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Office of the UN Special Representative...Office of the UN Special Representative...
Office of the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children is an independent global advocate in favour of the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children, mobilizing action and political support to achieve progress the world over. The mandate of the SRSG is anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights instruments and framed by the UN Study.
Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid
Office of the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
Special Representative
“This Toolkit offers an opportunity to bring together children, their caregivers, educators, and leaders and actors of faith communities to collaborate on strengthening the protective circle and nurturing and caring environment in the early childhood.”
On 30 May 2019, the Secretary-General appointed Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid (Morocco) as his Special Representative on Violence against Children. Dr. Maalla M’jid took her position on 1st July 2019.
Dr. M’jid, a medical doctor in paediatrics, has over the last three decades devoted her life to the promotion and protection of children’s rights. She was Head of the Paediatric Department and Director of the Hay Hassani Mother-Child hospital in Casablanca. Dr. M’jid was a member of the Moroccan National Council on Human Rights and founder of the non-governmental organisation Bayti, the first programme addressing the situation of children living and working in the streets of Morocco.
From 2008 to 2014, she served as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. Dr. M’jid also worked as an Expert-Consultant for national and international projects, strategies and policies relating to child rights’ promotion and protection. She has vast experience in the development of national policies on the protection of the child, and has worked with several governments, non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations.
She also worked as a lecturer in Moroccan and international universities on child rights’ protection, promotion, programming and monitoring, as well as social and development policies. A member of several regional and international non-governmental organisations and networks working for children’s rights.
Dr. M’jid holds a Doctorate in general medicine from the University of Rabat, a specialization in paediatrics and neonatology from the University of Bordeaux II and a Master of Human Rights from the Human Rights Institute, Geneva. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honours for her strong commitment to protecting the rights of the child.
Mr. Pablo Espiniella
Office of the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
Special Representative
Pablo Espiniella has over 20 years of experience as Human Rights Officer including leading team positions as Deputy Regional Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) for South-East Asia in Bangkok and for Europe in Brussels and assisting UN teams on the ground in the practical implementation of the Human Rights Based Approach to Development programming.
Currently, he is the Human Rights Officer/Programme Management Coordinator at the Office of the Director of the Division of Field Operations and Technical Cooperation of UN Human Rights in Geneva, and has undertaken numerous human rights monitoring missions in Myanmar, Tunisia, Colombia and Guatemala.
