A/71/206
I. Introduction
1.
The present report provides a review of the key developments promoted by the
Special Representative at the global, regional and national levels and an overview of
results achieved in the protection of children from violence.
2.
Guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, which established her
mandate, the Special Representative acts as a global, independent advocate of the
prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. In its
resolution 70/137, the Assembly expressed support for the work of the Special
Representative and recommended that the Secretary-General extend the mandate for
a further three years and maintain support for the effective and independent
performance and sustainability of the mandate, funded from the regular budge t.
3.
The Special Representative remains strongly committed to accelerating
progress in the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children
and seizing the unique opportunity presented by the implementation of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The inclusion in the 2030 Agenda of a
distinct target (target 16.2) to end all forms of violence against children is a historic
achievement that can galvanize political will and reignite action to build a world
free from fear and from violence for all, leaving no child behind.
4.
The commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the submission to the General
Assembly of the United Nations study on violence against children (see A/61/299)
and the twentieth anniversary of the first World Congress against Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children has given great impetus to the efforts on the
2030 Agenda targets related to ending violence against children. As implementation
begins, the year 2016 marks a strategic moment to consolidate the gains that have
been made, grasp the lessons learned, redouble efforts to trigger a dynamic process
of change and build a world where all children can grow up free from violence.
5.
With this in mind, the Special Representative has promoted important processes
and mobilization initiatives to strengthen the protection of children from violence
around the world with national authorities, United Nations entities, regional
organizations, non-governmental and faith-based organizations, the private sector and
the media, as well as child-led networks. The year was marked by the adoption of
regional plans to prevent and eliminate violence against children and the promotion of
significant partnerships to mobilize support for the protection of children. At the
national level, important progress was made with the enactment of new legislation to
ban violence in all its forms, the adoption of policy frameworks to guide
implementation, and the further consolidation of data and research to inform action.
6.
One important development was the adoption of World Health Assembly
resolution 67.15, in which the World Health Assembly requested the Director
General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop a draft global plan of
action to strengthen the role of the health system within a national multisectoral
response to address interpersonal violence against children and women, and the
release by WHO of INSPIRE, a package of evidence-based strategies to prevent and
respond to violence against children. 1 Moreover, a global study on the sexual
exploitation of children in travel and tourism 2 was issued to shed light on this
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1
2
2/23
See www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/inspire/en.
See http://globalstudysectt.org.
16-12906