Today is the annual Universal Children's Day in every member nation of the United Nations.
The theme for this year is "Stop Violence Against Children."
With more than 10 million children out of school in Nigeria and thousands of them are innocent victims of Boko Haram terrorists, kidnappers, ritual cultists, child labour, sex traffickers, pedephiles and rapists, we must see the predicament of these children as humanitarian emergency, because we must rescue our helpless and powerless children from dangers and dangerous people in Nigeria.
To celebrate this important day, TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla presents for the first time on a Nigerian website, Innocent Children: Morning Tears by Tao Wright, Partner and Executive Producer at the Shanghai-based production company Black + Cameron. It is a must see short film that you will never forget after seeing it.
In a darkened building we hear a couple fighting. We see their shadows as the argument escalates. Hidden in a child's bedroom is a kite, a metaphor for the scared child who we can hear breathing. A bottle breaks and the father falls to the ground, pushing the child's bedroom door and ripping the kite.
http://totnaija.blogspot.com.ng/2015/11/video-innocent-children.html
Read the following messages on the Universal Children's Day to know why we are celebrating it.
"The one thing all children have in common is their rights. Every child has the right to survive and thrive, to be educated, to be free from violence and abuse, to participate and to be heard. "
~ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ~
By resolution 836(IX) of 14 December 1954, the General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. It recommended that the Day was to be observed also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of the world. The Assembly suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date and in the way which each considers appropriate. The date 20 November marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
The Convention, which is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty, sets out a number of children’s rights including the right to life, to health, to education and to play, as well as the right to family life, to be protected from violence, to not be discriminated, and to have their views heard.
On the basis of the Convention and joint effort by all the countries and regions, let us promote and celebrate children’s right on the Universal Children's Day, and continuously build up a living-friendly environment for children in the world through dialogues and actions.
Universal Children’s Day: Stop Violence Against Children
The United Nation’s Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, Universal Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children's rights.
We will continue to use our popular global social media news and information network of Nigerians Report Online, TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla and others for the promotion of the education, protection and welfare of underprivileged children and women in Nigeria and the rest of the world to secure the future of our commonwealth on earth.
This is our collective responsibility.
A stitch in time saves nine.
If we have done enough for the education, protection and welfare of all the millions of neglected underprivileged children in the world, we would have saved many of them from becoming criminals and terrorists of Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, ISIS, ISIL and Boko Haram on rampage today, with alarming reports of terrorist attacks increasing by 80% last year to the highest level ever; Global Economic Cost of Terrorism Reached All-Time High at US$52.9 Billion - See more at: http://www.nigeriansreport.com/#sthash.qHY1GxWV.dpuf
European Commission - StatementFollow Updates On Nigerians Report Online on Amazon.
Joint Statement on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day, 20 November
Brussels, 20 November 2015
High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini and Commissioners Mimica, Stylianides and Jourová on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day
Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management and Vera Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, made the following statement:
"We are finally entering the much anticipated post-2015 era: leaders from all over the world have committed to goals which shall improve the lives of millions of children. Had we achieved all the goals we had previously set, our task today would be much easier. In fact, the road ahead is still very long. The post-2015 must be different. We must act more decisively and consistently than ever, to make sure that in the next fifteen years we will truly turn the page. Let us aim high, and try to build a world that does not need a post-2030 Agenda.
Strengthening child protection systems is one of our priorities, as outlined in the new EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy. We have launched a diplomatic outreach with a global focus on all forms of violence against children and women and a focus on ending child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting.
While we address long lasting cruel practices, the current refugee crisis and the dire consequences for migrant, refugee and internally displaced children adds a new dimension of urgency. Half of the world refugees are children: they need to be treated first and foremost as children. Their protection and rights, including their right to education and non-discrimination, must be a priority, including within the European borders. Increasing cooperation between child protection systems could improve their protection when they seek asylum status in the EU. Despite the global declining trend in funding, the EU has already increased its commitment to education in emergencies. We cannot afford to have lost generations of children with no or little education.
Protecting child victims of trafficking and sexual or non-sexual exploitation and enhancing cooperation on these issues with non-EU countries and international organizations are part of the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking of Human Beings 2012-2016. The EU is also a defender of Fifth Goal of Agenda 2030 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. This week new EU rules on victim's rights entered into force. Under these new rules children are entitled to special protection as vulnerable victims in all European criminal justice systems.
Promoting children's rights worldwide requires close cooperation with international organizations and UN bodies. The EU has always promoted such cooperation and keeps reinforcing it. Boys and girls are not only the future of our societies: they are the present. If we deprive them of their fundamental rights, we deprive ourselves of their richness. And we fail in our fundamental duties. Global peace and security cannot be achieved without fair and sustainable development and respect for all the rights of all children. One day they will be adults. The way we protect our world and our children will impact on how they will protect their own world and their own children, in a not-so-distant future."
STATEMENT/15/6127
Tweet
No comments:
Post a Comment