HANDS-ON APPROACH MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE THAN POLICIES OR RESOURCES,

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS GLOBAL NETWORK OF RELIGIONS FOR CHILDREN

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s remarks to the Global Network of Religions for Children in Hiroshima, on 26 May:

It is my great pleasure to be here at this Third Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children, a forum dedicated to learning to share values that shape our common faith for a brighter future -- for our children and for the world.

I bring a message from the Secretary-General, who wishes the Forum the very best and productive deliberations.  I want to thank all of the organizers, and through you pay a special tribute to Reverend Miyamoto Senior, who, just this month, celebrated his ninety-first birthday.  It is a blessing that the Reverend’s longevity allows him to continue his tireless efforts to help children around the world.

Nothing could be more meaningful for the future of the planet than ensuring prosperity and security for the next generation.  We know from painful experience that if we neglect children, society as a whole will pay a high price.  But children who are loved, nourished, cared for and well educated can bring about a better future.

The United Nations is engaged in an important campaign to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, our blueprint for lifting people from extreme dehumanizing poverty.  If we can succeed, cut illiteracy, cure disease and alleviate malnutrition and poverty we will guarantee a better tomorrow.

But this soaring vision will have to overcome a grim reality.  The numbers are horrifying:  one child dies of hunger every six seconds.  Malaria kills two children each minute.  And during that time, somewhere in the world, another child dies of AIDS.  The lack of clean water and sanitation takes the lives of a million and a half children each year.  And countless more die in conflicts they didn’t start and have no stake in continuing.

Still, we are not without hope.  The United Nations is galvanizing partners from around the world to right this terrible wrong.  We are pressing Governments to protect the world’s children.  And we are not stopping there.  We are also working with corporations, academics and non-governmental organizations in coordinated campaigns to safeguard the rights of children and get them off to a better start in life.

To fulfil our sacred duty to nurture future generations, we need more than policies, and we need more than resources.  We need a hands-on approach that makes a difference in the lives of individual children.

This is where the Global Network and other initiatives come in.  Religious non-governmental organizations have been making a meaningful contribution to development for decades.  Many have a global reach.  They help raise awareness about the most pressing issues on the international agenda, like disarmament, economic integration and conflict resolution –- always with a focus on human security.

The contribution of religious non-governmental organizations to sustainable development often stems from a deep-rooted, doctrinal belief in the spiritual imperative of helping others.  In general, they are self-motivated and altruistic, spontaneously contributing as best they can for the simple purpose of practising compassion.

What is more, we increasingly see partnerships being forged across religious lines, as organizations representing different faiths join together to promote shared goals.  In the process, they not only help resolve the problems they set out to address -– they also generate greater understanding worldwide.

This can ultimately help foster a positive environment for children, who, the Convention on the Rights of the Child says, should be brought up in the spirit of “peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity”.

Every contribution, large and small, is helping to realize this vision.  If we can save even one infant from hunger, provide one toddler with proper shelter, teach one child how to read, and protect one youngster from war and poverty, we can change more than the destiny of an individual -- we can plant a seed of hope that will blossom in the future.  If we live up to our promises to the millions and millions of children who need our help, they can transform the whole world as adults.

Your work is part of this effort, and I wish you all success, for the sake of those who are still too young to help themselves, but who, with the right love and care, will someday be able to help others.

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For information media • not an official record