GENERAL ASSEMBLY GRANTS OBSERVER STATUS TO INTERPOL

Press Release
GA/9133

GENERAL ASSEMBLY GRANTS OBSERVER STATUS TO INTERPOL

The General Assembly decided to invite the International Criminal Police Organization-Interpol to participate in its activities as an observer, by adopting, without a vote, a resolution introduced by Sweden this afternoon.

Speaking after action, the President of Interpol, Bjorn Eriksson, said that the granting of observer status to the organization would extend the platform of cooperation between the United Nations and Interpol and further improve their years of collaboration.

Also this afternoon, the Assembly continued consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the goals of the 1990 World Summit for Children.

The representative of Brazil, noting that the Summit had inspired an unprecedented movement in favour of children throughout the world, said that "one could argue that progress would have been achieved anyway, but the establishment of time-bound and measurable goals by the Summit certainly had a major impact in mobilizing commitment and resources".

Poverty, the representative of Jamaica pointed out, was the basic cause of problems affecting Jamaica's children, one-third of which, under the age of four, were living in extreme poverty. The Government had declared the eradication of poverty its highest priority. Consequently, any programme related to the well-being of children would have to focus on deprived, under- serviced geographical areas and low income groups.

The representative of Nicaragua said that the war in her country had affected as many as 190,000 children -- some had been displaced, some injured, others killed. Nicaragua had committed to the goals of the Summit during very difficult domestic times, she noted.

Cuba had already attained, or surpassed, most of the goals set by the Summit, that country's representative said. That was particularly significant because the period after the Summit had coincided with the most difficult years in the economic history of Cuba, due to the sudden break of economic

relations with eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and the tightening of the United States blockade.

Increased rates of immunization of children under four, declining infant mortality rates and a decline in teenage pregnancies had been positive achievements in the United States, that country's representative said. Recent trends pointing to changes in society itself were far less positive, as was the fact that AIDS had become the third leading cause of death among American women between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four.

Child labour and child exploitation were major areas for continuing concern, said the representative of Canada, adding that his Government had deployed its development assistance in the following three areas: affordable access to primary education; improving the status, role and economic security of women; and support for good governance. It had also introduced new legislation, making participation in child sex tours a crime for Canadians.

Also making statements were the representatives of Egypt, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, India, China, Ukraine, Uruguay, Philippines, Argentina, Norway, Venezuela and Tunisia.

The Assembly will continue consideration of the implementation of the goals of the 1990 World Summit for Children on Thursday, 17 October.

When it meets again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 16 October, the Assembly will begin consideration of the follow-up to the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to consider a draft resolution on the participation of the International Criminal Police Organization- Interpol as an observer in its work. It was also scheduled to continue consideration of the Secretary-General's report on progress at mid-decade on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 45/217 on the World Summit for Children. (For background information on the report, see Press Release GA/9130, of 14 October.)

Draft Text on Interpol

The Assembly has before it a 23-Power draft resolution (document A/51/L.1) by which it would decide to invite Interpol to participate in its work as an observer. The Secretary-General would be requested to take the necessary action to implement the text.

In the draft's preambular part, attention is drawn to the importance of the role and activities of Interpol in the fight against international transborder crime. Also, the need to coordinate, harmonize and strengthen that fight at the international level is stressed.

The draft is sponsored by Armenia, Austria, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Guinea, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and the United States.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to consider a draft resolution on the participation of the International Criminal Police Organization- Interpol as an observer in its work. It was also scheduled to continue consideration of the Secretary-General's report on progress at mid-decade on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 45/217 on the World Summit for Children.

Draft Text on Interpol

The Assembly has before it a 23-Power draft resolution (document A/51/L.1) by which it would decide to invite Interpol to participate in its

work as an observer. The Secretary-General would be requested to take the necessary action to implement the text.

In the draft's preambular part, attention is drawn to the importance of the role and activities of Interpol in the fight against international transborder crime. Also, the need to coordinate, harmonize and strengthen that fight at the international level is stressed.

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

The draft is sponsored by Armenia, Austria, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Guinea, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and the United States.

