Nobel Laureates appeal for $1 trillion to ‘protect’ children

New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS) A slew of Nobel Laureates and world leaders have demanded $1 trillion to protect the world’s most marginalised children in the wake of Covid-19 at the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit.

The call to action on Thursday evening included an open call for signatories that will be collected and presented during the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.

“The moral commitment and compassion demonstrated by the speakers at the Summit has emboldened the call for a Fair Share for Children in the COVID crisis-relief measures. The global response has been disgracefully unequal, unjust and immoral,” said Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

Meanwhile, making a similar pitch, Jose Angel Gurria who is the Secretary-General of OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) said, “We call on all countries to ensure that children get their fair share of the global response to the pandemic. You can count on the OECD to support countries to put children at the centre of their social policies.”

Guy Ryder, Director-General of the ILO, went a step further to make an emotional pitch saying any “moral conscience” would have to give absolute priority to end child labour.

Closing the summit late on Thursday evening, Satyarthi made a clarion call to action saying, “We don’t have a choice but to act, and to act now.”

This third edition of the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit was organised in response to the pandemic and the resulting economic impacts that are exacerbating systemic inequalities and creating an unprecedented child rights crisis.

Previous Summits have been held in in 2018 in Jordan and in New Delhi in 2016.

— IANS

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