UNIS/SGSM/1456
15 November 2024
On World Children’s Day, we celebrate the youngest members of our human family.
But today is also a moment to recognize the enormous challenges children face in our deeply divided, tumultuous and often violent world.
It is shocking that, in the 21st century, any child still goes hungry, uneducated, or without even the most basic health care.
It is a stain on humanity’s conscience when children’s lives are caught in the grinding wheels of poverty, or upended by disasters or violent conflicts that are killing and maiming children.
One hundred years ago, the League of Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of the Child — the foundation of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.
This year’s theme reminds us that we must listen to children as they fight for their rights — and for humanity’s future.
The recently adopted Pact for the Future includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. All three texts contained strong commitments to protect and support children, invest in their rights, and expand opportunities to actively participate in the decisions affecting them.
Every child has the right to live in peace, health and safety.
Today and every day, let’s protect and support children as they meaningfully contribute to making our world a better, brighter, more peaceful place for all people.
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"On this International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, I call on countries to heed the lessons of past health emergencies to help prepare for the next." — António Guterres
The new Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations (Vienna), Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman, presented her credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations (Vienna), Andrew Williams, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations (Vienna), Andranik Hovhannisyan, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
