Convention ‘Cornerstone’ for Guarding, Promoting Child Rights Worldwide, General Assembly Hears on Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Landmark Instrument
Young Delegate Warns Children’s Rights Still Being Violated, Asks Assembly to ‘Please Protect Us’
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was a moment to assess progress made and the work that remained to be done to help children fully realize their human rights, the General Assembly heard today, as a dozen speakers from United Nations agencies and regional groups took the rostrum, before holding a wide-ranging panel debate.
To Teyise Dlamini, a child delegate from Swaziland, seeing her single mother struggle to give her and her siblings everything they needed was motivation to work hard every day. Addressing the Assembly, she said that while many leaders had spoken about progress for children over the past quarter century, children’s rights were still being violated.
Teaching delegates how to say “children are the future” in her language of SiSwati, “bantfwana bangumliba loya embili”, she further urged them to include children and youth in discussing decisions that would affect them. She also asked delegates to “please protect us and invest in us today, tomorrow and always”.
Sam Kutesa (Uganda), President of the General Assembly, said that the Convention was a landmark document that was the “cornerstone” of promoting and protecting children’s rights worldwide, adding that Member States should feel encouraged by the significant improvements in living conditions for children globally, for example, the halving of child mortality rates for those under age five.
Despite gains made, much remained to be done, agreed a representative of Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Regional Group. Approximately 57 million children were not enrolled in primary schools, and under-nutrition remained a major challenge causing stunting, disease and death of children living in developing countries, he said.
Indeed, life was not better for some 17,000 children who would die today, mostly of preventable causes and the 570 million children were living in extreme poverty, said Anthony Lake, Executive Director of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), delivering a statement on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Other top United Nations officials also marked the anniversary. Weighing in on matters in their respective fields were Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights; Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children; Kristen Sandberg, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; and Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
When the floor opened, many speakers from regional groups recognized that including children in discussions would lead to more effective results and that they should be a part of discussions on the post-2015 development agenda.
Child delegates were very much a part of an interactive panel discussion held following the conclusion of the General Assembly plenary and co-chaired by Queen Silvia of Sweden and Laura Vargas Carrillo of Mexico. “Do listen to the children,” Queen Silvia told representatives. “Let them tell us what they think is important.”
With more than 30 speakers participating, several young representatives pointed to terrorism and violence as the main obstacles they faced. A boy from Iraq urged representatives to look at him, and other children like him, as they looked at their own children, when they woke up smiling in the morning and when saying goodbye to them when they went to school. “We long to feel this simple, beautiful sense which we miss in our painful lives,” he said.
Delivering statements during the plenary meeting were representatives of Mauritania (on behalf of African States), Georgia (on behalf of the Eastern European Group), Guatemala (on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States) and Germany (on behalf of the Group of Western European and Other States).
Participating in the interactive dialogue were the Prime Minister of Sweden, the Minister of Family and Youth of Austria and the First Lady of Poland, as well as representatives of Azerbaijan, France, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Chile, Philippines, Turkey, Maldives, Colombia, Congo and Republic of Korea. A representative of the European Union also spoke. Civil society representatives from SOS Children’s Villages of Benin, New Future, World Vision, Endeavour Forum and Plan International also participated.
The General Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. on Friday, 21 November, to take up the report of the Security Council as well as the follow-up to the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Statements
SAM KUTESA (Uganda), President of the General Assembly, welcomed the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, saying that the landmark document was the cornerstone of promoting and protecting children’s rights worldwide. It had served as the basis for new legislation over 25 years, ensuring that children had special care and assistance and encouraging their full participation in their communities and in decisions that affected them. Children participated for the first time as delegates at the 2002 General Assembly Special Session to review progress on implementing the instrument and to give a new impetus to global commitments on their rights. At that gathering, they had described their version of a world where their rights would be respected without exploitation, abuse, violence, war and poverty, and with access to health care, education and a thriving environment.
