A/HRC/43/39 I. Introduction 1. In the present report, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children reviews developments she has promoted at the global, regional and national level and provides an overview of the results achieved. She also includes a thematic part that focuses on the impact that violence has on children’s mental health. 2. Guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, by which the Assembly established the mandate, the Special Representative is a global, independent advocate for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. On 1 July 2019, Najat Maalla M’jid took up the mandate of Special Representative. 3. A number of important milestones were marked in 2019: the tenth anniversary of the mandate, the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the review of the first four-year phase of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For this purpose, a thematic report, entitled Keeping the Promise: Ending Violence against Children by 2030,1 was developed by the Office of the Special Representative in cooperation with a wide range of partners, including children themselves. Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention and five years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, there is evidence in the report of some progress on children’s rights, including children’s protection from all forms of violence, but progress is too slow and there is a need for a greater sense of urgency for action. 4. Violence against children remains hidden and pervasive, which undermines the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It is estimated that up to 1 billion children aged from 2 to 17 have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect in the past year,2 and that thus half of the world’s children are victims of violence each year,3 while 300 million children between two and four years of age are victims of physical and psychological abuse. Globally, one in five victims of human trafficking is a child and two in every five modern slaves are children.4 Of increasing concern is children’s safety when they are online. 5. The Special Representative led the United Nations task force that supported the development of the United Nations global study on children deprived of liberty. The study, launched on 9 November 2019, found that 7 million children were deprived of their liberty worldwide. Of them, 410,000 children were held in jails or prisons, 330,000 in immigration detention and between 430,000 and 680,000 were in institutions that meet the legal definition of deprivation of liberty.5 6. The Special Representative is concerned that these already staggering numbers of children affected by violence may be further increased through current disturbing trends that include climate change, protracted conflicts, humanitarian disasters, increasing numbers of children on the move, new technologies, the spread of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as harmful social norms, such as increasing disparities, poverty, social exclusion and discrimination. 7. Violence leaves long-lasting scars on children’s lives. It often has irreversible consequences on their development and well-being and limits their opportunities to thrive later in life. It also weakens the very foundation of social progress, generating huge costs 1 2 3 4 5 Available at https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/sites/violenceagainstchildren.un.org/ files/keeping_the_promise.pdf. See World Health Organization (WHO) key facts on violence against children, available at www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-children. Susan Hillis and others, “Global prevalence of past year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates”, Pediatrics, vol. 137, No. 3 (March 2016). International Labour Office and Walk Free Foundation, “Global estimates of modern slavery: forced labour and forced marriage” (2017). See https://omnibook.com/Global-Study-2019. 3