Keeping the promise: ending violence against children by 2030 - Exhibit on display @UNHQ until 7 January 2020

New York, 16 December 2019 - 2019 has been a year of opportunity. It marked a strategic milestone on the path towards ensuring children’s freedom from violence with the commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified United Nations treaty. The year also marked the tenth anniversary of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children.

In September, world leaders gathered in the General Assembly to review progress of the 2030 Agenda and to mobilize action for implementation of its violence-related Sustainable Development Goals and targets. The year ends with an exhibit at the UN Visitors Centre under the theme: Keeping the promise: ending violence against children by 2030.

The installation, on display from 12 December 2019 until 7 January 2020, takes stock of progress achieved on the protection of children from violence globally since 2009, when the mandate was established.

It showcases lessons learned, acknowledges challenges and anticipates strategic actions needed to realize the vision enshrined in the Convention and the SDGs vision of a world free from fear and from violence. The installation covers a wide range of themes related to violence against children: corporal punishment, harmful practices, sexual exploitation, bullying, cyberbullying, juvenile justice and climate change. It features multiple views, experiences showcases some of the work of the office as global independent advocate for the elimination of violence against children.

The exhibit also features the “Cyber Cocoon Kids” from creative director Kevin Wang and artist Xie Yong, from China who combined form, sound and lighting to produce sculptures representing the isolation that can occur when children enter a cyber-world that parents and caregivers may not fully understand. The exhibition compels visitors to support our work - after all ending violence against children is up to all of us!  

There is no better time to demonstrate that we need to act better and faster. Not only on behalf of those who are children today, but for the 1 billion individuals who will be born between now and 2030: the children who will inherit a post-SDG world.

More information about the exhibit can be found here: https://outreach.un.org/exhibits/