Children First Declaration

The Children First Declaration was launched on November 10, 2026 during the Child Summit at the ninth edition of the Paris Peace Forum, the first of this scale, to be held in more than 30 years. 

Read the full text below :

The Children First Declaration reaffirms children’s rights as human rights, and that these rights need to be protected and upheld, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which serves as the international standard for the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

1. Investing in the promotion and the protection of children’s rights and wellbeing remains the most powerful investment any society can make. Children who are healthy, nourished, supported, protected, whose legal existence and rights are recognized through civil registration, and who grow up in safe and caring environments are better equipped to develop, thrive, learn, succeed, express their opinions and participate to build stronger communities and more resilient societies as agents of positive change. Progress made in child health over recent decades is not guaranteed to continue. Almost five million children are still dying before their fifth birthday every year, while preventable diseases remaining among the leading causes of mortality. One in four children under five lives in severe food poverty. Children are disproportionately affected by conflict and persecution, and represent 40% of the world's forcibly displaced people. Close to two million babies are stillborn and around 260 000 women die each year from complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Across the world, failures to protect children online and offline constrain the potential of an entire generation, while digital environments increasingly shape how children learn, relate and develop, redefining both the opportunities available to them and the risks they face.

2. While the efficiency of this investment is well established the cost of inaction builds up over time and the window of opportunity is narrow. Investment improves survival, nutrition, learning, and healthy development - while reducing losses that subsequent expenditures cannot fully rectify - and retains its value whether the future brings growth, stagnation, or crisis. In an era of scarcity, debt distress, pressure on international cooperation, conflicts and climate shocks, investing in a child’s earliest years is among the most legitimate uses of resources: it saves lives, builds future human capital and prevents irreversible losses. A child harmed by preventable diseases, abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination, or whose developmental trajectory is disrupted by forced displacement or an unsafe digital environment can carry the consequences for life. Deprivation in the “first thousand days” can have lasting consequences for brain development that are difficult to reverse fully through later spending - including in education, training or medical assistance. Care must begin early, with particular attention for the “first thousand days”, when the foundations for cognitive development, attachment and socioemotional regulation are formed, and must continue throughout childhood and adolescence. Quality education, physical and mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and healthy digital environments, agency and belonging shape the transition to adulthood. These factors contribute to unlocking the potential of a rising generation - especially in countries with fast-growing young populations - comprised of a skilled and innovative workforce and active civic participants able to drive shared prosperity and build resilient societies.

3. This shared ambition is country-led. A strong focus on early-life investment can provide a common standard for long-term prosperity, while reflecting unique national strengths, contexts and priorities. Political leadership along with strong, coordinated and country-led implementation mechanisms can help to align public budgets, external financing and service delivery with outcomes achieved for children and adolescents. Anchored in international human rights standards and national priorities, a credible child agenda can guide public policies and help shaping the future Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) agenda for the next generation.

4. Halving major shortfalls across the five domains of child wellbeing by 2045 is an ambitious but achievable goal:

• Maternal, newborn and child health. A limited set of causes – including complications around birth, preterm birth, neonatal conditions and infectious diseases such as lower respiratory infection, diarrhea, measles, malaria, and HIV – remain the primary drivers of child mortality. The neonatal period accounts for nearly half of all deaths among children under five. It requires sustainable and targeted investments in high quality, comprehensive, integrated and affordable care before, during and after birth - including for mothers - as well as births attended by skilled health personnel and essential newborn care. Death during and after the neonatal period points to the need for strong primary health care, supported by community health workers, immunization, disease prevention, safe water, sanitation and hygiene, timely treatment of childhood illnesses and management of early-onset disabilities, and adequate nutrition including breastfeeding. Gender-responsive health services, including - especially in adolescence - age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education that provides information on sexual and reproductive health and rights, are particularly important for all and especially for girls’ health and equal opportunities. Achieving strong maternal and child health outcomes also depends on families and caregivers having access to the support and resources needed to provide quality essential care.

• Nutrition shapes the architecture of the brain and resilience of the body. Inadequate or insufficient nutrition is most devastating in the “first thousand days” and its consequences are hardly fully reversible. Having a joint action plan for children suffering from stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight or obesity is essential to prevent the losses that accumulate throughout their lifetime. Nutritious and healthy school meals are a powerful lever to reach these goals. Girls face disproportionate risks of malnutrition, reinforcing existing inequalities. Maternal nutrition before, during and after pregnancy is equally critical, as deficiencies during the prenatal and neonatal periods shape the child’s developmental trajectory from the outset.

