CHILDREN MAIN VICTIMS OF CONFLICT, HIV/AIDS, EXTREME POVERTY PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2001 SPECIAL SESSION TOLD

Press Release
HR/4476

CHILDREN MAIN VICTIMS OF CONFLICT, HIV/AIDS, EXTREME POVERTY PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2001 SPECIAL SESSION TOLD

Speakers Also Stress Importance of Alleviating Poverty, Negative Effects of Globalization, Elimination of Child Labour

Children were the main victims of the worst human rights violations, the Preparatory Committee for the 2001 special General Assembly session for follow-up to the World Summit for Children was told this morning, as it continued its first substantive session.

Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Director, New York Office of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said children were too often invisible and lacked awareness about, or the means to ensure respect for, their rights. They were the main victims of armed conflict, constituted the most important segment of the refugee populations and were most affected by HIV/AIDS, structural adjustment programmes and extreme poverty.

Many statements during today’s discussion stressed the importance, in addressing issues facing children, of alleviating poverty. Mozambique’s representative said the reduction of poverty was his country’s number one priority. Facing the challenges ahead and improving human development required fostering international cooperation, solidarity, coordination and partnership. To that end, official development assistance should be increased.

Cuba’s representative drew attention to the negative effects of globalization on children. She wished to see the establishment of a world in which children enjoyed their full rights. The exclusionary world order must be changed. Debt had the face of a child; they were the principal victims of globalization.

The representative of the Republic of Korea placed emphasis on the importance of ensuring a good start in life and a good quality basic education for all children, as well as the opportunity for adolescents to develop their capacity and participate in society. He hoped that the special session would adopt a concrete and action-oriented document that reflected those goals and made them a reality.

Preparatory Committee - 1a - Press Release HR/4476 2nd Meeting (AM) 31 May 2000

Gareth Howell, Deputy Director, International Labour Organization (ILO), said that concern over the persistent problem of child labour had grown rapidly during the 1990s. In that regard, he drew attention to the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which was now a partnership involving 90 countries. The ILO recognized interlinkages between children’s rights concerning the elimination of child labour and related concerns, such as the positive provision of children’s education and health.

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury (Bangladesh), President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), gave a presentation on the Board’s discussion of the Secretary-General’s report on “Emerging issues for children in the twenty-first century”. Following his presentation, it was decided that the statement he had read would be issued as a document of the Preparatory Committee.

Statements were also made by the representatives of the Russian Federation, Turkey, Costa Rica, Iraq, Togo, Thailand, Iran, Nigeria, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Mali, Bangladesh and Libya.

Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also spoke, as did a representative of Save the Children. The Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, responded to statements made during the discussion.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Thursday, 1 June, to continue its discussion.

Preparatory Committee - 2 - Press Release HR/4476 2nd Meeting (AM) 31 May 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly in 2001 for Follow-Up to the World Summit for Children met this morning to continue its substantive session.

The special session will review progress made with regard to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan of Action for Implementing the Declaration in the 1990s, which were adopted at the 1990 World Summit for Children.

(For background information, see Press Release HR/4475 of 30 May.)

Statements

NIKOLAI V. TCHOULKOV (Russian Federation) expressed his satisfaction with the significant progress made in improving the situation of children. Virtually all countries had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, a great deal remained to be done, such as the elimination of discrimination and violence.

The targets of the World Summit had not been reached, he said. Results were characterized with unevenness per region. The African region had to deal with great difficulties, and child and maternal mortality remained a cause for concern. Of special concern was the continuing spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

He said that in determining future tasks, attention should be paid to the widespread global problems that have to be dealt with in the twenty-first century, such as poverty, AIDS, armed conflicts, and continuing discrimination, in particular for women and girls, among others. Those problems constituted obstacles for sustaining development. He agreed with section 5 of the report, but the presentation of the three strategic areas was general and descriptive. It was important that concrete and quantifiable goals were defined.

MUNEVVER BERTAN (Turkey) said her delegation wished to align itself with the statement made yesterday on behalf of the European Union. As all knew, since the World Summit for Children, great efforts had been made for its implementation and realization. Progress made in the reduction of under-five mortality, maternal mortality, increase in immunization coverage, among others, were only some of the achievements so far. However, still further efforts were needed to ensure the promotion, protection, development and well-being of children.

