A/72/275 II. Supporting implementation of the 2030 Agenda towards the elimination of all forms of violence against children A. Placing children at the heart of sustainable development 16. The Special Representative remains strongly committed to seizing the unique opportunity presented by implementation of the 2030 Agenda to accelerate progress in the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. 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 which offers a unique opportunity to galvanize political will and reignite action. 17. Children dream of a world of peace and non-violence, a world in which they can grow up happy, cherished, supported, safe, confident and empowered, and in which no child is left behind. For countless millions of children, however, life is instead a nightmare, as they are exposed to appalling levels of violence in their neighbourhoods, in schools, in institutions for their care and protection, and within the home. Children are too frightened to speak up, uncertain about the support t hey may receive. In addition, they lack the information they need to seek advice and protection in their healing, recovery and reintegration. 18. Implementation of the 2030 Agenda is giving tremendous impetus to the common endeavour to end violence against children. Many Member States are adopting comprehensive and cohesive nationally owned sustainable development plans towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. These plans need to be supported by predictable resources and informed by solid evidenc e and robust, reliable and disaggregated data. Progress towards the Goals needs to be periodically reviewed, and it is essential that such national reviews address progress on the violence-related targets. 19. Investing in children is crucial if the targets are to be reached, but there is still a long way to go. While half of those living in extreme poverty are children and half of the world’s children are affected by violence each year, budget allocations for these fundamental dimensions of children’s well-being are often inadequate. Furthermore, official development assistance mobilized towards ending violence against children remains wholly insufficient. Indeed, as noted in a recent report, 4 the average official development assistance per child and per ye ar to address violence in low-income countries amounts to less than $0.65, or less than 0.6 per cent of total official development assistance. 20. The high-level political forum on sustainable development is key to ensuring that children are placed at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. In 2016, the theme of the first high-level political forum to review the Sustainable Development Goals was “Ensuring that no one is left behind”. While the report of the Secretary -General on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals highlighted that “various forms of violence against children are pervasive, including discipline that relies on physical punishment and psychological aggression”, 5 few of the voluntary national reviews referred to progress on the targets related to violence against children. 21. In her global advocacy, including through participation in high -level intergovernmental meetings, cooperation with regional organizations, and country __________________ 4 5 4/18 ChildFund Alliance, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, World Vision International, and Development Initiatives, “Counting pennie s: a review of official development assistance to end violence against children” (2017). Available from http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/2017/counting_pennies_web.pdf. E/2016/75, paras. 108-110. 17-13267