First World Children's Day: «Protect them like in a cocoon»

“If we want to achieve true peace in this world, and if we want to wage a real war against war, we will have to start with children.”

Thus Gandhi affirmed the social importance of children and young people for building a better world characterized by lasting peace.

Today and tomorrow Rome celebrates the first World Children's Day in two iconic places of the Capital: Olympic Stadium and Vatican City.

This is what Pope Francis wanted last December 8th, choosing as the theme of this first day dedicated to children the words of Jesus "Behold, I make all things new" , inviting us to become as agile as children in grasping new things. The Holy Father takes up the words of the prophet Isaiah to underline the preciousness and greatness of children in society and history.

It is a day that wants to put children's rights at the center. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child highlight that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that children have distinct and independent rights. These two days will remember how children's rights are increasingly violated or "eroded" by the economic-financial crisis, the water crisis, the environmental and climate crisis, and the war crisis (see Ukrainian-Russian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts).

In addition to premature death events and acute illnesses , these crises have chronic consequences on health in its holistic sense of physical, mental and social well-being, as indicated in 1948 by the World Health Organization .

Malnutrition, developmental delay, disability, life-threatening behavior (alcohol, drugs, tobacco) are the result of serious adversities faced by young people. The economic and environmental crises in particular also affect our geographical contexts in the poorest and most socially fragile groups.

Protecting the rights of the little ones must be a priority. Governments, at all levels, must implement policies aimed at family well-being. A basic step for the creation of family "cocooning", that is, protecting the well-being of children as if in a cocoon.