“Raising a child is not a maths test that you can retake it if you haven't done it right the first time,” said the young Moldovan, noting that parents, family and the community form the pillars of a child’s first year of life.  

“But what happens when a child is born with a disability or into a family that doesn't have enough resource to rise them? Do we step aside because this is not our problem or - on the contrary - do we help the child and the family to develop and overcome those difficulties?” he asked.

Vlad, who volunteers at a free centre for children with disabilities and developmental difficulties run by NGO Lumos Foundation, stressed “how important it is to intervene early in child development, because the earlier we react, the more chances we give to the child to develop harmoniously … a child's difficulties, however great they may be, can be overcome or, at least, minimized.”

‘I miss my home, my family and friends’

Ten-year-old Joyce, who was forced to flee Syria’s civil war, told the Council precisely what children needed in her home country, so that other youngsters just like her could stay there in safety: “Education, safety and child friendly spaces – not shootings, missiles, bombs or kidnappings,” she said.

Speaking via videolink, Joyce addressed world leaders directly, asking them to understand that for children to live happily and safely, “you need to stop the wars”.

She added: “We need to go to school, to play, to have food and water and most importantly, not to live in fear.”

Admitting that one can’t really argue with Joyce’s statements, Mr. Philip Jaffé, Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child said, that it wasn’t needed to be verbose, “when what is being said, is essential.”

The Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on all countries “to ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child”.

Speaking on behalf of the Committee on the Rights of the Child which assesses the progress that countries make in adhering to the Convention, Philip Jaffé insisted that for children to thrive in their early years, governments should implement comprehensive and rights-based, coordinated strategies and across departments and at central and local levels.

In addition, “there must be special consideration and social support given to the early childhood needs of children with disabilities and their families,” Mr. Jaffé said.