On 14 October 2009, the Third Committee of the General Assembly welcomed the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on violence against children. The creation of this post was first recommended in the 2006 UN Study on Violence Against Children, prepared by Mr Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (Brazil), and subsequently requested by the General Assembly in two separate resolutions in as many years. Nonetheless, significant delays on the part of the Secretary-General meant the post remained unfilled until last month.

On 14 October 2009, the Third Committee of the General Assembly welcomed the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on violence against children. The creation of this post was first recommended in the 2006 UN Study on Violence Against Children, prepared by Mr Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (Brazil), and subsequently requested by the General Assembly in two separate resolutions in as many years. Nonetheless, significant delays on the part of the Secretary-General meant the post remained unfilled until last month.

In her first address to the Third Committee, the SRSG, Ms Marta Santos Pais (Portugal), outlined her approach to the three year mandate. Referring to the UN Study as a ‘navigation chart’, she prioritised three of its recommendations: a legal ban on all forms of violence against children in each State, along with the development of a comprehensive national strategy, a data collection system and research agenda. A further element of her agenda will be the participation of children as catalysts for change.

Member States warmly welcomed the SRSG and asked numerous questions about the mandate. She explained that the Assistant Secretary-General level post would be located at UN Headquarters with administrative support provided by UNICEF. A trust fund would receive voluntary contributions from Member States and serve as the sole source of funding for both the mandate and its support office. As a result, Ms Santos Pais acknowledged the need to develop close partnerships with Member States and achieve cross-regional support to avoid any perception of bias in carrying out her work.

Ms Santos Pais addressed the Committee along with the Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ms Yanghee Lee, and the SRSG on Children and Armed Conflict, Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy.

Ms Marta Santos Pais brings to the position over 25 years of human rights experience and specialised expertise in the rights of the child. She has been a member of the Committee on the Rights and most recently held the position of Director of UNICEF’s Innocenti Research Centre. She served as Special Adviser to the Machel study on children affected by armed conflict and the UN Study on violence against children.

Ms Lee reported that the Committee had identified dignity, development and dialogue as the main challenges facing the Convention as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. She noted the upcoming December meeting of the working group established to develop a communications procedure for the Convention in Geneva, and announced the recent establishment of a working group with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women which would allow greater collaboration on matters of common interest.

Ms Coomaraswamy credited earlier resolutions in the General Assembly condemning sexual violence with having inspired the recent Security Council Resolutions 1882 and 1888. The first of these authorised the Secretary-General to ‘name and shame’ people who repeatedly used sexual violence against children, or killed or maimed them during armed conflict. The later resolution created the post of SRSG on Sexual Violence and called on States to enact legislation to hold perpetrators accountable and provide redress to victims. This post is yet to be filled.