Joint letter on the impact of the UN liquidity crisis and the UN80 initiative on children’s rights

Date: 21st August 2025
Category: General measures of implementation, General principles

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Child Rights Connect and other civil society organisations including Together have sent a joint letter to the UN Secretary-General and Permanent Missions in New York and Geneva, raising serious concerns about the impact of the UN liquidity crisis and the UN80 Initiative on children’s rights.

The letter warns that the cancellation of key meetings of the Committee on the Rights of the Child is weakening important monitoring processes and limiting opportunities for children and civil society to take part. It also points out that reforms under the UN80 Initiative must not reduce child rights protections. Instead, they should strengthen the UN’s human rights work, with children’s rights at the centre.

The letter calls for the UN to use the Secretary-General’s Guidance Note on Child Rights Mainstreaming to guide all reforms, protect the mandates of child rights bodies such as UNICEF and the CRC Committee, and ensure meaningful engagement with civil society, including children. It warns that budget cuts and reduced participation would undermine children’s ability to hold governments to account and risk silencing their voices at a time when they are facing overlapping global crises.

• Click here to read the letter