RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT OF GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR CHILDREN NEEDED, SPECIAL SESSION PREPARATORY COMMITTEE TOLD

Preparatory Committee for the

Special Session of the General Assembly

 on the Children’s World Summit

5^th Meeting (AM)

RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT OF GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR CHILDREN NEEDED,

SPECIAL SESSION PREPARATORY COMMITTEE TOLD

Now was the time to undertake a rigorous assessment of the strengths and weaknesses to date of the global movement for children, and of its achievements and failures, the Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly for follow-up to the World Summit for Children was told this morning.

Addressing the Committee, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan drew attention to two broad and immediate challenges as the international community embarked on an important new phase in the movement:  First, how to achieve targets so that more children lived healthier, longer and more equitable lives; secondly, how the international community could remain energized, innovative and effective in its impact on the lives of real people, and avoid slipping into a combination of routine reporting and ceremonial meetings. 

During its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General, entitled “We the Children”, several speakers stressed the need to give children the opportunity to grow up in peace and dignity, especially in an environment free from conflict and fear.  Sri Lanka’s representative said that a particularly cruel calamity that had befallen children in his country was the forced recruitment of children, by a terrorist group, to serve as child soldiers. 

Nepal’s representative said that, collectively, the international community had the necessary tools to give each child an opportunity to grow up in peace.  What was needed now was the leadership and commitment to change the world’s attitudes and priorities, to work for wider peace and to remove absolute poverty in large parts of the world.  It was important to prevent conflicts and resolve disputes peacefully, so that children, as well as adults, did not kill each other.

Particular attention was drawn by some delegates to the negative impact of sanctions on the development of children.  The General Director of the Ministry of Health of Iraq said the comprehensive sanctions imposed on his country had created a human catastrophe with tragic consequences for children.  Basic social services were no longer available for Iraqi children, and the sanctions had led to the death of nearly one million Iraqis, most of them children.  The Secretary-General’s report had confirmed the negative impact of sanctions on the situation of children, and it was regrettable that some members in the Preparatory Committee were hampering efforts to include a reference to the impact of sanctions in the final text.

The victims of sanctions, said the President of the Junior Parliament of Togo, were children, particularly poor children.  Economic sanctions made it difficult for countries to establish schools and provide health care for children, in addition to other basic social services. 

The final document of the special session, said the observer for Palestine, must refer to the children under occupation and the need to provide them with a dignified and peaceful life.  For many years, as a result of the Israeli military occupation with its daily repressive practices, the children of Palestine had been deprived of many of their rights, including the right to education and healthcare. As a result of recent events, infrastructure was being destroyed, and many advances in children’s protection and health had been reversed.  The establishment of peace on the basis of dignity and freedom was a necessary precondition for the development of children.

It was true that children in the Palestinian territories were suffering, stated Israel’s representative.  However, that was a direct result of the wave of violence launched by the Palestinians themselves.  Children, some as young as six, were being taken from schools and to the frontlines to throw stones at Israelis. Overwhelmingly, Palestinian children were injured when they engaged in violence themselves.  Israeli children, on the other hand, were injured when they were engaged in normal activities, such as going to school.  He urged the Palestinian leadership to stop the war for the sake of their own children and urged them to come back to the negotiating table.

Also speaking this afternoon were the ministers and high government officials of Mexico, Malaysia, Uganda, Ghana, Bangladesh, Gabon, Sudan as well as the Personal Representatives of the President of Georgia.  In addition, the representatives of Turkey, Ethiopia, Algeria, Belarus spoke, as did speakers for the International Federation of the Red Cross and the International Labour Organization (ILO)

A representative of a non-governmental organization spoke on behalf of Save the Children, Canada; Save the Children, United States; Post Pessimist, Kosovo; and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

The Committee will continue its general discussion of the Secretary-General’s report at 3 p.m. today.

