On November 20, as an SDG Advocate and Unicef Belgium’s honorary president, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde addressed the opening of the Conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child organised by the European Parliament.

Her Majesty underscored that, given their vulnerability, children must be protected from the effects of poverty and conflict and from all forms of abuse, exploitation or violence. She highlighted that the Convention also recognizes their freedom of opinion and their right to express themselves. Queen Mathilde also considered the progress made over the past 30 years in the implementation of the Convention. At the same time, she reflected on the challenges that new generations face in a global and digital world. These new threats include the harmful consequences of climate change or the upsurge in conflicts, which disproportionately affect children, or the sometimes perverse effects of our cyber world, such as online harassment or eroding online privacy.

During her speech, Her Majesty extended a special greeting to the children and young people at the Conference participating in the debates. She underscored that today's children and young people are better able to make their concerns heard and to propose solutions that inspire them. Queen Mathilde called for great efforts to achieve the objectives set by the international community in 1989. Quality education and good health, and in particular mental health, were identified by Her Majesty as two catalysts for change, as they are essential for children to reach their full potential. 

As a generation of children have grown into adults since the adoption of the Convention, but only some of them have seen these hopes and changes materialize, Her Majesty made a strong call to move forward to reaffirm and keep the promises of thirty years ago.

Her Majesty Queen Mathilde’s whole speech can be found here (in French).