AUSTRIA URGES ACTION TO PREVENT CHILD LABOUR THROUGH EDUCATION, TRADE MEASURES, AS THIRD COMMITTEE CONSIDERS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

14 October 1997

Press Release
GA/SHC/3413

AUSTRIA URGES ACTION TO PREVENT CHILD LABOUR THROUGH EDUCATION, TRADE MEASURES, AS THIRD COMMITTEE CONSIDERS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

19971014 Unrestrained market forces, cut-throat competition and the growing division of wealth within and between countries had contributed to the exploitation of more than 300 million children in dangerous working conditions around the globe, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told this morning as it continued its consideration of social development issues.

Many countries turned a blind eye to the problem of child labour, the representative of Austria told the Committee. However, economic progress was based on a well-trained and educated workforce. Governments must fund education, beginning at the primary level, instead of spending large sums on the military, he said. International trade of goods produced with child labour must be stopped through such measures as sanctions, boycotts, preferential trade agreements, corporate codes of conduct, and the promotion of consumer awareness.

A representative of the Danish Youth Council called for adoption of a youth rights charter, which would collect all the rights of youth in a single document. The representative of China said her country was actively implementing the World Programme for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, as well as the World Programme of Action concerning disabled persons. She called for a strengthening of the United Nations role in promoting international cooperation in the areas of youth, the aged and disabled persons.

The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities had been an effective instrument in global efforts to realize the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream society, the representative of the Republic of Korea said. In the interest of his country's more than 1 million disabled persons, his Government had created a disability welfare committee headed by the Prime Minister to study and coordinate policy. Its recent five-year welfare development plan for disabled persons covered a wide range of disability-related issues, including welfare, employment and education.

The Holy See would continue its efforts to strengthen and safeguard the family, emphasizing the sacredness of marriage and the role of parents as primary educators of their children, its Observer told the Committee. He

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called on all governments and societies to recognize the special and essential role played by the family. The representative of Singapore stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum of the International Year of the Family through effective and sustained follow-up action.

Also this morning, a representative of the Danish Council and the Nordic Council of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities called for adoption of a resolution on the human rights of persons with disabilities. The representative of Norway drew particular attention to the rights of young women to health care and education as prerequisites for a better life.

The Third Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of social development issues, including the situation relating to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue consideration of social development, including questions related to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family.

The Committee had before it several reports by the Secretary-General. They address: monitoring implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities; the International Year of the Family; implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond. Also before the Committee was a progress report by the Secretary-General and the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on implementation of the process aimed at ensuring education for all.

In addition, the Committee had before it a draft resolution on the International Year of Older Persons, recommended by the Economic and Social Council. Also before it was a report of the Council on cooperation between the United Nations and the Government of Portugal on the holdingin Lisbon, in August 1998, of a World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth. A letter dated 10 July, from the Secretary of State for Youth of Portugal, includes possible elements of a draft Lisbon declaration on youth policies and programmes, to be adopted at the first session of the conference. (For background information on those reports, see Press Release GA/SHC/3412 of 13 October.)

Another draft resolution before the Committee concerns the follow-up to the International Year of the Family. Also before it is a 21 February letter from Austria transmitting the report of the second session of the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System, held at Vienna in November 1996.

The draft text on follow-up to the International Year of the Family (document A/C.3/52/L.3) is recommended by the Economic and Social Council to the Assembly for adoption. By its terms, the Assembly would reaffirm the Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/7, in which it decided that the follow-up to the Year should be an integral part of the multi-year work programme of the Commission for Social Development. The Assembly would also emphasize the need for a more focused and coordinated approach towards family issues within the United Nations system.

Also by the text, the Assembly would urge governments to take sustained action at all levels concerning families, including studies and applied research on families to promote the role of families in development. It would invite governments to develop tangible measures in their national programmes dealing with family issues. Governments would be invited to continue their actions to build family-friendly societies and to promote the rights of

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individual family members, particularly with respect to gender equality and the rights of the child.

