violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“Children are not mini-human beings with mini-human rights. But as long as adults continueto regard them as such, violence against children will persist.”Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of EuropeMandate and scope of the StudyIn 2001, on the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, theGeneral Assembly in its resolution 56/138 requested the Secretary-General to conductan in-depth study on the question of violence against children and to put forward recommendationsfor consideration by Member States for appropriate action. In February2003, I was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to lead this Study.An end to violence against childrenThe Study adopts the definition of the child as contained in article 1 of the Conventionon the Rights of the Child (CRC): “every human being below the age of 18years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.” Thedefinition of violence is that of article 19 of the CRC: “all forms of physical or mentalviolence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,including sexual abuse.” It also draws on the definition in the World Report onViolence and Health (2002): “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatenedor actual, against a child, by an individual or group, that either results in or has a highlikelihood of resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, developmentor dignity.” 2In my capacity as Independent Expert, I submitted a report to the UN General Assembly,and this book is intended to complement that report. Child-friendly materials havealso been produced. This book elaborates on the five different settings where violenceagainst children occurs: the family, schools, alternative care institutions and detentionfacilities, places where children work, and in their communities. It does not address theissue of children in armed conflict, as this is in the mandate of the Special Representativeof the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, but it considers relatedissues, such as violence against child refugees and other displaced children.The Study and its secretariat in Geneva were supported by three UN entities: the Officeof the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UnitedNations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO),and were also informed by a multidisciplinary Editorial Board of experts.