Hello everybody. Salamu alaykum—peace be upon all of you. I'm so happy to be here with you and honored to be a member of the expert committee for the International Children's Peace Prize.

I am truly honored, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to choose some of you. We will have plenty of time to chat after this ceremony. I will start with the announcement and then share a few remarks. 

The expert committee congratulates the finalists of the International Children's Peace Prize 2024: Sarah Shelke from the USA, Adhi from India, and Nila Ibrahimi from Afghanistan, for their tireless and timely efforts to advance the rights of children. 

These three young individuals are remarkable, and we expect a lot from each of you. No matter who wins, all of you are winners and the real leaders of today and tomorrow. You are not just the leaders of the future; you are the leaders of today.

After thoughtful consideration and discussion, are you ready? Are you ready? Okay. The expert committee has decided to award the International Children's Peace Prize 2024 to Nila Ibrahimi from Afghanistan.

A big congratulation also to our other winners, Sarah and Adhi, but first and foremost, to Nila. Thank you, Nila. She has been a fearless advocate for the rights of girls and women facing discrimination.

 Nila defied the ban on schoolgirls singing by starting the singing movement in Afghanistan, using her powerful protest song and beautiful voice to challenge the government and successfully push for the repeal of the discriminatory ban within three weeks. The expert committee appreciates Nila's courage as she stood tall against all odds, even after the Taliban came to power.

Despite being forced to flee Afghanistan, Nila didn't give up her fight or lose hope. Through her advocacy efforts and initiatives, she has become the voice and faith of all Afghan girls and women whose rights to education and participation are being violated.

Nila's fight is even more crucial now, as new discriminatory laws in Afghanistan ban girls and women from speaking, singing, and being heard in public. For her remarkable initiatives and fearless advocacy in fighting for the rights of millions of girls, on behalf of the expert committee, I congratulate you, Nila Ibrahimi, for winning the International Children's Peace Prize 2024.

Yes, I’m so proud of you, Nila, and I’m proud of every girl around the world who fights, sacrifices, and struggles for her dreams: for education, health care, the environment, justice, peace, equality, and the rule of law. We have many role models globally, and as an expert committee, we have encountered very strong stories; all of these individuals deserve to be winners.

A big round of applause to all the kids around the world who are truly making change. People often ask me why I am so optimistic about the future amid all the chaos. It's because I know that these young people—many of whom were once children and still are—are the ones who will lead us into the future.

All these children around the world truly carry the responsibility; they genuinely care about their future and the future of their societies and the world.

And Nila, we had many nominees from Afghanistan—so many, and they are truly brave. Some of them are boys, but most are girls. When we discussed the nominees, we had significant concerns about their situation in Afghanistan.

They are in Afghanistan, which made us really concerned about their safety. Now, you represent those brave girls and boys in Afghanistan who fight for justice, equality, freedom, education, health care, development, and love.

So keep going in this effort and don’t give up. Don’t give up. You represent them, and all of you—Sarah, Adhi—hello Adhi from India, I’m so proud of you—continue your important work. Again and again, when we honor you and present your prize, we are affirming that you young people will be the leaders of the future, the true leaders and rulers of tomorrow.

So let me tell you about the Taliban, against whose discrimination Nila fought. The Taliban is preventing girls and women from accessing education and basic rights in Afghanistan. 

It’s not just girls who are suffering; all Afghan people are suffering from these extremists, especially girls and women, who are denied everything, especially education, because they are afraid of women; they are afraid of both boys and girls.

All kinds of human rights violations occur in Afghanistan. Additionally, there are fanatics in Iran—specifically, mullahs—who also deprive women and the Iranian people of their rights. 

There are two types of fanatics, and I, as a Muslim, want to emphasize that these individuals do not represent Muslims or Islamic teachings. They attack the core values of Islam, which is a religion of peace, love, coexistence, and moderation.

Unfortunately, every religion has its share of fanatics, such as the Taliban and the mullahs in Iran. This is true for every religion and every country. However, these extremists do not represent the great people of their faith. The Taliban do not represent Muslims, just as the Iranian regime and its mullahs do not represent the Iranian people.

As Nila and her colleagues fight against extremism for girls' education, we must recognize that many girls, women, and children around the world are suffering from other forms of oppression, including war and occupation.

These three issues—war, oppression, and occupation—attack the lives of women and girls first and foremost, as well as their rights to education and health. Wars and occupations deeply affect people, and the primary victims are often women and girls.

Wars are occurring in Gaza and Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, and Congo—they are everywhere. War, conflict, injustice, occupation, extremism, and terrorism primarily attack human rights and the right to education.

As a result, the first things they destroy are schools and universities, attacking the rights of women, girls, and children to access education. Therefore, we must work together to stop wars, extremism, and occupation.

Lastly, we are here in the Netherlands, a country of great significance. I am proud of it, especially because it hosts two important international institutions: the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

So, you people of the Netherlands, you here in Holland, need to put in a lot of effort to make these two institutions work hard to stop wars and hold war criminals accountable. I believe in you, and I think the Netherlands should really take this seriously. Thank you so much, and congratulations, Nila; congratulations to all of you, and thank you very much.