Ireland is committed to ending child violence and labour - Costello

16 July 2013

by Cllr Joe Costello

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all to the Irish Aid Information and Volunteering Centre.  I would also like to thank ChildFund for inviting me to address you today on this important issue.

The unavoidable truth is that children across the world suffer from violence and exploitation on a daily basis.  While reading the Campaign Policy Brief, I was struck by the statistics, particularly that almost half of all children experience some form of physical violence before they reach the age of eight.

And of course, all of us are well aware of the truly horrific cases of abuse and exploitation which took place in our own country over recent decades. The passing of the 31^st Constitutional Amendment on Children’s Rights was a clear statement from this Government that more was needed to be done to uphold children’s rights and to protect their best interests.

These abuses are unacceptable from a human rights standpoint.  As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (amongst other conventions), Ireland has always placed human rights at the heart of its foreign policy and will continue to do so under Ireland’s new Policy for International Development – One World, One Future.

Ending violence and exploitation of children is crucial given the effects on a child’s development and on a state’s ability to reduce poverty and promote peaceful, prosperous and just societies.  This campaign echoes many areas of considerable emphasis for Irish Aid, including the promotion of children’s rights by focusing on Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation, the protection of child labourers and the provision of assistance to child soldiers.

Irish Aid has prioritised the issue of gender-based violence (or GBV), including violence against girls, for a number of years now.

Our new policy recommits to working with partners to respond to and prevent Gender-based violence.  Along with ChildFund and a number of our other NGO partners here today, we have been active members of Irish Consortium on Gender-based Violence with the aim of promoting a coordinated response.

Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence in school and the impact of this violence on their health, well-being and future development is especially severe.  The simple truth is that for many girls, school is not a safe place to learn. Even the journey to school is fraught with danger. 

In many developing countries, parents are reluctant to send their daughters to school due to the risk of sexual violence on their way to school or within the environment of school.

Female Genital Mutilation (or FGM) is another form of gender based violence with terrible consequences for girls and women. The World Health Organisation estimates that 100 to 140 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM. 

FGM has been documented in 28 African countries. The average age at which a girl undergoes FGM is seven to ten years old.  The Government is cooperating with United Nations agencies and with Civil Society organisations in a concerted effort to end the practice of FGM. 

Our NGO partners who focus on the rights of children have been actively engaged in programmes to prevent and respond to such violations of children’s rights and public campaigns that put the spotlight on child abuse and Gender-based Violence have intensified and become more effective.

Another very important component of Ireland’s commitment to the welfare of children has been our support to the efforts of the International Labour Organisation (or the ILO) to put an end to forced labour, including child labour in developing countries. Child labour affects an estimated 215 million children worldwide and harms the physical and mental development of children.

Armed conflict also takes a heavy toll on children’s lives in different parts of the world. Not only do children suffer from the direct consequences of war and armed violence, including recruitment in armed forces or groups, physical injuries and death, they are also indirectly affected by displacement, loss of relatives and the trauma associated with witnessing acts of violence.

In the last decade alone, the participation of child soldiers has been reported in most armed conflicts and in almost every region of the world.

Although numbers continually change, it is thought that tens of thousands of children under the age of 18 continue to serve in government forces or armed opposition groups. Some of those involved in armed conflict are under ten years old.

I am personally committed to this issue and my Department has engaged strongly on it, including through the core work of our Irish Aid programme in addressing poverty and under-development.  We also support more targeted and specific action, through support for agencies such as UNICEF and the International Criminal Court, and through elements in our bilateral programmes that address the needs of children affected by conflict.

In our new Policy for International Development, “One World, One Future”, we have pledged to increase our engagement on the issue of children in armed conflict and I have asked my officials to examine options for strengthened action in this area. 

As you may be aware, Ireland is currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council. As part of our membership, we are seeking to advance an initiative on mortality of children under the age of five. The aimed-for outcome of this initiative will be the elaboration of technical guidance on addressing child mortality, including mortality arising from violence against children, as a human rights concern.

We hope that these Guidelines will help to guide policy makers to better address the critical issue of child mortality, and we will continue to speak out strongly on the related issues of child mortality and violence against children throughout our term as members of the Council.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Millennium Development Goals, which have guided global development efforts since the year 2000 have made an enormous contribution in galvanising collective efforts to improve the lives of millions of people. Since 2000, we have seen the most significant improvement in human development in history. 

For the first time since records on poverty began, the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen in every developing region including sub-Saharan Africa.  But the work is not yet complete.  The international discussion on the post 2015 framework is now gaining momentum. 

Ireland has been actively engaged in the discussions, led by the UN Development Group on a range of thematic areas, as well as consultations in a large number of countries and regions. 

Our Ambassador to the UN in New York, Anne Anderson, is co-facilitating the Special Event in September on the review of the MDGs.  This event presents an important opportunity to focus attention on accelerating the achievement of the MDGs, and re-doubling the international community’s commitment in this regard.   It will also provide an opportunity to agree a roadmap leading to the new goals in 2015.

Ireland warmly welcomed the High Level Panel Report on the Post 2015 Development agenda and its recommendations.   We noted with interest the proposal to including a specific goal on ensuring peaceful and stable societies, and within that a target on the reduction of violent deaths as well as the elimination all forms of violence against children.

We are currently further elaborating our detailed national position on these issues.  Civil Society also has an important role to play in this process.  Any new global development agenda that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals will need to strengthen the role of civil society across all countries, protecting the space for engagement, participation and accountability.

In this light, I really welcome your initiative.  Thank You.