During the past decade, some lessons had been learned, she said. Social services could be improved. Poverty could be partly controlled through the use of social services, and a change was possible within one generation. All children should have a good start in life, she stressed. A good basic education for mothers was essential for such a start. The girl child and adolescents should be a priority. The two main starting points for children should be in the areas of health and education. Many actions could and should be taken in those two important fields.

REBECCA CUTIE (Cuba) said the world had become more and more globalized, and even children had become merchandise. Technological means were used in their trafficking, prostitution and in the sale of their organs. Efforts must be made to combat that trend. Cuba wished to see the establishment of a world in which children enjoyed their full rights. The exclusionary world order must be changed. Debt had the face of a child, and they were the principal victims of globalization.

Cuba had shown that in less than one generation change could be made, she said. The development of children was one of her Government’s priorities. Cuba had eliminated illiteracy and had reduced maternal mortality to 6 per 1,000. Every effort was made to assure that each child received integral development. Efforts to combat disease had also been undertaken and gender initiatives -- such as paid maternity leave and the guarantee of equal salaries -- had been launched. She called for a globalization of efforts to achieve a better world.

NURY VARGAS (Costa Rica) said that the achievement of better living conditions for children and adolescents was a holistic, multidisciplinary concept. Her country had striven to improve human development and had made a national effort to let all children participate.

She said that from a survey executed by children, they had chosen five areas to focus on: family; health; education; culture; and mechanisms to engender respect for their rights. In response to that effort, the Republic’s President had called upon the country to create a national 10-year pact for children with participation of all society’s sectors, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government, local government, labour organizations, private enterprise, mass media, political parties, and others. The purpose was to agree on an agenda for the next 10 years towards the well-being of boys, girls and adolescents.

MOHAMMED AL-HUMAIMIDI (Iraq) expressed his gratitude for efforts made to alleviate the suffering of the children in Iraq. Before 1990, Iraq had a very low infant mortality rate. That achievement was due to vaccination programmes that covered 90 per cent of the children in 1990. Iraq had achieved care for 80 per cent of pregnant women and 90 per cent of children under one year of age.

He said that the imposition of sanctions in 1990 had caused widespread poverty. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report of 12 August 1999 revealed the catastrophe due to those sanctions. Deaths of children below the age of five had increased considerably. Maternal deaths reached 294 per 1,000 births. The report pointed out that the death of half a million children could have been avoided up to 1999. The sanctions had had a great impact on children and women. Thus, he asked that the United Nations, and UNICEF in particular, establish the necessary mechanism that would protect women and children from sanctions.

TEMBE ASHIRA ASSIH-AISSAH, Minister for Social Affairs and for the Promotion of Women of Togo, said pursuant to the recommendation of the Children's Summit, her country had created the National Committee for the Protection and Advancement of Children. The initiatives of the Government and NGOs for children in Togo were numerous. Special measures had been taken to ensure the rights of the girl child, including affirmative action, to ensure their education and a ban on genital mutilation.

In spite of those positive events, the trafficking of children and child labour remained an area of concern, she continued. In Togo, there were several forms of child labour, and the inherent risks were many. Togo wished to commend UNICEF, which had been helping it find the ways and means to eradicate the scourge of child labour. Meeting the specific needs of children required a great deal of time and money. She hoped that the current meeting would allow for the mobilization of resources to help in their care.

SAISUREE CHUTIKUL (Thailand) stressed the need for a good start in life for all children. Family was the most important social institution for children’s survival and the quality of life. Thus, family development must be emphasized. A good start also meant quality early childhood development in an all inclusive form; it must be home, community and child-centre based. The first six years were key in the development of children.

She also stressed the importance of education in a child’s development. Also, it was important to consider children who needed special attention. In that regard, she cited child victims of drug abuse and the children of undocumented migrant workers or those who came from remote regions. New strategies and measures were needed for such children. She concluded by drawing attention to the need for improved coordination among the United Nations agencies and donor agencies.

SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea) said that despite a growing emphasis on children’s rights in national policies and legislation, serious questions remained about the extent to which children were actually enjoying their rights. From persistent poverty and widening economic and social disparities to the humanitarian crises caused by armed conflict and natural disasters, the world in which children lived was, in many aspects, not friendly. The special session must, therefore, give attention to new challenges to achieve the Summit goals.

