A/HRC/31/20 vocational training and long-lasting social reintegration. Once deprived of liberty, children are at heightened risk of human rights violations, including harassment, sexual abuse and acts of torture. They may also be subjected to violence as a form of discipline, punishment or sentencing. 22. Responding to these serious concerns, the General Assembly, in its resolution 69/157, invited the Secretary-General to commission an in-depth global study on children deprived of liberty, funded through voluntary contributions and conducted in close cooperation with relevant United Nations agencies and offices and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including Member States, civil society, academia and children, to include good practices and recommendations for action, and to submit the conclusions to the Assembly at its seventy-second session. The study will help to consolidate data and sound evidence to inform policy and law, develop capacity-building initiatives for professionals and promote a change in stigmatizing attitudes and behaviour towards children in detention. 23. On Universal Children’s Day in 2015, 20 November, the Secretary-General emphasized the importance of ensuring that the commitments made by the international community to the world’s children are extended to children deprived of liberty. He stressed that the Convention on the Rights of the Child dictated that, whatever the circumstances, the deprivation of liberty of children must be a measure of last resort and for the shortest time. The aims with regard to such children must be to pursue the best interests of the child, prevent deprivation of liberty and promote alternatives to detention. He urged Member States and others to support the coalition of United Nations actors that had come together to assemble resources and expertise to take the study forward. 24. In its resolution 70/137, the General Assembly, recalling its previous decision on this subject, encouraged Member States, United Nations agencies, funds, programmes and offices, as well as other relevant stakeholders to support the elaboration of the study. 25. The study constitutes a high priority for the mandate of the Special Representative and she has facilitated the initial coordination and planning efforts in the lead-up to its development, in partnership with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). To prepare the ground, the Special Representative has spearheaded efforts to establish an institutional framework, including a United Nations inter-agency task force, a civil society forum and a cross-regional academic research network. 26. To mobilize political support and funding for the development of the study and identify strategic opportunities and processes it can build upon, the Special Representative held important meetings with Member States, United Nations agencies, treaty bodies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council, civil society organizations, regional human rights mechanisms, independent human rights institutions and academic institutions. 27. In coordination with United Nations partners and in cooperation with other strategic stakeholders, the major preparatory tasks for the study were advanced in 2015 with a view to further defining its focus and scope and developing a fundraising initiative. 28. The Special Representative remains strongly committed to the further advancement of the global study. 7