A/65/262
and is promoted in close cooperation with UNICEF, OHCHR, the Committee on the
Rights of the Child and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography. The goal of universal ratification has been
widely endorsed by high-level international conferences, including the Third World
Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (Rio de Janeiro,
2008), and is supported by international human rights bodies and a wide network of
civil society organizations.
36. During this two-year campaign, the Special Representative on violence against
children will promote global adherence to the Optional Protocol on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. This protocol is in force in
137 countries, and more than 80 per cent of those that have not yet ratified it are
parties to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Worst
Forms of Child Labour, a treaty with legal obligations to fight the sexual
exploitation of children. Several of those countries have also formally committed to
ratify the Protocol, including in the context of the Universal Periodic Review of the
Human Rights Council.
37. Achieving progress in this area is vital. Every year, millions of children are
trafficked, enslaved through sexual exploitation, arranged marriage, illegal adoption
or forced labour. In its most recent global report, ILO recognizes that 115 million
children are victims of hazardous work; and the sale and sexual exploitation of
children also figure prominently among the worst forms of child labour.
38. The universal ratification of the Protocol will provide a shared normative
foundation to guide States’ concerted action, to prevent loopholes in child protection
systems and to fight impunity within and across borders, leaving no safe havens for
perpetrators.
39. In her collaboration with United Nations organizations, the Special
Representative on violence against children has built upon existing inter-agency
mechanisms, in particular the Inter-Agency Working Group on Violence against
Children, of which ILO, OHCHR, UNICEF and the World Health Organization
(WHO) are core members. The Inter-Agency Working Group is a critical forum for
consultation, promotion of policy formulation and mainstreaming of concerns
related to violence against children within the United Nations system’s agenda.
40. The Special Representative has maintained very close cooperation with the
core members of the Inter-Agency Working Group, having held very fruitful
bilateral discussions and working-level meetings in Geneva. The Special
Representative welcomes the critical advice received and the support provided,
which have been of decisive relevance for the shaping of her mandate and the
missions she has conducted.
41. UNICEF provides administrative support to the Office of the Special
Representative and has established a trust fund for the financial contributions
provided in support of her mandate. Protection of children from violence is a key
dimension of the mandate of UNICEF, and the Special Representative has been
associated with important initiatives promoted by that organization.
42. In the framework of its 2008 Child Protection Strategy, UNICEF supports the
follow-up to the United Nations study by strengthening child protection systems and
promoting social change in attitudes towards children. The Special Representative
participated in important discussions on the implementation of the UNICEF Strategy
10-47898
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