Action on Observer Status for Interpol

PETER OSVALD (Sweden) introduced the draft resolution on granting of observer status to Interpol. He said that Iran had been omitted from the list of sponsors in the original draft. He announced as co-sponsors the following: Australia, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

The Assembly adopted the draft resolution granting observer status to Interpol without a vote.

BJORN ERIKSSON, President of Interpol, expressed the entity's deep appreciation on the granting of observer status by the Assembly and also Interpol's gratitude to Sweden and other countries who had helped promote the idea. He recalled that the aim of Interpol was to form a safer world. The United Nations and Interpol had cooperated for many years. Today's decision meant the formation of an even better platform to expand that cooperation in the fight of the majority against the minority who committed crime. It would benefit both organizations "and the people we serve".

Interpol possessed today sophisticated technology to transfer information, he continued. Its analytical unit worked on information received from its 176 member countries. A vast regionalization process within Interpol had been going on for some time, with subregional bureaus being established in Africa, Asia and South America. Today the greatest threat to democracy was the combined resources of organized crime and drug trafficking. The United Nations and Interpol, in a joint effort, should step together into the twenty- first century and prove even more effective.

Statements on World Summit for Children

CELSO AMORIM (Brazil) said that the World Summit for Children had been a historic landmark, not only because so many had agreed on a document, but because it had launched an unprecedented movement in favour of children throughout the world. The progress achieved since then was encouraging. One could argue that progress would have been achieved anyway, but the establishment of time-bound and measurable goals by the Summit had certainly had a major impact in mobilizing commitment and resources.

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

Brazil had made positive strides towards end-of-decade goals in the fields of immunization, iodization of salt and supplementation with vitamin A, he said. A key element in that effort was the establishment of partnerships on various levels, including those between the Government and civil society, among federal, state and municipal authorities, and among neighbouring countries, which had given the region a chance to develop its own perspective. Brazil had been working with grass-roots organizations actually led by children. It had embarked on a national campaign against the exploitation of children and adolescents and was expanding a programme aimed at providing a monthly allowance of $150 to families which removed their children from work in plantations and mines and sent them to school.

PREZELL ROBINSON (United States) said the United States had taken actions to achieve the goals of the World Summit. Results of those efforts included an increased rate of immunization of children under four, declining infant mortality rates, and a decline in teenage pregnancy. Less positive trends included the fact that AIDS had become the third leading cause of death among American women between the ages of 25 and 44. Some 25 million women in the United States smoked, causing an estimated 106,000 deaths among those women and 3,500 infant deaths a year. Violence was a major public health problem and minority children fared much worse than white children and youth.

As a donor nation, the United States welcomed progress towards achieving the Summit goals, he continued. At the same time, the United States believed that additional plans and actions would enable the international community to take full advantage of the opportunities created by the mid-decade review. His Government recommended that a process of cost-effective consultation with partners and international experts should be planned and implemented to identify strategies to reach the year 2000 goals.

NABIL A. ELARABY (Egypt) said the unprecedented number of ratifications of the Convention on the Rights of the Child reaffirmed the goals of the World Summit for Children. Due to ongoing international and national efforts, the rights of children were the human rights most likely to be implemented; they had become tangible realities. Egypt had undertaken many efforts to support the attainment of those realities. Also, campaigns to support mother and child health were under way.

Egypt had adopted a single law that consolidated legislation on the protection of the right of the child, he said. It would continue to confront the challenges and obstacles which remained, particularly in certain tribal areas where they would continue to be confronted. He called upon the international community to address the plight of children caught in armed conflict, such as the children in the occupied Arab territories, and those children affected by drought and famine in Africa.

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

HAHM MYUNG CHUL (Republic of Korea) said that in spite of the achievements cited in the report of the Secretary-General, the world still faced the same challenges as it did five, sometimes 50 years ago. Children continued to die from malnutrition and other preventable causes. Most of the children affected were in the developing countries, especially south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Millions of those children endured fear and turmoil as part of their daily lives, including being recruited as combatants in conflicts and suffering gender disparities.