Background

The Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly for follow-up to the 1990 World Summit for Children met this morning to continue its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General, entitled “We the Children”.  It was first expected to hear an address by Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan.  For background information regarding the current five-day session of the Preparatory Committee, see Press Release HR/4536 of 11 June.

Statements

QUEEN RANIA AL-ABDULLAH of Jordan said that there were two broad and immediate challenges as the international community embarked on an important new phase in the global movement for children.  First, how to achieve targets so that more children lived healthier, longer and more equitable lives.  Secondly, how the international community could remain energized, innovative and effective in its impact on the lives of real people, and avoid slipping into a combination of routine reporting and ceremonial meetings.  "Why did we succeed in some areas, but fall short in others?" she asked. 

She suggested that the question be explored on the basis of several global trends as well as the experiences of Jordan and the Middle East.  The first trend, she said, was the real impact and value of global action, as opposed to national or regional initiatives.  "What and how have we benefited from setting global goals and norms?"  The international community should decide soon on which effective global actions to expand and which unproductive ones to discard. 

Another issue of concern, she said, was the real impact of participation by heads of State and government.  That had been critical in achieving national-level breakthroughs in the 1980s and early 1990s.  It was important to know more precisely how leadership inspired action and promoted progress for children's rights, how that impact could be sustained over time, and how it could be replicated at other levels of leadership throughout society.  Last year, for example, in her region, regular meetings of Arab First Ladies were initiated, and they were working with Arab heads of State to achieve the goals of the "Say Yes for Children" campaign. 

A third important issue was the power of effective leaderships which had proven their worth at local, regional and global levels, she said.  Government and private business, the mass media, civil society, and other sectors of society today routinely worked together.  Yet it was not always understood why some partnerships succeeded while others failed.  That was being explored further in her own region, by enhancing coordination among Arab non-governmental organizations working for children, and establishing a permanent forum for Arab child issues. 

She went on to say that a fourth issue was how to promote child rights and well-being through the immense power of partnerships within the worldwide commercial marketplace.  Private companies and multinationals often had greater reach, and more direct impact on families, than did State institutions or international organizations.

The last issue, she stated, was that of disparities.  The available data showed that some global gaps were widening, for example, under-five mortality rates among the industrialized and least developed countries.  The same was true within countries.  Jordan's first human development report revealed persistent and even widening gaps in some indicators, such as infant mortality by region and employment by gender.  Some of the worst disparities were not between urban and rural areas, as one generally expected to see, but rather between urban and suburban regions within the same governate.  It was necessary to know more about the causes and consequences of such disparities, because they numbed human hope, aggravated social and economic distress and often led to resentment, violence and instability. 

Now was the time, she added, to undertake a rigorous assessment of the movement's strengths and weaknesses to date, and of its achievements and failures.     

MURARI RAJ SHARMA (Nepal) said that the Secretary-General deserved appreciation for his comprehensive and forward-looking report, and he shared most of the observations contained in it.  How the children of today were brought up would determine the shape of things tomorrow.  The last 10 years had produced a mixed bag of results.  The Convention on the Rights of the Child had become nearly universal and its Protocols had been widely accepted.  Legal, institutional and political environments for the well-being of children had improved.  But along with real progress, the world had witnessed some setbacks and even regression.  Many benchmarks set by the World Summit for Children had remained unmet. 

The international community had the challenge to stem the downslide and move ahead to make the world a better place, he continued.  Nepal strongly espoused the goal of giving each child an opportunity to grow up in peace and in dignity.  Collectively, the world had the capacity and tools to do that.  Needed now was the leadership and commitment to change the world’s attitudes and priorities, to work for wider peace and to remove absolute poverty in large parts of the world.  It was important to prevent conflicts and resolve disputes peacefully, so that children, as well as adults, did not kill each other.  Resources should go towards promoting growth and sustainable development for all –- not just a privileged few.

