A/HRC/40/50 28. In November 2018, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Government of Sweden, in cooperation with the Special Representative, co-hosted an international conference in Stockholm on non-violent childhoods. The meeting provided a valuable platform to share national experiences and learn from significant developments in laws, policies, research and data, as well as from the experiences of young people. It recognized the critical value of legislation while placing special emphasis on implementation, including positive parenting and social protection measures. It also stressed the provision of high-quality services and awareness-raising campaigns to promote a nurturing and nonviolent environment free from all forms of violence, including corporal punishment. 29. Religious and spiritual communities are uniquely placed to support and influence the prevention and response to violence against children. Two recent global meetings illustrated how engaging faith leaders can play a crucial role in mobilizing society, raising awareness and accelerating action. In November 2018, the Special Representative participated in the first Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities Forum on Child Dignity in a Digital World, held in Abu Dhabi. The high-level meeting gathered faith leaders from the world’s major religions to discuss the risks children face in cyberspace, the actions needed to inform and empower children to protect themselves effectively, and the critical role of religious leaders in promoting action. 30. In October 2018, Faith Action for Children on the Move: Global Partners Forum was held in Rome, bringing together faith leaders to discuss the role of their congregations in preventing and responding to violence inflicted on children on the move. Through their long-term presence and local expertise, faith communities convey the trust and authority needed to promote positive change in countries of migration origin, transit and destination. By speaking out for children on the move and raising awareness of their plight, faith leaders can help prevent violence and promote the protection of children’s rights, and ensure that the best interests of the child are kept at the heart of all decisions. The Forum developed a plan of action for its members and the wider community of faith-based organizations committed to protecting children on the move from violence. 31. The Special Representative supported the development of the Global Compacts on Refugees and for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted in December 2018. The Global Compacts reiterated States’ commitments to protect the rights of migrant and refugee children. These children are as much running with violence as running from violence – including abuse and exploitation, community violence, harassment by gangs, recruitment by criminal networks, or political persecution. They embark on perilous and uncertain journeys, often at the mercy of unscrupulous smuggling and trafficking networks. Their travelling companions are fear, anxiety, the threat of violence and, at times, even death. These children often do not receive the protection to which they are entitled: they may be separated from their family, and placed in crowded facilities with unrelated adults where they suffer risks of harassment, abuse and trafficking, and, in some cases, they endure deprivation of liberty in poorly-resourced detention centres. In these settings, impunity prevails for perpetrators of violence against children. 32. Guided by the best interests of the child, the implementation of the Global Compacts provides a crucial opportunity to transform this vicious cycle of neglect, abuse and exploitation into a virtuous cycle of protection of children’s rights. The Special Representative is preparing a thematic report on this topic with Governments, United Nations partners, civil society organizations and independent children’s rights institutions. 33. The critical role of the private sector in advancing progress in the elimination of violence against children was highlighted in a joint report by the Special Representative and UNICEF, entitled “The private sector and the prevention of violence against children in Latin America and the Caribbean”.12 The report presents private sector practices that protect children from violence and increase business investment in prevention strategies. It was launched in June 2018 in Colombia at the first International Summit on Child Protection in Travel and Tourism. The Summit called for stronger evidence to inform a global awareness 12 Available at https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/news/private-sector-and-prevention-violenceagainst-children-latin-america-and-caribbean. 7