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| Press Release
Improving the lives of children in Europe and Central Asia, Berlin
Conference, May 16 - 18, 2001
Prelude to the UN Special Session
on Children this September
Press releases
from other May meetings for the September Special Session
on Children
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In an unprecedented effort to improve the lives of children in
Europe and Central Asia, delegates from 52 European and Central
Asian countries, and the Holy See, gathered in Berlin today, to
forge a new agenda for the coming decade. The high-level meeting
is organized by the Governments of Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina
with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
It is an important step for the region as it prepares for the first
ever UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, to be held
in New York this fall.
"The Berlin Conference gives us an outstanding opportunity
to review the challenges faced by children in this region and commit
to action. We are here in the shared conviction that children must
participate and have a voice. As leaders, we must listen to them,
so that we can build a better world with them," said Carol
Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF.
A conference highlight is the release of results of an opinion
poll conducted among children and young people from 35 countries
in Europe and Central Asia - the largest of its kind ever undertaken
on issues related to the rights of children. More than 15,000
young people between the ages of 9 and 17 years took part in the
survey. A poll of this breadth is remarkable since it represents
the views of more than 93 million young people in the region.
In the belief that every child, without exception, is assured the
right to dignity, security and self-fulfilment, the Conference will
produce a declaration called "The Berlin Commitment".
It will outline goals and targets for the further development of
child-friendly policies in the different States over the next 10
years. It is the culmination of a vast consultation process between
governments, civil societies, youth groups, NGOs and other UN agencies
all dedicated to improving the lives of children.
"Eleven years after the World Summit for Children, the
countries of Europe and Central Asia come together in Berlin to
jointly discuss their future. The situation of children today has
a strong impact on the future development of societies. It is of
great importance that this Conference is co-hosted by Bosnia and
Herzegovina, thus underlining the common efforts to improve the
lives of children together with the governments of the whole region,"
said Joschka Fischer, the German Federal Foreign Minister.
"If we are to create a better world and better future for
our children, we must put children and child's rights at the top
of our political agenda," said Slatko Lagumdzija the Minister
of Foreign Affairs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. "There can
be no transition for the better without ensuring all rights to all
children, without protecting the welfare of all children and without
providing for children to grow up in peace and without fear."
Discussions focus on the major issues facing children and youth
in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent
States and in the Baltic States. They include issues on poverty
and social exclusion, violence and abuse, the impact of transition
in the former communist States, health and environmental questions,
the state of education and possibilities of children to participate
in decisions that affect their lives.
"Children in industrialized countries suffer from problems
and needs which are not comparable to those in developing countries,
the Berlin Conference is an important opportunity to address these
differences," said Dr. Christine Bergmann, German Federal
Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. "For
Germany one of the main issues is to safeguard children's growing
up in a healthy environment, to guarantee high quality education
and give orientation in a highly complex world, protect them from
discrimination, sexual abuse and violence and invite their participation
on issues that affect them."
When world leaders last met to discuss a global agenda for children's
rights, at the World Summit for Children in 1990, they set global
targets for themselves. Discussions in Berlin, and recent regional
consultations leading to it, make up a kind of report card on those
promises including an acknowledgment of achievements made, the work
still left to do and the new challenges that have emerged in the
region.
The unique scope of the meeting is due, in part, to the diversity
and changing nature of the 52 countries represented in Berlin and
the new challenges they face together. In 1990, there were 9 countries
in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union - now there are 28. The political change has been marked by
a range of issues; from the challenge of integration with western
European institutions to the serious preoccupation with basic survival
in the face of growing poverty.
Widespread conflict hit 11 countries in the region directly over
the past 10 years causing tremendous human upheaval, the consequences
of which have particularly affected children and women.
The Conference brings together a broad range of groups including
delegations from regional organizations like the European Union,
the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Council of Europe.
The United Nations system is represented by several organizations
among them UNAIDS, UNESCO, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
UNHCR, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World
Health Organization (WHO). There is also representation from various
non-governmental associations and young people.
For further information please contact:
Hans Olsen,
UNICEF Regional Office for Europe,
Tel +41 (22) 909 5517
Robert Cohen,
UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS and the Baltic States,
Tel + 41 (22) 909 5631 Mobile phone +41 (0) 79 431 1537
Frederike Seidel,
UNICEF Regional Office for Europe,
Tel +41 (22) 909 55 15 Mobile phone +49 (0) 162 549 2864
Rudi Tarneden,
German Committee for UNICEF,
+49 (221) 936 50 218
Wivina Belmonte,
UNICEF Regional Office for Europe,
Tel +41 (22) 909 55 09
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