Ladies and gentlemen,
In 1925 the World Assembly for the Welfare of the Child, held in Genoa, established June 1 as World Children's Day. Unfortunately, millions of children around the world live in conditions of poverty, hunger and social exclusion, while others are forced to work or are sexually abused, in flagrant violation of their fundamental rights as defined in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. The House of Representatives is committed to continue working to improve the relevant legislation in order to protect the most vulnerable group in society. In this context, the House of Representatives yesterday commemorated International Children's Day by organising various activities-workshops on the premises of the Parliament, with the participation of students from seven Nicosia schools.
Friends,
In 1972, the first conference on the environment was held in Stockholm under the motto "Only One Earth" and since 1974, as designated by the United Nations, World Environment Day has been celebrated every year on 5 June. Half a century later, the same conference is held in the same capital with the same motto, but more relevant than ever. We have only one Earth, only one home as humanity, and we must protect it from the wanton exploitation of natural resources, from pollution, from global warming, from drought. It is worrying that more than 7% of Cypriot land has already been desertified and the whole of Cyprus is suffering the effects of environmental destruction, due to both natural phenomena and man-made factors, not forgetting the huge ecological destruction taking place in the occupied areas. In order to avoid total destruction, a shift to sustainable development and the green economy is necessary, since we now know that the deterioration of environmental conditions, together with the loss of the one and only Earth, means the loss of life itself. As the state legislature, we insist on faithful compliance with international agreements, as well as European and national strategies. Our primary concern remains the adoption of additional legislative measures and the strengthening of national law with rules on the use of renewable energy sources.
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
Source
