Dear children of today and tomorrow,
Thirty years ago, … the world united in defence of children and childhood … . So,
when leaders came together in 1989 in a moment of rare global unity to make a
historic commitment to the world’s children to protect and fulfill their rights, there
was a real sense of hope for the next generation.
So how much progress have we made? In the three decades following the
adoption
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, …, we have reduced the number of
children missing out on primary school by almost 40 per cent…
Yet poverty, inequality, discrimination and distance continue to
deny millions of
children their rights every year… The list of ongoing child rights challenges is long.
.
And your generation, the children of today, are facing a new set of challenges and
global shifts that were
unimaginable to your parents… Technology is transforming
how we
perceive the world. And more families are migrating than ever before.
Childhood has changed, and we need to change our approaches along with it.
So, as we look back on 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we
should
also look ahead, to the next 30 years. We must listen to you – today’s children and
young people – about the issues of greatest
concern to you now and begin working
with you on the twenty-first century solutions to the twenty-first century problems.
With that in mind, here are eight reasons why I’m worried for your future, and eight
reasons why I think there is hope:
• You need clean water, clean air and a safe climate
• One in four of you are likely to live, and learn, in conflict and disaster zones
• We must make it OK to talk about mental health
• Over 30 million of you have migrated from your place of birth
• Thousands of you will officially never exist, unless we act
• You need the twenty-first century skills for the twenty-first century economy
• Your digital footprint must be protected
• You might be the least trusting generation of citizens ever
Finally, the biggest reason for hope is because you – the children and young people
of today – … are taking a stand now, and we are listening.
Just as the children of 1989 have
emerged as leaders of today, you the children and
young people of 2019 are the leaders of the future. You
inspire us.
We want to work together with you to find the solutions you need to tackle the
challenges of today, to build better future for yourselves and the world you will
inherit.
Henrietta H. Fore
UNICEF Executive Director
November, 2019