He fully supported the proposals for future action contained in the report of the Secretary General. Those included a good start in life and a good quality basic education for all children, as well as the opportunity for adolescents to develop their capacity and participate in society. He hoped that the special session would adopt a concrete and action-oriented document that reflected those goals and made them a reality. Of those goals, his Government placed special emphasis on good quality basic education. Also, the challenges posed by globalization with regard to children must be emphasized.

HADI NEJAD HOSSEINIAN (Iran) said the Secretary-General’s report indicated that progress for children had become a major goal of the overall national development policies in almost all developing countries. During the past decade, the situation of children around the world had improved, in a general sense.

He said that his country had made great strides towards realizing child well-being and had achieved almost all the goals of the World Summit. Currently, access to health services and education facilities was almost universal. Free primary education was equally accessible to boys and girls. For the future, the main challenge was to ensure universal provision of all basic services across the whole nation, with particular emphasis on deprived areas and communities.

Although progress in the well-being of children had been encouraging in many fields, the situation in many developing countries had been disappointing. The root cause for such a situation was poverty, which hit the children hardest. Globalization had further exacerbated the situation in the developing countries. He called for: advancement and transfer of new technologies on preferential terms; new strategies and the more active involvement of other actors and stakeholders; and development of a long-term comprehensive strategy for the effective protection of children and their rights, in particular for children in vulnerable situations and families, such as those affected by drug addiction.

PAULINE OTTI (Nigeria) said her country had been one of the first countries in Africa to develop a consensus-based national plan of action. Unfortunately, during the past decade, the international community had isolated Nigeria, which had a negative impact on the health and well-being of the nation. Thus, the Summit’s end-of-decade goals had not been realized. For example, the mortality rate for under-five years of age had increased during the decade, and immunization coverage had declined.

A democratic government had been established in Nigeria, she said. Programmes had been launched to deal with various issues affecting children, and the children’s law was being updated. Trafficking in children, prostitution, and the phenomenon of HIV/AIDS orphans were among the new challenges faced by Nigeria. She stressed that in the context of the impositions of sanctions some windows must be left open for children. She hoped that adequate donor support from the international community would now be received.

HIDAYAT SYARIEF (Indonesia) said that in his country 25 years of progress was threatened by the financial crisis that began in 1997. Yet, the current social, political and economic upheaval also held great promise of change for a more people-centred, decentralized approach to both governance and social development.

Among the emerging issues in his country were the complex problems of children in need of special protection, including: children at work in hazardous conditions; street children; those faced with the threat of narcotics abuse; and prostitution, including HIV/AIDS. There was an urgent need for UNICEF to draw up a special plan to help Indonesian children cope with the problems associated with poverty.

The need to manage globalization for the benefit of poverty alleviation could not be ignored, he said. He reiterated the call of the international community to solve once and for all the crushing dept burden of many developing countries, through lower interest rates or conversion of debt to grants.

CARLOS DOS SANTOS (Mozambique) said his Government had just released a preliminary report on the implementation of the Summit’s outcomes. The report provided a balanced assessment of the implementation of the 1990 goals. Progress had been registered in the areas of child protection, health and education. The Convention on the Rights of the Child had been ratified and integrated into the domestic legal system. Primary health care remained the highest priority, and immunization campaigns had been undertaken.

Those positive trends had been seriously undermined by the devastating impact of natural disaster in the past year, he said. Unprecedented floods and cyclones had resulted in 600 deaths and the loss of 10 per cent of the country’s cultivated land, as well as the extensive destruction of the country’s infrastructure. During the catastrophe, around 50,000 children had been severely affected.

Poverty and inequity, HIV/AIDS and discrimination against women and girls had had a negative impact on Mozambique's children, he said. His Government was dedicated to finding a solution. The reduction of poverty was the country’s number one priority. Facing the challenges ahead and improving human development required fostering international cooperation, solidarity, coordination and partnership. To that end, official development assistance (ODA) should be increased.

MARIE COULIBALY (Burkina Faso) said that in 1991 her country had adopted a plan of action to: assure the well-being of children and their protection and development, according to their rights; promote the role of women in development and to reinforce their economic and social position; improve the education of girls; and enhance women’s access to health care. The role of women cannot be separated from the implementation of the rights of children.

