The first International Day of the Girl Child and The Global Launch of “Because I am a Girl” Campaign

On 11th October 2012, the first international day of the girl child was designated by the United Nations to encourage global action on girls’ rights. On this occasion, PLAN International (http://plan-international.org/) launched its global campaign “Because I am a Girl (BIAAG)” to ensure to millions of girls the access to education and other basic services, livelihood, participation and protection. The event “BIIAG” was sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Canada, Finland, Peru, Switzerland and Turkey. 

During the Panel Discussion, several experts in the field of children’s rights and education took the floor.

Ms. Alison LeClaire Christe, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada, and Ms. Luz Caballero, chargé d'affaires of the Permanent Mission of Peru, welcomed the celebration of the first Day of the Girl Child and expressed their support to the “BIIAG” campaign.

 Ms. Subhadra Belbase, PLAN International special adviser, introduced the work of PLAN International and explained why girls should be the object of this event now: girls’ rights are continuously violated worldwide, there is need to make girls and their rights more visible.

Among the other panelists, there was: H.E. Ambassador Alezandre Fasel, Special Representative of Switzerland to the Human Rights Council, Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Jean Zermatten, member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Mr. Vernor Muñoz, Coordinator of the Ph.D. Programme on Latin-American Studies at the National University of Costa Rica and former Special Rapporteur on the right to education, and Ms. Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children. They expressed their concerns on issues related to the violation of girls’ rights, such as: early marriage, child labor and lack of education. In fact, they all highlighted the importance of education for young girls.

 Furthermore, to commemorate the first UN International Day of Girl Child, a group of UN human rights experts submitted joint statements. For further information, please visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12646&LangID=E