Background to the mandate: "On 20 November 1989, the United Nations General Assembly in New York adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This international instrument recognizes "that in all countries in the world, there are children living in exceptionally difficult conditions, and that such children need special consideration". The Convention is now ratified by 193 States. In May 2000, the General Assembly adopted and opened for signature an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the Protocol, which has now been ratified by 126 states, entered into force in January 2002. By 1990, international awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation and the sale of children had grown to such a level that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights decided to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography by resolution 1990/68, mandating the Special Rapporteur to investigate the exploitation of children around the world and to submit reports thereon to the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, making recommendations for the protection of the rights of the children concerned. These recommendations are targeted primarily at Governments, United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations....."