UNITED STATES DEFENDS SANCTIONS, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES; OPPOSES NEW SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE, IN THIRD COMMITTEE DEBATE ON CHILD RIGHTS
Press Release
GA/SHC/3385
UNITED STATES DEFENDS SANCTIONS, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES; OPPOSES NEW SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE, IN THIRD COMMITTEE DEBATE ON CHILD RIGHTS
19961112 Report of Special Rapporteur On Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography IntroducedThe situation of children in armed conflict would be better dealt with through existing international mechanisms and legal instruments, the representative of the United States told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning as it continued it discussion of promotion and protection of the rights of children.
Referring to the report of the Secretary-General's expert, Graca Machel, on the impact of armed conflict on children, he said her recommendation to appoint a special representative on the issue was not the best way to produce real change. The United States shared Ms. Machel's concern about the effects of economic sanctions on vulnerable populations. However, sanctions did not harm children, rather, it was their government's social priorities and callous decisions to disregard their needs and use their suffering as political leverage.
He said his Government realized that structural adjustment without sound public investments in human capital and basic services would not provide a long-term solution to poverty and inequality. However, well-executed economic reform programmes generated more resources which led to poverty reduction and growth.
Introducing her report, Ofelia Calcetas-Santos, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission of Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said the whole world was now aware that abuse against children was systematic and involved very serious physical, sexual and psychological attacks against the child. Even recalcitrant countries still in the stage of denial were now facing up to the fact that no nation could escape responsibility.
* Press Release GA/SHC/3384 of 11 November should have been designated as the 32nd meeting.
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A number of speakers said the World Congress against the commercial sexual exploitation of children, held in Stockholm last August, was a ground- breaking event in raising public awareness of the pervasive nature of sexual abuse of children. The representative of Sweden said the World Congress did not create new mechanisms. The international community should concentrate its efforts on effective implementation of existing international instruments on the rights of the child.
Statements were also made by Uruguay, Burkino Faso, Republic of Korea, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Venezuela, Mongolia, Nepal, Lebanon, Russian Federation, Côte d'Ivoire, Iraq, Sudan, Jamaica and the Philippines. Representatives from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the observer for the Holy See also addressed the Committee.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of the promotion and protection of the rights of children.
Committee Work Programme
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue its examination of the promotion and protection of the rights of children. (For background, see Press Releases GA/SHC/3384 of 11 November and GA/SHC/3382 of 8 November.)
Statements
IMELDA SMOLCIC (Uruguay) said the report of the Secretary-General's expert on the impact of armed conflicts on children called out for a rapid and sustainable solution to armed conflicts. In addition to the original mandate of that report, the expert had given preventive and specific measures to protect the affected children. The expert's conclusions and recommendations went beyond the item as originally covered and were of great importance and assistance. The Member States and the United Nations system must make a firm commitment to distribute the information. In addition, Uruguay firmly supported the appointment of a special representative of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children.
Uruguay supported the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference on Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm earlier this year, she said. The work completed at the conference was important, particularly the cooperative agreements among States, regional organizations and the United Nations. In view of the interest in that subject, the first Uruguayan conference on the sexual abuse of girl children, boys and adolescents had been recently held, with support from public and private sectors. Prevention and intervention strategies were drafted, which were the main aims of the meeting.
Her Government expressed trust in the work carried out by the United Nations and the international community on those two subjects, she said. It took time and effort, but the rights of children deserved the attention. Uruguay also affirmed its commitment to girls and boys who were suffering any kind of abuse to their dignity. Now was the time to find effective solutions.
AWA OUEDRAOGO (Burkino Faso) said there were many troubled areas in southern Asia and Africa, and programmes and strategies by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) should be strengthened. In her country, despite efforts to implement the national action plan, the overall objectives of the mid-term review of progress, since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child plan, had not been completely achieved, especially in certain areas such as immunization and nutrition. Support programmes by national and international partners should be strengthened.
