A/HRC/16/56 I. Introduction A. Context 1. In its resolution 13/20,1 the Human Rights Council invited the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children to report to the Council at its sixteenth session on effective and child-sensitive counselling, complaint and reporting mechanisms to which children can safely report incidents of violence, including sexual violence and exploitation. The Council invited them to cooperate with States and other relevant partners such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and on Sexual Violence in Conflict, national human rights institutions, United Nations agencies, regional organizations, civil society organizations and children themselves. 2. The need to establish safe, well-publicized, confidential and accessible mechanisms for children has been a serious concern voiced by both the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children and the Special Representative on violence against children and addressed by the United Nations study on violence against children (“United Nations study”, see A/61/299). Violence is seldom reported and in many circumstances children feel pressed to conceal it, particularly when it is perpetrated by people they know and trust. The United Nations study recommended that mechanisms be established, including telephone helplines, through which children can report abuse, speak to a trained counsellor in confidence and ask for support and advice. It underscored the need to make all children aware of such mechanisms, and recommended that in every locality and every setting there should be well-publicized and easily accessible services to investigate reports of violence against children. 3. Over the past years, the promotion of child-sensitive mechanisms has gained increasing relevance, including as a result of the recognition of the right to accessible and effective remedies by international human rights instruments and of the significant jurisprudence of treaty-monitoring bodies in this area. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has addressed this question in its dialogue with State parties and in several general comments, including the most recent on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence.2 4. Significant political commitments have also been made in this area. The declaration and call for action agreed upon at the Third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents calls upon States to establish, by 2013, an effective and accessible system for reporting, follow-up and support for child victims of sexual exploitation. 5. Despite these significant developments, many challenges remain. In their missions across regions, both the Special Representative on violence against children and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children have observed that counselling, complaint and reporting services are frequently unavailable and, when they exist, tend to lack the necessary resources and skills to address children’s concerns and promote children’s healing and reintegration. Moreover, children lack trust in them, fearing they will not be believed, and that they may endure further stigmatization, harassment, abandonment or reprisals if they 1 2 Para. 17. General comment No. 13 (2011). 3