When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses.

The economic benefits of investing in children have been extensively documented. Investing fully in children today will ensure the well-being and productivity of future generations for decades to come. By contrast, the physical, emotional and intellectual impairment that poverty inflicts on children canmean a lifetime of suffering and want - and a legacy of poverty for the next generation...

...in serving the best interests of children, we serve the best interests of all humanity.

A century that began with children having virtually no rights is ending with children having the most powerful legal instrument that not only recognizes but protects their human rights.

Whatever the exact numbers, the scale and persistence of the problem of child-headed households in Rwanda is daunting, ... The plight of these children is not only heartbreaking and unacceptable -- it raises deeply troubling questions about the long-term prospects for the country's recovery.

I'm now meeting children who are telling me 'I am the first child in my family NOT to be able to get an education.'