Child protection

All girls and boys must have the opportunity to express their potential, to grow, and to achieve their dreams in the communities they live in.

All girls and boys must have the opportunity to express their potential, to grow, and to achieve their dreams in the communities they live in.

We promote child protection initiatives in every country where we operate. In particular, our activities aim to protect young boys and girls from abuse and violence, with a special focus on areas affected by natural disasters, political instability and humanitarian emergencies.

Our programmes focus on the most vulnerable girls and boys, and we aim to guarantee their safety and wellbeing. We work with governments, international organisations and civil society partners to create lasting change by improving the policies and services in place to protect children, both in their everyday lives and in emergency situations.

In some of the countries where we work, such as Cambodia, Nepal and Libya, we face the grave problem of children being sent to work in fields, factories and mines.

This lucrative business is often linked to criminal activity and corruption. All too often, girls and boys are victims of sexual exploitation or are at risk of becoming child soldiers.

Our work takes on particular importance during humanitarian emergencies caused by natural disasters and conflicts. In these situations, we safeguard the basic needs of children who are particularly vulnerable to risks such as separation from their families, sexual exploitation, and gender-based violence.

With our projects, we strive to ensure that girls and boys receive good-quality care, even in situations of extreme poverty and serious humanitarian crises. To this end, we operate emergency healthcare funds to protect their right to health.

Why do we deal with child protection?

1

Our approach to protecting and promoting children’s rights is inspired by two landmark documents approved by the UN: the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

2

Working with children requires special care; for this reason, our organisation abides by a Child Protection Policy signed by every employee who works in the field.

3

We adhere to ethical codes of conduct that stipulate the highest possible standards for humanitarian aid operations, including the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, the Red Cross Code of Conduct, and the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.

4

The need to behave correctly during every stage of our projects lies at the heart of everything we do. “Do no harm” is our guiding principle.

5

215 million children worldwide are involved in child labour, 115 million of them in dangerous jobs.

6

Around 263 million young people, including approximately 61 million children, do not have access to any form of education.

We protect the rights of children

With our projects we defend the rights of the most vulnerable children, starting with the fundamental right to health. We guarantee their right to education and protect them from exploitation, child labor and violence.

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