A/HRC/28/56 communications sent to the Governments and other stakeholders concerned with preventing violations and protecting children’s rights. 15. The Special Rapporteur intends to maximize awareness-raising opportunities offered by two commemorative dates in 2015, namely the twenty-fifth anniversary of the creation of her mandate and the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. In addition, 2016 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the first World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children, and she intends to support advocacy activities calling for the implementation of the political commitments adopted at relevant world congresses. 16. The Special Rapporteur will closely follow negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda in order to ensure that putting an end to sexual abuse, violence and exploitation of children becomes a reality by 2030. IV. Information and communication technologies and the sale and sexual exploitation of children A. Objective and methodology 17. Building upon the work of her predecessors, the Special Rapporteur submits her first thematic report on the issue of information and communication technologies and the sale and sexual exploitation of children. In the present section, she updates the studies presented on the topic by her predecessors in 2005 (E/CN.4/2005/78, Corr.1 and Corr.2) and 2009 (A/HRC/12/23), and aims to reflect new trends, forms, challenges, threats and responses to the phenomenon, available legal instruments and good practices that assist in preventing and combating the scourge. 18. The present report was prepared on the basis of a comprehensive literature review focused on the issue of online child sexual exploitation. Specific studies on the different regions of the world were sought. Consultations were held with stakeholders that are conducting research and informing policy on the topic. The expert meetings attended by the Special Rapporteur allowed the gathering of additional up-to-date elements. 19. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the following stakeholders for the information provided: ECPAT International, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, Save the Children, the INHOPE network, the Virtual Global Taskforce, the Global Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Online, the International Telecommunication Union, UNICEF and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). B. Background 20. Children are among those who are most familiar with new technologies. They use them to facilitate their social lives, seek access to information and express their identity. 2 However, technology also poses risks to children. The thematic report seeks to identify those harms and how they occur and trace responses developed to tackle them. 2 6 Amanda Bird et al., Children’s rights in the digital age (Young and Well Research Centre, 2014), p. 8.