• Early development, foundational learning and continued education. Growing up without learning is a broken promise. Seventy percent of children in low- and middle-income countries reach late primary school without being able to read a simple text. The cognitive and socioemotional foundations built during the first five years determine the quality of a child’s learning abilities, which are difficult to rebuild fully if that critical period has been neglected. Quality early childhood education without discrimination, including for children with disabilities, along with family support and responsive caregiving at home, are among the most powerful and cost-effective levers. These foundations must be sustained throughout primary and secondary education, enabling children and adolescents to acquire critical thinking skills, numeracy, along with digital and media literacy in order for them to participate safely and fully in society.

• Protection from violence and exploitation. A safe and protected childhood is both an international fundamental right and the foundation on which human capital is built. Lack of civil registration, child labor, recruitment in armed conflicts, militarization and indoctrination, child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilations, trafficking, violence - including sexual and gender-based violence -, abuse and neglect curtail childhood, reduce educational attainment, put children’s life and health at risk and trap households into intergenerational disadvantages. Risks evolve and may intensify during adolescence, especially for girls. Gender-based violence, early pregnancy and exclusion from education curtail agency, health and opportunity. Children deprived of family and community care face specific vulnerabilities that require appropriate prevention and protective responses. These protections should extend across online and offline environments - including technology-facilitated violence, exploitation and abuse - with effective prevention, reporting, referral and response mechanisms. Protecting children from all forms of violence and harm along with addressing the causes of those is essential to advancing adequate health, quality learning and equal opportunity.

• Psychosocial wellbeing and healthy development in the digital environment. Children who can create, collaborate and adapt are essential for sustainable human capital. Attachment, confidence, the capacity to learn, mental health, identity, connectedness, belonging and agency are central to children’s wellbeing and the transition to adulthood. They are built in families, communities and schools, but also increasingly in digital environments shaped by algorithms, recommender systems and artificial intelligence, which require shared responsibility and accountability from all actors. Well-designed, safe, inclusive and rights-respecting digital products and services can expand children’s opportunities to learn and create, while unsafe or poorly calibrated services can undermine their safety, attention span, relationships and healthy development, and expose them to technology-facilitated gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and harmful content.

   

5. Progress towards this ambition requires country-led reference points for child outcomes. Limited in number, country-led reference points can help governments define their national priorities, monitor progress over time and align budgets, external financing and delivery systems with improved results for the most vulnerable children, as well as their caregivers. These reference points would cover the core foundations of child wellbeing, addressing civil registration deficiencies, maternal, neonatal and under-five mortality; stunting among children under five; severe child food poverty; impediments to child development and learning; and child, early and forced marriage – with each country complementing them with indicators for later childhood and adolescence in line with national contexts and priorities, and international obligations. Each country defines its own pathway, based on its institutions and capacities. Taken together, these reference points can support the next phase of national and subnational work on child health and development. Collective learning and international solidarity can build on universal human rights standards, evidence and accountability frameworks, primarily the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, supported by UNICEF’s unique mandate, and other UN agencies such as UNESCO, WHO and WFP, reinforced by other regional initiatives.

6. Delivery impacts progress and outcomes. National targets matter only if quality systems can consistently reach children at scale. Achieving this requires investing in frontline capacity, implementation strategies, regulations and robust data systems, alongside reliable access to essential commodities and tools. Progress is accelerated by high-level political leadership, coordinated action across ministries and mechanisms that enable civil society organizations, communities, the world of work, philanthropies, the media and the private sector to contribute to governance, delivery, problem-solving and innovation, providing children with safe, inclusive and accessible environments to participate meaningfully in the policies and initiatives that affect them. Across all five domains, technology can accelerate the deployment of proven solutions, easing constraints of distance, cost, capacity and access, and improve the reach, continuity and quality of essential services. At the same time, technology can be misused to commit or facilitate abuses and violations of children’s rights. Technology, when designed and used to ensure children’s rights, safety and developmental needs - in particular girls’ rights and needs - and when made safe and age-appropriate by default, can also expand their opportunities to learn, create and participate.

At a time when the world is struggling to find common ground, prioritizing children and investing in them early stands as an imperative to protect their rights and development, preserve human capital, and strengthen resilience across generations.

Full list of signatories of the Declaration as of November 10, 2026 :

• Countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.
  
  
• International Organizations: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO).
  
  
• Other partners: Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi), Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Amref Health Africa, Babilou Family, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Club de Madrid - World Leadership Alliance, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Danone, Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, Everyone.ai, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, Helen Keller International and Helen Keller Europe, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Paris Peace Forum, Sanofi, Sanofi Foundation, Save the Children, Stronger Foundations for Nutrition, Terre des hommes, Theirworld, World Vision International.