UN Special Representative on violence against children appointed

On 1st May 2009 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Marta Santos Pais as his Special Representative on violence against children at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.

The appointment is in line with the recommendation included in the Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children, concluded in 2006. According to the Study, Special Representative is supposed to act as a high-profile global advocate to promote prevention and elimination of all violence against children.

Special Representative's office will be placed in New York and provided with administrative support by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). 

Marta Santos Pais was born in Lisbon, Portugal. Graduated in law, she had been working in the field of human rights issues and intergovernmental cooperation for over 25 years now. Since 2001 she has held a post of Executive Director of UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, based in Florence, Italy. She also served as Rapporteur of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and as Vice-Chair of the Coordinating Committee on Childhood Policies of the Council of Europe.

Source and more information:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2009/sga1182.doc.htm
http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=20181