POND ISLAND – Children are taking over and turning the world blue. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says this year the world is going blue!
“We’re asking individuals, schools and corporates worldwide to go blue to help build a world where every child is in school, safe from harm and can fulfil their potential, and we know you do too.”
Minister of Justice Cornelius de Weever says November 20 is a very important day for the global community of nations and Sint Maarten in particular where it concerns improving the welfare of children.
According to the United Nations (UN) children have their rights denied every single day; 262 million children and youth are out of school; 650 million girls and women were married before their 18th birthday; 5.4 million children died from mostly preventable causes before their fifth birthday.
“UN Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.
“November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“Since 1990, Universal Children’s Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children’s rights,” according to the UN.
Minister Cornelius de Weever says: “Every child deserves a future, and as a country we have to give them a healthy start in life. They must be given the tools and the opportunity to learn, and they must be protected at all times from any harm.
“In this post-Irma era, our country is confronted with challenges on every level, but with the assistance and commitment of friends, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, to help parents, it demonstrates our responsibility to our children, and as they say it takes a village to raise a child.
“It will take the entire Sint Maarten nation to help raise our children by providing them with guidance, teaching them values, to respect the law, and nurturing them to become proud citizens of their country.
“Despite the challenges we face today as a nation, we have a responsibility to the nation’s children who depend on us by creating the best environment possible for them to succeed,” Minister of Justice Cornelius de Weever said on Tuesday in celebration of World Children’s Day.
