practices, juvenile justice, labour-related violence and violence within the home. These will be addressed in greater detail in the thematic report to be issued by the Special Representative on this topic in the coming months. 26. In anticipation of that report, the following four overarching conclusions deserve special attention in view of their crucial value for shaping legislative initiatives on violence against children. 11-44118 7