H.M. Drottningens tacktal i samband med Global Child Forum

I would like to thank you, very much, for coming to Kuala Lumpur to join our 8th International Global Child Forum. His Majesty the King and I really hope that you have enjoyed the day as much as we have. As you heard this morning – our vision is to achieve important results for children and young people – on a large and systematic scale – by involving all actors of society – organisations and people.

Global Child Forum hopes to achieve results by bringing responsible leaders and decision makers, from all over the world, together. We share and compare experiences and thereby create new innovative ways for a better future – building on the many good examples that have been discussed here today. This is not just charity or talk – this is about real change for the better – in a complex world.

Throughout my life and duties as a Queen, I have travelled around the world to engage deeply into the lives of children. That has been - and still is my passion and my instinct! It is however clear that the situation for children and young people looks very different in various parts of the world. In many countries today, children suffer at an unbelievable scale and sometimes these children have little hope for the future. This is not acceptable if we, as global citizens and human beings, believe in a sustainable future of peace and prosperity for all. We have to understand this situation, study the facts and do much more to improve these children’s situation. We cannot look away and pretend we do not know or care.

As we have come to the end of this exciting day, I want to go back to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – which aims to give every child a better life. The convention is very clear – every child has the right to a life free from violence and fear, freedom from slavery and forced labour, trafficking and sexual abuse. We have today heard of good and inspiring work in this region and from other parts of the world – aiming to protect and promote children’s rights.

Moving forward, I want to encourage everyone in this room to seize the opportunities that we have heard about this afternoon – arising from new technology and the fact that the ASEAN region has a young population – and then to take action. Regardless of sector and position, you can contribute to a better world for our children and young people, our future. Following from this Forum, I hope for new creative partnerships and increased action taken, particularly by the business and financial sector. You have such knowledge and resources. Take these opportunities now – invest in the future – in the best interest of the children in this region and globally – for a sustainable world – where also your business can prosper.

It has been a very exciting and important day for His Majesty and me.

Thank you for sharing your ideas and experiences with us on how to improve the lives for the children of the world – today and for the future.

I want to end this fantastic day by congratulating the government of Malaysia: a new law to protect children has been passed by the upper house yesterday! I know that Thailand has also passed a new law for some months ago and now Malaysia! Perhaps other countries will follow soon. This made my day! Congratulations!