Statement of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Human Rights Day 2023 - Children should be recognized and involved as key actors in the Summit of the Future

Statement of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Human Rights Day 2023 10 December 2023 Children should be recognized and involved as key actors in the Summit of the Future On the occasion of the Human Rights Day and ahead of the year 2024 for the Summit of the Future, the Committee on the Rights of the Child calls on world leaders to place children at the very core of the Summit, by invol. [...] If the UN is truly committed to become a more inclusive multilateral platform for partnership and solidarity having people at its center as outlined in Our Common Agenda, children must be an integral part of the process for the Summit of the Future, a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to develop the frameworks of multilateralism so they are fit for the future. [...] The Committee welcomes the Secretary-General’s Guidance Note on Child Rights Mainstreaming, which underscores the urgent need of systematic attention to child rights for the UN to be fully inclusive and able to deliver on its mandate across all pillars, including upholding “all rights of all people”, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring peace and security. [...] The Summit of the Future will be a test for implementing the Guidance Note for the mobilization of the UN system to collectively strengthen and elevate a shared UN child rights agenda. [...] Children deserve special attention and a space at the table, as important partners and stakeholders today to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet, also as the most significant future decision makers for future generations.