A couple of days ago, a group of young campaigners at the Hampstead School in London put their questions to actor Tom Hiddleston and Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening about the UK’s role in keeping children safe in humanitarian emergencies, as part of our ongoing campaign. Our gallery has been updated with images from the event, and you can read the official UNICEF post below.

“Children are facing more devastating wars and disasters than ever before,” said Tom, a Unicef UK Ambassador. “I have seen for myself in South Sudan that children are the hardest hit in emergencies. Children have been killed, orphaned, forced to become soldiers, kidnapped, and traumatised.”

Pupils shared what they thought the priorities should be in the lead up to the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in less than three weeks’ time. Top of their minds was the refugee crisis, protecting schools in war zones, and ensuring children’s rights and voices are recognised, regardless of their situation or background.

Last year the students had been involved in OutRight – a week of activities around Universal Children’s Day celebrating and promoting children’s rights – where they looked at how children’s rights are affected by humanitarian emergencies. Today, they were handing letters and drawings from OutRight participants across the country to Justine, on behalf of the UK Government, to prioritise protecting children in emergencies.

Continue reading Tom talks child protection with young campaigners