Press Release

Issued by the
UN Department of Public Information
News and Media Division

Youth NGOs, Raise Concerns About Tobacco Promotion, Physical Punishment, Child Labour in Special Session Preparatory Committee

Young people and their representatives took up their cause this afternoon and brought their myriad concerns directly to the Preparatory Committee for the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on children, to be held in New York from 19 to 21 September. They advocated, promoted and urged the inclusion of their special needs in the outcome document, “A World Fit for Children”.

With 4 million deaths per year and rising from tobacco use, action must be taken now to curb its promotion worldwide and prevent unethical business practices to flourish, a representative of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids urged. In most countries, the tobacco industry was violating the right to health through unethical advertising that reached children, particularly girls. In Asia and Africa, tobacco companies aggressively targeted female consumers, associating an addictive product with glamour and liberation. Many adolescent girls even believed that smoking would help control their weight.

Companies also appealed to children through the promotion of sports and beauty pageants, she added. In India, the cricket teams carried the names of tobacco brands on their shirt-backs. The mention of tobacco in the outcome document did not send a strong enough message to governments; it must recognize tobacco as a trade and political issue requiring global and personal action.

Children should be protected from all forms of physical punishment and violence, a representative of a countrywide organization called “Children’s Rights Alliance for England” urged. The special session should advocate a global change in attitudes and mindsets, which caused children to be treated like second- class citizens. The outcome document should send a strong message about the need to protect children from corporal punishment, in specific terms. It should not be left to individual countries to interpret or misinterpret the message: all forms of physical punishment were wrong and children deserved to be protected from them.

A representative of the Global March against Child Labour stressed the urgent development and implementation of national programmes for the time-bound elimination of child labour, as well as monitoring of progress towards that end. He also underscored the need for the immediate end to the recruitment of new child labourers, and the guarantee of proper rehabilitation, reintegration and education of all children withdrawn from exploitative work, as well as the promotion of sustainable livelihoods for their families.

The continued plea of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said its representative, was for sufficient focus on protection-oriented goals, targets and strategies that supported refugee children and other children in similar situations. Refugee children, including adolescents, were among those most at risk of having their basic rights and needs violated. Considering the staggering numbers and the particular risks which refugee children faced, they required special support to ensure that their needs for international protection and assistance were met.

Statements were also made this morning by the ministers, high government officials and representatives of Burkina Faso, United Republic of Tanzania, Benin, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua, Gambia, Eritrea, Guatemala, Niger, Venezuela, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ecuador and Yemen.

The representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also spoke, and the observer for Palestine made a statement in exercise of the right of reply.

In addition, the representatives of the International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety; Global Unions; Disability Caucus; Violence against Children Caucus; International Federation Terre des Hommes; and Fraternité Notre Dame also addressed the Committee.

The Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 14 June, to continue its third substantive session.

Background

The Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly for follow-up to the 1990 World Summit for Children met this afternoon to continue its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General, entitled “We the Children”. For background information regarding the current five-day session of the Preparatory Committee, see Press Release HR/4536 of 11 June.

Statements

SERAPHINE TOE (Burkina Faso) welcomed the fact that the report of the Secretary-General had emphasized the important right of children to participate at the national and international levels in promoting and protecting their rights. While progress had been made, many challenges remained. Among them was the fight against infant mortality, anemia and iron deficiency. Burkina Faso had created a national committee to implement its national plan of action. In the area of health, HIV/AIDS was a serious concern for her country. Generally, the level of education of the population was low. The rate of enrolment for primary school had decreased to 1.4 per cent at the end of 1997. Various efforts had been made to address the needs of children living in particularly difficult conditions.

The sexual exploitation of children and the situation of children in armed conflict were among the issues that most concerned her country, even though it had not been involved in conflicts, she said. The persistence of poverty, lack of data and institutional structures were among the obstacles hindering the achievement of Summit goals. What was needed was better organization between the Government and its partners, the decentralization of information and data, the creation of courts for children and the specialization of judges for children.

