• Violence Against Children

No violence against children is justifiable and all forms of violence are preventable. These basic principles underpin the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children that I had the honour to undertake. The Study takes a major step forward in highlighting the prevalence and the devastating impact of violence on boys and girls globally; the recommendations provide specific and concrete measures for UN Member States to assume their responsibilities and be held accountable for the protection of children’s rights.

A Study, however, is only the beginning of a long process to stop violence against children. Continued action, by all those concerned, be they governments, international or regional organisations, local authorities, communities, civil society organisations, families, individual adults and children, must be ensured. Responsibility for stopping the scourge of violence lies with everyone. One of the main difficulties in meeting this challenge is providing reliable and complete information on violence against children to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. A rights-based focus is a strong weapon to counteract violence. Fortunately means exist for civil society organisations, including children, to present reports to this Committee according to the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These channels should be exploited to the fullest extent.

The guidelines presented below are designed to help non-governmental organisations to include comprehensive information on the incidence of violence in their reports to the Committee. NGOs have a unique role to play and they alone can give meaning to the data and statistics presented to the Committee. It is by making this information available that corrective measures can be
identified that will move us towards our goal of ending violence.

I am personally very pleased to introduce these guidelines. They represent a direct and immediate follow-up to the Secretary-General’s Study. They provide practical and specific steps for the preparation of reports. I congratulate the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child for this initiative. I urge the NGO community in all countries to use these guidelines.