Attachments
January 13 2025
Human Rights Council
Fifty-eighth session 24 February– 4 April 2025
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
Summary
In the present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 78/187, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Najat Maalla M’jid, reviews the actions she took in 2024 at the global, regional and national levels and the results achieved in fulfilling her mandate. She emphasizes the wide multi-stakeholder mobilization undertaken throughout 2024, which marked the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of her Office. The report is focused, in particular, on the alarming increase in trafficking in children and the urgent need to scale up efforts to end that form of violence against children.
I. Introduction
1. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, is an independent global advocate for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. In its resolutions 76/147 and 78/187, the Assembly reaffirmed its support for the work of the Special Representative, recognizing the progress achieved and the role of her mandate in promoting further implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence against children1 and in supporting States Members of the United Nations in their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Assembly has also expressed appreciation for the leadership of the Special Representative in the follow-up to the United Nations global study on children deprived of liberty2 and has encouraged her to continue her work in that area.
2. In the present report, the Special Representative reviews actions she took in 2024 at the global, regional and national levels to fulfil her mandate and provides an overview of the results achieved since her previous report. She emphasizes the wide multi-stakeholder mobilization throughout 2024, which marked the fifteenth anniversary of the establishment of her Office.
3. The Special Representative continues to identify global challenges that are increasing children’s exposure and vulnerability to violence. The present report is focused on the alarming increase in the rates of trafficking in children for various purposes. Despite current responses, that complex and rapidly evolving crime continues to be driven by multiple risks and overlapping factors. The increased vulnerability of children worldwide due to ongoing crises, the increased use of technology by traffickers and an unprecedented rise in demand for the exploitation of children add to the challenges posed by this low-risk and highly profitable crime. Prompt and strengthened action – coordinated and delivered at scale across and beyond borders – is now a global imperative.
4. The Special Representative invited Member States, civil society organizations and United Nations entities to contribute to the report by submitting information on their actions to protect children against trafficking. She is grateful for the more than 60 contributions received.3 The report has also benefited from input from other groups and partners, including the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons, the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight. The Special Representative is particularly grateful to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) for their dedicated support. The report was also informed by input from children and trafficking survivors.