Member States should feel encouraged by the significant improvements in living conditions for children globally, for example, the halving of child mortality rates for those under age five. Yet disparities remained, as children born in marginalized communities did not have equal opportunities to realize their full potential. Member States must continue to invest in the rights of all children as they were the fundamental building blocks for achieving our collective future. Children’s rights needed to be fully reflected in the post-2015 development agenda. At the global level, that should translate into new and innovative partnerships between Governments, the private sector, civil society and financial institutions, he said.
ANTHONY LAKE, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaking on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, asked what Dr. Seuss and the Convention on the Rights of the Child had in common. The answer was the belief that “a person’s a person no matter how small”. The Convention had articulated, for the first time ever, a principle that, regardless of gender, ethnicity, economic status, religious belief or disability, all children possessed innate rights, no less than adults did. But a recognized right was not necessarily an executed right, he said. Children’s rights were brought to life through policies and persistent commitment. For the past 25 years, Governments, communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, businesses and children themselves had translated rights into results.
While life was better for millions of children, 17,000 other children would die today, mostly of preventable causes, he said, adding that 570 million children were living in extreme poverty. The international community needed to ask itself how it had managed to achieve progress for some, while continuing to fail so many. In today’s turbulent times, the threat to children was increasing. When the international community invested in children’s health, nutrition, education, participation and protection, it was investing in everyone’s future. The central message and meaning of the Convention was the importance of preparing today’s children to become tomorrow’s adults.
IVAN ŠIMONOVIĆ, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, asked the Assembly, “is the world a safer place for children? Are they more empowered than in 1989? And do they enjoy better health and well-being?” Children caught up in armed conflicts were being injured and killed and they themselves injured and killed others. Young girls were being forced into marriage and were not allowed to go to school. Children were being bullied or cyberbullied because of disabilities and some had taken their own lives. Girls were starving themselves to conform to ideas of beauty. Modern childhood looked grim, he said, but, at the same time, there was good news. In the aggregate, children today had better living standards, education and health than ever before. In most countries, children were not allowed to work and, thanks to digital technology, children had more access to information, play, work and socializing. Children also had more access to complaint mechanisms and could seek redress more readily.
But those positive developments were fragile and much remained to be done. While States had obligations to eliminate preventable child deaths, 6.3 million children worldwide under age five had died in 2013. Those deaths could have been prevented, he said. A guide to preventing child mortality, recently released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the World Health Organization (WHO), listed tangible, concrete measures that States could take to reduce and eliminate mortality and morbidity. The Committee on the Rights of the Child had asked all States what they were doing to ensure the coordination of policies related to children within and across all government levels. It was time to recommit to the vision of the Convention and its full implementation, he said.
LEILA ZERROUGUI, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said that, as the most ratified human rights treaty in the world, the Convention had resulted in an international consensus that the protection and promotion of children’s rights was a moral, social and legal imperative. It was particularly encouraging, she said, to see that the Convention had inspired a number of positive changes in law and policy to improve the lives of children by framing basic needs, such as education and health, as unalienable rights. Enhanced protection of children’s rights had also resulted in tangible improvements for children’s development, ranging from a reduction in infant and child mortality to an increase in school enrolment.
At the same time, progress over the past 25 years remained uneven, she said. Children continued to be the most vulnerable group affected by armed conflict. She noted that 158 Member States had ratified the Convention’s Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict and called on those who had not yet done so to take steps towards ratification. Yet, 25 years after the Convention’s adoption and nearly 15 years after the Optional Protocol’s adoption, an emerging consensus showed that children did not belong in national security forces in conflict. As part of the aim of the Children, Not Soldiers campaign, she called on all Governments, regional organizations and NGOs to continue to work hand in hand with the United Nations, bilateral partners and donors to end the recruitment and use of children by Government armed forces by 2016. That would only be possible, she stressed, if the international community shared its resources and expertise. It was time to “turn aspirations into practice” and put an end to the suffering of children, she said, calling on Member States to honour commitments made through the Convention, its related Optional Protocol and the Children Not Soldiers initiative.
