Work
Message by Marta Santos Pais, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour
I welcome the celebration today of the World Day against Child Labour, which is an opportunity to renew our commitment to end the plight of the more than 215 million children worldwide who are still trapped in child labour and denied their basic human rights.
The exploitation of children through labour, in particular its worst forms, is a major obstacle to realizing the dream of a world where violence against children has no place. The United Nations Study on Violence against Children showed that in workplaces, including in domestic service, employers often enjoy impunity in inflicting emotional and physical violence on children.
Joint Statement from the high-level round table on the role of Regional Organizations on the Protection of Children from Violence (2011)
We, the representatives of the Council of Europe, the League of Arab States, MERCOSUR Pro-Tempore Chairmanship of the Permanent Commission of the Initiative Nin@Sur, the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child participating, with UNICEF, in the first held meeting of Regional Organizations and Institutions on Violence against Children, organized by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG on VAC),
Gathered in New York to share lessons learned and reflect on good practices and priority areas of concern resulting from the regional processes promoted in our respective regions to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Study on Violence against Children,
Santo Domingo Declaration to prevent and address violence against children
Authorities from Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic, gathered in Santo Domingo in a regional follow-up meeting to the UN Study on Violence against Children, adopted a strategic declaration to promote progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the UN Study.
National Consultation on Social Justice for Children: To End Child Abuse and Violence Against Children
On November 4, 2011, the SRSG participated in a national consultation organized on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York as the founding institution of the interdisciplinary field of Children’s Studies and its Children’s Studies Center for Research, Policy and Public Service. The event aimed at drawing attention to the prevalence of all forms of violence against children and their maltreatment in the United States. This national consultation discussed critical dimensions concerning the widespread use of violence against children, and ways of effectively preventing its incidence, including in the home, in schools, in child protection systems, in juvenile/criminal justice systems, in health and mental institutions and in other social settings.
Statement by the SRSG on Violence against Children on the Adoption of ILO Convention on Domestic Workers
The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children warmly welcomes the adoption by the annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of a new international convention which will contribute to improving the working conditions of domestic workers worldwide, and which will protect children from falling victim to child domestic labour.
SRSG welcomes the adoption of a new protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child introducing a system of individual complaints for children
"The adoption by the Human Rights Council of a new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child is an historical and commendable decision.
The new protocol will enable children to challenge the violation of their human rights and will consolidate the international system of acountability for human rights.
This important decision is critical to break the invisibility and impunity surrounding incidents of violence against children, and to empower child victims to report and complaint without fear of reprisals and further victimization.
Global Child Labour Conference 2010 - Roadmap
Global Child Labour Conference 2010 - Roadmap adopted
More than 500 delegates from 97 countries, participants of the Global Child Labour Conference 2010, 10-11 May 2010, The Hague, have agreed on a Roadmap aimed at "substantially increasing" global efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment or Work
ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child labour
ILO Convention No. 182: Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its 87th Session on 1 June 1999, and
Considering the need to adopt new instruments for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, as the main priority for national and international action, including international cooperation and assistance, to complement the Convention and the Recommendation concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, 1973, which remain fundamental instruments on child labour, and
SAIEVAC meeting: Historic step for South Asia’s commitment to prevent and address all forms of violence against children
Kathmandu - The first meeting of the governing body of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC) was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the participation of the SRSG on Violence
against Children.
Marta Santos Pais congratulated the members of the Board for the historic step for South Asia’s commitment to prevent and address all forms of violence against children.