DAUDI N. MWAKAWAGO (United Republic of Tanzania) associated himself with the statement made by the representative of Nigeria on behalf of the African Group. The Secretary-General’s report had highlighted many important issues concerning the welfare of children. It provided a vision for the fulfilment of their rights and a better future. Indeed, it was an important instrument in improving the draft outcome document, which should take into consideration the increasing number of children with special needs, including orphans, disabled children, and street children. The fulfilment of their rights could be achieved by empowering young people and adolescents as “duty bearers”. That would create the right balance for ensuring, promoting and protecting children’s rights.

At the same time, he said, the mass media should refrain from stereotyping women and children. Then, they would become true partners in building a positive image of women and children. Partnership, participation and national commitment were also key elements in the realization of children’s rights. In that respect, she stressed the important role of central and sectoral government ministries and non-governmental organizations in ensuring that their policies, programmes and strategies integrated children’s issues and interests in their everyday undertakings. As chronic poverty remained the single biggest obstacle to meeting children’s needs, the necessary resources must be allocated for their development. The international community must improve the economic conditions of poor countries and recommit themselves to making resources and communication capacities available to developing countries.

ADEOTHY SIKIRATOU, Personal Representative of the President of Benin, paid tribute to the Secretary-General for the quality of his report. After ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child in August 1990, Benin had drawn up a national plan of action in 1993, which was followed by the creation of an inter-ministerial committee to implement it. The results of a national survey became the basis for the actions taken at the country level. Benin could have achieved more considerable results if it had not had suffered from a drop in official development assistance (ODA).

Since the Summit, specific measures had been taken to protect the survival and development of children, she continued. The principles of the Convention had been broadly publicized and promoted in various projects. Also, other international instruments had been ratified, including the African Charter on the Well-Being of the Child, the Statute of the International Criminal Court and Conventions 138 and 182 of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In addition, steps had been taken to reform national legislation and currently, a draft code on families was being considered by the national assembly.

It was crucial to combat internal and external trafficking in children, especially young girls, she added. She highlighted a practice which took place in her country known as “fostering children”, whereby children were taken in by parents who were better off than their own. Unfortunately, due to the worsening economic situation, those children were being exploited, being made to carry out domestic chores and conduct commercial activities to supplement the foster family’s income. The international community had never given enough attention to the issue of trafficking in children, and what was needed was prompt and specific action.

PAULINUS SIKOSANA, Personal Representative of the President of Zimbabwe, said the report spared no detail in describing to the world the plight of millions of children who suffered the terrible effects of poverty. It detailed the situation of children living in the streets, facing hard labour, preventable disease, sexual exploitation and conflict. Regrettably, the majority of those children lived in Africa, in countries that were heavily indebted and that had been denied, through globalization and the new world economic order, the opportunity and resources to provide for those children. An estimated

120,000 children in Africa were trapped in unavoidable and man-made catastrophes. Often, they were forced to participate in armed conflict, were reduced to refugees and were rendered vulnerable to sexual abuse at the hands of local and foreign forces, which killed, maimed, or raped them.

He said the Secretary-General unequivocally and graphically described the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS on national economies and the manner in which the disease had stretched some countries’ social and health services beyond their capacities. The disease had robbed children of their parents and guardians and condemned them to perpetual misery and poverty. It was in the developing countries, and perhaps in Africa more than anyplace else, that more needed to be done. There, more children died needlessly from easily preventable diseases and other calamities. Seemingly unabated, poverty continued to wreak havoc.

It was encouraging that African leaders had stressed the need to craft a comprehensive strategy that envisaged international cooperation complementing domestic action, he said. It was also encouraging that some leaders had increased the level of inclusive consultations on issues affecting the continent’s children. While Africa must now invest more of its own resources, granting debt relief to highly indebted poor nations would enable them to invest more in the health, education and other socially relevant sectors, which contributed to the eradication of poverty and its consequences.