She said that, in order to achieve those objectives, strategies in health, hygiene, environment and training had been developed, and mechanisms had been established to follow up evaluation of the plan of action. Among the measures taken, she mentioned the creation of a parliament for children, adoption in 1995 of a plan for education for young girls, and the adoption of a criminal code preventing genital mutilation.

Nevertheless, the status of children in her country was alarming, she said, due to the persistence of poverty, illiteracy, trafficking in children, the difficulty women have in obtaining credit, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which had left many orphans. In spite of the many difficulties, her country was endeavouring to ensure the full implication of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and she appealed to its partners for help in that regard.

ANNA MARIA GUERRERO GARCIA, Technical Adviser for the First Lady of El Salvador, said a high priority had been given to issues regarding children in her country. For example, a new national policy for integral care of children was to be instituted. She stressed the importance of: visualizing children from the moment of conception as part of a family and community; the need to give children love, with respect and responsibility, from the beginning; the need to fill gaps at the State level with regard to children; the need to establish strategic alliances to coordinate actions among Government and NGOs; and the need to sensitize and raise awareness in the community.

El Salvador had stated its willingness to support a programme for the gradual eradication of child labour, she said. It was clear that much still had to be done, and that even greater efforts must be made.

MEDINA TALL (Mali) said that her Government was well aware of all actions in favour of the well-being of children, since more than 50 per cent of its inhabitants were under age. The future of children was the future of Mali. Mali had, therefore, developed many initiatives. One of those had been a plan to establish schools in every village of the country, called the “One Village, One School Project”.

In Mali, as elsewhere, especially in African countries, all those actions had to deal with the problem of a lack of resources, she said. Poverty was the greatest obstacle. The Government was taking initiatives to convert its debt to projects in favour of children, because there was no better investment in the future.

MUHAMMAD ALI SORCAR (Bangladesh) said that the special session of 2001 should focus on further actions needed to update the vision and work out the practical way to arrive at that vision.

He said that although important achievements had been gained, there were many areas where a breakthrough could not be made, such as sale of children, prostitution of children, gender-based violence, access to primary education, and particularly improving the quality of education for those who attended school. Those and other challenges had to be faced, with a determination to win the battle within a generation.

Poverty was the most fundamental obstacle to the well-being of children, and he, therefore, endorsed the vision of breaking the curse of poverty in one generation. In order to achieve that goal, more resources were needed, and the available resources should be more carefully utilized. A good start in life was essential for all children, as was good quality basic education.

SAAD SHELLI (Libya) said her country was committed to the United Nations Charter and to all United Nations resolutions to protect children. All types of exploitation, whatever the circumstances, were combated in her country. Great importance was attached to the 1991 international agreement on child labour. A number of laws to protect children had been adopted in that regard.

Laws and legislation to protect children in armed conflict had been enacted, she said. She welcomed the appointment of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. Children were the target of wars, were exploited and were often made refugees, she noted.

She also brought up the issue of mines laid by colonizers, which caused tremendous problems in various countries. She insisted on the need for assistance from the countries which had laid the mines, and encouraged the international community to adopt a resolution to ensure that positive steps were taken.

Children in Libya had a life worthy of them and were provided with adequate nutrition, she said. Clean drinking water had been made a priority, and almost 90 per cent of the population had access to it. Sanitation services covered 96 per cent of the country, she added. She also stressed the importance of providing adequate health care and immunization to children. To achieve the objective of addressing the problems facing children, international cooperation was necessary.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh), President of the Executive Board of UNICEF, said that the Executive Board had discussed the Secretary-General’s report on “Emerging issues for children in the twenty-first century” with a view to offering its input. The analysis of progress since 1990, the identification of challenges for the future, and key opportunities to improve the situation of children captured the essence of issues that should be considered by the Preparatory Committee.

The three outcome areas for children -- that children should have a good start in life, have an good quality education and that adolescents have an opportunities to fully develop their capacities -- reflected issues of fundamental importance, he said. One way of sharpening the analysis and defining concrete actions for the future was through setting up thematic working groups with experts in the various fields and bringing recommendations from those consultations to the Preparatory Committee. Governments, relevant United Nations agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions and civil society organizations should be actively involved in identifying the most effective ways to achieve sustainable social outcomes for children.