Also by the draft resolution, the Assembly would urge governments to promote the role of families in development. It would recommend that all relevant actors in civil society, including research and academic institutions, contribute to and participate in actions on families.

The letter from Austria transmitting the report of the World Youth Forum (document A/52/80) states that a unique feature of the Forum was the system of co-management set up between agencies of the United Nations system and other youth-related organizations, representing a new partnership. Another feature of the Forum was that the majority of participants were in the youth age group, especially in the 18-to-24-year range. Annexed to the letter is the report detailing the Forum's activities and recommendations.

Statements

RENATO R. MARTINO, Observer for the Holy See, said that for many, life was not only a journey but a struggle, in which they became victim to violence, war, illness, disability, advancing age and the burdens of illiteracy. Young people hunger for a chance to grow, learn and succeed; they are the world's hope for the future.

Some consider those living in poverty, young people, older and disabled people to be weak, useless or worthless, he said. Many of the hindrances to social development had a devastating effect on society's basic unit, the family. The breakdown of the moral order in particular, continued to take a toll on the family. Nevertheless, just last week, thousands came together in Rio de Janeiro for a conference which stressed the importance of supporting and protecting the family.

The Holy See would continue its efforts to strengthen and safeguard the family, emphasizing the sacredness of marriage and the role of parents as primary educators of their children, he said. It called on all governments and societies to recognize the special and essential role the family played in society and in the journey of life.

HOLGER KALLEHAUGE (Denmark) spoke as a representative of the Danish Council and of the Nordic Council of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities. Follow-up on the three core issues addressed at the World Summit for Social Development -- poverty, employment and social integration -- was a priority issue for the Danish Government. He called on the General Assembly to be the principal policy-making and appraisal body on initiatives to follow up on the Summit's Programme of Action.

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The Commission on Human Rights had reaffirmed the rights of persons with disabilities, he said. A resolution should be adopted next year covering elementary human rights of people with disabilities, including their rights to independent living, education, equal opportunities in the labour market and active participation in all aspects of society, as well as access to shelter, infrastructure and public transport.

MALENE MIKKELSEN (Denmark), speaking as a representative of the Danish Youth Council, said young people constitute over half the world's population. They were not only the citizens of tomorrow but participants of societies today. The Special Rapporteur on youth rights had called for establishment of a youth rights charter, a proposal which was endorsed by the World Youth Forum in 1996. It was not a question of agreeing on new rights but of enabling youth organizations and governments to share knowledge and establish a basis for increased awareness among youth itself. It would also be an important instrument for governments and youth organizations alike.

The importance of mainstreaming youth issues could not be underestimated, she said. The right to development and to participate in decision-making bodies was integral to social development. A youth rights charter, collecting all the rights of youth in a single document, was a goal she would continue to work for, with a view to its adoption in 1998.

WILLI MERNYI (Austria) said, as the world progressed towards the end of the century, 300 million children were being exploited in dangerous working conditions around the globe, and the numbers were growing. They were usually paid a pittance or nothing at all. They were exploited in the name of profit and discarded when their potential was exhausted. Most working children had no choice, since there were not enough schools or employment possibilities for their parents. Unrestrained market forces, cut-throat competition and the growing division of wealth within and between countries were among the reasons for the sad fact of child labour.

Money from child labour was bloody money, he said. Economic progress was based on a well-trained and educated workforce. The scale of the problem must be recognized. Too many countries were prepared to turn a blind eye to child labour. Research on the extent of child labour was an important starting point. Governments must also take action to fund education, beginning at the primary level; too many countries spent too much of their budgets on the military. Even though laws exist against child labour, few countries enforced them. "Those who make profit from the exploitation of children should be held responsible and brought to justice."

The international trade of goods produced with child labour must be stopped, he said. Sanctions and boycotts were an efficient way to achieve that aim, while preferential trade agreements could be used as incentives, along with corporate codes of conduct and the promotion of consumer awareness.