GLENDA REYES, Personal Representative of the President of Nicaragua, said that the report of the Secretary-General would be a fundamental instrument in formulating her country’s national plan of action, together with the outcome document of the special session. In the report, the Secretary-General had rightly stated that the main cause for not having achieved the goals of the World Summit was the lack of investment in children, despite the availability of those resources.

In her country, the National Council for the Total Protection and Care of Children and Adolescents was the body responsible for implementing the national action plan, she said. It was important to have included in the report the issue of vulnerability, especially considering the effects of natural disasters, particularly on children. One of the main problems affecting children in her country was chronic malnutrition, particularly for boys under the age of one, especially in the rural areas. She was fully convinced that a large number of the problems faced by adults and children could be tackled through education. She thanked those international organizations which had assisted Nicaragua in achieving its goals in the last decade.

ISTATOU NJIE-SAIDY, Vice President and Personal Representative of the President of Gambia, said the Secretary-General’s report was timely. It was broad-based and touched on all development issues relating to children in the least developed countries, and it recognized that those nations were heavily indebted, thus limited in their ability to invest in children. The general decline of ODA since the 1990’s had made the situation worse. It would be difficult to create a world “fit for children” without adequate financial resources geared towards the implementation of child- and women-related programmes and policies.

She said that certain significant strides had been made by nations, such as marked improvements in the reduction of under-five infant mortality rates due to expanded health care coverage and expanded immunization programmes. Significant progress had also been made in the area of education, especially for the girl child. Nevertheless, malaria, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections persisted. An equally important finding in Gambia had been the increased demand for health services, due to rapid population growth, an influx of refugees, and increased migration. Consequently, domestic and external resource mobilization geared towards addressing those problems would be pursued with renewed vigour.

ASKALU MENKERIOS, Personal Representative of the President of Eritrea, said that the draft outcome document should give priority to special protective measures for the most vulnerable groups in society, especially for disabled, orphaned and internally displaced children and refugees. The provision of basic necessities to those groups was very important, especially psychosocial services for children traumatized by war. She supported the strengthening of the text on children in armed conflict.

While the victimization of children was heightened on a massive scale in situations of war and natural disasters, there was also a different source of suffering from poverty, neglect, abuse, violence and sexual and economic exploitation. It was the firm commitment of her Government that all rights of children must be promoted and protected at all times. As HIV/AIDS was becoming a serious threat to children’s health and well-being in many societies, concerted global action was needed to combat that crisis. In that connection, her Government had made concrete commitments both at the national and regional levels and was prepared to share its experiences during the special session on HIV/AIDS later this month.

While conflicts came and went, poverty was becoming a permanent feature in many countries, she added. One way of combating poverty was giving due consideration to children in strategic development planning.

CRISTIAN MUNDUATE, Minister, Secretariat of Social Welfare of the President’s Office of Guatemala, said the action plan, which contained mechanisms for decisive action in each country, plus the will of governments worldwide, had led to great progress in the lives and integral development of children. Regional developments had also strengthened the framework within which her own country had carried out its work in that area. The follow-up in the past decade had contributed to including the subject of children in numerous national agendas. The Secretary-General’s report was analytical and useful in highlighting the similar challenges facing various developing countries.

In Guatemala, she said, certain advances in health had occurred. Infant and maternal mortality had been priority items within her Government’s social policy, and a significant step had been taken towards the formulation of a reproductive health policy that paid particular attention to the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Malnutrition indices had decreased, but remained a principle cause of illness and death in Guatemala and adversely affected learning capacity. A positive development had been the recognition of her country as a pioneer in supplementing sugar and salt with vitamins and minerals. With respect to education, the number of children receiving primary education had grown, but lack of education still greatly limited development in the country.

