Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade addresses the Interactive Discussion on Investing in Preventing Violence Against Children held on Tuesday, September 20 during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade has called for countries to prioritize children as part of their post-pandemic economic recovery. This follows, the increase in domestic violence against children during the pandemic.
The Foreign Minister underscored that holistic approaches must be critical and practical, noting the cyclic and cross-cutting nature of violence against children as well as the human and economic costs.
On the matter of investment in the fight against preventing violence against children, Minister Johnson Smith raised the concern that Middle Income Countries (MICs) are being graduated from eligibility to receive ODA. This, the Minister said, “impacts governments’ ability to benefit from wide international partnership on important matters such as violence against children.”
The Minister also cited Jamaica’s efforts in preventing violence against children. “Jamaica has used technology to empower children to report on cases of abuse, a new hotline allows for access to counselling services. Among the needs of countries to deal with violence against children, she identified increased counselling at school, social services for children beyond the gates of school and psychosocial support for parents and children alike,” the Minister stated.
The Minister was speaking at an Interactive Discussion on Investing in Preventing Violence Against Children during the 77th Session of the United General Assembly held on Monday, September 19. The session was hosted by the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg and moderated by the Special Representative of the Secretary General. Countries such as Costa Rica, Iceland, Cape Verde and Morocco were also represented.
