§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to support the establishment of a UN Special Rapporteur on violence against children. [72327]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Government are appalled by the use of violence against children and we fully support the UN mechanisms that tackle the issue of violence against children. These include
the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornographythe Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its causes and consequences (which covers the girl child)the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict.We also fully supported calls for a study on violence which is being carried out by the UN Secretary-General, and we await the results of this study.
Given the existing mechanisms, we do not believe that the creation of an additional Special Rapporteur would be the most efficient or practical way of addressing the immediate problems faced by these children although we continue to consider all proposals on their merits.