He said that the needless deaths of some 8 million children each year must be stopped, and a framework for women's equality and empowerment should be more actively applied to the mainstreaming of gender issues. He suggested that raising public and political awareness, and fostering more active and systemic involvement should be encouraged at all levels. There was a need for improvements in collecting data and measuring indicators and statistics for the international community to accurately assess the progress of work towards common goals.

SHEREEN THAHIM (Pakistan) said his country had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and addressed child-related issues with a high degree of urgency and seriousness. It had created widespread awareness about the needs and rights of children, and laws on children's rights had been strengthened. There were institutional mechanisms for the protection of children, such as special committees for prosecuting violators of labour laws. Guinea-worm had been eradicated, deaths from measles dramatically reduced, and a near-universal salt iodization had been achieved.

Many tasks, however, remained, he said. Special attention was required for Africa, as 14 of the 18 countries with less than 50 per cent child immunization coverage were in that region. He cautioned that the perpetual inability of countries and regions to meet the goals set at a global level should not be brushed aside by simply explaining the ground realities. The situation in Africa called for concerted and urgent action, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had to intensify its efforts in that regard. Children deserved a place at the top of national and international agendas, he stated, endorsing the Secretary-General's recommendation that the General Assembly should hold a special session in the year 2000 to assess achievements of the Summit goals.

E. AHMED (India) said that while the World Summit for Children had had an extraordinary mobilizing power, generating new partnerships among various governments, different groups in society and international organizations, it was important to strengthen and expand that partnership. India's commitment to the care of children was enshrined in its Constitution. In addition, India had adopted a National Policy for Children in 1974. Following the Declaration's adoption by the Summit, India had set itself the task of

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

achieving major goals in health, water and sanitation, nutrition, education, removal of gender bias and improved protection for children in specially difficult circumstances.

India was a signatory to the Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan of Action for implementing it, he said. With its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the right approach to child and development would now form the basis of the government strategy. Reviewing measures taken by his Government, he cited a national policy on education, as well as a programme of action that perceived education as fundamental to all-round development of children, and stipulated free and compulsory education for children up to 14 years of age before the end of the century. In spite of those achievements, optimal utilization and mobilization of resources were being attempted. In India's actions, the children were not just recipients of services and programmes, but the focus of development itself. He urged the international community to collaborate more closely with national governments to successfully implement strategies with a view to "keeping our promise to the children of the world".

WANG XUEXIAN (China) said China's legislative bodies had formulated and improved a host of laws and legal regulations on the survival, protection and development of children centring on the Constitution. A fairly complete legal system for the protection of the rights and interests of children had taken shape. In 1990, the Government officially made public the outline of a plan for the development of Chinese children in the 1990s. Most of the indicators had reached the mid-decade goals. A three-tier health-care and disease prevention network covered children nationwide. The mortality rate for Chinese babies under 5 was down 27 per cent from 1991. Similar progress had been made in education, including education for the handicapped.

He urged the international community to concentrate on five areas in implementing the Summit's goals, as follows: the elimination of poverty; putting children in conflict and war-torn areas under protection; stopping the production and dissemination of poisonous cultural products; finding the resources to help developing countries meet the end-decade goals; and increased assistance to sub-Saharan Africa by UNICEF to enable it to catch up with the world in the next five years.

VOLODYMYR YELCHENKO, Director of the Foreign Ministry's Department of International Organizations of Ukraine, said his country had undertaken many efforts to implement the goals of the Summit. National programmes were aimed at the creation of favourable conditions for the development of children and to ensure their legal and social protection. In addition, programmes strove to prevent diseases and to provide reliable medical care. Ukraine was also working to create conditions for the elimination of child malnutrition and to prevent crime, drug abuse, alcoholism and smoking among children.

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

The continued sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography required urgent attention at all levels, he said. United Nations agencies should play an important role in those efforts, he stressed.

IMELDA SMOLCIC (Uruguay) said efforts which were achieving results at mid-decade must not loose momentum. A coordinating team had been established in Uruguay to support achievement of the World Summit goals. The consolidation of a democratic Uruguay had supported development of its education system and child protection plans. Additional efforts to strengthen the educational system continued, even though Uruguay had a literacy rate of 97 per cent. Progress could be seen in a drop of the infant mortality rate to 16 per 1,000. However, only 15 per cent of children in Uruguay were nursed up until the age of six months. Her Government had set a year 2000 goal of achieving a rate of breast-feeding 70 per cent of children under six months. A regional effort was already in place to create a standard policy of incentives to support breast feeding.

