Urmas Paet, a member of the European Parliament, said in the plenary sessioon of the European Parliament in Strasbourg during the discussion on the children´s rights that the number of children killed shows us the tragic picture of the violations of children’s rights. Last year the world lost 6.5 million children.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has the greatest number of parties to it but it is constantly being violated. “150 million children are illiterate and a huge number of children die of diseases that already for a long time can be cured or prevented,” he added.
According to Paet every day the rights of millions of children are being violated. “In the less developed countries every fourth child is used in child labor and millions are being discriminated or experience physical and sexual violence and abuse. In conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and elsewhere there are millions of children that suffer directly,” he said.
Paet added that implementing the principles of the Convention celebrating its 25th birthday must be addressed with the same seriousness as it was 10 or 20 years ago. “Protection of children and their rights must be linked with many other developing processes.”