Will the UN General assembly finally accept the creation of a Special Representative on Violence Against Children as requested by NGOs and Mr. Pinheiro?
The final report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children will be presented on 11 October 2006 in the Third Committee at the 61st session of the General Assembly in New York. This is the conclusion of the Study on Violence Against Children, which started in 2002, but whose process was conceived as early as in 2000. Originally, the Committee on the Rights of the Child had recommended to undertake an international study after holding two general discussions, one on 22 September 2000 on the theme of “Violence against children”, and the second on 28 September 2001 on “Violence against children within the family and in schools”. This recommendation was supported by various NGOs, including the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). In this regard, during the International Conference in Tampere, Finland in December 2001, OMCT recommended the conduct of an in-depth international study by a team headed by an independent expert.[1] Later, the General Assembly as well as the Commission on Human Rights revisited the idea of a study, and Professor Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro was finally appointed by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan as independent expert to head the study on 12 February 2003.
The purpose of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children was to present an in-depth and worldwide picture of the problem of violence against children, its prevalence, nature and causes, as well as to propose concrete recommendations to be implemented in order to improve legislation, policy and programmes enhancing the prevention of and responses to general violence against children.[2] The Study has been elaborated by means of the submission of questionnaires to governments and a public call for submissions; as well as regional, subregional and national consultations. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro has undertaken a number of field visits, participated in a range of academic and thematic meetings, colloquiums and workshops, and has engaged in dialogue with children concerning particular issues of violence in their regard.
The final report clearly raises the importance of the follow-up of the Study, and more precisely the effective implementation of the recommendations. Already in 2001, at OMCT’s International Conference in Tampere, the establishment of a special international mechanism was proposed to address all forms of violence against children, an issue for which no special mechanism exists yet.
The conclusion of the study highlights the need for such a mechanism and one of Prof. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro’s key recommendations is the creation of a new United Nations Special Representative on Violence Against Children reporting directly to the Secretary-General. OMCT welcomes Pinheiro’s proposal and shares the views of other leading NGOs to establish an independent advocate and moral voice on behalf of all forms of violence against children covering every situation and setting.[3]
The 61st General Assembly will have to consider the recommendation of the appointment of a Special Representative to the SG in the next days. Although it has been requested by NGOs and the independent expert for months, the Member States of the UN still seem to be reluctant to ask for this new mechanism. OMCT hopes that the fight against violence towards children will not suffer from the current trend of the weakening of the UN human rights system.
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is the world’s largest coalition of non-governmental organisations fighting against arbitrary detention, torture, summary and extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and other forms of violence. Its global network comprises nearly 300 local, national and regional organisations, which share the common goal of eradicating such practices and enabling the respect of human rights for all.
Visit our website: www.omct.org
Contact:
Cécile Trochu Grasso
Children’s Rights Programme
OMCT
P.O. 21 – 8, rue du Vieux Billard
CH- 1211 Geneva – Switzerland
Tel : 0041 (0)22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 (0)22 809 49 29
ct@omct.org
[1] OMCT, “Children, Torture and other forms of Violence, Facing the Facts – Forging the Future”, International Conference 27 November – 2 December 2001 in Tampere, Finland.
[2] OHCHR, UN Study on Violence against Children, August 2006. www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/study.htm.
[3] See joint-letter aimed at the Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations regarding the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children signed by the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Defence for Children International, Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment Against Children, Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Social Workers, International Save the Children Alliance, International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, International School Psychology Association, World Vision International.