MARTA SANTOS PAIS, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, said that every five minutes a child died as a result of violence. That pervasive exposure to violence was well documented by United Nations reports, academic evidence and children’s heartbreaking stories. For millions of children, life was defined by two words: fear and pain, she said, adding that nations were missing the chance to build a better world for all. While the Convention recognized the right to freedom from violence, only 10 per cent of the world’s children were protected by national legislation prohibiting all forms of violence, including within the home. Violence compromised children’s rights and went hand in hand with deprivation, poor health, poor school performance and welfare dependency. In early childhood, the effects of violence were often irreversible, she said.
Beyond the impact on victims and their families, violence was associated with far-reaching costs for society, she said, noting that it diverted billions of dollars from social spending, slowed economic development and eroded a nation’s human and social capital. She said the world had made tremendous strides in advancing children’s rights since 1989, but that the current “better” world “was not good enough”. During the year of the Convention’s anniversary, there was a golden opportunity to promote a “quantum leap” in children’s protection from violence. It was clear that the elimination of violence could not be a dream of a few, but rather needed to become a cause for all, she stressed. Children’s rights were more than a set of articles. The vision of the Convention would not be fully realized unless children’s rights became one of the pillars that sustained society and were embraced as a core value for the dialogue between generations.
KRISTEN SANDBERG, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, said she was pleased the Convention was the most widely ratified United Nations human rights instrument, with 194 States parties. She called upon all States to ratify the third Optional Protocol on a communications procedure. In order to reinforce States’ commitment to children’s rights, she encouraged all to implement the Committee’s recommendations.
Children were valuable members of the society and should be engaged with according to their evolving capacities if they were to later contribute positively to their communities. When children took part in discussions about programmes and policies relevant to child rights, those programs and policies were more likely to address the issues at hand. The online discussion sessions, hosted by the Committee on 24 September with children between ages of 11 and 17, demonstrated that, when adults and children communicated in a spirit of mutual respect, they could produce innovative solutions to pressing challenges. The Convention must keep pace with the young people. In the design and implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, the voices of children should be heard and their views and rights reflected in the outcomes, she said.
MAUD DE BOER-BUQUICCHIO, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said that, despite efforts since the Convention’s adoption, children had many reasons to feel impatient and even angry. In 2014, there were still people who sold and bought children, exploited them and regarded them as commodities. That was a “blatant denial” of the human dignity of the child, a betrayal of children and it seriously compromised opportunities to develop as a society. Several forms of sale and sexual exploitation of children had considerably worsened since 1989, as the development of information communication technologies (ICTs) had made it much easier for criminals to produce, share and store child abuse material with full impunity. Moreover, child prostitution was still a major problem in many countries and its root causes, including the dissemination of sexual images of children, had multiplied in recent years. Child-sex tourism had also increased, driven in part by nearly non-existent preventive measures and the inadequate criminalization of such offenses. Children were also being sold and forced into marriage, she added.
Today, more children were at risk of sale and sexual exploitation than ever before. The world continued to be a “labyrinth filled with traps and monsters” with few places to hide and nobody to turn to for help. If respected and implemented, however, the principles and rights enshrined in the Convention would completely change that trend. Political will, public awareness and concerted and continuous efforts were needed for that to occur. In that vein, the post-2015 development agenda offered an extraordinary opportunity to make a breakthrough in the implementation of the Convention. Specific goals and targets were needed to promote children’s rights and to protect them from any form of abuse, violence and exploitation, she said, adding that clear indicators were also required to assess progress and ensure accountability. Above all, children must play a central role in the development and monitoring of the implementation of a human-rights based approach in the post-2015 development framework.
TEYISE DLAMINI (Swaziland), a child delegate, said it was humbling to be the voice not only of the children of Swaziland and of Africa, but the voice of girls everywhere. Seeing her single mother struggle to give her and her siblings everything they needed was a motivation for her to work hard every day, she said. Not all children had received such an upbringing, not all girls had realized their rights and not all children even knew what their rights were. Many leaders had spoken about progress for children over the past 25 years, and she was one of those children. But every day, children’s rights in all countries were being violated. A girl she knew from a nearby village was deaf and blind and could not enrol in the local school because it lacked the facilities for her. Programmes were needed to teach boys how to respect women and girls. Decisions that affected children and young people had to start with discussions with children and young people, she implored. In closing, she told the General Assembly delegates what to say when they talked to their governments about children’s rights, teaching them to say “children are the future” in her language, SiSwati, “Bantfwana bangumliba loya embili”. “It’s my way of asking you, in the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on behalf of all children in Swaziland, Africa and the world,” she said, “to please protect us and invest in us today, tomorrow and always.”