It was necessary to respect children’s rights and give them the space to rise to their full potential, he said.  It was time to stop hectoring and lecturing on principles and open hearts and pockets and begin earnestly to implement global compacts.  Creating a conducive context at home was the responsibility of developing countries themselves, and development partners could help them in that and in removing external obstacles with increased official development assistance (ODA), improved access to markets and deeper debt relief.  That was where the domestic, regional and global partnerships fit in.  The world needed shared objectives and strategies for ensuring survival, protection and development of children, because poverty, disease and environmental degradation did not stop at national borders.  Neither did conflicts or refugees recognize boundaries.

Nepal was happy that regional meetings had been held on children in Kathmandu, Beijing, Berlin and Cairo.  The Kathmandu meeting had agreed on the fundamental principles:  the need for every child to get a good start in life; to complete basic education; and to develop his or her individual capacities to the fullest.  The outcome of the regional meetings should be reflected in the outcome documents of the special session.  The final document should be concise, concrete, action-oriented and “fit for implementation”. 

ANA TERESA ARANDA OROZCO, Director General, Development of the Family of Mexico, said that her country had been one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as one of the initiators of the World Summit in 1990.  Its national plan of action for children was based on the guidelines resulting from the Summit.  Though many state programmes had been elaborated and implemented, a great deal remained to be done.  In Mexico there was both material and human poverty.  The living conditions of millions were a challenge for the institutional, legal and political entities.  Inter-family violence, sexual abuse and gender discrimination were among the social problems facing her society.  Nothing harmed the legitimacy of the State more than the weakening of the family.

The social policy of the new Government was committed to achieving social inclusion and human development by improving the educational and health system in order to improve the well-being of its children.  Last December, a national centre of health for children and adolescents was established.  There was an urgent need to support families who were suffering from the pressures of the economy.  Their capacity to care for their children must be supported.  In the final analysis, Mexico would only be as strong as its families. 

MARY N.KAKEMBO, Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs of Uganda, said that her Government was seriously committed to improving the well-being of children.  The country had ratified international instruments relating to children, as well as International Labour Organization conventions on the minimal age of employment and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.  In June this year, the country had launched a global movement for children and offered free drugs to expectant mothers to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Continuing, she commended the Secretary-General’s report and said that as pointed out in that document, the needs of African children were “most acute”.  She deeply appreciated and supported the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the world must respond to the call of the Millennium Declaration by making a “first call” for the children of Africa.  That required a reversal in the decline of the ODA and accelerated debt relief for African States.  It was also crucial to address the problem of HIV/AIDS, which jeopardized the life and health of children and created a large number of orphans.  Abandoned and street children required some attention.  In that regard, birth registration should be encouraged, since it would help to make realistic plans for children and ensure greater accuracy of data. 

Her delegation appreciated the focus of the proposed declaration on the need to support parents and families as the primary caretakers of children, she said.  Support to family units would go a long way towards ensuring protection of children.  Policies and interventions must address both immediate factors affecting children, as well as the causes of the their suffering.  The concern over both the girl and boy child would help to create balanced gender responsibility.  Setting up legislation policies and action plans must be accompanied by adequate resources to ensure that their implementation was effective.  Establishment of domestic bodies would provide mechanisms to hold States accountable for their obligations to children.  It was important to develop monitoring and evaluation systems at national levels.

DAVID APTSIAURI, Deputy Foreign Minister and Personal Representative of the President of Georgia, said the Secretary-General’s report provided a good guide for the future agenda.  Since its last meeting, the Committee had taken concrete steps to advance the agenda of the session at all levels.  The Berlin Conference on Children in Europe and Central Asia, held on 16-18 May, provided a solid forum for sharing experiences and ideas to advance the cause of children.  For the first time, a group of countries with economies in transition had obtained a unique opportunity to consider vitally important issues at the regional level.  The Conference developed a comprehensive document on children’s rights, ranging from emerging health problems and limited opportunities for basic education to the commitments to end serious violations of children’s rights and measures to mitigate their negative impact on children. 