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There was a link between the rights of women and children, she continued. Children were better educated if their mothers were emancipated and integrated into all areas of society. However, in many developing countries children did not have access to basic social services, including adequate nutrition and health care. The UNICEF and other United Nations agencies must be given the resources to carry out their work, and the downward trend in public assistance should be reversed. She welcomed UNICEF's efforts to negotiate the cancellation of debt in favour of social programmes. The 20/20 initiative should also be strengthened -- 20 per cent of developing countries' budgets/20 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) for social programmes. Joint regional and international action was needed to eradicate trafficking in children and child pornography. Social support networks must be set up for children's protection. The recommendations of the World Congress against the sexual exploitation of children were important. She also spoke of the report of the Secretary-General's expert, Graca Machel, on children during armed conflict.
KWANG JAE LEE (Republic of Korea) said children faced a great many problems in the developed world and especially in developing countries. International cooperation and assistance to address the problem was more urgent than ever. The continued and heinous practice of recruiting children into armed conflict must stop. Greater attention had to be paid to the question of child refugees and displaced persons and the need to reintegrate them into society. The comprehensive agenda proposed by the Secretary- General's expert to redress the plight of children in armed conflicts must be given thorough consideration by relevant United Nations bodies and Member States. It should also serve as a basis for consolidated action towards alleviating the plight of such children. His Government fully supported the appointment of a special representative of the Secretary-General on the crucial issue.
He said the despicable commercial sexual exploitation of children must be eliminated. His Government supported the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It also strongly supported the declaration and agenda for action of the Stockholm World Congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children which would help global initiatives to abolish such appalling practices.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said his Government believed that education ensured effective protection and promotion of human rights, including the rights of children. Therefore, achieving universal access to basic education remained a priority. Innovative programmes such as "food-for- education" had been adopted to enable children from poor families to attend school and to complete, at the least, the primary education cycle. The Government had also invested heavily in the education of girls. A separate decade action plan for the girl child for 1991-2000 had been adopted to
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address the special needs and the development of the girl child and to ensure the protection of their rights. The social protection issues in the plan included prevention of early marriage, child trafficking, violence and sexual exploitation. Bangladesh also passed special laws to address crimes committed against women and children, including dowry related violence, rape, kidnapping and trafficking.
The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, by 187 States to date, was testimony of the international community's resolve to do something for the betterment of children, he said. However, States must intensify their efforts to fulfil their promise to children. While it was primarily the duty of national governments to live up to their promises, the international community must also be forthcoming in extending necessary assistance and committing additional resources to reinforce and sustain national efforts. In addition, Bangladesh would like to emphasize the following three measures which were important for the effective implementation of the Convention: timely reporting by the States parties; establishment of a national mechanism in all countries to monitor implementation; and networking on child rights at national and global levels to increase awareness and promote effective implementation.
ANDERS RONQUIST (Sweden) said the World Congress was the first international meeting on the subject and its structure was also a novelty. The five-day meeting was not devoted to a heavily negotiated text until the evening of the last day. Its declaration and agenda for action was circulated prior to the Congress and was unanimously adopted on the second day. That was possible because of the results of six regional consultations in different parts of the world which were circulated prior to the Congress. Attention was therefore given to discussions on practical implementation instead of negotiation. Panel discussions were held on law reform, sex exploiters, child pornography, prevention and psychosocial rehabilitation, health matters, education, sex tourism, role of the media and human values. Thematic papers from the workshops were available on the Internet (http://www.childhub.ch).
The Congress was a unique partnership between representatives from 122 countries, as well as from intergovernmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, he continued. The Congress did not create new mechanisms, instead it expected existing mechanisms, including the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child Pornography and child prostitution, to be strengthened. He hoped a recognition of the results of the World Congress would be included in the omnibus resolution on the rights of the child to be adopted by the General Assembly's current session. There was no typical profile of a child who was particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. However, those children shared a sense of helplessness and isolation. The world community should concentrate its efforts on effective implementation of existing international instruments
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on the rights of the child. There was a need to increase the awareness of those standards and the consequences of ignoring or violating them. "To abuse our children is to abuse our future", he added.
ROGER BALL (New Zealand) said the Stockholm declaration and agenda for action of the first World Congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children would be important in international efforts to eliminate the sexual exploitation of children. New Zealand was among the first countries in the world to enact laws providing for the prosecution of its own citizens and residents who committed child sex offences in other countries, or who facilitated the travel of others to do so. The effectiveness and enforceability of those news laws very much depended on developing strong international cooperation, particularly by the enforcement agencies around the world. Police and customs officials around the globe should be directly involved in efforts to combat that problem.
