A/HRC/19/64 Use of the human rights framework as a frame of reference Considering that protection of children and adolescents from violence is an ethical and human rights imperative, States are recommended to proceed with universal ratification of human rights treaties and to withdraw any reservations they may have declared in relation to these. They are also encouraged to support adoption of the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on individual complaints. States are recommended to ensure their compliance with the decisions and recommendations issued by international and regional organs concerned with monitoring human rights. These include in particular the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Special attention is recommended to the Concluding Observations and General Comments of the Committee and the four thematic reports that have been published by the Commission‘s Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child: Citizen Security and Human Rights, Corporal Punishment and Human Rights of Children and Adolescents, The Rights of the Child in the Inter-American Human Rights System and Juvenile Justice and Human Rights. Adoption of national legislation prohibiting all forms of violence against children It is recommended that all States adopt an explicit national legal prohibition on all forms of violence against children, in all settings. This will send a clear message that all forms of violence against children and adolescents are inadmissible. The explicit prohibition on physical and humiliating punishment is essential, as is the withdrawal of some expressions currently found in legislation, including the term ‗moderate‘, which continues to allow physical and humiliating punishment and introduces an element of discretion that is inconsistent with the rights of children and adolescents to their personal integrity and human dignity. National legal frameworks must be reviewed and adapted to meet international standards and instruments. National standards should clearly set out the competencies required for their regulatory development and the responsibility for their effective implementation and monitoring. Participation by civil society and children and adolescents themselves must be taken into consideration in these legislative processes, particularly on issues affecting them, as established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Legislation must also allow for adequate mechanisms of implementation and guarantee advice and counselling as well as mechanisms for complaints and reporting of incidents of violence by children/adolescents or their representatives. Legislation must cover the work of both public and private institutions. It should be used as the basis for developing regulations concerning these services, including standards of conduct and discipline and appropriate monitoring mechanisms. Application of laws must be complemented by initiatives to raise social awareness and mobilize the general public, particularly children and adolescents. In most cases this implies modifying deeply rooted social behaviours and creating conditions for a culture of respect for children's rights. Media dissemination plans are recommended to further this aim. Awareness-raising initiatives are also recommended for anyone who is in direct contact with children: parents, relatives, caregivers, teachers, social workers, civil servants employed in public institutions, civil society organizations that work with children and adolescents, the general public, public decision-makers and their advisers. 28