He said that the problems of refugees and internally displaced persons were meaningful ones for his Government, which had spared no efforts to support special programmes for children affected by conflicts, promote the well-being of young people and ensure that they grew up in dignity, free from terror.  However, those actions had their financial limits.  More efforts by the international community were needed.  The special session, he said, should serve to clearly define ways for addressing the problems, instead of analyzing them again.  The time had come to shift focus to a results-based, realistic and flexible plan of action, with a real financial base. 

BEATRICE R. BROBBEY, Minister-Counsellor, Ghana, said that since 1990, her country had drawn up a national plan of action for children and established a mechanism for periodic review of progress in its implementation.  Like many African countries, Ghana had achieved mixed results in terms of the goals and targets set by the World Summit for Children.  Access to basic health facilities and primary care had improved, and immunization against several killer childhood diseases was near 90 per cent.  In 1996, the Government had launched a free, compulsory and universal basic education programme.  It also established a girls’ education unit.

The Government’s commitment to the pursuit of the best interests of children was also evidenced by the appointment of a Minister for Women and Children.  The country was making efforts to improve legislation and policies on child rights.  However, the country could not realize its desired goals because of a lack of resources due to dwindling ODA, growing external debt and fluctuation in world exports prices.

Turning to the report before the Committee, she said that it gave a clear and vivid picture of the situation of children in Africa and its implications for the future of the continent.  She supported the Secretary-General’s call to the world to respond to the Millennium Declaration by making a “first call” for the children of Africa.  On the problem of children in armed conflict, she said that children were both the targets and unwilling perpetrators of violence.  Her delegation urged the special session to adopt priority actions for the future, which should include improvement of information, data collection, research and analysis on children in conflict situations.  It was also important to control the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons and ensure the implementation of the ban on the production and use of anti-personnel mines. 

The stark realities of the situation of the African child had precipitated the convening of a Pan-African Forum of the Future of Children in May, she said, the outcome of which should be incorporated into the outcome document of the special session.  The challenges before the international community had been clearly identified in the Secretary-General’s report.  What was needed now was the political will to implement his recommendations.   

R. MALIGASPE, Additional Secretary, Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka, said that his country had succeeded in reaching many goals in the areas of controlling childhood diseases, promoting access to basic education, and catalyzing action to protect children from abuse.  In addition, the Government had set up the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) within the context of its overall national plan.  The objectives of the NCPA include, among other things, advising the Government in the formulation of national policy in child care and prevention of child abuse, and creating awareness of children’s rights.  Further, it monitored and supervised religious and charitable services which provided child care and provided information and education to the public regarding child safety. 

Despite that progress, he said, some goals still remained challenging.  Among them were combating childhood diseases, overcoming malnutrition, reducing school dropout rates, eliminating child labour and rehabilitating children affected by armed conflict.  A particularly cruel calamity that had befallen children in Sri Lanka was the forced recruitment of children, by a terrorist group, to serve as child soldiers.  Children affected by armed conflict were of particular concern to his country, and it had undertaken numerous programmes and projects to rehabilitate and assist them. 

M.S.AKBAR, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of Bangladesh, said that the outcome of the special session would form the basis for future action for children.  His country was trying to fulfil its commitment to improve the situation of children by adopting various programmes in such areas as health and education.  The Government’s efforts included an immunization campaign and provision of vitamins and nutrients to children.  His country’s high enrollment in primary schools was a regional success story.  The national children’s policy had been introduced in the country, and social welfare, sanitation and disaster management measures were being undertaken.

In preparation for the special session, he said, the country was encouraging participation of children in the preliminary consultations.  Bangladesh had also participated in the preparatory regional meeting in Kathmandu.  He hoped that the outcome of that meeting would make an important contribution to the outcome document of the special session.

