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Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse
European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva is supporting the #ENDviolence initiative. She is seen here with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, in 2012.
BRUSSELS, Belgium, 27 August 2013 – Within a week of the launch of UNICEF’s initiative on violence against children, all of the top officials of the European Union (EU) had endorsed the campaign and joined the growing global movement to #ENDviolence.
The presidents of the three major EU institutions (President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz) all tweeted messages in support of UNICEF and the new #ENDviolence initiative, as did High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton.
They were joined by key UNICEF partners such as the European Commissioners for enlargement and European neighbourhood policy Štefan Füle, for Development Andris Piebalgs and for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva, who tweeted several times on the issue of violence.
The tweets posted by EU top officials reached some 500,000 Twitter followers, without counting retweets by several offices of the European Parliament in EU member states.
These messages by EU top officials renew the commitment for a world in which all children, including those affected by emergencies, have access to and enjoy the right to education, adequate nutrition, safe water and sanitation, and health. The EU and UNICEF also work together on protecting children from discrimination, exploitation, violence and abuse.
At the end of the summer recess, the #ENDviolence initiative will focus on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). As 560 out of 750 MEPs regularly update their social media accounts to connect with fellow constituents, their outreach can help raise awareness on the issue among millions of European citizens.
Tweets of top EU officials
Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council All children have the right to live free from violence. Join me in supporting the @UNICEF #ENDviolence campaign: http://uni.cf/endviolence
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission There’s no place for violence against children in 21st century. Make the invisible visible.#ENDviolence http://uni.cf/endviolence
Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament We’re all responsible for a world where children feel safe and able to speak up. Join the campaign #ENDviolence! http://uni.cf/endviolence
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission All children have the right to live free of violence. Catherine #Ashton & #EEAS support @UNICEF #ENDviolence campaign http://uni.cf/endviolence
Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response “Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” #ENDviolence against children! pic.twitter.com/YoJUJzYASm
Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development 1.2 million children are trafficked every year. Speak up and support #UNICEF campaign to #ENDviolence against children http://goo.gl/a58Dvo
Štefan Füle, Commissioner for enlargement and European neighbourhood policy Support @Unicef initiative #ENDviolence against children: they R most vulnerable. Protecting them = protecting future http://uni.cf/endviolence