October 17, 2014 - Ottawa, Ontario
Check Against Delivery
Good afternoon.
Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Thank you to Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of UNICEF, for being here.
We need to allow the world’s children to do more than merely survive — We need to provide them with an opportunity to thrive.
We must secure a child’s access to education; even in the face of conflict, access to school is perhaps even more important in times of conflict.
Since January, an estimated 1.8 million people have been displaced throughout Iraq.
This is now one of the largest cases of internal displacement in the world.
And many of the schools, which are being used as shelters, have not reopened as scheduled.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 900,000 children have been affected by the current crisis in Iraq, where they are exposed to violence and abuse, as well as being deprived of an education.
Today, I am pleased to announce Canada's leading role in launching the No Lost Generation Initiative in Iraq with a contribution of $8 million.
With this announcement, Canada will have committed more than $36 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq since January.
This initiative will reach up to 200,000 children in Iraq and ensure that they have the opportunity to continue their education through both formal education and catch-up classes.
We need to ensure, no matter what the context, that no child is left behind.
Canada is committed to working with global stakeholders.
Our leadership is ensuring that at-risk children in Iraq keep learning, even as they face the current conflict in their homeland.
Thank you.
