The year 2024 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the appointment of the first Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. It was a year of taking stock and reflecting on all that has been achieved and, above all, on all that remains to be done in the next 5 years to end all forms of violence against children, as promised in the Global Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The world is not on track to end violence against children by 2030. At this time of spiraling crises, violence has reached unprecedented levels. Investing in child protection and well-being is essential.

In 2024, there was remarkable enthusiasm and commitment from Member States regarding efforts to end violence against children.

Dr. Maalla M’jid engaged with various countries through hundreds of bilateral meetings, participations in conference, and follow-up meetings after her country visits. In 2024, she undertook nine country visits.

A total of 119 countries, including 63 ministers, participated in and publicly pledged their commitment at the First Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children. This initiative was facilitated by Dr. Maalla M’jid, engaged with more than 50 state-led national preparatory processes. Additionally, 1,200 participants from 90 countries took part in the Sixth Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), which was co-organized by the Special Representative's office. Over 40 countries also renewed their engagement with the Pathfinding Global Alliance on Ending Violence against Children.

Many countries that the office engaged with took bold steps toward ending violence against children. For example, Lesotho established a new National Prevention and Response Plan aimed at reducing violence against children by 75% by 2028. Thailand withdrew its reservation to Article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Fiji incorporated a key performance indicator on reducing the economic costs of violence against children in its national development plan for 2025-2029, while Romania established a budget allocation and expenditure tracking mechanism. Brazil's Multi-Year Development Plan 2024-2027 includes a cross-cutting agenda on children and adolescents, which will be tracked specifically for progress on ending violence against children.

The Special Representative expanded and consolidated her engagement and collaboration with regional and subregional organizations, through participation in high-level advocacy opportunities, providing technical support, and creating connections. She also strengthened her relationship with National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and the Inter-Parliamentarian Union (IPU) to identify ways to support child protection and well-being at local, national, and global levels.

This year the Special Representative engaged with all 36 countries that presented their Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the 2024 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, to offer guidance and support to their reporting processes. Engagement included country visits, interaction during the preparation of their VNRs, and high-level bilateral meetings.

Dr Maalla M’jid continued to document good practices, connect, and facilitate the sharing of experiences, expertise, and peer learning among countries, religious and community leaders, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

In 2024, states like Brazil, Fiji, Iceland, and Zambia exchanged specific knowledge and experiences on investing in integrated services to ensure child protection and well-being. Austria, Benin, Bulgaria, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia shared best practices during the High-level Conference on Children, Youth, and Families in Romania.

The Pathfinding Global Alliance on Ending Violence against Children aims to cultivate closer connections and boost peer learning between States. The forthcoming launch of the Knowledge Platform Market will enhance peer-to-peer learning and expedite progress.

The Office prepared an advocacy brief highlighting how to build the investment case for ending violence against children, and how it provides a powerful tool for multi-stakeholder mobilization.

Collaboration among Member States, NGOs, and academic institutions was strengthened to improve cooperation and share good practices aimed at ending the deprivation of liberty of children.

A video was created featuring religious leaders from various faiths sharing their insights on how religion can serve as a powerful tool to combat violence against children and promote community engagement.

In 2024, she expanded the Inter-Agency Working Group on Violence Against Children (IAWG VAC) to include UNFPA and UN-Women and signed a Cooperation Agreement with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to enhance children's rights.

As Chair of the United Nations Task Force on Children Deprived of Liberty, Dr Maalla M’Jid continued to cooperate with Member States, NGOs, academia, and other relevant stakeholders to prevent children’s liberty deprivation and promote investment in alternatives. The Task Force continued to compile promising practices in three advocacy briefs: (a) on ending the immigration detention of children; (b) on the deprivation of liberty of children and the administration of justice; and (c) on children’s deprivation of liberty in the context of armed conflict and national security.

Additionally, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) launched a Call for Action to End Child Trafficking by 2025, along with a child-friendly version of this initiative.

