Speech of Isabelle Rosabrunetto

INTRODUCTION 

 

Thank Mr. MODA for giving me the floor.

 

I would also like to thank the  Comunità di Sant’Egidio as a whole for organizing year after year such a powerful event. It is a privilege to sit here among such remarkable panelists to address child’s rights.  

 

As the title of our discussion strongly state, children’s rights are undeniably the responsibility of adults. The events and challenges that put children at risk are mostly consequences of adults behaviours (or should I say misbehaviours) whereas they should be at the center of our attention because they are our future. We are all too aware that every day children are threatened by wars and conflicts, human trafficking, sexual abuse and harassment, but also by the new information and communication technologies (one panel devoted to the subject tomorrow). (ICTs). 

 

To focus on the European region, the surge of war imposes multiple hardships on children and sadly reminds us that child protection remains fragile everywhere ;  safeguarding it requires a  relentless effort from all of us. 

 

Building peace cannot happen without ensuring the protection of children’s rights. Let me quote someone who we all know well, Mahatma Gandhi ; he once said, “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” 

 

Therefore, it is truly motivating and encouraging to take part in this exchange and hear about  projects and initiatives, and to share good practices and experiences on this matter.

 

In my country, children’s rights policies have been developed through the past decades and are now fully implemented : although nothing is ever perfect we have reached a high level of protection  and  would want therefore to share our experience in a spirit of openness towards other countries, cultures and peoples. 

 

we focus our policies on the principles and concepts designed to protect child rights, as they are stated  in the international conventions ; they  are our  major guidelines in terms of policy and decision-making processes. We are driven by the idea that in all actions “the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration” (article 3-1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child from 1989).

 

As the only government representative in this panel, let me share with you some of the actions  my country is undertaking to ensure the protection of children’s rights, at the international level and briefly on a national scale.

 

But before I start with what Monaco does, I think it is important have in mind  the following terrible figures. 

 

In the world today: 

 

-  1 billion children are currently deprived of their fundamental rights and live in multidimensional poverty (rise of 15% because of the pandemic), which means without access to education, to health services, housing, nutrition or to water distribution, [ ILO-UNICEF report called “More than a billion reasons : The urgent need to build universal social protection for children”]

 

-  More than 200 million children under five do not have a birth certificate (source: UNICEF). 

 

-  120 million girls under 20 (1 out of 10) have been experiencing sexual abuse or  unwanted sexual intercourse (source UNICEF). 

 

Therefore Monaco strives for the protection of children’s rights through the actions of our Department of International Cooperation which is part to the MOFA.

 

Monaco has opted for a rights-based approach, aiming at strengthening protection and well-being for the most underprivileged and marginalized children, without any discrimination, and ensuring the promotion and the respect of their rights. Our action focuses on children :

 

a) who live in extreme poverty (356 million in the world), 

b) on girls, who suffer from discrimination in many countries and  tend to be even more affected by the consequences of all the plights children  face ; 

 

c) on disabled children ( 80% live in low income countries), 

 

d) on  migrant, displaced, and refugee children who represent 12% of the entire migrating population), 

 

e) on homeless children, 

 

f) on exploited and trafficked children, 

 

g) on children whose birth certificates are not recorded (“invisible children”, cf. project in Burkina Faso),

 

In our Strategy 2022-2024, we have set two priorities: education and child protection : 20% of our  financing  is channeled to these policies.

 

we consider that if education plays a major part in personal development and in the acquisition of new skills, first and foremost education is key to the protection of child’s fundamental rights.

 

Our action is holistic and includes prevention, support and inclusion. We put the emphasis on the role of women and girls. Thus, the education of vulnerable girls is one of our flagship programs. 

 

For each project our approach is based on the rights and on the best interests of the child, by tackling the root-causes of rights violations and by encouraging lasting changes in practices and policies.

 

Let me illustrate this by underlining the long-standing partnership between Monaco and Sant’Egidio, and the convergence of our goals. Since 2022  our common values  are set in  a Memorandum of Understanding, making Sant’Egidio one of our privileged partners.

 

Hence, for example, we support the action of Sant’Egidio in Burundi through the “Schools of Peace, schools for all”. This inclusive-education project aims at contributing to the integration of the most vulnerable children in Burundi. Sant’Egidio’s Schools of Peace already operate in other African countries : Mozambique, Malawi and Congo. 

 

Monaco and Sant’Egidio are also committed to help “invisible children” to get their right to acquire an official identity. When a child is denied legal recognition, his or her destiny is highly predictable:  he will not be able to attend school (especially middle school). That is why  Monaco is supporting the “BRAVO” program in Burkina Faso and Mozambique, where it joins  forces with Sant’Egidio’s to foster its outstanding mobilization in order to implementing an effective birth registration system. Each life matters and each child, as Dr. Maria Montessori put it, has a “sacred soul” which is in our duty to protect. 

 

As I have mentioned in my introduction misuse of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can constitute a threat to children ;  Monaco is well aware of this new challenge and has taken action :

In 2021,  a law related to the fight against school harassment which can be exacerbated by communication tools was passed. 

In parallel, the Department of Education has implemented a “digital education program” which teaches students how to wisely and safely use the internet and other digital tools.

Prevention is also at the center of our policies and the educational teams follow regular trainings on these fast evolving topics.

 

Finally, every year, the Department of Education organizes the celebration of the international children’s Day (in November) with an awareness campaign and the gathering of children, parents, government officials, associations, etc. in order to highlight the importance of child protection. We are deeply convinced that occasions like this must be seized to teach our children about their fundamental rights, but also to make them understand that many other children around the world do not enjoy access to these rights and need our support.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I would like to conclude by saying that our action in favor of the protection of children’s rights is very vast and involves many actors. I am proud to say that Monaco has always taken this subject to heart and that it understands the evolving challenges that children face, whether on our small territory or beyond.

Again, I was truly pleased to be with all of you and I am sure today we all of us want to join former  UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan in saying: “There is no task more important than building a world in which all of our children can grow up to realize their full potential, in health, peace and dignity.”