Toespraak Rutte bij de uitreiking van de Kindervredesprijs

Toespraak | 06-09-2013

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the Netherlands, and welcome especially to The Hague.

As the legal capital of the world, this city is also a symbol for children’s rights. So there is no better place to award the International Children’s Peace Prize each year. Norway is the home of the Nobel Peace Prize,and the Netherlands is the home of the Children’s Peace Prize. And that’s something we are very proud of.

In the Dutch newspapers, I recently read about a new cartoon superhero, or rather superheroine: Pakistan’s Burka Avenger. Dressed in a shiny black veil, she fights for the right of girls to go to school. In everyday life, the Burka Avenger is actually a primary school teacher. But if she sees one of her girls under attack, she turns into a superhero who silences her opponents. Not with violence, but with books and pens as weapons. Children in Pakistan can now enjoy her adventures on TV.

Pakistan’s real superhero, of course, is not a cartoon character. In fact, she is here with us today. Malala, before the eyes of the international media, you dared to speak up for the right to education. And you didn’t let a cowardly and appalling attack stop you. That requires the courage of a superhero. There are very few people like you in the world. I am delighted and honoured that you and your family could join us in the Netherlands today.

All around the world, people are talking about the Malala effect. Take six-year-old Fatima from the village of Kot Lakhpat near the Pakistani city of Lahore. She is now able to go to school for the first time. Because her mother was inspired by your story, Malala. By what happened to you.

So you see, something positive has come out of that terrible attack. Thanks to you, many girls in Pakistan and other countries are now going to school. Ladies and gentlemen, Malala is fighting for something very important. Education is not only vital for individual children, but also for society as whole. It is an essential weapon in the battle against poverty, disease and conflict. And it is the key to democracy and economic development. That’s why the international community needs to have sky-high ambitions in this field.

Mr Brown, as the UN’s Special Envoy for Global Education, described that ambition as follows: 'We want to be the first generation in history where every child is able to go to school and to learn.' And that’s an ambition I share. Because worldwide, 57 million children still do not go to school. And 300 million children are taught so badly that they don’t learn to read and write. And most of them are girls. They are not allowed to go to school, or are forced to marry very young and are taken out of school. Yet giving girls an education can at least double a country’s potential.

I was in Afghanistan earlier this year. Despite the real progress that has been made there over the past ten years, there are still far too few girls going to school. Since 2002, the Netherlands has been trying to help. By building new schools in Uruzgan, for example.

Simple things make all the difference. Training women teachers encourages more families to let their daughters go to school. So does building separate toilets for girls and offering community-based education.

Fortunately, we are seeing positive results. The number of primary school-age children not going to school halved between 2000 and 2011. That is a fundamental change.

And now for the other half. Because every child deserves the chance to unlock their full potential. And that is the reason behind this gathering. The International Children’s Peace Prize offers a platform for children who are fighting injustice in the world. Children who help the world progress and make it a better place.

This prize gives them the recognition, the publicity and the resources they need to fight for what they believe in. These children are already making a difference. Showing that you don’t have to be an adult to make your mark on the world. Malala, you gave an impressive speech to the UN in July. You said that ‘one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world’. And you are living proof of that.

It is an honour for this city to be able to present this prize for the ninth time to a young citizen of the world. A young citizen who has the courage to speak out and call the world to action.

Let me close by saying this to all the nominees and winners of the Children’s Peace Prize: you are all superheroes.

Thank you.