Poverty was the most fundamental obstacle to the well-being of children, he continued. More resources were needed, and the resources available must be better utilized to fight poverty and to provide access to basic services for all. A significant reduction in external debt and the need to focus aid flows on the neediest countries must be part of the international action in favour of children, he said.

He said special efforts were needed to protect the rights of children affected by drug abuse and sexual and emotional abuse, children with disabilities, children who were traumatized or displaced, and child labourers and child prisoners -- within the overall objective of prevention. While governments had the primary responsibility for assuring basic social services for children, increased collaboration of the private sector must be secured, and partnership with NGOs and civil society must be enhanced, he said.

Education, with an emphasis on gender equity, quality and achievement, was the key to future human development, he added. Access to basic health services, safe sanitation and proper nutrition must remain priorities. The future agenda for children to be adopted by the special session must have universal relevance, addressing the situation of children in industrialized and developing countries, and must emphasize the development of the whole child and the universality of child rights, he said.

The Committee then decided that the statement would be circulated as a document of the Committee.

BACRE WALY NDIAYE, Director, New York Office, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that in 1999 UNICEF reported that 32,000 children a day were dying from preventable causes, including malnutrition, respiratory infections and malaria; more than 1,600 children under 15 years of age were infected with HIV each day; 130 million children in developing countries did not attend school, nearly two thirds of them girls; and nearly 50 million children and women were victims of armed conflict, violence and exploitation.

The "rights-based approach" was today accepted as essential to successful economic and social development. The last session of the Commission on Human Rights welcomed the ongoing implementation by UNICEF of the rights-based approach in fulfilling its mandate to promote the rights of the child. The implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child had also been a strong focus of the human rights world, he said.

He called for radical improvement in the actual enjoyment by children of their rights. National and international decision makers in fields such as macroeconomics, trade, international development financing and business must be directly involved and made accountable. In charting future action, children had to be listened to closely. In 1999, the Commission on Human Rights had organized a special dialogue on the rights of the child where children were asked to confront the Commission with the reality of their lives, he said.

Since 1993, the Committee on the Rights of the Child had considered more than 120 State reports and had recommended technical advice and assistance in several fields to the governments concerned. In all areas of relevance to the Summit goals, the High Commissioner’s Office was addressing the problems from a human rights perspective. The focus on the interdependence of all human rights was illustrated by the increasing focus on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development, he said.

The situation of the rights of the child was systematically considered through human rights mandates specifically dealing with child issues, such as the Special Rapporteurs of the Commission on Human Rights on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and on the right to Education. In that regard, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict and the Special Rapporteur on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Girls should also be mentioned. He said that, in addition, there was a trend to incorporate a child rights dimension into all human rights activities and mandates.

International cooperation was essential to progress on the rights of the child, he said. The ongoing cooperation between UNICEF and the High Commissioner’s Office in providing assistance to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the implementation of the Convention was an example of that. The Office also attached a high priority to the realization of the rights of the child at the field level and paid specific attention to the monitoring of the situation of children at the local and national level. There had also been efforts to ensure that national institutions in the field of human rights encourage the establishment of national focal points dealing with child rights, or work closely with other existing national bodies, such as children's ombudspersons.

He warned, however, against excessive optimism. Children constituted the main victims of the worst human rights violations. They were too often invisible and lacked awareness about -- or lacked the means to ensure respect for -- their rights. They were the main victims of armed conflict, constituted the most important segment of the refugee populations, and were most affected by HIV/AIDS, structural adjustment programmes and extreme poverty, he said.

In spite of that grim reality, he said, a gradual process of bringing into light a new vision of childhood had been started. Children were now perceived not solely as vulnerable beings in need of specific protection measures, but rather as persons entitled to participate in decisions affecting them within the family, school and larger community environment.

GARETH HOWELL, Deputy Director, International Labour Organization (ILO), said that during the 1990s concern over the persistent problem of child labour had grown rapidly, especially in situations where the enforcement of labour law was difficult, such as the informal sector. The ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour had been launched in 1992 to help nations combat child labour through action programmes. It had expanded rapidly into a partnership involving 90 countries.

