President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca addressed a high-level conference on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly entitled ‘Funding the Future: Challenges and Responses to the Reintegration of Child Soldiers’, organised by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba.
“Around 30 million children have been displaced by conflict – they need protection now, and a sustainable solution over the long term”
Quoting data from UNICEF, President Coleiro Preca said that the fact that there are 30 million children isolated and stranded from necessary support is unacceptable, adding that such a statement should be more than enough to galvanise the international community into immediate and effective action.
The President said that children on the move are extremely vulnerable and need adapted, context-specific protection, in countries of origin, transit, and of destination, and stated that while in transit, and especially in camps, children should have access to services, such as education, healthcare, and psycho-social assistance, to help them reclaim their childhood.
“It is important not to avoid leaving children without access to education, for extended periods of time, as this will make it more difficult to reintegrate them in their original or new community”, President Coleiro Preca stated whilst affirming that states, and the international community, have an obligation to protect and reintegrate these children by providing the necessary services.
“I believe that the successful protection and reintegration of children must be part of a holistic approach which aims to implement long-lasting peace and the socio-economic regeneration of every society that has experienced, has been, or is being affected by violent conflict”, the President said.
“Nearly one child in four is living in countries presently affected by conflict or disaster” – UNICEF
The President said there is the urgent to provide solutions as these children represent the present and the future of the countries and regions they have had to flee from, and warned that without an adequate response from the international community, the objective of preventing violations against children will never be reached.
“We must all redouble our efforts to ensure effective and adequate protection mechanisms, including reintegration services, for all displaced children. States, and the international community, cannot continue to be complacent and fail to provide for effective child protection and reintegration”, the President said.
On concluding, President Coleiro Preca called on the United Nations’ entities, member states, private sector collaborators, and civil society activists to rise to this challenge to prioritise the protection and the reintegration of children who have experienced and are experiencing armed conflict, and to promote the dignity and wellbeing of each and every child.