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Germany welcomes creation of an International Day of the Girl Child
11 October has been declared the International Day of the Girl Child. Human Rights Commissioner Markus Löning took this opportunity to remind us that girls are still greatly disadvantaged in many parts of the world.
Yesterday (19 December) the United Nations General Assembly announced the creation of the International Day of the Girl Child, an endeavour actively supported by the German Government.
Markus Löning, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy, issued the following statement in Berlin today (20 December):
“I am pleased that 11 October has been designated as the International Day of the Girl Child. Girls continue to be greatly disadvantaged in many parts of the world. Victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking are most frequently girls. Girls are forced to do hard manual labour and are often refused schooling simply because of their sex.
All children – girls and boys alike – should be able to play, learn and live in safety. Unfortunately, however, girls are still in a weaker position than boys. The International Day of the Girl Child has been established to raise international awareness of the fact that girls’ rights are abused. This, to my mind, is good, and indeed important.”
In Germany, there have for years been campaigns to draw attention to the rights and needs of girls. With the creation of the International Day of the Girl Child, this will now be done at international level.
Children’s rights have been guaranteed since 1989 in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by 193 states. In spite of this, the rights of children and in particular those of girls, continue to be violated around the world.