Toward a World Free From Violence Against Children

Dr. Marta Santos Pais

Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children

Marta Santos Pais was recently reinstated as Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children for a further period of three years. She was appointed as the first SRSG on Violence against Children on May 1st, 2009, and took her position on September 1st, 2009. Marta Santos Pais brings to this position more than 30 years’ experience on human rights issues, engagement in United Nations and intergovernmental processes and a firm commitment to the rights of the child. She collaborates closely with a wide range of partners, within and beyond the United Nations system as well as through regional partnerships and reports annually to the General Assembly, in New York, and the Human Rights Council, in Geneva.

As a high level global independent advocate, Marta Santos Pais has been acting in favour of the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children, and as a bridge builder and a catalyst of actions in all regions, and across sectors and settings where violence against children may occur. Since her appointment, she has been committed to mobilizing action and political support to maintain momentum around this agenda and to achieve steady progress the world over including through the organization of expert consultations and promoting children participation in the decision making process.

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 two Optional Protocols. She also participated in the development of other key international human rights standards.

Marta Santos Pais is a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Children’s Rights, and a member of the Advisory Board of the International Inter-disciplinary Course on Children’s Rights. She is the author of a large number of publications on human rights and children’s rights.

Abstract

The 2006 UN Secretary-General Study on Violence against Children triggered an unprecedented mobilisation of the international community for the prevention and elimination of violence against children. The Global Survey on Violence against Children issued in 2013 captures both the progress achieved since the Study was launched and the significant challenges that continue to hamper children’s right to freedom from violence. The Global Survey also contains a set of recommendations to accelerate progress at local, national and international levels.
Despite many positive developments in national legislation and policies, in public awareness initiatives, and in data and research on children’s exposure to violence, progress has been too slow, too uneven and too fragmented to make a genuine breakthrough in the protection of children. Across the world, countless girls and boys of all ages continue to be exposed to the cumulative impact of different forms of violence as a result of reactive, ill-coordinated and ill-resourced national strategies; dispersed and poorly enforced legislation; low levels of investment in family support, in gender- and child- sensitive approaches and in mechanisms to support child victims and fight impunity; and overall, data and research remain scarce and incipient to overcome the invisibility and acceptance of this phenomenon and safeguard children’s from violence everywhere and at all times.
The protection of boys and girls from all forms of violence is a concern that we cannot afford to neglect in today’s world and in tomorrow’s actions. This is not just an ethical and human rights imperative; it is also a question of good governance and good economics!
This year, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the international community is discussing the post-2015 development agenda and has a golden opportunity to place child well-being and development at its heart. Including the elimination of violence against children as a distinct priority and as a cross cutting concern in the development agenda would no doubt trigger the mobilization of the much needed mobilization of efforts and resources to build a world free from violence.

Session

KN-2 » Keynote (09:20 - Monday, 15th September, Century Hall)

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