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The work of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to stop child labour should be supported by all relevant entities of the United Nations system. She thanked all the participants of the recent World Youth Forum held in Vienna for their creative ideas, spirit of cooperation and open minds, and welcomed the offer of Portugal to host the next Forum.

ANNIKEN HUITFELDT (Norway) said that young people from all over the world should participate in the next World Youth Forum. Youth needed and wanted to be part of political decision-making. The large percentage of youth in the world and in developing countries required such participation. They must be active partners in policy decisions relating to their lives, both in industrial countries and in the developing world. Unfortunately, youth organizations often experienced interference in their work. It was important that young people's voices be heard as independent voices, based on their own experiences in society.

Environmental issues were an important part of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, which viewed youth as a vital resource. Also, the rights of young women, including those of access to proper health care and education, were essential prerequisites for them to lead a better life. It was equally important that their personal integrity be respected and that they should be given the opportunity of sound family planning.

She said that Norway, together with the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland, had youth representatives at the Assembly's current session. The purpose of that was to increase youth involvement in the international community and in global issues. It was hoped that more countries would send youth representatives to future sessions of the Assembly. Such action would facilitate the exchange of knowledge and promote the discussion of youth-related issues.

LIN SHA (China) said questions relating to youth, ageing and disabled persons constituted an important and integral part of social development. With 80 per cent of youth, ageing and disabled persons living in developing countries, the United Nations needed to focus on their needs. It must take effective measures to promote international cooperation and assistance so as to create favourable conditions for resolving their difficulties and integrating them into society.

She said her country had done much in terms of programmes for youth, the ageing and the disabled and would continue to take an active part in United Nations activities in those areas. China was earnestly implementing the World Programme of Action for Youth, cooperating with international organizations and taking part in and organizing regional conferences. It was also carrying out the World Programme of Action concerning disabled persons. China initiated and financed the Asia-Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, along with a number of seminars on ageing.

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FOO CHI HSIA (Singapore) said the debate on the integrity of the family had been splintered between Eastern and Western values, men against women and married against singles. Internationally, it had not been possible to give the family a universally acceptable definition. Her Government attached great importance to the institution of the family; it believed that strong and stable families were central to the well-being of a society.

She outlined a number of national initiatives, including a family values promotion fund, and subsidies to help people help themselves to be self- reliant. Singapore's policy was based on the human motivation first to look after the self and then the interest of the family. Its national laws aimed at helping families stay intact, through tax laws and other incentives.

The human person had always to be the agent and beneficiary of development, she said. The family precipitated social and economic development by providing meaning, enrichment and stability for the individual, while the individual could best receive dividends of development within the framework of a family. The momentum of the International Year of the Family must be maintained through effective and sustained follow-up action.

CHANG BEOM CHO (Republic of Korea) commended the Secretariat for its excellent work in the various fields of social development, particularly its reports on the family, youth and the disabled. He said the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities had been an effective instrument in global efforts to realize the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream society. Its parameters had inspired many governments to sharpen the focus of their policy priorities and place a greater emphasis on the welfare and human rights of persons with disabilities. Public awareness of the issue had been heightened considerably.

He said his Government had sought to attain the goal of full participation and equality for the country's more than 1 million disabled persons, who represented more than 2 per cent of the population, he said. The country's disability welfare committee, created in 1996 and headed by the Prime Minister, studied and coordinated policy outlines and provided direction to the relevant ministries. It recently launched a five-year welfare development plan for disabled persons covering a wide range of disability- related issues, including welfare, employment and education.

Nationwide campaigns had proven successful in raising awareness of the human rights component of disability issues, he said. Priority had been given to encouraging the disabled to seek meaningful employment and to lead fuller lives, while media policy had focused on the special needs of the disabled. Stressing the importance of regional cooperation, he said the mid-point of the Asian Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) had been marked by the Seoul International Conference on Disability and the mid-decade meeting of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) for the Decade.

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