Special Representative

On 30 May 2019, the Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid (Morocco) as his Special Representative on Violence against Children. Dr. Maalla M’jid took up her position on 1st July 2019.

Dr. M’jid, a medical doctor in pediatrics, has over the last four decades devoted her life to the promotion and protection of children’s rights. She was Head of the Pediatric Department and Director of the Mother-Child polyclinic in Casablanca. Dr. M’jid was a member of the Moroccan Council on Human Rights and founder of the pioneering non-governmental organization Bayti, addressing the protection and reintegration of children living and working in the streets of Morocco.

From 2008 to 2014, she served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography.

Dr. M’jid also worked as an international expert on developing and monitoring integrated child protection strategies and policies, as well as on social and development policies. She also worked as a lecturer in Moroccan and international universities on child rights protection and monitoring.

As a member of several regional and international non-governmental organizations and networks working for children’s rights, Dr. M’jid was also involved in the training of social workers, law enforcement, teachers, judges, and medical staff. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for her strong commitment to protecting children and their rights.

Former Special Representative

Marta Santos Pais was appointed as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG) on May 1st, 2009, and took up her position on September 1st, 2009. As a high level global independent advocate, Marta Santos Pais promoted the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children in the justice setting, in the home, in institutional care, in schools, in the workplace and in the community. She acts as a bridge builder in all regions, and across sectors and settings where violence against children may occur.

Since her appointment, she was committed to mobilizing action and political support to maintain momentum around this agenda and to achieve steady progress across the world. Marta Santos Pais has more than 30 years experience on human rights issues, engagement in United Nations and intergovernmental processes. She is the author of a large number of publications on human rights and children's rights. Before her appointment as SRSG on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais was the Director of the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, a position she held since 2001. She joined UNICEF in 1997 as Director of Evaluation, Policy and Planning. Previously, she was the Rapporteur of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Vice-Chair of the Coordinating Committee on Childhood Policies of the Council of Europe. She was a Special Adviser to the UN Study on Violence against Children and to the Machel Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. She was also a member of the UN Drafting Group of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and of its Optional Protocols and participated in the development of other key international human rights standards.