Changes in society in Uruguay had created new problems such as child abuse, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and AIDS, she continued. New means of solving those problems were clearly required. The main national objectives relating to child development were to strengthen democracy and creating equality for all citizens. Her country would work to remove all obstacles to the achievement of the World Summit goals.

MARIA DE LOS ANGELES FLOREZ PRIDA, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, said that the goals set at the World Summit had a mobilizing effect in favour of children worldwide and the progress made was undeniable, especially in such "survival goals" as the range of immunization, the struggle against diarrhoeic diseases and the promotion of breast-feeding. Those alone made the effort worthwhile. However, the same could not be said of other fundamental objectives such as infant mortality in children under five, malnutrition or the education of girls.

She said Cuba had already attained, or surpassed, most of the goals set by the World Summit. That fact was particularly significant because the period after the Summit had been the most difficult years in the economic history of Cuba, due to the sudden break of economic relations with eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and the tightening of the United States blockade. Infant mortality rate was 9.4 per 1,000 live births in 1994 and 97.6 per cent of six to 14-year-old children were currently in school. Over 10,000 Cuban doctors had rendered service, at no cost, in dozens of countries and more than 10,000 children, victims of Chernobyl, had undergone treatment in Cuba. Cuba supported the convening of a special session of the Assembly in five years to set the goals and strategies for the next millennium.

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) said that immediately after the 1990 World Summit his Government had put into place its own programme of action, which was a product of cooperative efforts of the Government, non-governmental organizations, and other members of civil society. Countries that were in danger of missing even the mid-decade goals by the end of the century, such as those of sub-Saharan Africa and the least developed countries of Asia and Latin America, deserved the special attention of the international community. The Philippines joined others in making an appeal to the donor community to reverse the downward the flow of official development assistance (ODA).

FERNANDO ENRIQUE PETRELLA (Argentina) said resources must be mobilized to support efforts leading up to the year 2000 in implementing the Summit's goals. While progress had clearly been made in areas such as eradication of diseases, there were other areas which needed more attention. For example, the international community must adopt measures to eradicate crimes against children, including child prostitution, he said, noting that governments at the regional level had already undertaken efforts to end the traffic in minors.

It was clear that governments favoured creating a binding international document to address trafficking in minors, he went on. He congratulated all relevant United Nations bodies for their achievements in support of the rights of children. However, he noted that many countries must receive additional support to their efforts to confront poverty and other lingering social problems. The Assembly should hold a second review of the progress towards implementing the Summit goals in five years.

GRETHEL VARGAS (Nicaragua) said that during the 1980s, as infant mortality rates and malnutrition increased in developing countries, money was flowing from developing countries to the developed countries to service their debt burdens. Those facts must again be emphasized as children in developing countries continued to live in difficult situations. The war in Nicaragua had affected as many as 190,000 children -- some were displaced, some injured, others killed. Nicaragua had committed to the goals of the Summit during very difficult domestic times. Despite economic and financial difficulties, her Government had consistently pursued the goals of the Summit.

The magnitude of the continued deterioration of the situations faced by children was alarming, she said. Clearly, some policies must be refined. While steps had been taken in some areas, other problems seemed to counteract that progress. With the exception of some developed countries, most governments had not achieved the goals agreed to at the Summit. The crisis of AIDS, the increase in drug addiction and prostitution, all demanded increased efforts. Without the mobilization of adequate resources, it would be difficult for developing countries to reach that end.

JAKKEN BIORN LIAN (Norway) said progress towards reaching some Summit goals was encouraging, including in areas such as child immunization and

General Assembly - 1a - Press Release GA/9133 35th Meeting (PM) 15 October 1996

control of preventable diseases. However, geographical variances between and within countries existed. In the years leading up to the year 2000, the focus should be placed on achievement of goals for the reduction of maternal mortality, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. More emphasis should be given to the 20/20 initiative, under which 20 per cent of ODA and 20 per cent of developing countries' national budgets would be spent on social programmes.

