A three-day workshop on the prevention of child abuse and neglected kicks off in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province Monday morning.

"Child abuse and neglect has become an issue that we should pay attention to," said Mark Ono, delegate of UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), at the opening ceremony of the workshop, adding that more than 40 million children under the age of 15 are abused or neglected worldwide, according to statistics from World Health Organization (WHO).

Kimberly Svevo, the executive director of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), said the commitment of governments and support of the society are essential to the protection of children's rights.

Svevo also expressed her appreciation for the Chinese government's efforts to protect children from being maltreated or neglected.

China held the first international workshop of the kind in 1999, attracting about 2,000 participants from 14 countries. Every year on November 19, various activities are organized in major Chinese cities to mark the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse and to promote awareness of child protection.

During this year's session, experts from both at home and abroad will discuss a range of problems concerning child abuse and neglect.

The workshop is organized by the All China Women's Federation in association with UNICEF, WHO, and ISPCAN.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2005)