JIDDOU JIDDOU (Mauritania), speaking on behalf of African States, said that remarkable progress had been made for children on the continent over the last decade. There had been a decline in under-five mortality, as well as improved access to clean water, increased primary school enrolment and other gains. But profound challenges remained. The continent still had the highest under-five mortality rate in the world and it was critical for Africa’s children to remain a priority. The African States agreed that violence against children hampered their full enjoyment of their rights and well-being.
The well-being of Africa’s children depended on the well-being of their families and communities, he said. Interventions directed towards children had to take a family-centred approach. Young people needed appropriate guidance that would ultimately contribute meaningfully to their personal development as well as to that of their societies. Requesting international support for the African Union Goodwill Ambassador’s efforts to end child marriage, he also noted that it was important to give due consideration to the protection and well-being of children in the sustainable development framework.
MASOOD KHAN (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Regional Group, said that the rights of the child were at the centre of the intense process to craft the post-2015 development agenda, based on sustainable development goals. Investments in children were a compelling moral obligation and a common global good. The Convention and its two Protocols had stimulated significant progress in the normative structure and practical outcomes to improve the quality of children’s lives. He listed successes of the past 25 years, including a decrease in child labour.
Yet approximately 57 million children were not enrolled in primary schools, and under-nutrition remained a major challenge causing stunting, disease and death of children living in developing countries. Children constituted more than half of the global refugee population and the Member States of the Asia-Pacific Group underscored the need for “a determined push” to overcome those and other challenges over the next 15 years. Priorities should be the elimination of poverty, promotion of education and health and holistic development for children.
KAHA IMNADZE (Georgia), speaking on behalf of the Eastern European Group, noted that the Convention was the first international treaty recognizing the child as a subject of rights and it became the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The Convention created the conditions for children around the globe to grow with access to health, nutrition, safety and security. As outlined in the report of the Secretary-General, significant progress was made in all dimensions of the child protection agenda.
Nevertheless, pressing global challenges demanded stronger commitments. Child mortality remained the most serious challenge, although the global rate of under-five mortality had been halved and the new HIV infections among children under age 15 had declined by 35 per cent. Regarding violence against children, more effective steps were necessary to address its root causes, especially for children affected by armed conflict. Children with disabilities were also particularly vulnerable to poverty, marginalization and exclusion, often lacking access to protection and assistance. Education was critical for the development and empowerment of children. However, widespread inequities affecting the poorest and most vulnerable children had persisted in being an enormous barrier. Commending the leadership of UNICEF in protecting children’s rights, the Group reiterated its commitment to cooperate with the agency in renewed global action. He aimed for an ambitious, rights-based, post-2015 development agenda, fundamental for ensuring that children had the opportunities to realize their rights.
FERNANDO CARRERA CASTRO (Guatemala), on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States, congratulated Ms. Dlamini for her inspiring speech. The countries of his group remained strongly committed to the rights of children. As States parties to the Convention, they supported all mechanisms for its implementation, including the primary responsibility to protect the rights of the child. Even with limited resources those rights could become a reality through the adoption of appropriate measures. There was much to celebrate, from the declining children mortality to increasing school enrolment.
However, global averages masked the realities facing millions of children. He was concerned that an estimated 47 per cent of people living in extreme poverty were 18 years of age or younger. He urged States that had not yet done so to make it a priority and fully apply the Optional Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and the use of children in pornography and on children in armed conflict. Although substantial progress had been made, there were still major vulnerabilities presented by poverty, discrimination, inequality and risks posed by national or global crises, natural disasters, violence, organized crime and drug trafficking. States needed to remain focused to make sure children’s rights were considered in the post-2015 agenda, including eliminating extreme poverty and reducing inequality and all forms of violence against children.