Work with United Nations Resident Coordinators and Country Teams continued through their support of country visits, VNR processes, and the development of Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks.

Collaboration continued with the Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and on Sexual Violence in Conflict, as well as with the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs. Dr Maalla M'jid also strengthened her engagement with the Human Rights Council to address violence against children and advance the 2030 Agenda.

Inputs for the Global Digital Compact to secure provisions on children's rights online were provided, working closely with the Envoy of the Secretary-General on Technology.

The World Bank collaborated in the development of a toolkit assessing the economic impact of violence against children.

The Special Representative actively engaged with civil society, faith-based organizations, and community leaders, given their key role in tackling violence against children and promoting and ensuring child safeguarding.

She connected with hundreds of organizations globally, emphasizing national and youth-led groups while strengthening ties with survivors' networks.

On March 18, 2024, she met with Pope Francis to discuss the impacts of humanitarian crises on children and the need to strengthen their protection, including in religious settings.

She continued to highlight the role of traditional leaders in challenging social norms that condone or support violence, such as female genital mutilation and child marriage. One of the positive practices documented was the implementation by the Zambia House of Chiefs of the Call to Action to End Child Marriage by 2030.

She stressed the need to document and disseminate examples of action by religious leaders and faith-based organizations, particularly as a member of the organizing committee for the sixth Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children, held in Abu Dhabi in November 2024. Over 1,200 participants from 90 countries, including children, engaged in person or virtually at the forum and the pre-forum events. In its outcome document, the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Building a Hopeful World for Children, the forum participants identified key steps to ensure a sustainable, safe, and secure world for and with children, including a strong commitment to ending harmful practices that are often justified in the name of religion and called for shared accountability.

Engagement with the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector increased, particularly through collaborations with industry alliances like the Tech Coalition. The Special Representative seized global advocacy opportunities at significant events, including the Global Cybersecurity Forum in October 2024 and the WeProtect Global Alliance Summit in December 2024.

The Protection through Online Participation (PoP) initiative continued its momentum with the support of over 30 partners.

In 2024, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) decided to explicitly prioritize child protection in its social impact efforts during its annual meeting. Dr Maalla M'jid supported the creation of a working group in collaboration with the WTTC, industry, and civil society to identify and share good practices and to develop a joint advocacy strategy.

During 2024, the Office engaged with 2,730 children from around the world, including direct interactions during country visits, consultations during the preparation of her reports, and collaboration with child and youth-led organizations around key events and processes, such as the sixth Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children, the Africa Children’s Summit, and the Global Ministerial Conference.

Prior to the Ministerial Conference, Dr Maalla M'jid hosted three online dialogues and consulted with approximately 1,000 children from over 110 countries. She supported children’s participation before, during, and after the conference.

The Special Representative continued to develop child-friendly resources aimed at empowering children with information about various issues related to violence, their rights, and overall well-being.

This was the first time in history that 119 countries, including 63 ministers, and hundreds of key stakeholders, including children, survivors, regional networks, religious leaders, and donors, gathered together, marking a unique mobilization moment to accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable implementation.

As of January 2025, 55 states have signed the Bogota Call to Action, which includes specific pledges to accelerate efforts to end violence against children by 2030.

Additionally, during the Conference, more than 100 states made individual commitments to further mobilize resources and actions to eliminate violence against children.

Dr Maalla M’jid led the revitalization of the previous Global Partnership to End Violence against Children by establishing the Pathfinding Global Alliance on Ending Violence against Children. The Alliance aims to ensure greater ownership by Member States, cultivate closer connections to local realities through a bottom-up approach, and boost peer learning between States.

She convened a technical workshop in Geneva, in which 90 participants, including representatives of pathfinding countries, participated. The Alliance was launched during the Global Ministerial Conference in Bogota.

So far, over 40 Member States have joined, and the Alliance is rapidly expanding.

Numerous countries have established national plans as a clear road map to achieve their objectives. The forthcoming launch of the Knowledge Platform Market will enhance peer-to-peer learning and expedite progress.