The Government acknowledged the valuable role in the promotion of children's rights performed by UNICEF. The UNICEF enjoyed a unique international standing as an advocate for children, and it was making solid progress in improving their conditions. New Zealand was looking forward to taking up its position on the Executive Board early next year. One of its key aims during its term on the Board would be to ensure that UNICEF continued to operate in the most effective and efficient way. The UNICEF must be able to meet new challenges and continue to successfully promote and protect children and their families worldwide. There must also be the greatest possible cooperation between all United Nations agencies and mechanisms working for the advancement of children. In addition, non-governmental organizations had a valuable contribution to make to the promotion and protection of the rights of children, and their role should not be underestimated. Governments should collaborate with them whenever possible.
LYDA APONTE DE ZACKLIN (Venezuela) said that the reports before the Committee detailed the effects of extreme poverty on children and the indescribable suffering of boys and girls involved in armed conflict. Such problems called on governments to put the needs of children at the centre of their national agenda. The report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was very important. The recent World Congress in Stockholm was a milestone in the protection of children. It alerted the international community to the depth and the widespread nature of the problem, which reached every corner of the globe. The report of the Secretary-General's expert, Graca Machel, was an extraordinary work which analysed the impact of armed conflict on children and provided guidelines for a broad programme of action.
Venezuela's laws to protect minors were in keeping with the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which it ratified in 1989, she
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continued. Its national programmes were in keeping with the objectives of the mid-decade review. They aimed not only to care for children who were abandoned and endangered but also to make existing programmes more efficient. Her Government had strengthened strategies to make the public more aware of violence against children. It was also ensuring that its national policies took into account the proper development of women and children. Children were society's most precious and valuable resource and the world must continue to provide hope for them.
Introducing her report to the Committee, OFELIA CALCETAS-SANTOS, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said the whole world was now aware that abuse against children was not sporadic but was systematic, not minor infractions, but usually very serious physical, sexual and psychological attacks against the total personhood of the child. The World Congress had raised world awareness of the problem. States were now confronted with the reality of the afflictions besetting children. Even recalcitrant countries still in the stage of denial were now facing up to the fact that no nation could escape responsibility.
The recent tragedies in Belgium shattered the myth that only children in marginalized families fell prey to sexual abuse and exploitation and underlined the endemic proportions of the phenomenon, she continued. As a result, the World Congress did not have any difficulty in getting States to adopt a declaration and plan of action. At long last, there seemed to be the political will to act. The next step would be to translate commitments into action. However, even countries with ample logistics might be discouraged by the magnitude of the problem. Or they might fall into the trap of seeking a magic formula and finding only frustration and a lack of coherence if realistic and concrete goals had not been set. The report therefore presented recommendations that were a prototype that could be changed and adjusted as necessary. The first step would be to analyse the situation, causes and circumstances in a particular culture or country. The second step would be to take an inventory of the national statutory framework, available funds and identification of existing partners such as non-governmental organizations. The report also focused on the justice system as a preventive and ameliorating catalyst. She reminded the Committee that the abuse of children in the family -- or incest -- was also a problem she hoped the international community would take the lead in dealing with.
PREZEL ROBINSON (United States) said Ms. Machel's report highlighted the tragic plight of children as innocent victims of armed conflict. However, his Government would like to note areas of particular concern in the report. Regarding the establishment of a special representative on children and armed conflict, it was doubtful that adding another special representative to the
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United Nations system was the best way to produce real change. It would be preferable to have this issue handled through existing entities.
On the issue of sanctions, the United States shared the concerns expressed in the report on the effects of economic sanctions on vulnerable populations, he said. The Government supported humanitarian exceptions and regularly permitted them in its own rigorous enforcement of sanctions. However, sanctions themselves did not harm children in sanctioned countries. Rather, it was their government's social priorities and its callous decisions to disregard the needs of children and to use their suffering as political leverage that were the primary source of pain and harm to children. Concerning the report's comments on structural adjustment, the Government realized structural adjustment without sound public investments in human capital and basic services would not provide a long-term solution to poverty and inequality. However, it firmly believed that well-executed reform programmes generated more resources and made better use of them, leading to poverty reduction and growth for the benefit of all.
