Completed after four years’ research at the insistence of outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the first of its kind report delves deep into the child-abuse problem, and finds the problem plaguing ‘every country, every society and every social group’, with no country in the world is without its share of guilt. Regrettably, the extensive research proves that practically all international conventions on human rights for children framed so far have failed to achieve their aim, and by no small margins.

The abuse ranges from violence in the house and school to serious punishment for crime — both minor and major — and more disturbingly, to widespread rape and physical abuse. The statistics are hair-raising: approximately 53,000 children are murdered every year, 150 million girls and 73 million boys under-18 are subjected to sexual abuse, 1.8 million are believed forced into prostitution, and the list goes on. To make matters worse, as many as 77 governments have been found sanctioning or endorsing violent punishment for children including flogging, caning and in some cases, even amputation.