Thank you, Madam Vice-President.
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country – Latvia.
We thank the panellists for their interventions and in particular appreciate the involvement of children in this meeting.
Our countries are fully committed to leaving no child behind and reaching those furthest behind first in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The realisation of the rights of the child is a cornerstone for ensuring a sustainable future for all.
However, with less than a decade until 2030, we are still too far behind from realizing the SDGs. The ongoing pandemic has further complicated this by exacerbating pre-existing inequalities and affecting persons in the most vulnerable situations, including children, the hardest. Lockdown measures and school closures have had negative impacts on the enjoyment of the rights of the child, including the right to education, and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The pandemic has also heightened the risk of child labour and, in particular for girls, including, child, early or forced marriage, Female Genital Mutilation, and trafficking.
If we want to get back on track to achieve the SDGs, we must ensure that our recovery plans are targeted at removing these inequalities and advancing the rights of all children, and that children are involved in these processes.
This is why we would like to ask the panel – what are the key actions all governments must take to ensure that a child-rights based approach is at the forefront of building back better?
Thank you.