The International Programme cooperated with other parts of the United Nations system, for instance UNICEF, in combating child labour, and it recognized the importance of such linkages for developing new partnerships with governments, the United Nations specialized agencies, and the representatives of workers, employers and civil society. The ILO also recognized interlinkages between children’s rights concerning the elimination of child labour and related concerns, such as the positive provision of children’s education and health.

OLIVE SHISANA, Executive Director, Family and Community Health, World Health Organization (WHO), said that the targets of the 1990 World Summit were ambitious, but that no less could be done. The WHO had undertaken a radical approach to promoting child health through the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness initiative, moving from disease-specific treatment to the needs of the whole child. That approach united and empowered families, communities and health systems to take joint action on behalf of their children's health. Sixty-six countries were implementing the initiative in many districts.

Among other examples of WHO’s efforts, she mentioned the improvement of the nutritional status of the young to combat the pernicious effects of malnutrition, improving breast-feeding practices and extending immunization coverage for developing countries for DTP, BCG, measles and polio. She said that there had been a shift in thinking and actions related to sexual and reproductive health over the past decade. Through advocacy and normative work, WHO had redoubled its efforts to make pregnancy safer for women.

Although results had been impressive, they were still wanting, she said. Good health was the key to decreasing poverty, increasing productivity and sustaining and enhancing human development. In the twenty-first century, good health must be a starting point, rather than a goal in itself. She urged the delegates to keep in mind a number of specific health issues for the global agenda -- HIV/AIDS, tobacco and mental health. Too many children and adolescents were still dying from preventable conditions and too many were unprepared to meet the challenges of adulthood.

STEPHEN COMMINS, Social Policy Specialist, World Bank, said the Bank recognized that meeting the needs of children represented a significant challenge. No single country could hope to address such widespread problems alone, and the Bank, therefore, valued its many partnerships. Children must prosper before economies could experience growth. From listening to voices in dozens of countries, parents’ well-being was both the objective and meaning of development, especially as seen in the lives of children.

Children were the foundational social capital of their communities, he said. Building secure lives and new opportunities for the participation of children provided the glue that held societies together. The Bank supported an integrated

approach to children and youth. Emphasis had been placed on girl’s education and the situation of children in armed conflict, as well as on the effects of child labour. It was common to say children were the future, he said, but it must be affirmed that for millions of children, their future was now –- the financing of development work was central to their future. The exclusionary aspects of globalization must be addressed.

ALFATIH IBRAHIM HAMAD, Senior New York Liaison Officer, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that UNESCO, in particular, was concerned with the promotion of the right of children to quality basic education. A rights-based approach in that regard had been adopted.

The World Forum on Education for All, in which UNESCO and UNICEF collaborated with other organizations, had been a landmark in which the education of the girl child had been particularly highlighted. During the current session, it was heartening to listen to speaker after speaker putting emphasis on quality basic education, he said.

There had been an enhanced cooperation between UNESCO and UNICEF, as well as with other organizations. Emphasis for the protection of children in armed conflict had come as a new challenge for the United Nations system.

BILL BELL, of Save the Children, said he shared with many small and large NGOs the hope that the session would mobilize a renewed commitment to the practical implementation of children’s rights. In today’s world, making a reality of those rights would require a common and united effort by many actors in government, the private sector, NGOs and other parts of civil society, as well as children and young people themselves.

He hoped that the special session would dedicate itself to determining new approaches and concrete steps to fully implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention had created an almost universal consensus on the ethical and legal standards that represented the international community’s ambitions for the way in which children were treated. It had begun the process of creating real accountability for the care and protection of children at both a national and international level. For the first time, governments around the world had accepted a common set of obligations towards the children in their midst. The result had been to make children increasingly, but not yet sufficiently, visible.

CAROL BELLAMY, Executive Director, UNICEF, said that she had benefited enormously from the debate and discussions and would utilize it in further assisting the Preparatory Committee. She was very appreciative of the frank recognition of progress made and of the lessons learned from success and failure. She hoped for guidance on preparing the emerging issues paper. She had already received many recommendations and hoped that the practical advice from panellists today would help sharpen the future agenda. She also took note of the many Member States who had urged to arrange consultation with experts.

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