2015 International Children’s Peace Prize winner
Member – KidsRights Youngsters
@ the UN Human Rights Council – Geneva, Switzerland
March 9, 2016
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Today, words are insufficient to express the excitement in me, for having this opportunity to speak in such a unique place and on this great occasion. It provides me with an important platform to speak out to you with an urgent call to end violence against children. In the countdown to 2030 we cannot afford to wait until tomorrow. It is high time to act now!
Today, I stand before you to underline the necessity to end violence against children worldwide, and to create a safe world, where children can live peacefully, play and laugh.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, a safe world cannot be realized if we do not reflect on the yesterdays as a way of aiming for a better today and a successful tomorrow. We must learn from our mistakes in the past and correct them. I strongly believe that everyone must understand the consequences of violence on children. It will motivate and inspire people to act - to change the world.
Violence has serious and persistent impact on children. The effect of violence on a child is so catastrophic that it leaves scars for life. It creates fear and suffering in children. Violence comes in many forms and has different effects. Sexual violence leads to stigmatization; physical violence leads to body pain and creates fear; emotional or psychological violence can negatively affect a child's behavior. When you're a victim of violence it stays with you forever: it destroys your future.
Violence is a threat to genuine development. It is a bridge, which when broken, affects not only individuals (children) but properties and basic social services. The Syrian war has made millions of children to be refugees. It has also destroyed schools and hospitals, denying children the right to education and health care as well. Wars are forms of extreme violence. They do not only affect the fighting groups involved. They take away innocent lives (children).
Every child is confronted with violence - directly or indirectly. I experience violence every day. I see it in my community, in which I live. I see it in school. In my neighborhood, children are forced to work. At school, we are beaten and molested by teachers. I read about terrible acts of violence against children in newspapers and also see it on television.
I come from a small country in Africa where child protection is given a blind eye. I was born during the Liberian civil war; 14 yrs that were horrible and violence became the order of the day. I live in a community (called West Point) where children are openly abused and exploited. My community is a storehouse of ex-combatants. It is not strange to us in Liberia when a girl is raped, and when a boy is sexually harassed. Yes, it is not strange when a child is molested, abused and exploited.
Sexual abuse against children is very common and troubling in the oldest African Republic. Both boys and girls are victimized. Regrettably, sexual violence (rape) victims are mostly girls aged 4 to 16 years old. They account for an estimated 90% of the total annual number of rape cases.
Every day, three children are raped in Liberia. In my community alone, I know at least 50 children that got abused. They are my friends, they are my neighbors, they are my sisters and brothers. And yet, no one is looking out for them. No one cares enough to give them justice.
Many more victims do not dare report their cases for fear of being killed by the perpetrators or rejected by their families and communities. The perpetrators are often not held accountable. Law enforcement officers get bribed to ignore the rights of child victims.
In 2007, a 13 yrs old girl Angel Togba was raped and strangulated to death. I felt compelled to act. I felt she could have been my sister or I could have been in her place. Therefore, at the age of 9, I joined my first peaceful protest to demand justice for children. All children can make a change, no matter where you are from.
Millions of children and I are faced with these unacceptable situations around the world. Sexual violence against children is a gross violation of children’s rights. Yet, it is a global reality across all countries and social groups. Globally, policies and legal frameworks protecting children do exist.
They look good on paper. But they are far from reality for us.
It makes me believe that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has not been given full attention by State parties that signed and ratified it.
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Every adult today experienced violence in some form while growing up as a child. These adults, including you, know that the consequences of violence are massive.
That is why it is High Time to end violence against children. Here and now.
It is High Time to make real the promises made to us.
It is High Time to protect all of us, the world's children, particularly the most vulnerable.
I join the forces of good, the forces of non- violence to make the world a safe place for every child.
The sum of all forces will be zero. Zero violence!
Just join me -
Thank you.
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