World Fit for ChildrenPROTECTING CHILDREN AND THEIR DIGNITY Message from the Children's Forum, delivered to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children by child delegates, Gabriela Azurduy Arrieta, 13, from Bolivia and Audrey Cheynut, 17, from Monaco on 8 May 2002. We are the world's children. We want a world fit for children, because a world fit for us is a world fit for everyone. In this world, We see respect for the rights of the child: § governments and adults having a real and effective commitment to the principle of children's rights and applying the Convention on the Rights of the Child to all children, § safe, secure and healthy environments for children in families, communities, and nations. We see an end to exploitation, abuse and violence: § laws that protect children from exploitation and abuse being implemented and respected by all, § centres, and programs that help to rebuild the lives of victimised children. We see an end to war: § world leaders resolving conflict through peaceful dialogue instead of by using force, § child refugees and child victims of war protected in every way and having the same opportunities as all other children, § disarmament, elimination of the arms trade and an end to the use of child soldiers.
We see the provision of health care: § affordable and accessible life-saving drugs and treatment for all children, § strong and accountable partnerships established among all to promote better health for children. We see the eradication of HIV/AIDS: § educational systems that include HIV prevention programs, § free testing and counselling centres, § information about HIV/AIDS freely available to the public, § orphans of AIDS and children living with HIV/AIDS cared for and enjoying the same opportunities as all other children. We see the protection of the environment: § conservation and rescue of natural resources, § awareness of the need to live in environments that are healthy and favourable to our development, § accessible surroundings for children with special needs. We see an end to the vicious cycle of poverty: § anti-poverty committees that bring about transparency in expenditure and give attention to the needs of all children, § cancellation of the debt that impedes progress for children. We see the provision of education: § equal opportunities and access to quality education that is free and compulsory, § school environments in which children feel happy about learning, § education for life that goes beyond the academic and includes lessons in understanding, human rights, peace, acceptance and active citizenship. We see the active participation of children: § raised awareness and respect among people of all ages about every child's right to full and meaningful participation, in the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, § children actively involved in decision-making at all levels and in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating all matters affecting the rights of the child. We pledge an equal partnership in this fight for children's rights. We are not the sources of problems; we are the resources that are needed to solve them. Until others accept their responsibility to us, we will fight for our rights. We promise that as adults we will defend children's rights with the same passion that we have now as children. We are the children of the world, and despite our different backgrounds, we share a common reality. You call us the future, but we are also the present.
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