Today is World Children’s Day, celebrating the rights of children and adolescents. We intend to celebrate this extremely important date by confirming the Government’s total commitment to ensuring children and teenagers can enjoy the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which are often denied or not guaranteed as they should be.
The pandemic crisis, the resulting economic difficulties and the complex international situation we find ourselves in are profoundly affecting our economic and social fabric, aggravating existing problems, from poverty to inequality, and creating new emergencies. Children and youngsters are paying the highest price. Data and statistics are in agreement that the harsh social restrictions imposed during the pandemic have had serious consequences on children and young people’s health and psychological well-being. We must also not forget the worsening spread of pathological addictions and the rise in bullying and ‘baby gangs’, just as we can no longer overlook the impact of social networks and new technologies. We have to help our young people understand that the Internet has a good side and a bad side; it is a tool that should not be condemned a priori, but that must be made a safe place, protecting our children and young people against the insidious traps of cyberbullying and online child pornography.
The Government intends to establish a working group with all relevant Ministries and Institutions in order to draw up a concrete, operational action plan. A new focus on children and young people is a priority: a historic challenge that we intend to continue addressing, because our nation’s future depends on our ability to meet the needs of the younger generations.
[Courtesy translation]