Global efforts to eliminate violence against children are failing to keep pace with emerging risks, UN Special Representative Najat Maalla M’jid warned while briefing journalists in New York, after delivering her final report to the General Assembly. Almost 45 million children are displaced by conflict, natural disasters, and the climate crisis, while one in five lives in extreme poverty. Poverty affects children in wealthy countries as well as poorer ones. Rising prices, food insecurity, and resistance to human rights in some countries compound these challenges.
Rapid technological development, including artificial intelligence, offers opportunities while expanding avenues for child sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, deepfakes, and recruitment into criminal activity. Although legal and policy reforms have advanced over the past two decades, implementation remains difficult, and support services are not consistently accessible to children and caregivers. M’jid called for political commitment backed by dedicated budgets and services that protect children’s well-being. She welcomed stronger integrated services across regions but stressed that solutions have not expanded sufficiently or quickly enough.
Her presentation marked the twentieth anniversary of the UN’s first global study on violence against children. The 2006 study established that such violence occurs in every country and across settings, including homes, schools, and communities. Its principles—that violence is preventable and never justifiable—were reiterated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Meanwhile, 55 countries have joined the Pathfinding Global Alliance on Ending Violence against Children. Launched in 2024, the alliance promotes cooperation, shared practices, and peer learning. M’jid emphasized that children and young people are already taking action and must remain part of the solution.