By 2004, there should be an increase in the net primary education enrolment and a reduction of the illiteracy rate to 20 percent, she continued. Support was being provided to families to stimulate the attendance of school age children. The issue of children in the workplace had not formerly been a concern in Guatemala; now the Government wished to eliminate it.

Her country’s public policy encouraged greater participation of children and adolescents and promoted mechanisms to protect the family, she said. It also sought to avoid imprisoning boys and girls through the establishment of a sound judicial system that addressed juvenile delinquency. In addition, it contained decisive measures to combat drugs and the sexual exploitation of women and children. Adoption procedures were also being reviewed, as were measures for preventing the formation of juvenile gangs. The challenges were great; Guatemala’s democracy was young. Following 36 years of armed conflict, it was still a learning process.

AICHATOU FOUMAKOYE, Minister for Social Development of the Population, the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children of the Niger, welcomed the excellent report of the Secretary-General and supported the outcome document of the Cairo Forum, which represented the common African position on the rights of the child. The living conditions of children in Africa were worse than anywhere else and it was in the least developed countries that they were the most deprived.

Niger’s President had initiated a special programme to establish

1,000 health clinics and 1,000 classrooms to offset the impact of poverty, she said. Children in the least developed countries (LDCs) should be given special attention, as they, like all other children in the world, had rights. Particular emphasis should be placed on the issue of malnutrition. No progress had been achieved in that area despite the implementation of a national plan of action for malnutrition. The problem was mainly due to a lack of food security, poverty and bad eating habits. The LDCs could not in themselves successfully tackle endemic poverty without international assistance.

NORJA BALAMARAFA, the Emir of Gobir, Niger, said the association of the traditional chiefs of the Niger thanked the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for fully understanding the role that traditional chiefs could play in promoting the development of children. They had a development agenda and were the people most listened to in their communities. The chiefs were the best channels for social mobilization. When a country was poor, women and children were the first to suffer. The customary chiefs, through intense advocacy with the help of UNICEF, made it possible to increase school enrolment and quadruple the number of schools. Also, thanks to their efforts, there had been an increase in vaccinations for newborns. The United Nations and UNICEF could continue to count on him and his Government, with its 200 traditional chiefs.

MILOS ALCALAY (Venezuela) said he would divide his statements into two parts: first, he would speak as his country’s Permanent Representative; then he wished to introduce an adolescent Venezuelan. Venezuela had incorporated into its Constitution the principles enshrined in the National Convention on the Rights of the Child, thanks to the children and adolescents who had elaborated proposals to the government officials charged with drafting the Constitution. The recently added article 78 stated that children were full-fledged subjects under the law who should be protected by family and society. Indeed, four national children’s and youth parliaments had been held between 1995 and 1998, which had contributed to certain changes in the Constitution since 1999.

Mr. Alcalay then introduced JELISLEM VELNIRO, who said that the creation of a national constitutional youth assembly by boys, girls and adolescents had enabled them to express their opinion in that national process. During the year, State and municipal conferences were held, which provided an opportunity to pronounce on important subjects. That constituency wished to contribute solutions that were binding at the time of decision-making. Children should not be marginalized from such national decisions; they understood right from wrong in the search for solutions for common well-being. Legislation would be the product of a general consensus that included them. They also wanted to participate in decision-making processes at various State and municipal levels. Children were full-fledged subjects under the law and, therefore, must participate in the affairs that directly concerned them. They were capable of finding solutions towards the establishment of a just world for themselves and others. Their voices must be heard.

Ms. BAROAN, Personal Representative of the President of Côte d’Ivoire, said children could no longer wait until the end of the decade for the international community to tackle the issues affecting them. At a time when her country had been placed on the index relating to trafficking of children, she said that it had always fought for the rights of children and was working to combat and eliminate trafficking in children and child labour.

