EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive Dialogue on Violence against Children

Thank you, Chair!

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Madam Special Representative, on the 15^th anniversary of your Office, the EU thanks you and reaffirms our full support for your mandate.

We share your concern about the unprecedented violence against children, worsened by crises. Nearly 400 million children under the age of five endure corporal punishment or aggression at home, and 1 in 6 globally faces the threat of violence.

As the world unites around the Pact for the Future and with only six years left to meet the SDGs, we are concerned that violence against children takes an unprecedented toll on our most vulnerable - a fact highlighted by 46,000 annual child suicides.

In the context of combatting violence against children, we value your support for the EU's 2021 Strategy on the Rights of the Child, particularly your contributions to the EU Children's Participation Platform. We also appreciate your commitment to the European Child Guarantee, which ensures access to essential services for every child in Europe and is an essential tool to strengthen the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Europe.

We further commend your expanded cooperation with UN agencies, civil society, and the private sector. In particular, as staunch believers in child participation, we applaud your direct interactions with children to ensure their meaningful, effective and full engagement in policy and decision-making.

We remain committed to promoting measures to combat violence, working closely with you and the UN to strengthen child protection and participation.

Doctor M'jid,

From your interactions with various stakeholders, which areas of cooperation between governments and regional organisations offer the best value in fighting violence against children? What challenges and successful examples can you share to guide us toward best practices?

Thank you.