A/HRC/40/50 I. Introduction 1. The present report reviews key developments promoted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children at the global, regional and national levels and provides an overview of the results achieved in safeguarding children’s freedom from violence. 2. Guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, which established her mandate, the Special Representative is a global, independent advocate for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. 3. At its seventy-third session, 1 the General Assembly reaffirmed its support for the work of the Special Representative, and recommended that the Secretary-General extend her mandate, as established in paragraphs 58 and 59 of its resolution 62/141 of 18 December 2007, for a further three years and maintain support for the effective and independent performance and sustainability of the mandate, funded from the regular budget. 4. The General Assembly recognized the progress achieved since the establishment of the mandate in promoting the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children in all regions, and in advancing the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children, including through partnerships with regional organizations, as well as through advocacy, field missions, expert consultations and thematic reports addressing emerging concerns, including on violence prevention in early childhood. 5. Realizing every child’s right to freedom from violence is a fundamental dimension of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which in 2019 celebrates 30 years since its adoption. The Convention explicitly prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; bans the use of the death penalty and of life imprisonment for children; makes imperative the protection of children from harmful practices, as well as from sexual exploitation and abuse, sale, trafficking and any other form of exploitation; prohibits school violence and any form of school discipline contrary to the child’s human dignity; and safeguards children from the hidden manifestations of violence within the home, or institutions for the protection of children. 6. The United Nations study on violence against children was framed by the global experience of implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It recognized that no violence is ever justifiable and all violence can be prevented. It highlighted the widespread prevalence of violence and its impact on children’s lives, while making critical recommendations to ensure its prevention and elimination. 7. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its ambitious vision of a world free from fear and from violence, and its target 16.2 to end all forms of violence against children, has provided new impetus to global efforts to reduce the risk of violence in children’s lives and ensure the effective protection of victims. 8. The 2030 Agenda calls for “a world which invests in its children and in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation”. The inclusion of a specific target to end all forms of violence against children gives renewed impetus towards the realization of the right of every child to live free from fear, neglect, abuse and exploitation. Several other targets in the Sustainable Development Goals promote an environment of safety and nonviolence for children, including in education (target 4.a), and address specific forms of violence in childhood such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (target 5.3), and the eradication of child labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers (target 8.7). 9. Indeed, ending all forms of violence is crucial to safeguarding children’s rights and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. As highlighted in the sections below, the 1 See General Assembly resolution 73/155. 3