The well-being of children and adolescents had long been high on the political agenda in Norway, he said. His Government had been the first country to institute an ombudsman for children, to promote children's interests through government authorities and the private sector. Norway, through its development assistance programmes, was transferring its experience to developing countries. Many developing countries had prepared and were successfully implementing national action plans. Norway was a strong supporter of recipient responsibility, by which development policies and strategies would be based on the priorities of the recipient country.

ROBERT R. FOWLER (Canada) stated that Canada, through its own programme of action, had introduced a "child tax benefit", created an "action plan for children" and implemented a "child development initiative". The Canadian Government had been involved for the last two years in a primary education project for girls in 15 African countries and would continue to work in partnership with Canadian non-governmental organizations, such as Save the Children-Canada, Street Kids International and Health Reach.

He said Canada had identified three areas where it had deployed its development assistance to overcome the problem of child labour, as follows: affordable access to primary education; improving the status, role and economic security of women as equal partners in development; and support for good governance. In the area of child sexual exploitation, Canada had amended its criminal code to prohibit child pornography and introduced legislation that criminalized child sexual tourism practised by Canadians. Canada would continue to participate in other efforts, notably those concerned with the situation of child soldiers and children in post-conflict situations.

PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica) said that like many nations in the Latin American and Caribbean region, Jamaica was on track to achieve most of the end-decade goals, having already met all of its mid-decade aims as set by the World Summit, as well as those set by the 1994 Narino Accord, whose aims were similar to those of the Summit, but more reflective of regional peculiarities such as teenage pregnancies, disabilities and child rights. She noted that Jamaica had been the first country of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to appear before the Committee on the Rights of the Child and had since finalized a new country programme with UNICEF, which would promote compliance with the Committee's recommendations. Regional leaders had met in Santiago to review the progress made on both sets of goals last August, and had adopted the

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Santiago Accord, which called for the adoption of modern social policies and defined new goals, she added.

Poverty was the basic cause of problems affecting Jamaica's children, one-third of which under the age of four were living in extreme poverty, she said. The Government had declared the eradication of poverty its highest priority. Consequently, any programme related to the well-being of children would have to focus on deprived, under-serviced geographical areas and low income groups. She reiterated that a four-point programme, in cooperation with UNICEF, had been adopted, focusing on social planning, education and young child development, the needs of especially vulnerable children and improving the quality of life through basic services.

OSCAR R. DE ROJAS (Venezuela) stated that his country had taken a series of actions aimed at managing social policies as it related to children, which he identified as the most important resource in development. Under a document called "Agenda Venezuela", various programmes had been put into place, including such diverse programmes as snacks and food for children in schools.

He said "Agenda Venezuela" had identified the family as the most important component in society and contained several social programmes such as one that compensated for drops in family incomes during adjustment periods. Culturally, it provided programmes to promote respect between boys and girls. All of that, he noted, was "so that the dreams of the past and the promises of the present may come true".

SLAHEDDINE ABDELLAH (Tunisia) said that the goals set in 1990 had a major mobilizing effect on the fortunes of children and his nation welcomed that. The programmes had helped create new partnerships among governments, organizations, donors and international organizations all built around a common goal. In defining measurable and time-bound objectives, the Summit had been a pioneer in the effort to mobilize resources and elicit commitment. He was happy that various child-survival goals identified at the Summit were being realized already at the mid-decade point. He stressed, however, that the provision of equipment and access were not enough; the challenge was to empower people so that they had the keys to lasting change, to break the spiral of poverty, overpopulation and environmental degradation.

Tunisia's interest in child protection and development had developed tremendously because it believed that any investment in future generations was a secure investment, he said. Starting in 1991, there had been a programme of national integration, and various milestones in public policy objectives had been reached. There had been progress in many areas, including that of the rights of the child. A revision of the Family Code, the Penal Code, and other laws had been undertaken to harmonize the laws of the nation, and an annual report on the conditions of children was submitted to the Council of Ministers every January. He emphasized the need to continue to mobilize resources at every level for the international community to achieve the results of the Summit. * *** *