18-03-2011-
During his official trip to New York, on 17th March the Minister for External Relations held talks with Ms Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on violence against children.
The Special Representative thanked Mr José Badia for the Government of Monaco’s continuous support and generosity, helping to set up a specialised team made up of representatives from various regions, thereby enabling the cultural aspects of each country to be taken into consideration with regard to violence against children, a still highly sensitive subject and thus to carry out her mandate successfully.
Ms Santos Pais also praised the commitment of H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover, who has been dedicated for many years, in an exemplary fashion, to promoting the Rights of the Child.
Faced with the huge challenge of preventing violence against children, Ms Santos Pais informed Mr Badia of the strategy adopted:
- to rally the attention of politicians within the national agenda;
- to adopt laws that condemn such violence;
- to increase research in order to put forward concrete solutions and tools.
Furthermore, the Special Representative insisted on the key importance of regional action and of that of the International Organisation for the French-speaking world, crucial for joint mobilisation efforts. She also is eager to maintain regular and frequent contact with the children enabling her to establish pragmatic and tangible solutions.
She was pleased to accept the Minister’s invitation to take part in the Council of Europe’s Conference “Monaco +5” which is to be held in the Principality of Monaco on 20th and 21st November 2011.
This Conference will provide an opportunity to assess the progress made since the launch of the “Building a Europe for and with Children” Conference in Monaco in 2006, and to adopt a new strategy for 2012-2015. |