30th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Blue Chip Foundation Commemorates the

30th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

November 2019

The pope and a women wearing all black shacking hands and smiling

Casina Pio, IV//Vatican City//November 14-15, 2019 || On the 30th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Blue Chip Foundation joined the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Telefono Azzurro to support a two-day event at the Vatican entitled “Promoting Digital Child Dignity from Concept to Action” which gathered important religious leaders of different communities, together with, academics, politicians and tech industry executives to address the challenges that children face in the digital world. This summit was co-organized by the Child Dignity and Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities.


The protection of children from all forms of violence is a fundamental right enshrined in both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and SDG 16.2 which calls for an end to all forms of violence against children. 


In his opening address to the summit on November 14th, Pope Francis commended the educational and personal growth opportunities that technology affords young people around the world, but challenged his audience to protect the world’s youth from “unacceptable criminal violence or grave harm to the integrity of their body and spirit.” He called for a “global movement” marked by the “deepest commitment of the human family and international institutions to protecting the dignity of minors and every human person.”


In addition to the Pope’s remarks, the summit’s 80 participants were also addressed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the United Arab Emirates, H.H. Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed al Nahyan; H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden; the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Professor Dr. Ahmed el-Tayeb; Rabbi David Rosen; Ms. Najat Maalla M’jid, representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and also executives from across the tech industry representing giants like Microsoft.


"The child who has suffered abuse. The child who is at risk. The child who was robbed of its childhood, and instead carries guilt and shame,” said Queen Silvia of Sweden during her opening remarks. It is for this child, ladies and gentlemen, that we are here today.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, the summit’s participants endorsed a 6 goal action plan to organize their continued engagement.

 

  1. To raise awareness of digital risks and make prevention the top priority.
  2. To undertake new social research to provide a better understanding of the scope and severity of child sexual abuse and exploitation online.
  3. To foster collaboration with technology companies.
  4. To mobilize the world’s great religions to launch a global movement to protect children online.
  5. To promote the exchange of experiences in the provision of child rescue and treatment services.
  6. To promote appropriate legislation and executive measures.

 

“The protection of children from all forms of violence is a fundamental right and a key focus of the Blue Chip Foundation’s work to achieve the SDGs ,” said Jennifer Gross, Blue Chip’s founder, who attended the Summit. “As the capacities of our digital world outpace our ability to understand and regulate them at the national level, it’s increasingly important that leaders from around the world and across sectors come together to identify international solutions that ensure we stay come together to partner on the way forward.” 


The pope walking down an isle in front of many men at Casina Pio IV

UN Convention

Gallery Images

rights of the child

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