Special Representative Santos Pais presents Annual Report to the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly - 3.00 pm EDT - UNHQ Conference Room 1

The report outlines the scale of different forms of violence against children and the imperative to act with a deep sense of urgency to bring them to an end. Children around the world continue to be exposed to physical, psychological and sexual violence, often in a pervasive, corrosive, hidden and concealed manner. They are intentionally targeted in politically driven processes, manipulated in organized crime, forced to flee violence in their communities, sold and exploited for economic gain, groomed online, disciplined through violent means, sexually assaulted in the privacy of their homes, neglected in institutions, abused in detention centres, bullied in schools and in the cyberspace, and stigmatized and ill-treated as a result of superstition or harmful practices.

The SRSG’s report highlights significant initiatives to prevent and move towards the elimination of violence against children, as called for the 2030 Agenda. At the national level, comprehensive national strategies to prevent and address violence, and legislative reforms to ban all forms of violence against children and ensure the protection, recovery and reintegration of child victims have been adopted, while data systems are being incrementally consolidated.

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