Mr. LEWIS, representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the momentum of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child had never ceased. Rather than being an abstract compilation of rights, it had become an instrument of public policy. It was under active discussion as a legal framework and a social and ethical instrument in dozens of countries.
One of the byproducts of the effectiveness of the Convention was that every single conference and gathering convened in the last year to discuss issues that affected the lives of children had the participation of children, he said. Those children discussed issues ranging from poverty to sexual exploitation, and their voices were able illuminate in ways that an adult voice could never emulate. Governments all over the world had been moved by the voices of children, as the cynicism that was usually in place was reduced to ash by the clear and bright voice of a child.
Laws were being brought into conformity with the Convention, and it was breathing life into the rights of the child, he said. It was important to note that by giving focus to the change brought about by the Convention the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child should never be underestimated as the mechanism of the Convention. These 10 experts had organized thematic debates, and the World Conference in Stockholm and Ms. Machel's report had both flowed from thematic debates on the rights of the child.
RENATO R. MARTINO, Observer for the Holy See, said the report before the Committee on the impact of armed conflict on children underlined the reality not only of the immediate effect of war on children, but also the ramification
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of their war-caused suffering for the future of their societies. The report continually made the point that the particular virulence of armed conflict struck its deadliest blow against the very nest of human society: the family. The immediate result was that children were left without their natural sources of love, strength, education, nutrition and shelter. When a family-less cycle either began or extended -- without parents to provide for them or to inculcate their values and culture -- children were left to emulate the chaos that surrounded them.
While the expert's report dealt primarily with armed conflict, he said its lessons were certainly applicable to the other innumerable tragedies facing children. Those problems included the sale of children and their sexual exploitation; the exploitation of children through child labour; the plight of street children and children suffering and dying from HIV/AIDS; and the tragedy of refugee and internally displaced children. The Holy See agreed with the expert's statement that "the world is being sucked into a desolate moral vacuum". And it insisted that the moral and ethical nature of any solution offered to those problems should be examined. In that regard the Holy See did not consider abortion or abortion services to be a dimension of reproductive health or reproductive services and therefore wished to disassociate itself from any interpretation of this document which would imply acceptance or approval of abortion.
DOMINIQUE BOREL, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said today most armed conflicts took place within States and children could easily be manipulated to fight in them. In many cases, children under 15 years of age were taking part, in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was important to raise the legal standards and ban the recruitment of children under 18 years of age. The ICRC had adopted a resolution calling for specific measures to ensure the principle of non-participation and recruitment of children under 18 in armed conflict and specific concrete measures to help children who were victims of conflict.
In 1995, the ICRC had participated in the working group which was drafting the optional protocol to the Convention, he continued. It spoke of the need to harmonize existing measures and instruments and expressed concern that existing provisions on the principle of non-participation and non- recruitment of children might be diminished, especially in non-international conflict. However, it was precisely in such conflicts that children were most at risk of being recruited and therefore dissident groups should be bound by the optional protocol. The provisions of international law must be applicable to all groups involved in non-international armed conflict, even those with no legal status. There must be a total ban on all forms of participation by children under 18 years of age. Experience in the field had shown that the distinction between direct and indirect participation in conflict was illusionary and only preventive measures could ensure that children did not
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become involved. Health, educational and primary care must be given to children who were abandoned. However, emergency care could only go so far. Long-term solutions were needed. Although governments had the primary responsibility, humanitarian organizations must help.
OCHIR ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) said the globalization and growing magnitude of the phenomena of the sale of children and child prostitution had acquired great urgency. The agenda for action adopted at Stockholm and the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography should be thoroughly studied by Member States and incorporated into national agendas tailored to specific conditions. Her Government also believed that relevant recommendations of the Special Rapporteur's report on sexual exploitation of children should be reflected in the draft omnibus resolution on the rights of the child to be adopted by the Assembly.
