A/HRC/31/20 Governments and representatives of civil society and the ICT industry signed statements of action expressing their commitment to this process. 55. Civil society organizations such as ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), INHOPE and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children have contributed greatly to the development of policies and legislation to prevent and respond to incidents of sexual exploitation of children online, the promotion of measures to identify and protect victims, the establishment of mechanisms to report and take down sexual abuse material and the mobilization of political, financial and public support for these measures. 56. The contribution of the ICT industry has also been crucial, including through the development of technology to track sexual abuse material online, measures to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of crimes and investment in children’s empowerment and protection. 57. Similarly, United Nations and regional treaty monitoring bodies, such as those which monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol thereto on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, have enhanced accountability and guided States in their reflection and action. 58. The annual full-day meeting of the Human Rights Council on the rights of the child, to be held next in March 2016, offers a strategic occasion to promote more determined and better coordinated action to address online sexual exploitation of children effectively. The huge potential of ICTs and the Internet to promote and protect children’s rights and to protect children from online abuse is still unexplored. The Special Representative is convinced that this potential can best be developed by the establishment of a dedicated platform; a forum in which all relevant stakeholders will participate and which has at the heart of its work the promotion and implementation of a multifaceted, safe, inclusive and empowering digital agenda for children. In this regard, important lessons can be drawn from the work of the Council within the framework of the Forum on Business and Human Rights. The Special Representative is strongly committed to continuing to assist in this important process. B. Protecting children from cyberbullying 59. Cyberbullying was addressed by the General Assembly in its resolution 69/158. It constitutes a particular concern for the mandate of the Special Representative. 60. Cyberbullying may be defined as an aggressive, intentional act carried out by an individual or a group using electronic forms of contact against a victim who cannot easily defend himself or herself. It is typically carried out repeatedly and over time, and is often characterized by an imbalance of power.5 61. It does not require the physical presence of the victim; indeed, it can be facilitated by anonymity. A single act online can be observed and disseminated by a large number of people, making it very difficult to assess how the victim will experience or re-experience it. 62. A variety of media and platforms, including online social networks, e-mail, chat rooms, blogs, instant messaging and text messaging, are used in cyberbullying. A crucial factor underpinning its emergence is the rapid growth in children’s access to the Internet 5 12 See http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/page/1154, p. vii.