Regional cooperation, access to education and increased funding held the key to ending the nightmare lived by over 1 billion children across the world as a result of physical, emotional and sexual violence, United Nations experts told members of the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural) today.
As the Committee began its consideration of the promotion and protection of children’s rights, Maria Santos Pais, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative on Violence against Children, said that a child died every five minutes as a result of violence, and that 152 million children were victims of labour exploitation, with nearly half of them engaged in hazardous work. Yet, official development assistance (ODA) to end violence against children was “wholly insufficient” at $0.65 per child per year.
She said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a unique opportunity to galvanize political will, adding that an increasing number of countries had adopted national agendas to prevent and address abuse against children.
Virginia Gamba, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, proposed greater engagement with regional and subregional organizations to better integrate child protection considerations into their policies. Those efforts must invest significantly in human resources to enhance legal protections for children affected by conflict.
The high price of educational loss was affecting displaced children, she said, calling on the Committee to ensure that appropriate funding was made available for education in conflict‑related emergency situations.
In a similar vein, Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), called on Member States to view reports on the detrimental effects of inequality on children as a call to action. Millions of children were out of school due to conflict, and girls were disproportionately affected, being 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys, he said.
He said progress had been made, citing improved health indicators and reports that reflected a halving in the number of children dying before the age of five, as well as a considerable reduction of stunting from malnutrition. Still, he said persistent challenges continued to hold the international community back from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
With the floor open for debate, Egypt’s representative said on behalf of the African Group that regional efforts included a campaign to provide technical capacity‑development for stakeholders working against child marriage, and cross‑border advocacy efforts to strengthen a model law to end child marriage. El Salvador’s delegate, on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, said the region was working to address vulnerabilities emerging from poverty and inequality, as well as social, racial and gender inequalities.
General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia) also addressed the Committee today, urging Member States to put aside entrenched positions and work towards a common goal. The Third Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 October, to continue its discussion on the rights of children.
Original source: UN General Assembly.
Posted on 9 October 2017