Mongolia's first national report on the implementation of the Convention was successfully considered by the Committee on the Rights of the Child last January, she said. The Committee noted the current hardships faced by Mongolia which had affected every sphere of society. The situation of children, by and large, had worsened as a consequence of growing poverty and increased unemployment. Among the Committee's recommendations were that the Government take further steps to strengthen the coordination between the governmental mechanisms involved in human rights and children's rights and to ensure closer cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Mongolia would work to ensure an effective follow-up to all of the Committee's recommendations in implementing the provisions of the Convention and in attaining the goals set at the World Summit for Children, and, in doing so, would cooperate with the Centre for Human Rights, Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, UNICEF, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other organizations in the United Nations system.
DEVENDRA MISHRA (Nepal) said the world's peace and security depended largely on the way today's children were brought up. They needed to be raised in a health family environment, and their survival, growth, mental and physical development must be assured. However, millions of children suffered discrimination, were tortured and killed in conflicts and suffered physical and psychological trauma. Governments and the world community had a moral obligation to save all children from the direct consequences of violence and hostilities. The denial of equal educational opportunities for girls, female genital mutilation, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and child marriage prevailed in many countries. Educational and literacy programmes were vital to eliminate such practices.
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The World Summit for Children was a landmark conference in creating world-wide awareness of the plight of millions of children, he said. The UNICEF had been working hard to promote the welfare of children for 50 years. He urged all States to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and appealed to those countries which had reservations on its provisions to consider withdrawing them. He said the world community should seriously consider and implement the recommendations on children in armed conflict which are contained in the report of the Secretary-General's expert.
HASSAN KASSEM NAJEM (Lebanon) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child confirmed the need for comprehensive education programs for children. The Superior Council for Children, under the Ministry for Social Affairs, had set up a plan of action, with emphasis on health and the environment. Lebanon recognized its duty to ensure children the greatest possible social protection. The State attempted to ensure that no child was deprived of primary health care assistance. Mandatory and free access to primary education and access to higher education, depending on the capacity of the child, were important objectives in the national plan. The national plan also led to the establishment of training centres dedicated to peace. Children were warned of the dangers of drugs and instructed how to protect themselves from sexual abuse and slave labour. The Government had eliminated the reference to illegitimate children in identity cards.
Palestinian children had suffered greatly because of the Israeli occupation, and their physiological and psychological health had been affected, he said. On 18 April, occupying forces killed a great number of refugee children. The international community must give equal priority to the rights of children following war activities to ensure a better future for children.
IVAN KHRYSKOV (Russian Federation) outlined provisions and mandates of the various international legal instruments and conventions and conferences which addressed the protection of the human rights of children, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. His Government had set forth a plan to bring its national legislation into keeping with the Convention. It aimed to ensure safe maternity as well as the basic health, education and development of its children. Programmes and social services for children dealt with the full integration and rehabilitation of children who had been involved in armed conflict, subject to sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as refugee children, children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, children from the north and the disabled. He noted the assistance by United Nations agencies in the work of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution and welcomed her recommendations, which he described as a set of comprehensive solutions to the situation facing children today.
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EDGARDE MANLAN (Cote d'Ivoire) said children were an important element in her Government's development program. The Convention for the Rights of the Child illustrated that the issues affecting children were of universal importance. Many African States had taken great sacrifices to improve the lives of children. Vaccination and immunization programmes were implemented, and Cote d'Ivoire had reached its objective of vaccinating 75 per cent of all infants. However, because of war, the nonexistence of health care and deteriorating economic conditions, more children were suffering. Due to the economic crisis -- caused by structural adjustments by financial institutions and the rising cost of materials -- Cote d'Ivoire was unable to achieve the objectives set out in the Convention.
There had been progress achieved in the lives of children, and if it were not for economic constraints, the goals of the Decade would have already been reached, she said. The Government had devoted a special place in its development strategy for children, and aimed to increase mandatory school attendance to the third class. A family planning policy and primary health care policy had been developed for rural centres. It was time to call upon the international community to help the neediest countries to achieve the objectives of the World Summit and better the lives of all children. The great suffering of children was linked to situations of war. Through the prevention of armed conflicts lay the way to stop the suffering of great numbers of children.
