Plan International Calls for Action on the Abduction of the Nigerian Schoolgirls

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May 13, 2014, 12:51 ET

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Plan International is extremely concerned that, nearly a month since the Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted, they and the other girls abducted a week ago still haven't been freed. As a children's rights organization, we strongly condemn the multiple violations of these girls' rights, including their right to education, their right to protection, and their right to survival and development.

Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman calls on the government of Nigeria to redouble its efforts to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all kidnapped schoolgirls. #bringbackourgirls (PRNewsFoto/Plan International )

Every child, including all girls, has the right to learn in a safe and secure environment and to reach their full potential. Education is key to lifting children, families, and their communities out of poverty, and to ensuring that they have a better future. No one should deny a child their right to education.

Every day, the rights of children all over the world, especially girls, are violated. Not all of these make the news, but they are just as significant in their own way.

Globally, one in five girls around the world is denied an education because of poverty, child marriage, discrimination, and violence. Not only is this unjust. It's also a huge waste of potential with serious global consequences. Supporting girls' education is one of the single best investments that can be made to help end poverty. Education transforms lives and this is why Plan launched its Because I am a Girl campaign on the first International Day of the Girl in 2012. This campaign supports four million girls to get the education, skills, and support they need to move themselves from poverty to opportunity. For over 75 years, Plan has been raising worldwide public awareness of the right to education and helped millions to reach their potential through its programs.

We therefore call on the government of Nigeria to redouble its efforts to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all the girls and their safe return. Furthermore, we urge world governments and the international community to support the Nigerian government in tracing and reunifying the girls with their families and communities. We encourage all relevant bodies to clearly and wholeheartedly condemn these abductions as gross violations of international human rights law and welcome the UN Security Council's action to that effect.

Each country's future is inextricably linked to the future of its children. These girls are the world's children and to the government of Nigeria we say, please bring our girls safely back home."

About Plan International

Founded over 75 years ago, Plan is one of the oldest and largest children's development organizations in the world. The foundation of Plan's work is embedded in the Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which the large majority of countries are signatories.

We work in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty. Plan is independent, with no religious, political, or governmental affiliations.

About Because I am a Girl

Because I am a Girl is a Plan's global effort to directly improve the lives of four million girls, impact more than 40 million girls and boys through gender-aware and gender-transformative programs, and make quantifiable policy changes for 400 million girls. Because I am a Girl creates transformative and sustainable change by focusing on projects that specifically address the needs of the most marginalized and vulnerable girls in developing countries around the world.

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SOURCE Plan International