RES/25/10 Ending violence against children: a global call to make the invisible visible

GE.A/61/299. 4-13512

*1413512*

Human Rights Council Twenty-fifth session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

25/10. Ending violence against children: a global call to make the invisible visible

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant international human rights instruments,

Emphasizing that the Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes the standard in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, bearing in mind the Optional Protocols thereto on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and reaffirming its provisions, purposes and principles, in particular its article 19, and the obligations of State parties thereto,

Reaffirming that the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the best interests of the child, non-discrimination, survival, development and participation, provide the framework for all actions concerning children,

Recalling all previous resolutions on the rights of the child of the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly relevant to the issue of violence against children, the most recent being Council resolution 22/32 of 22 March 2013 and Assembly resolution 68/147 of 18 December 2013,

Welcoming the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children to promote the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children in all regions and to advance the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children,1 and taking note with appreciation of her 2013 Global Survey on violence against children,

Taking note with interest of the work done by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in relation to the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence,

Noting with appreciation the work carried out by all relevant organs, bodies, entities, organizations, agencies, funds, programmes and mechanisms of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, by relevant regional organizations and by civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to promote and protect the rights of the child and to end violence against children,

Welcoming in this regard the launch in 2013 by the United Nations Children’s Fund of the End Violence against Children global initiative “Make the Invisible Visible”, and recognizing the role the Human Rights Council can play to support such initiatives, with a view to building awareness of the importance of preventing and ending violence against children, including in the context of the ongoing discussion on the post-2015 development agenda,

Recognizing the serious immediate and long-term consequences of violence on children, both physical and psychological, affecting their development and their ability to learn and socialize,

Reaffirming that States have the primary responsibility to promote and protect human rights and to take appropriate measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence,

Recognizing that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children, in the best interests of the child, and that children, for the full and harmonious development of their personality, should grow up in a society, in a family environment and in an atmosphere of happiness, love, understanding and non-violence,

Stressing that, in order to prevent violence against children and to effectively respond to the need to combat all forms and manifestations of such violence in all settings, it is crucial to mobilize State institutions, national human rights institutions, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to make it visible, and to undertake actions and measures to ensure children’s protection from violence, including through appropriate legislative measures,

1. Strongly condemns all forms of violence against children, and reaffirms that these are unjustifiable and preventable;

2. Urges States to protect children from all forms of violence or abuse in all settings, to give priority to prevention and to raise awareness of the negative effects of violence against children, as well as to strive to change attitudes that condone or normalize any form of violence against children;

3. Decides to convene, at its twenty-seventh session, a panel discussion on ways and means of accelerating global efforts to end violence against children, with a particular focus on how to better prevent violence and protect children as a global priority and cross- cutting concern, and to share best practices and lessons learned in this regard;

4. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize the panel discussion and to liaise with States, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, the United Nations Children’s Fund and relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, treaty bodies and special procedures and regional human rights mechanisms, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions, with a view to ensuring their participation in the panel discussion;

5. Also requests the High Commissioner to prepare a summary report on the discussions of the panel, and to submit it to the Human Rights Council before its twenty- eighth session.

54th meeting 27 March 2014

[Adopted without a vote.]