A/74/136 III. Study process 7. The study’s implementation phase was severely delayed owing to lack of funding, which was to rely on “voluntary contributions”. In response to the Independent Expert’s fundraising efforts, financial contributions were received from Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Malta, Switzerland, Qatar, the European Union, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Right Livelihood Award Foundation and another private foundation. He wishes to express his sincere gratitude to those “friends of the study” as, without their financial contributions, it would have been impossible to conduct such a comprehensive research project. 8. Despite the minimal resources, activities were maximized, uniting many different stakeholders, including States, United Nations agencies, non -governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms, academic institutions and children. 9. The study is supported by a United Nations inter-agency task force, chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children. Other members include the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The task force, as a platform to provide United Nations system-wide support to the study development, was responsible for defining the scope of the study, in addition to developing an initial budget and fundraising strategy. In serving as the study’s secretariat, OHCHR provides assistance and supports the Independent Expert in coordinating activities with Member States. Many other international and regional organizations made noteworthy contributions to the study. 10. The advisory board to the study comprises 22 highly renowned experts in the field of children’s rights and the right to personal liberty. Its involvement was vital in informing the research process. 11. The non-governmental organization panel for the study, led by Defence f or Children International and Human Rights Watch, consists of 170 non -governmental organizations working directly or indirectly on children’s deprivation of liberty and is key in the conceptualization and facilitation of the study. 12. Research groups for the study are chaired by distinguished experts and their institutions from all around the world. Many of the institutions are members of the Global Campus of Human Rights, a worldwide network of universities based in Venice. One member is the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights in Vienna, which supports the coordination of the international research activities. 13. In February 2018, in order to collect qualitative and quantitative data to inform the study, a detailed questionnaire was circulated to Governments, United Nations agencies, national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms and non-governmental organizations. In total, 118 replies were received, including 67 from States. The preparation of the questionnaire responses crea ted an internal process of data gathering and coordination between the relevant government agencies. The process also raised awareness of the importance of, as well as the lack of, available data on the situation of children deprived of liberty. Informatio n was collected from every region of the world: 41 replies from Europe; 27 from Africa; 20 from Asia, 19 from North and South America; and 11 from Oceania. 14. When assessing the magnitude of the phenomenon, priority was given to the data submitted in questionnaire responses. To supplement and verify the study data 19-11838 5/23