UN Creates Post to Combat Violence Against Children

After many years of sustained advocacy by Human Rights Watch and other groups, the United Nations voted on November 27 to establish a special representative to the secretary-general on violence against children. The new post is significant because it provides high-level international leadership to confront this global problem. Human Rights Watch has written extensively about violence against children, and more than 25 of our reports and other documents were cited in a groundbreaking 2006 UN report that recommended, as we did, the appointment of a special representative on the issue. We served as co-chair of a global network of NGOs that pushed the UN to take action. The network developed a petition and collected the signatures of more than 1,000 NGOs from 134 countries endorsing the special representative and other measures to help end violence against children. Going forward, we will identify possible candidates to suggest for the post and will work closely with that person once appointed.