Her Majesty Mathilde, the Queen of the Belgians and SDG Advocate, attended a number of events during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. She delivered the opening speech at the side-event (11 July) devoted to ‘Children affected by armed conflict’.

There is a need to focus on “an often forgotten aspect of children affected by armed conflict: their reintegration and rehabilitation,” she remarked.

She then delivered a keynote speech at the opening session of the High Level Political Forum on ‘Human Rights and Development’—at which fellow SDG Advocate Alaa Murabit served as a panellist—and participated in a dialogue session initiated by Assistant-Secretary-General Thomas Gass on ‘Youth and Mental Health’.

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[A]ddressing mental health needs is especially critical in times of crisis and recovery, as well as for sustainable development,” she said during the dialogue. “We are all witness to the growing number of conflicts, crises and catastrophes, all of which add to people’s stress and mental instability.”

In addition to her public engagements, the Queen held separate meetings with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UNGA Chairman Mogens Lykketoft, SRSG Leila Zerroughi (Children in armed conflict), SRSG Marta Santos Pais (Violence against Children), and  Executive Director Anthony Lake (UNICEF).