The Coalition for Children’s Rights joined with the National Youth Council of Ireland and the Children’s Rights Alliance at Dublin Castle recently to discuss how the new Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, will impact children.

The SDGs, which succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), aim to improve social, economical and environmental standards in all countries in the world by 2030. Among the goals are gender equality, providing quality education and arresting climate change.

Speaking at the Chester Beatty Library, Niall Tierney of Irish Aid stated that “children don’t just exist in school or sports, they exist in every single sphere. Every one of the 17 goals will have an impact on children.”

The panel agreed that 17 sustainable goals are relevant to young people of all countries around the world, Ireland included. 

Tanya Ward, chief executive Children’s Rights Alliance, told the audience that there is a “major problem with food poverty in Ireland, with 12 per cent of children consistently in poverty.”

The first of the 17 goals is to end poverty, with the second being ending hunger. Ward urged that we need to “ensure children and young people get to participate” in achieving the new goals by 2030.

Speaking about the rights of children, Solène Edouard of the ChildFund Alliance called on world leaders to “take immediate action and prohibit the worst forms of child labor.” 

It is hoped that child labour can be eliminated worldwide by 2025.