NIZAR HAMDOON (Iraq) said in 1994, his country had acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which it regarded as a benchmark to guarantee children's rights. The world was still stumbling over the resolution of problems which faced children today, including the harsh conditions of the street, drugs, armed conflict and starvation. The use of economic sanctions had increased over the last 10 years, particularly against developing countries. For the last 6 years, Iraq had been the victim of harsh sanctions. Three high-ranking United Nations officials had reported that 4,500 Iraqi children were dying each month as a result of malnutrition, not to mention older children and adults who were also dying daily for the same reasons. Cases of malnutrition had increased from 41 per month in 1990 to 2,337 per month in 1995, and incidents of rickets had also grown by 48 per cent. The Secretary-General had spoken about the deteriorating situation of some 4 million Iraqis, the majority of whom were children.
Child labour and aggressive and compulsive behaviour among children had increased as a result of the sanctions, and he asked if Iraqi children were not also considered worthy of life, like children elsewhere. The catastrophic effects of the oil embargo were not limited to the heavy toll on women, children and the elderly, but also affected the education and health of a whole generation of Iraqis. Sanctions were a burden which undermined the credibility of the United Nations and the spirit of its Charter. Influential
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States in the Security Council were using sanctions to serve their narrow political issues. He then quoted the report of the Secretary-General's expert Graca Machel, which described the impact of sanctions on Iraq.
SHAHIRA HASSAN WAHBI (Sudan) said technological advancement and economic prosperity had not reached all countries, and there was still a need for the international community to increase its efforts on the behalf of children, particularly because children were the bedrock of the future. The near unanimity accorded to the Convention for the Rights of the Child indicated the awareness of almost all States of the importance of children, and this awareness should now be converted into tangible action in assisting developing countries in implementing the Convention.
The Government of Sudan had enacted necessary legislation to ensure the rights of children, she said. Its top priorities were making health care available to all the children and increasing international cooperation on behalf of children. The rebellion movement had utilized children as human shields and had conscripted them into their forces. The international community should condemn those practices, which run counter to international and humanitarian law. The Government of Sudan continued to attempt to persuade the remaining rebel forces to sign treaties and lay down their arms. The rights of children in the areas of conflict should be a priority item on the international agenda. The Government believed that constructive international cooperation was the only measure that could guarantee the human rights of all children.
CHERRYL GORDON (Jamaica) said her Government was increasingly concerned with the appearance and subsequent growth of the sexual exploitation of children, as part of the overall growth of the domestic tourist industry. Although not widespread, the authorities wanted to halt the phenomena in its infancy. Street children were particularly vulnerable to prostitution and other ills. Jamaica's newly finalized country programme, developed with UNICEF, was based on the recognition that poverty was the root cause of most problems affecting Jamaica's children. The programme focused on deprived, under-serviced geographical areas and low-income groups. It covered basic education and early childhood development; social policies for children and women; children and youth at risk; and decentralized community development for children. The programme would provide remedial education to some 4,000 out- of-school youth; expand outreach services to 2,500 children on and off the street; re-integrate 1,100 institutionalized children and their families; and place 1,200 institutionalized children with foster parents.
She said children themselves must be part of both programme design and implementation if programmes developed for their benefit were to be successful. Many children had developed their own idea of their rights. The Government recognized the need for wide-spread dissemination and education
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among all Jamaicans, including children, of the rights of children as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
RUTH LIMJUCO (Philippines) said that while it was true that all children as a rule needed and deserved care and attention, there were millions of children all over the world who lived under especially difficult circumstances and who desperately needed special and immediate assistance. Among those unfortunate children, those in areas of armed conflict were perhaps in the most dire need of assistance. There lives were in imminent danger. They were maimed and broken, often losing homes and families, and they were deprived of proper nutrition and medical care. Sometimes, even long after the guns have been stilled, the suffering of those children was prolonged by the political hostilities in the aftermath of armed conflict. Ms. Machel's report painted a vivid picture of the plight of children in areas of armed conflict, and it should galvanize global action to help those children.
In 1992, the Philippine Plan of Action for Children was adopted, and it made explicit use of the Convention for the Rights of the Child in establishing its framework, she said. It envisioned the Filipino child in the year 2000 as being born healthy; endowed with human dignity and self-respect; enjoying a standard of living adequate for total development; protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation, armed conflict and other forms of violence and moral dangers; and, participating in life and nation-building. Also in 1992, the Philippines passed the Special Protection of Children against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, a benchmark legislative act that underscored the Government's efforts towards fully realizing the rights of the child.
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