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Summary: The second day of the launch of the violence study started with a press conference and a meeting between some of the young people and the Crown Prince of Norway. A roundtable discussion between the children and high-level representatives followed, and the day ended with the launch of the child friendly materials of the Study, during which Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, made an appearance to express his support for the Study.
[NEW YORK, 12 October 2006] – The second day of events linked to the launch of the Violence Study started with a press conference with Professor Pinheiro and heads of the UN agencies. The Crown Prince Haakon of Norway then met with some of the young people to hear about their individual experiences and roles in the process of the Study. Meeting between the Crown Prince of Norway and the children The Crown Prince then asked them if they felt the situation for children had improved since they got involved in the Study process. Martin from Slovenia said a law to ban corporal punishment was being prepared by his government, and should come into force in 2008. Getachew from Ethiopia said that his country had a big problem with harmful traditional practices but that the Study had helped to highlight this. Shakti from Nepal said that the fact that they were present at the General Assembly yesterday and were given the floor to talk was a positive development for all young people. Roundtable discussion Children and young people then took part in a roundtable discussion with high level guests, including Professor Pinheiro, the Crown Prince of Norway, Rima Salah, Anders Nordstrom, Jaap Doek, Maud de Boer Buquicchio, and many more. The discussion was moderated by Moushira Khattab of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, but children and young people were the ones putting questions to the guests which had been submitted by children and young people around the world over the last few days. Some of the questions included what follow-up mechanism would be set up, what can the UN do to ensure governments follow through with their commitments, what the role of the private sector was on the issue of child labour, what was the Council of Europe doing in terms of trafficking of children, how could Pinheiro and NGOs ensure that children remain involved in any follow mechanism, etc. Read the full transcript of the questions and answers here. Launch of child friendly report After the roundtable discussion, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made a surprise visit to UNICEF house to meet the children and young people during the launch of the child friendly Study materials, organised by Save the Children Sweden, authors of the child friendly report. Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro and Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Executive Director of Save the Children Sweden, welcomed Mr Annan, showed him the child friendly report of the Study, and talked to him about children's contribution to the Study launch activities. Mr Annan then took pictures with the children and shook many hands before taking his leave. His last minute decision to come himself to meet the children was welcomed by everyone, from Paulo Pinheiro to the children and young people, as it will significantly raise the profile of the Study and publicise the recommendations worldwide. Charlotta Petri Gornitzka, Executive Director of Save the Children Sweden then thanked Paulo Pinheiro for having made the Study process a ‘truly participatory process’, involving children and other stakeholders. She said that Save the Children welcomed the Study’s recommendations, and emphasised their support for the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General for violence against children. She also said they strongly supported the explicit ban on all forms of violence including corporal punishment and sexual exploitation in all settings, including in the home. Finally, she said it was crucial to keep the momentum as “children are expecting us to act”. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said that his study would not have been made possible ‘without the help of the real experts: children and young people’. He said he hopes they will recognise their input in the final recommendations of the Study. He welcomed the child friendly report as a very useful tool, particularly as it meant it would be disseminated much more widely than it would have been otherwise. Maud de Boer Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Europe said that the roundtable discussion that took place earlier had demonstrated the importance of involving children and young people in discussions. Further information
The Crown Prince asked the five young people who were from Ethiopia, Canada, Norway, Nepal and Slovenia why and how they were representing their countries at the launch of the Study. All of them had been chosen to attend this event by their peers back home. Most of them had been participating in other events related to the Violence Study, including regional consultations.
The Secretary General then met with the children and young people who all introduced themselves to him one by one. They told him about their involvement in the Study process, expressed their concern about specific issues related to violence against children and thanked him for meeting with them today. He encouraged the children to talk about their work within the Study to their parents, schools and communities and expressed his support for the Study.