A/66/227 including legislation banning all forms of violence against children; and the abolishment of status offences, including the decriminalization of survival behaviour such as begging, truancy and vagrancy. These solutions need to be promoted among street children themselves, with an understanding of their perspectives, thus investing in their genuine empowerment and enabling them to make informed choices in situations where the risk of violence may be effectively prevented. Common Market of the South 96. In the Americas, follow-up to the United Nations study on violence against children has been carried out within the framework of the Twentieth Pan American Child Congress and the strong institutional cooperation developed with the InterAmerican Children’s Institute of the Organization of the American States, the Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Latin American and Caribbean chapter of the Global Movement for Children, and the Ibero-American Conference of Ministers Responsible for Children and Adolescents. 97. In April 2011, this process gained renewed political impetus through the holding of the first subregional high-level meeting to follow up on the study. The South American meeting was hosted by the Government of Paraguay, in the context of its chairmanship of MERCOSUR and of the Permanent Commission of the Niñ@Sur Initiative. The meeting was co-organized with the Special Representative and the Latin American and Caribbean chapter of the Global Movement for Children, and had the participation of MERCOSUR member and associated States, as well as representatives of civil society, including children’s organizations, children’s advocates and the media. 98. The discussions in Paraguay were informed by an analytical review of national measures adopted to advance the implementation of the study’s recommendations. The review was based on national reports submitted on the development of a comprehensive strategy for preventing and addressing violence against children, the legal protection of children from violence, and the consolidation of data and research. 99. The meeting led to significant outcomes: (a) the adoption of a forward-looking road map to advance progress and address gaps and persisting challenges; (b) the development of national strategies on violence against children by individual countries aligned with the regional road map; and (c) within MERCOSUR, the incorporation of the regional road map into the agenda of the Permanent Commission of the Niñ@Sur Initiative, which will review its implementation on an annual basis in the light of national reports submitted by Governments. 100. Two other high-level meetings, in Central America and in the Caribbean, are expected to be held in the near future in support of the follow-up to the study in those subregions. Council of Europe 101. The Special Representative pursued fruitful collaboration with the Council of Europe, with which she joined hands, together with UNICEF and the European Union, in the organization of the conference entitled “Combating violence against 20 11-44118