UMIT PAMIR (Turkey) said that his country viewed the protection and care of children as being of the highest importance.  Efforts in that regard had gained momentum after the 1990 World Summit.  A national plan of action, based on the principles set forth in the Summit, had been devised, and subsequently reviewed and updated to meet current needs.  There had been remarkable improvements in most of the indicators in Turkey within the last decade.

He mentioned some of the recent steps his country had taken with a view to further promoting and protecting the rights of children and ensuring their well-being.  Legislative steps were being taken to ensure the full compatibility of domestic laws with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instruments pertaining to children’s rights.  In addition, International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 138 and 182 on child labour had been ratified.  Also, a Government programme addressing the relatively high illiteracy rate among women and girls was being implemented in collaboration with UNICEF. 

Further, he continued, a National Children’s Congress was convened last year with the participation of children from all over the country to assess the implementation of child rights activities at local levels.  Multiple efforts were also being undertaken after the two devastating earthquakes in 1999 to address their impact on children.

DATO’ SAYED ABDUL RAHMAN SAYED MOHD, Director-General, Department of Social Welfare of Malaysia, said that the Secretary-General had presented a comprehensive and realistic report assessing the decade’s performance and outlining achievements, setbacks and lessons learned.  He shared the concerns expressed by the delegates regarding the setbacks affecting children in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in terms of the under-five mortality rate.  The report showed that more work needed to be done, and done fast. 

His delegation was equally concerned about the paradox of the global situation today:  children were being deprived of basic needs and survival elements in a global economy of some $30 trillion; the surging HIV/AIDS pandemic amidst growing international partnerships and successful actions in eradicating major childhood diseases; and the rising awareness of children’s rights amidst proliferating conflicts, child abuse and neglect. 

Malaysia had achieved most of the targeted goals set in the first decade’s plan of action, he continued.  It was providing an enabling social, economic and political environment for children, as reflected in the recently launched plan for 2001-2005.  It was also beginning its implementation of longer-term plans extending to 2020.  Based on its experience, the country supported the inclusion in international plans of the early childhood development initiative, which emphasized quality care and rearing practices, benefiting both children and parents. 

He also supported multi-sectoral collaborative actions and partnerships in mobilizing local resources at all levels.  Such practices should be institutionalized as one of the mechanisms in service delivery in future action plans for children.  Malaysia also favoured the Secretary-General’s call for law reform, which could ensure sustainable commitment of countries to making the world fit for children.  To that effect, his country was implementing the Children’s Act, formulated on the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.    

MOHAN MUNIM, General Director of the Ministry of Health of Iraq, said that since the World Summit, modest progress had been achieved, particularly in developing countries.  Among the many obstacles impeding progress were poverty, economic disparities and the lack of justice in international relations between the countries of the North and those of the South.  The comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq had created a human catastrophe with tragic consequences for children.  Basic social services were no longer available for Iraqi children.  The sanctions had led to the death of nearly one million Iraqis, most of them children. 

The report of UNICEF on Iraq, he said, had revealed the tragic realities concerning the human situation in Iraq as a result of sanctions.  The Gulf War and ensuing sanctions had resulted in changes, not only in the economic and political context but also in the capacity of the Government to provide social services.  That had led to an increase in infant mortality.  The report had also referred to the fact that one in four Iraqi children under five suffered from malnutrition.

The Secretary-General’s report, he continued, had confirmed the negative impact of sanctions on the situation of children.  As long as sanctions were maintained, Iraqi children could not benefit from a single paragraph in the outcome document of the special session.  After sanctions had killed almost half a million children, it was regrettable that some members in the Preparatory Committee were hampering efforts to include a paragraph in the final text referring to the section in the Secretary-General’s report on sanctions.

ANGELIQUE NGOMA, Minister of Family Planning and Advancement of Women of Gabon, stressed the particular importance of the legal aspects of the protection of children.  The conflicts proliferating around the world had seriously affected children, despite numerous international instruments for their protection, including The Hague and the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The Organization of African Unity had adopted an African Convention for the protection of children, and the Security Council had held several public debates on the issue.  All the existing legal instruments must be scrupulously observed, and impunity must cease.