Her country had made human rights the foundation of its legal system since the time of independence, she continued. A study by UNICEF had found that legislation in the country was in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Currently, the Government had made youth and their prosperity an integral part of its agenda. Also, a bill on free education up to the age of 16 and free health care for children was being studied. Furthermore, the Government had signed ILO Conventions 138 and 182, whose ratification was now before the National Assembly.

She said her Government regarded trafficking in children as a crime against humanity and had condemned it as such. So far, 20 traffickers had already been brought before the courts. An agreement with Mali had been established, which would identify the child victims of trafficking. Also, a permanent follow-up commission to that agreement had been set up and the Government had signed a memorandum with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Government had also carried out information campaigns in areas where child labour was used. She asked the international community not to simply confine itself to condemning that scourge, but to come to the aid of those countries affected by it.

AWA GUEYE KEBE (Senegal) said that children were the very heart of her Government’s concerns since a good start in life was essential to physical, intellectual and emotional development. Inter-uterine care required great attention; the pregnant mother must be cared for in order to avoid premature births and deformities. Proper health care, nutrition, hygiene, and affection formed the personality and intelligence of the child. Adolescents were also very important. In a transition between two groups, adolescents had tremendous capacity for imagination and creativity. Aware of the importance of children and adolescents, her Government had taken a number of steps.

She said that, institutionally, a ministry of family and children had been created, as well as a ministry of young people, headed by young people. That had shown the interest of the head of State to include young people in reshaping the nation. In terms of legislation, the rights of women and children had been enshrined in the Constitution as a reflection of the Government’s commitment to those two groups. Also, laws concerning rape and circumcision had been proposed or revised. Strategically, the President had recently initiated a programme for the development of young children that would set up community infrastructures. The idea was based on a holistic approach involving nutrition and education. Another proposal was the creation of special educational and training centres to control idleness and delinquency. Her country would spare no effort to include women and children in meeting the country’s growing needs.

BABLO ROMERO QUEZADA, Vice-Minister of Social Welfare of Ecuador, reiterated his country’s commitment to the principles of the World Summit. His Government had formed an ad hoc committee to analyse the document “a world fit for children”. Despite the serious crisis faced by Ecuador, it had increased the allocation for social investment in the national budget to 20 per cent in 2001. It was hoped that in 2002, 25 per cent of the budget would be allocated to social investment. The girls and boys of his country had participated in identifying the elements of the agenda for the next decade. In 1998, the new political constitution had enshrined the rights of children and adolescents. The Government had also committed to approving the new code on children and adolescents, as well as to establish a system of social hearings.

The phenomenon of migration of adults had had an effect on the number of abandoned children. Between 1999 and 2000, the number of abandoned children had increased from 60,000 to 140,000. The international community could not continue to deny that the debt burden limited the development of countries. He hoped the final document would address that issue. New mechanisms to solve the debt problem must be sought. He urged creditor countries to write off the external debt of debtor countries.

FATHIA MOHAMMED ABDULLAH (Yemen) said that Yemen’s belief in the human rights of children was reflected in its commitment to all relevant conventions, as well as to the goals and strategies of the Summit. That commitment had been incorporated into the sectoral plans of the ministries, as well as into the five-year development plan. The establishment of a council to provide care for mothers and children had been an outstanding achievement. Among its important tasks had been the elaboration of development projects to enhance the status of children and comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The council had also sought to integrate into the national legislation those principles pursued by the League of Arab States, as discussed in 1996. The Parliament was presently trying to approve that law.

She said her Government had made considerable efforts to implement the Convention, but it had met with certain failures given the widespread poverty in the country. At the same time, tangible progress had been made in the field of women and children’s health. Acute respiratory infections were being tackled, and infant and maternal mortality rates had declined. Also, drinking water was being delivered to rural areas. Considerable progress had also been made towards the eradication of polio and the elimination of the guinea worm. Progress in the educational field was lagging, but curriculums had been amended, and efforts were under way to close the gap between boys and girls. Indeed, far-reaching reforms were under way to improve both the educational and health systems through a process of decentralization.

