Queen Silvia of Sweden travelled to Thailand with the World Childhood Foundation to focus on children’s rights.
The Queen, who founded the World Childhood Foundation in the ’90s, was in the Asian kingdom from 14 to 16 May for a children’s rights conference.
The trip began in Bangkok where Her Majesty met representatives of the Thai children’s rights organization SafeguardKids Foundation.
On 15 May, Queen Silvia visited the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW) with the Swedish Ambassador to Thailand and the General Secretary of the World Childhood Foundation. She later met representatives from partners of Childhood in Bangkok before visiting an exhibit of children’s projects in the evening and gala dinner.
On the final day, the Queen attended the Child Protection Summit at the UN Conference Centre alongside Queen Suthida of Thailand. The two consorts opened the important conference with Queen Silvia making a strong statement on the danger of silence in the face of abuse: “Child sexual abuse is difficult and unpleasant to talk about. It also applies to me, as a woman, as a mother, grandmother and as Queen.
“But silence doesn’t make it go away, silence only helps the perpetrator.
“Sexual abuse happens everywhere, in every country in the world, in every culture and society. And if I don’t speak, who will?”
Queen Suthida spoke of the importance of a safe environment: “Ensuring children’s well-being and safety is a fundamental responsibility that we recognise. Children are our most precious resource. They should be able to grow and thrive in a nurturing and safe environment. Every child has the right to live, the right to be loved, the right to be happy, the right to education, the right to play and laugh, and the right to develop and grow up in the right way.”
Nine hundred delegates attended the conference dedicated to raising awareness and developing measures to protect children against sexual abuse across the globe.
Queen Silvia founded the World Childhood Foundation in 1999 to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse. It now has branches in Brazil, Germany, Sweden, and the United States.
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