It was important to take stock of international actions in implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Children, she continued, which would make it possible to better address their problems in the future.  The Department for Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should seek means to respond to the needs of refugees and internally displaced persons.  That would alleviate the burden on such countries as Gabon, which provided refuge to many people, including children.  It was important to ensure sanitary measures in refugee camps to prevent the spread of diseases, including HIV/AIDS. 

She said that violations of international humanitarian law, which did not spare children, were often the cause of conflicts, which were fed by poverty.  To deal with that question, it was important to reverse the decline in the provision of ODA to developing countries.  It was also necessary to stop the proliferation of small arms and address the problem of child soldiers.

IRENE AISSAH-ASSIH, Minister for Women and Protection of Children of Togo, said her country had been the nineteenth country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child in August 1990.  Since then, it had taken various measures at both the national and international levels to promote and protect the rights of children.  At the national level, it had drawn up a national plan of action and established a national committee for the protection of children.  At the international level, it had ratified various international instruments relating to children.  Despite the efforts that had been made to protect children, numerous obstacles still existed, especially in developing countries.  The results achieved so far had not been commensurate with the efforts undertaken at various levels.  

MABEL FATI HOUENOUWAWA, President of the Junior Parliament of Togo, said that despite the efforts of governments and civil society for the advancement of children’s rights, children continued to fall victim to scourges, such as the trade in children, child labour, their use in armed conflict, the spread of HIV/AIDS and poverty.  Economic sanctions imposed on certain countries had an adverse impact on the development of children.  As a result, those countries had difficulties establishing schools and providing health care.  The victims of sanctions were children, particularly poor children.  She hoped that in a few years, there would be fewer unhappy children in the world.

FESSEHA A. TESSEMA (Ethiopia), said the report of the Secretary-General extensively demonstrated the achievements of the past decade and the way to follow in the future.  Despite important progress, however, the achievements had been uneven.  A large number of children, particularly in Africa, lived in even worse conditions than a decade before.  It was important for the countries to recommit themselves to the goals of the World Summit for Children and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

His country had taken significant measures to harmonize its legal system with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, he continued.  It had also developed a national plan for the protection of children.  The country was trying to provide a more conducive environment for the protection of children and youth.  Measures were being taken to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, increase health coverage, improve nutrition and develop education.  However, the Government’s efforts were being undermined by a shortage of resources, which was exacerbated by the lowered level of official development assistance and high external debt. 

African leaders and people were aware of their responsibilities towards children, he said, and that was why the Pan-African Forum had recently come up with the recommendations for the special session.  He hoped those recommendations would be incorporated in the final document of the special session.

ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) hoped to see the Committee’s work focus on substantive issues and formulations free from polemics in dealing with the numerous problems affecting children.  The international community had laid down a number of goals to be reached by the year 2000, including ensuring safe drinking water for all and basic primary education for all.  As laid out in the Secretary-General’s report, while encouraging progress had been made regarding reducing infant mortality, numerous objectives had not been achieved, particularly regarding health.  The exacerbation of poverty had been a serious obstacle to achieving the Summit goals.

If any region required the special attention of the international community, it was Africa, he said.  The situation of African children, despite sporadic progress, had continued to worsen.  Sub-Saharan Africa was where children were hit the hardest. Given that tragedy, international solidarity was vital. 

Algeria, he continued, had drawn up a national plan of action to implement its commitments following the World Summit.  The actions undertaken by public authorities included the implementation of a strict budgetary programme for women’s and children’s programmes and heavier involvement of associations in implementing the plan of action.  Gains had been retained despite the difficulties encountered.

