第77回国連総会第3委員会議題64「児童の権利」に関する賀集政府代表顧問ステートメント
令和4年10月10日
(As delivered)
Madam Chair,First of all, let me express our pleasure to discuss this important agenda individually in this committee again. At the same time, let us all remember that at this moment too, there are countless numbers of children who are suffering from various challenges, such as poverty, conflicts, the pandemic, and disparity. Thinking of these children, we are keen to strive and to cooperate with all of you to have constructive discussions in the Third Committee. In this regard, allow me to share our commitments made to promote and protect the rights of children.
Madam Chair,
This year, the Government enacted the Basic Act on Child Policies, in which the bases stem from the four core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will establish the new Children and Families Agency next April. Through these efforts, Japan will take comprehensive measures to create a society where all children can grow up in good health, and to ensure that all children, regardless of their economic backgrounds, are able to pursue their dreams. We are also dedicated to taking measures to prevent violence against children and to promote their rights. As one of the pathfinding countries of GPeVAC, Japan will keep sharing good practices through establishing the new agency and tackling the issue of violence against children.
Madam Chair,
Recognizing that education is a human right, a key enabler to achieve other sustainable development goals, and a foundation for lasting peace, Japan takes serious consideration in supporting education around the world. Japan commends the outcome of the Transforming Education Summit (TES) in response to the global crisis in education. We need to maintain the global momentum raised during TES to ensure inclusive and equitable educational opportunities for all the children and youth affected by the pandemic, conflicts, and other crises.
Prime Minister Kishida, who is determined to invest in people, announced that he would take a champion role to further strengthen ongoing efforts in the education sector. In addition, Japan will provide 1.5 billion USD in international cooperation in the education sector over the next five years.
Madam Chair,
The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us all that a health crisis could easily turn into further crises for children. Japan deeply believes that access to healthcare is one of the crucial components to protect the rights of children. With this belief in mind, the Government of Japan recently announced a contribution of 1.36 billion yen to UNICEF to support digital health systems to manage vaccine information for infectious disease control in seven countries in Africa, namely the Republic of Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Tunisia and the Republic of Uganda. Through this, Japan would like to contribute to establishing a foundation that both adults and children can benefit from vaccines even in places where healthcare systems are still fragile.
Madam Chair,
No child should be left behind and every single child should be able to freely pursue their dreams. To this end, Japan is determined to continue its efforts to build a child-centered society and to cooperate with the international community to promote and protect the rights of children around the globe.
Thank you.