HEIKO THOMS (Germany), on behalf of the Western European and Others Group, said on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention, States must continue to focus on effective implementation of the Convention. The instrument was now almost universally ratified and the international community had entered into force three additional optional protocols, which made the protections more specific. For the past 25 years, the Committee on the Rights of the Child had kept the spirit of the Convention alive, advising States on how to improve implementation measures and adherence to its principles. He celebrated the dedication of UNICEF staff, some of whom had been injured or killed while championing children’s rights over the past 25 years.
The Convention envisaged childhoods free from violence and discrimination, where children were encouraged to participate in the decisions that affected their lives. More children were now able to realize their right to education and there had been a reduction of those living in extreme poverty. In every region of the world, the Convention had inspired changes in laws and regulations to better protect children. But many challenges remained. Every 10 minutes, an adolescent girl was killed, he said, noting that 11 per cent of girls worldwide were married before their fifteenth birthday. A lot more needed to be done, he said. It was his wish that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention would provide the impetus for more action.
Interactive Panel Discussion
An interactive panel, “25 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: is the world a better place for children?”, was co-chaired by Queen Silvia of Sweden and Laura Vargas Carrillo of Mexico. The moderator was Maysa Jalbout, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution.
The panellists were Ehab Monzer, a member of the Lebanese Children’s Council; child representative Bertha Condori Siñani, from the Movimiento ATD Cuarto Mundo; a youth representative from Bolivia; Thomas Chandy, Executive Officer of Save the Children, India; and Gideon Badagawa, Executive Director of the Private Sector Foundation, Uganda.
Queen SILVIA said it was a great pleasure to be here to celebrate the Convention’s anniversary and to co-host the discussion. “I am not a politician, but human rights issues have always been close to my heart and I do it humbly and with respect,” she said, recounting how she had created a world foundation to address urgent challenges. Multi-stakeholder partnerships could inspire effective and innovative cross-sector action, she said, adding that States should take stock of progress and renew their commitments to children, putting them at the heart of the post-2015 agenda. Sustained political will for children’s rights had to be paired with adequate funding. “Do listen to the children,” she said. “Let them tell us what they think is important.”
After meeting Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old who received a Nobel Peace Prize, she had been moved by the young woman’s remarks, “A teacher, a book, a pen, and you can change the world.” She now was looking forward to hearing the thoughts of panellists and how States could make the world a better place for children. She then read out loud several letters from children, citing one as saying “please stop fighting and start having peace”.
Ms. CARRILLO said that 25 years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the anniversary was taking place at a very important moment in time. Indicators, such as the reduction of inequality, fighting and child poverty showed major improvements. The rights and well-being of boys, girls and adolescents must remain at centre of post-2015 agenda, she said.
Investing in girls and boys was a fundamental way to fight poverty, and it was crucial to have financial commitments at the national level that were strong and aimed at children. Sustainable development could only be attained by means of a broad-based alliance among all stakeholders, working together to promote the well-being of girls and boys.
Mr. MONZER said the Convention had really helped children by guaranteeing them access to education and health care. But some regions of the world were not better today than they had been 25 years ago. In his region, children were aware of their rights, and as part of the Children’s Council, he had been able to express his opinions. It was his feeling that through him, every child in Lebanon was at the ongoing meeting of the Assembly.
Ms. SIÑANI said she was moved and happy to be part of the panel. She came from Bolivia, and grew up with 10 brothers and sisters in a family of humble means. They could not have toys. Her father was a miner and her mother worked in informal trade and they had done everything they could so she could be here today. She was happy to be working with Movimiento ATD Cuarto Mundo. Through her work with the non-governmental organization, she had discovered other ways of life. Extremely poor members had been subjected to discrimination. One mother was afraid to ask how her son was doing in school. Regarding health they also had discrimination. One day she went with a family that lived in extreme poverty, and they felt better when she was there because if she went alone the doctors and nurses did not take proper care of them. Those living in poverty were not able to live with their full rights, she said.
