can be achieved by means of diversion, de-institutionalisation, eradicating migration related detention and applying other non-custodial solutions instead of detaining children. The second most important message is to urge States to give higher recognition to the value of the family as the fundamental group unit of society and, accordingly, invest much more resources in supporting families for their role as primary caregivers for children. The third message is to urge States to adopt a systemic approach to strengthen child justice and child welfare systems and encourage inter-agency cooperation between different stakeholders. Police, prosecutors and judges need to strengthen their cooperation with parents, social workers, teachers, health professionals and all persons involved in the child welfare system with the common aim of assisting children in their personal development, all the while taking into account their agency and right to participate. Together, they should try to avoid, as much as possible, any situation which may finally lead to the deprivation of liberty of children. As the earlier Global Studies led by Graça Machel and Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, this Study is the result of a joint effort by States, international organisations, civil society, the academic community and children. I am deeply grateful to each of the hundreds of individuals who contributed in various functions to the preparation of this joint endeavour. It was not an easy undertaking, as we faced many challenges. Since the General Assembly requested the Study to be financed through voluntary contributions, we faced serious budgetary constraints, which more than once blocked any further progress and almost led to the cancellation of the entire project. Much time was invested into emergency fund raising activities, which severely delayed the finalisation of the Study. At the same time, the fact that we only raised about one fifth of the budget originally foreseen by the United Nations, also prompted many volunteers from civil society and the academic community to contribute pro bono. Without the significant financial support of private foundations, the Study would not have materialised. The severe lack of funding also prevented us unfortunately from fully integrating children into all our regional and thematic consultations and other activities in the course of preparing the Global Study. Since children are true experts in their own rights, it is vital to include their views and experiences at every stage of the design and preparation of such a comprehensive research. It is only thanks to a financial contribution by UNICEF and the joint efforts of many civil society organisations that we could finally interview 274 children in many different countries and enrich the Study by their voices. Another challenge was to define the scope of the Study. Deprivation of liberty means to confine a human being to a narrowly bounded location that he or she cannot leave at will. If we apply this definition to children, we realise that small children are usually 11