A/HRC/28/30 including minority rights. The protection and promotion of cultural identities would lead to fewer conflicts and less tension. 16. The moderator asked the Vice-Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Benyam Dawit Mezmur, what measures needed to be taken to prevent violence against children. Mr. Mezmur replied that both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child explicitly requested that children grow up in an atmosphere of love, happiness and understanding. Apart from being an obligation flowing from international human rights law, the prevention of violence against children was morally compelling, developmentally sound and cost-effective. He outlined the current global challenges in the implementation of children’s rights, pointing out that 165 States had set 18 years as the minimum age for marriage, although 150 of them made exceptions. In 28 States that were home to one third of the world’s children, corporal punishment was allowed in all settings. Furthermore, in three States, it was still legal to execute a person for violations committed as a child. The panellist emphasized that education – whether formal, non-formal or informal – was a key factor in the prevention of violence against children, and that there was a need to move from reporting what has happened to reporting before it happens. 17. According to the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the largest prevention challenge on the ground was what he termed “one chapter behind” laws, the use of twentieth century laws to respond to twenty-first century problems. What was needed in all States were explicit and comprehensive bans, supplemented by specific bans of, for example, domestic violence, corporal punishment and honour crimes. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child were normative documents that had to be translated into national laws given that situations on the ground differed, depending on whether violence against children, corporal punishment or other forms of violence against children were explicitly prohibited in legislation. Lastly, the panellist highlighted the need for a data-collection system, a birth registration system and a system for assessing and detecting risk factors. When conducting research into risk factors in relation to violence, it was also essential to identify positive factors that could protect children. Prevention required long-term investment and planning by stakeholders and had to focus on the prevention of re-victimization, for instance by means of child-sensitive recovery and social reintegration services. 18. In response to the moderator’s request for examples of effective strategies for preventing violence against children at the regional level, the panellist welcomed the preventive work of regional organizations, which complemented work carried out at the international level, and also filled gaps. Regional organizations had expertise that was more relevant to the regions. Regional organizations in Africa had been able to address the trust deficit, where Governments, civil society or stakeholders felt that the approach was topdown rather than bottom-up. Regional organizations had a greater capacity for early detection, and could draw on experience from comparable situations in regional countries. Regional preventive efforts were therefore particularly effective, given that some countries respond best to examples drawn from neighbouring ones. 19. The Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child also emphasized the importance of working closely with parliamentarians, who were in a key position to influence prevention. He provided concrete examples of regional successes, such as tapping into social and cultural structures on the ground, for example, children who, rather than being put through formal judicial procedures, go through the informal justice sector. He also pointed out that children could play a role in the prevention of violence. According to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, children can have responsibilities, taking into account their maturity and capacity, without violating the provisions of the Charter itself; for example, when the Child Rights Act was being debated 6