The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has called on the UN to include a global ban on abortion in its prohibition of violence against children.

The pro-life charity's was a response to the publication Wednesday of the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Children.

John Smeaton, SPUC's national director, said: "We are deeply saddened by the report's findings. Abuse of children seems to be widespread, and a lot of that abuse is hidden.

"The gravest abuse of children is to deprive them of life before they are even born. Abortion is also often hidden from the public eye or forgotten about. Tragically, this UN study makes no reference the tens of millions of babies unjustly killed every year in countries throughout the world."

SPUC also criticised the UN for failing to ensure that its Convention on the Rights of the Child - supporting care for children before and after they are born - was fairly implemented, saying that it had been "unjustly interpreted by some nations and international bodies to limit its scope to born children".

SPUC and its pro-life partners are now petitioning the UN general assembly in support of the rights of unborn children.

"We call on those nations which currently have in place legislation which permits abortion to review their policies as a matter of urgency and to take seriously the statement in the Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the subsequent Convention on the Rights of the Child which says: 'Whereas the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,'" said Smeaton.

"Today's UN report urges the prohibition of all violence against children. We urge the UN to include a worldwide prohibition of abortion, the greatest of all violence against young, defenceless human beings."

The petition is being run by the Amnesty for Babies campaign whose website is at www.amnestyforbabies.com