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New York,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 18 November 2021<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.<\/p>\n Thank you for the opportunity to join this meeting of the Group of Friends of Children and the SDGs.<\/p>\n Having based my Presidency on the theme of Hope, I can think of no better constituency, nor inspiration, than our children.<\/p>\n As world leaders work to\u00a0deliver on the 2030 promise, children around the globe are standing up to secure their right to good health, quality education, a clean planet and more.<\/p>\n The SDGs cannot be achieved without the realization of child rights.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Despite near-universal ratification of the\u00a0Convention on the Rights of the Child, millions of children around the world continue to be left behind and their rights denied.<\/p>\n Children also suffer the impacts of poverty, violence, inequality and exclusion disproportionately, due to their sensitive phase of life and development.<\/p>\n Poverty denies children their fundamental rights to nutrition, health, water, education, protection, shelter and more \u2013 diminishing their ability to build a better future for themselves and generations to come.<\/p>\n Improving access to education and the quality of learning has not been even across the world.<\/p>\n Making sure that all children can go to school and learn is instrumental to fight poverty, prevent disease and build more resilient and peaceful societies.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s global youth unemployment rate is 13 per cent \u2013 three times higher than the adult rate.<\/p>\n Without urgent investment in education and skills training, the rapidly growing population of young people will be largely unprepared for the workforce.<\/p>\n Today, for the first time, a global generation of children will grow up in a world made far more dangerous and uncertain by \u00a0the changing climate and a degraded environment.<\/p>\n Effective responses to climate change are imperative to protect the world\u2019s children and fulfil their rights.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n Whether discussing COVID, or the impacts of climate change, or human rights in areas of conflict, the safety and security of our children must be paramount.<\/p>\n The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown or confinement measures has had a grave physical, emotional and psychological effect on children, especially those in situations of vulnerability.<\/p>\n Beyond safety and security, we must work together to address the issues that have arisen due to the pandemic: school closures; mental health impacts; increased poverty and insecurity due to livelihood and job losses.<\/p>\n We have a moral obligation to respond to these offshoots of the pandemic. They cannot be forgotten.<\/p>\n Likewise, we must use the opportunity afforded by the pandemic to invest \u00a0in social infrastructure, health, education, nutrition and ensuring access to sanitation and hygiene.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dear Friends,<\/p>\n Too much has been lost. Yet, there is so much to gain if we rebuild accordingly.<\/p>\n We can turn the lost decade of action on the SDGs into a decade of sustainable recovery, one that covers the gaps, builds resilience, protects those in need, and empowers and protects our children.<\/p>\n Progress can be accelerated by prioritizing children\u2019s rights in action plans on the SDGs, as a child rights-based approach multiplies future development gains.<\/p>\n I look forward to working with you to making this a success.<\/p>\n I thank you.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″ inner_width=”auto” inner_max_width=”none”][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ custom_padding__hover=”|||” custom_padding=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”4.9.7″ quote_icon_background_color=”#f5f5f5″ box_shadow_horizontal_image_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_image_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_image_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_image_tablet=”0px” text_shadow_horizontal_length=”text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” text_shadow_vertical_length=”text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” text_shadow_blur_strength=”text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” body_link_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”body_link_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” body_link_text_shadow_vertical_length=”body_link_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” body_link_text_shadow_blur_strength=”body_link_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” body_ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”body_ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” body_ul_text_shadow_vertical_length=”body_ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” body_ul_text_shadow_blur_strength=”body_ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” body_ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”body_ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” body_ol_text_shadow_vertical_length=”body_ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” body_ol_text_shadow_blur_strength=”body_ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” body_quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”body_quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” body_quote_text_shadow_vertical_length=”body_quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” body_quote_text_shadow_blur_strength=”body_quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ body_quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” author_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”author_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ author_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” author_text_shadow_vertical_length=”author_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ author_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” author_text_shadow_blur_strength=”author_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ author_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” position_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”position_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ position_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” position_text_shadow_vertical_length=”position_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ position_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” position_text_shadow_blur_strength=”position_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ position_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” company_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”company_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ company_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” company_text_shadow_vertical_length=”company_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ company_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” company_text_shadow_blur_strength=”company_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ company_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” vertical_offset_tablet=”0″ horizontal_offset_tablet=”0″ z_index_tablet=”0″ author=”Abdulla Shahid” job_title=”President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly” portrait_url=”https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/76\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/101\/2021\/09\/aQNubGha_400x400.jpg”]<\/p>\n Throughout our disarmament efforts, it is my conviction that women and youth can make a meaningful contribution. Let us take special pains to ensure that women and youth, as well as civil society, are more actively engaged in this work going forward.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Remarks of H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid – Meeting of the Group of Friends of Children (GoF) and the SDGS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"committee-meeting":[],"class_list":["post-252698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n