Mr. CHANDY said children’s rights were not just abstract ideas. They had very strong linkages with peace. The founder of Save the Children, Eglantyne Jebb, articulated childhood rights, which was endorsed in 1924, and formed the basis of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There was a shift happening, which was the producing successful practices. If you looked at one indicator of child survival, child mortality had been halved, but India still continued to lose about 1.3 million children every year. He cited innovations initiated by paediatricians in a village as an example of how some home-based practices had reduced child mortality for those children under age five.
Mr. BADAGAWA said for the last 20 to 25 years, the business of the child was never the role of the private sector. Uganda was engaged with organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children, the Global Compact and civil society. Now the private sector was looking at childhood development to help to build the workforce, with childhood being a time to make an impact with ensuring access to health care, water and sanitation. His organization was working with villages to establish savings and loan associations, caregiver groups and responsible father clubs. They were also partnering with the business community to prevent child labour. There were some companies who had been using children on sugar plantations and the Government had put in place legislation to prevent that. The Government had also promulgated the Children’s Rights Act.
After the panellists’ presentations, high-level government officials, Member State representatives, civil society and youth delegates participated in a lively debate.
STEFAN LÖFVEN, Prime Minister of Sweden, said his country had sought to improve the rights of the child locally, nationally and globally. Education was the most effective weapon against poverty, he said, pointing out that he himself had grown up in a foster home and had thrived. He asked the young panellists what was the most important aspect of children’s rights the adults were missing an understanding of.
SOPHIE KARMASIN, Minister of Family and Youth of Austria, reviewed national achievements in the field of children’s rights.
ANNA KOMOROWSKA, First Lady of Poland, commented on the history of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and how life in countries which had implemented the Convention had improved.
A number of delegates also asked questions or made comments. Azerbaijan’s delegate commended the results achieved in implementing the rights of children, and went over national action on the same. A representative of France said her country had been advancing and promoting the rights of the child, and the international community had a duty to protect the children of the world.
Child representatives also spoke. A young delegate from Saudi Arabia said that in her young life, her country had acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Education was free in her country, and she also noted other rights children in her country enjoyed. A child representative of Iraq spoke about violence in his country, and the murder of his father by terrorists. He urged representatives to look at him, and other children like him, as they looked at their own children, when they woke up smiling in the morning and when saying goodbye to them when they went to school. “We long to feel this simple, beautiful sense which we miss in our painful lives,” he said.
Responding to those queries, Mr. MONZER said that the Middle East was a hot-spot for violence, and spoke about his village, which was in a remote area, threatened by infiltration by terrorists.
Mr. BADAGAWA said that consumers today wanted to identify with companies which were more responsive to business for peace, protecting the environment and protecting children’s rights. Child violence and abuse were turning into issues the private sector had to address.
A number of representatives from NGOs also spoke. A representative of SOS Enfants du Bénin said urgent attention was needed to ensure children’s rights were respected. A delegate from New Future asked why the Convention had not been signed by all Member States. A representative of World Vision commended the launch of the Imagine programme by UNICEF. Representatives from Forum Endeavor and from Planned international defended the rights of the child.
Some Member State representatives outlined progress in their countries. A delegate from Mexico said her country was working towards eliminating violence against children. Her counterparts from Chile and the European Union both said education was key to giving children the tools they needed to develop. Delegates from the Philippines, Turkey, Maldives, Colombia, Congo and the Republic of Korea gave updates on children in their respective countries.
Ms. JALBOUT summed up that she had heard questions on how governments should invest, the role of the private sector in eliminating child labour and a question on the role of children in creating peaceful societies, as well as the role of civil society in protecting children during armed conflict.
Mr. CHANDY said that the reasons countries did not invest in children and youth was that other things were prioritized. Civil society should follow important models of development and work as a partner holding governments accountable.
Mr. BADAGAWA said in his country, all investments in pre-schools were being made by the private sector. It was easier for his organization to speak to business partners than it would have been for UNICEF, he pointed out.
Ms. SIÑANI said that discrimination and abuse were problems of every society, but life could be improved by means of community work.
Mr. MONZER, for his part, said that he was not present only to represent the children of the Middle East, but wanted to speak for the voiceless.