ATTIYAT MUSTAFA, Secretary-General of the National Council for Child Care, the Sudan, said that the Cairo meeting on children in May had reaffirmed the regional commitments to children, and she hoped that the special session would help to advance their cause.  The report explained the disparities between various regions and defined the priorities for future action.  The situation of sub-Saharan Africa illustrated the difficulties before the developing countries, and the problem of HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases must be addressed, including malaria, diarrhea and tuberculosis.  It was also important to alleviate the suffering the children of countries affected by sanctions.

At the national level, her country had elaborated a plan to implement the decisions of the World Summit for Children, she said.  The State had reviewed national legislation to ensure its conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Progress had been achieved in healthcare, and the infant mortality rates had declined.  Work had also been done to eliminate polio. 

The continuation of the war imposed on her country, constituted a real obstacle in the implementation of the plans, however, she continued.  She invited the international community to put more pressure on the rebel movement to sit down to negotiations and end the suffering of the population, including women and children.  The country was also shouldering a significant debt burden, and she called on the developed countries to allocate the agreed amount of 0.7 per cent of their GDP to the official development goals.  Despite all the difficulties, her country was still trying to improve childcare, placing its children at the top of its policies.

OLEG LAPTENOK (Belarus) noted that the report of the Secretary-General had succeeded in carrying out an unbiased review of the progress in implementing the Summit goals.  The problem of children was now being given greater attention at national and international levels.  In 1995, Belarus drew up and approved a national plan of action to protect children.  In 1998, measures were implemented to improve the gathering of data and to enhance the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Despite various efforts, his country had not yet been able to implement all the provisions of the Summit’s plan of action.  Among the issues that hindered progress in his country were the spread of alcohol and drug abuse, which contributed to the abuse of children, as well as the increase in the number of orphans and disabled children.  He was sure that the special session would provide additional impetus for the implementation of the Summit goals. 

A conference had been held in Minsk with participants from the States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to exchange national experiences and expertise, he said.  It resulted in the adoption of a final document laying down the priority areas for improving the situation of children.  Those included strengthening legal protection, supporting the development of the family, ensuring security of motherhood, improving the state of child nutrition, and providing high quality and accessible education.  He hoped that the provisions of that document would be reflected in the final text of the special session. 

MUNTHER AL-SHARIF, observer for Palestine, said his delegation regretted that the Secretary-General’s report, particularly its section on children in armed conflict, did not reflect the issue of children under occupation, which violated children’s rights.  Many international instruments and declarations had paid special attention to that matter.  Also, yesterday the Chairperson of the seminar on children did not give a chance to a Palestinian NGO to deliver a statement not exceeding 3 minutes, on the pretext that the time was short.  

The final document of the special session must refer to the children under occupation and the need to provide them with a dignified and peaceful life, he continued.  For many years, as a result of the Israeli military occupation with its daily repressive practices, the children of Palestine had been deprived of many of their rights, including the right to education and healthcare.  In the last 8 months, practices of blockade, killings and closures had injured many Palestinian people.  The Israeli occupation forces had closed and bombarded many schools.  They also impeded the work of medical staff, which led to women giving birth on military barricades.  Many hospitals had been bombed. 

The closures of Palestinian cities paralyzed the movement of goods and individuals and increased the poverty and unemployment in the region, he continued.  As a result of recent events, the infrastructure was being destroyed, and many advances in children’s protection and health had been reversed.  The occupation undermined the Palestinian children’s enjoyment of their rights.  The rights of those children needed to be respected.  The establishment of peace on the basis of dignity and freedom was a necessary precondition for the development of children.  Children needed to enjoy full development of their abilities.  There must be conditions of peace and security, based on the respect of the principles of the Charter and relevant international instruments.   

