Indian Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi 
More than 88 laureates and children’s rights advocates have called on world leaders to prioritise vulnerable children in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indian Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s foundation Laureates and Leaders for Children has also asked for a US$1 trillion financial package to protect children.
“The Catholic Church has always a special place and concern for the youth and children and Pope Francis always insists on taking extra care of children, so an initiative like this is a highly appreciable step,” said Fr Chetan Machado, secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India’s Commission for Youth.
He said the initiative is timely because the activists are in a good position to push world leaders to prioritise children.
“There is a possibility that during and after the Covid-19 effect many elders will lose their jobs, some organisations may collapse and job opportunities may dry up, forcing many children to help their elders,” he said.
Satyarthi, who has been fighting child labour, slavery and trafficking, issued a statement last week with other laureates highlighting the challenges faced by children and advocates.
“We all collectively must act now or else we may lose our children and an entire generation. We demand that the most marginalised and vulnerable children are not forgotten during this grave crisis and beyond,” the statement said.
The statement said that children are at greater risk of sexual abuse and domestic violence during the lockdown and when the restrictions are lifted that they may be trafficked, forced out of school and into labour.
The statement, signed by Nobel laureates like the Dalai Lama, called for child protection infrastructure to be strengthened and said that with Covid-19 exposing the pre-existing inequalities, the aftermath would have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable.
They said their proposed financial package would fund all outstanding United Nations (UN) and charity Covid-19 appeals and cancel two years of debt repayments from low-income countries.
The fund could be used to help countries meet UN Sustainable Development Goals on health, water, sanitation and education, the statement said.
They also called on G20 nations to take action beyond their own borders for those who urgently need coordinated international aid.
