UN Human Rights Council 46th Session
Annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child – Securing a future for today’s children and generations to come
Statement delivered on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic Statement by H.E. Ambassador Bahtijors Hasans
1 March 2021
Thank you, Madam 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 implementing the SDGs. The ongoing pandemic has further complicated this by exacerbating existing inequalities and affecting the most vulnerable groups, including children, the hardest. Lockdown measures and school closures have had negative effects on children’s physical and mental health and right to education, among others. The pandemic has also heightened the risk of child labour and, in particular for girls, early or forced child marriage, and trafficking.
If we want to get back on track to achieve 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.