ZCZC
BSS-28
UNICEF-CHILDREN-CLIMATE
Conflict, climate crisis the biggest emerging threats to children: UNICEF
DHAKA, Sept 18, 2019 (BSS) – Protracted conflicts, the worsening climate
crisis, a rising level of mental illness among young people, and online
misinformation are some of the most concerning emerging global threats to
children, UNICEF warned today.
The UNICEF conveyed the warning in an open letter issued by its Executive
Director Henrietta Fore, marking 30 years since the adoption of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In addition to existing threats to young people, such as access to
education, poverty, inequality and discrimination, the inaugural letter warns
of emerging threats to children’s rights, and outlines a path to stepping up
efforts to address them.
The letter is being issued as part of UNICEF’s commemoration of the 30th
anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of a Child – the world’s most
widely ratified human rights treaty.
“And your generation, the children of today, are facing a new set of
challenges and global shifts that were unimaginable to your parents,” writes
Fore. “Our climate is changing beyond recognition. Inequality is deepening.
Technology is transforming how we perceive the world. And more families are
migrating than ever before. Childhood has changed, and we need to change our
approaches along with it.”
The letter outlines eight growing challenges for the world’s children:
prolonged conflicts; pollution and the climate crisis; a decline in mental
health; mass migration and population movements; statelessness; future skills
for future work; data rights and online privacy; and online misinformation.
On conflict, the letter notes that the number of countries experiencing
conflict is the highest it has been since the adoption of the Child Rights
Convention in 1989, with one in four children living in countries affected by
violent fighting or disaster.
About climate change, the letter warns that children are already having to
contend with rampant destruction to the planet and a global climate crisis
that has the potential to undermine most of the gains made in child survival
and development over the past 30 years.
The rise in extreme weather patterns and toxic air, prolonged drought and
flash floods are all part of this crisis, and are disproportionally affecting
the poorest, most vulnerable children.
UNICEF said it is working to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis
across the world.
In Ethiopia, UNICEF has pioneered new technology to map groundwater, and is
developing solutions for chronically water-scarce communities. In Malawi, it
has developed a long-lasting, eco-friendly system using solar power to
improve access to clean water for communities. Yet, more must be done to slow
down climate change altogether.
“Governments and business must work hand in hand to reduce fossil fuel
consumption, develop cleaner agricultural, industrial and transport systems
and invest in scaling renewable energy sources,” writes Fore.
The letter also expresses concern that the majority of children will grow
up as natives of a digital environment saturated with online misinformation.
For example, so-called ‘deep fake’ technology uses artificial intelligence
techniques to create convincing fakes of audio and video content, relatively
easily.
The letter warns that an online environment where truth can become
indistinguishable from fiction has the potential to totally undermine trust
in institutions and information sources, and has been demonstrated to skew
democratic debate, voter intentions, and sow doubt about other ethnic,
religious or social groups.
The letter also cautions that online misinformation is already leaving
children vulnerable to grooming, abuse, and other forms of exploitation;
skewing democratic debate; and, in some communities, even prompting
resurgence in deadly diseases due to distrust in vaccines fueled by online
misinformation – the results of which could be the creation of an entire
generation of citizens who do not trust anything.
To respond to this challenge, UNICEF has been piloting media literacy
programme, such as the Young Reporters programme in Montenegro, aimed at
teaching young people about spotting misinformation online, how to fact check
online content, and the roles and techniques of responsible journalism, the
letter read.
“We can no longer rest on the naïve assurance that truth has an innate
upper hand against falsehood in the digital era, and so we must, as
societies, build resilience against the daily deluge of falsity online,” Fore
says. “We should start by equipping young people with the ability to
understand who and what they can trust online, so they can become active,
engaged citizens.”
On mental health, the letter cautions that mental illness among adolescents
has been on the rise in the years since the adoption of the CRC, and that
depression is now among the leading causes of disability in the young.
The letter urges that appropriate promotion, prevention and therapeutic
treatment and rehabilitation for children and young people affected by mental
health issues be prioritized, and that the stigma and taboo surrounding
mental illness be challenged so that treatment can be sought and support
provided.
Finally, the letter recognises that children and young people have already
created movements across the world in search of solutions to overcome the
challenges they – and their peers – face, and calls for world leaders to
follow their lead.
“Children and young people of today are taking the lead on demanding urgent
action, and empowering yourselves to learn about, and shape the world around
you,” writes Fore. “You are taking a stand now, and we are listening.”
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