A/HRC/31/20 II. Consolidating progress in the protection of children from violence 8. The agenda of the Special Representative has been guided by four strategic priorities: consolidating progress and mainstreaming the recommendations of the study on violence against children into the policy agenda; reinforcing regional processes to enhance the protection of children from violence; ensuring that the issue of violence against children is given prominence in the global development agenda; and addressing a range of emerging concerns. 9. The following strategic dimensions of this important agenda in which significant progress has been made are highlighted in the report: (a) Consolidating the human rights foundation for protecting children from violence through the launch in 2010 of the campaign for universal ratification of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This has led to a steady increase in the number of ratifications to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in force in 171 countries, and to the promotion of new international standards, including the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure which, by the end of 2015, was in force in 22 countries; the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 69/194; (b) Enhancing awareness and consolidating knowledge to prevent and respond to violence against children by hosting international expert consultations, developing research on strategic topics and publishing studies. The publications included Toward a World Free from Violence: Global Survey on Violence against Children;1 10 thematic studies on topics such as violence in schools and in the justice system, restorative justice for children, the rights of girls in the criminal justice system and child-sensitive counselling, and reporting and complaint mechanisms; reports on protecting children from harmful practices and from armed violence and organized crime; and a report on opportunities and risks associated with information and communication technologies (ICTs). In addition, child-friendly materials were produced to inform and empower children about their right to freedom from violence;2 (c) Promoting regional processes for the implementation of the recommendations of the study on violence against children by holding seven high-level regional consultations in South America, Central America, the Caribbean, South Asia, the Pacific, Europe and the Arab region; issuing six regional reports and holding periodic review meetings to assess and accelerate progress; and hosting five cross-regional round tables to enhance cooperation for violence prevention and elimination. Current efforts are designed to build upon regional plans to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals; (d) Strengthening national implementation efforts (see A/70/289, paras. 7-16) to free children from violence, especially through the adoption and implementation of comprehensive multisectoral national agendas, which are now in place in more than 90 countries, most recently in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and Norway; the enactment of national legislation banning all forms of violence against children by 50 countries, most recently in Ireland, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Peru; and the consolidation of data systems, including through national household 1 2 4 Available from http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/publications. Available from http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/children-corner/materials.