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UNICEF plea: protect Angola's children |
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| Monday, 23 August 1999: UNICEF told the United
Nations Security Council today that three decades of war have left Angola's
children without the most basic guarantees of human security and without the
essential services all children need to survive, grow and develop. In a statement to the Council, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy outlined achievements UNICEF and others have accomplished for children in the embattled country but said that, without an immediate cessation in hostilities and a massive humanitarian response, even these modest gains will be lost and large numbers of Angola's children will perish. "With each day of delay, the situation for children grows more precarious," she said. "Educational opportunities, often the only stable influence in the lives of children in war, will continue to disappear and another generation of hope and promise may be lost." Even before the resurgence of the country's civil war, Angola's children were in serious peril, Ms. Bellamy told the Council, with under-five mortality at 292 per 1,000 live births and with 42 per cent of Angola's children moderately or severely underweight for their age. Only 50 per cent of school-age children are enrolled in classes, with a high dropout rate after the first grade, especially for girls. The UNICEF chief stated that when these assessments were made in 1997 -- during a rare period of relative peace -- social spending was declining and public health and education systems had broken down, causing increased dependence on external assistance. The resumption of the war in December 1998 led to further deterioration. More than 1.6 million people have been displaced from their homes and thousands of children have been recruited as fighters in the conflict. Today, UNICEF's Child Risk Measure ranks Angola as the country whose children are at the greatest risk of death, malnutrition, abuse and development failure. "Our analysis points to the conflict in Angola as the single greatest determinant of this sad reality," Ms. Bellamy told the Council. Despite limited funding and growing insecurity, UNICEF and other UN agencies, the International Committee for the Red Cross, bilateral donors and non-governmental organisations continue to help the Government weave a basic safety net for children. This includes deliveries of food, seeds and tools; care and counseling of victims of trauma and abuse, basic health care services; safe water and sanitation; supply of items for shelter; support for education; intensive campaigns to alert the population to the perils of living in one of the most heavily mined countries of the world; and complex negotiations with UNITA to gain access to all children in need. Even in these bleak circumstances, Ms. Bellamy said, there have been some major achievements. In April, UNICEF was able to protect 634,000 children from polio by completing an emergency vaccination campaign in response to a local polio outbreak. In addition, WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International are supporting the Government in the National Polio Immunization Days (NID) campaign. Two immunization rounds were completed in June and July and planning is under way for a third, scheduled for later this month. A total of 2.7 million children will be covered in this effort. With UNICEF's help, Angola is revising its juvenile justice system. Drop In Centers and a foster parent placement system have also been established for children who have been separated from parents because of the conflict. Nevertheless, the prognosis for the remainder of this year points to a further worsening in prospects for child survival, development and protection. In her statement to the Security Council, Ms. Bellamy strongly urged all parties to put an immediate end to direct and indiscriminate attacks on women, children and the rest of the civilian population and to honor their obligation to respect principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws. Ms. Bellamy also called on partners and donors to pledge and give generously to the UN Consolidated Appeal for Angola, which is severely under-funded. "At this stage, only ample and speedy external assistance can help us avert a catastrophe for the children of Angola." Closing her appeal, UNICEF's head urged the Government of Angola to honor its obligation to children as a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to all the other applicable international standards. She also called on UNITA to ensure the protection, welfare and rights of Angolan children in accordance with established humanitarian principles and standards. |
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| Please email media@unicef.org with comments or requests for more information, quoting CF/DOC/PR/1999/31 |
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