RON ADAM (Israel) said that he was forced to respond to the observer for Palestine, who had disrupted the deliberations of the Committee, which was focusing on the report of the Secretary-General, by bringing up baseless allegations.  This week a five-month-old baby had died as a result of injuries sustained when he was hit by a rock thrown by a Palestinian into the car driven by his parents.  Last week, 20 Israeli young people were massacred by a Palestinian suicide bomber as they waited to enter a nightclub.  Those were examples of how Palestinians had murdered children and young people in addition to targeting them in the ongoing conflict.  It was true that children in the Palestinian territories were suffering.  However, that was a direct result of the wave of violence launched by the Palestinians themselves. 

Children, some as young as six, were being taken from schools and to the front lines to throw stones at Israelis, he said.  Schoolbooks in the Palestinian education system taught children to hate and kill Jews.  His country condemned violence against children no matter where it occurred.  However, overwhelmingly, Palestinian children were injured when they engaged in violence themselves. Israeli children, on the other hand, were injured when they were engaged in normal activities, such as going to school.  He urged the Palestinian leadership to stop the war for the sake of their own children and urged them to come back to the negotiating table.  “Tell your leader to act as a statesman instead of using children as shields on the frontlines and encouraging them to become martyrs.” 

ENCHO GOSPODILOV, of the International Federation of the Red Cross, said that in the last decades, the number and scale of natural and technological disasters had increased dramatically.  Many people were affected by natural disasters, and the International Red Cross had provided assistance to millions of children who had become victims of those disasters from India to El Salvador and from Afghanistan to Mongolia and Siberia.  It was also doing its best to mobilize resources to help children in need. 

But if new disasters were well covered by the world media, he continued, there were some old, forgotten tragedies, for which it was extremely difficult to attract donors’ interest.  One such problem was Chernobyl.  Red Cross work in Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine had a special focus on the effect of that disaster on the children and young adults.  The walls of institutional silence and lack of transparency which surrounded the Chernobyl catastrophe increased the physical and psychological damage to children and their families.  That must never be allowed to happen again.  It was necessary to work towards creating international disaster response law, which would guarantee a stable and predictable level of assistance to all victims of natural and technological disasters.

It was also important to fight the diseases that were causing children to suffer, he said, including polio and HIV/AIDS.  The Red Cross was focusing its efforts on Africa, where the biggest number of infected people lived, but it was also paying attention to what could happen in some parts of South and Central Asia, in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. 

On a point of order, the observer for Palestine said the fact that Israel had spoken after Palestine was a manipulation of the rules of procedure.  Also, his statement was more of a right of reply than a statement.

Mr. ADAM (Israel) said that he had spoken after Palestine so he did not know what he was talking about.  Also, he had used his time to make a statement just as everyone else had.

ALICE OUEDROAGO, Director for Policy Development and Advocacy, International Labour Organization (ILO), said it was now a well known fact that child labour had emerged as a major international challenge.  The rapid ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 only two years after its adoption was a good sign.  Yet, no direct reference had been made to that global problem in the ten principles listed in the draft declaration for the special session.  The ILO had submitted a proposed text, which could only be given effect if delegations took the issue to heart.  Including the issue in the ten principles would amount to translating a commitment on paper to a concrete call for action.  The ultimate goal of the ILO was the abolition of child labour.  She hoped that the Committee would take action.  The full text of the proposed text was available in the room.

SABENA BANDALI, representative of Save the Children, Canada, Save the Children, United States, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and Post-Pessimists, Kosovo, said that she understood the philosophy behind the Secretary-General’s report.  Behind its statistics, there were countless real

stories.  The people comprising the organizations that she represented were those faces. 

She thanked the participants for including them in the preparatory process, for acknowledging the children’s right to participate in decision-making.  It was their right, but it was important for the international community to recognize it.  Although pleased with the report’s intentions, she said it was important to recognize that the lack of child and adolescent participation and their alienation were huge obstacles that remained insufficiently addressed by both the report and the outcome document.  Those documents mentioned numerous problems, including preventable deaths, lack of schooling, malnutrition, poverty, discrimination and child labour.  However, no mention was made of the fact that children’s human rights were not always recognized.  It was important to recognize that fact in the outcome document.

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