She drew attention to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and called for the cessation of continuous daily violations and acts of violence against innocent Palestinian children. Their suffering, in light of the economic sanctions imposed on their country, was another crime that had led to the deterioration of the lives of hundreds of innocent children.

CHRISTINA LINNER, Senior Coordinator for Refugee Children, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that UNHCR’s efforts to better protect and assist refugee children -- currently some 10 million out of nearly 22 million refugees worldwide -- had been an ongoing task since the World Summit. There had been significant progress in a number of areas, but remaining and new challenges coupled with resource shortfalls had left a range of needs unmet. Refugee children, including adolescents, were among those most at risk of having their basic rights and needs violated.

Considering the staggering numbers and the particular risks which refugee children faced, as well as the fact that those children had been forced to flee their home country and lacked national protection, they required specific support to ensure that their need for international protection and assistance was met. The UNHCR strongly supported a concise, inspiring, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document. Its continued plea was for sufficient focus on protection-oriented goals, targets and strategies that supported refugee children and other children in similar situations.

Among the key issues she highlighted was that refugee children had the right as all other children to birth registration, birth certificates and other identity papers. Stateless children must not be forgotten in that context. Possessing such papers could make the difference between access or non-access to health care and education. A strong commitment to that basic right was, therefore, essential.

MARI SIMONEN, Director, Technical Support Division, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said the Fund had devoted resources and energies towards preventing death and ill-health among women, adolescent girls, infants and children. It had also worked towards preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, encouraging more girls to attend school, and raising awareness of both boys and girls and their communities of their reproductive health needs and rights. Ten years later, some successes had been won.

She said that programmes designed and implemented with careful attention paid to their socio-cultural context had succeeded. Involving “clients” from the design phase, however, was not enough. Everyone must work towards creating the conditions in which young women and men were able to exercise their reproductive choices and responsibilities. Such conditions enabled girls to complete at least a secondary education and protected young mothers from dying in childbirth or becoming permanently disabled or infertile as a result of unsafe abortion. Such an environment also helped women own property and gain access to meaningful employment. It also empowered them to live with their husbands or partners without running the risk of being beaten or killed by them.

The UNFPA was fully aware of the severe challenges it faced, she said. Governments should be called on to allocate greater resources to preventive health and other social services. They should be urged to exert their political will, as well as work with non-governmental organizations, to prevent the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, particularly on girls who were extremely vulnerable to the infection. In the area of HIV/AIDS, the UNFPA focused on prevention through youth friendly information, counselling and services aimed at creating responsible and safe sexual behaviours, ranging from abstinence, delayed sexual activity, and correct and consistent use of condoms. Together with adolescents and parents or caretakers, the Fund had provided those services in the context of the socio-cultural milieu of the countries.

HOWARD HJORT, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that more emphasis should be given in the final document to the conditions that provided the context in which children existed and to those factors that directly affected their ability to secure their rights and meet their needs. That was particularly true when it came to ensuring children’s right to food and the clear linkages among lack of economic growth and social equity, agricultural underdevelopment, inadequate food supplies, household and community poverty, unsafe food and water, environmental degradation, and women’s and children’s undernutrition and well- being. Those considerations pointed to the need to expand investment in agriculture and rural development as the primary means of reducing rural poverty and most forms of malnutrition.

Without a vibrant agricultural sector, he said, most countries would not be able to provide sufficient food for their growing populations; create enough individual and household income to meet the nutrition and other needs of children; or generate sufficient community and national wealth to provide adequate health, education and social services for children. The central role of food in ensuring good nutrition needed to be emphasized. The world must look to its farms, not to its pharmacies, to meet people’s nutritional needs.

RESHAM PATEL, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said that, in most countries, the tobacco industry was violating the right to health through unethical advertising and promotional practices that reached children, particularly girls. In Asia and Africa, tobacco companies aggressively targeted female consumers, associating an addictive product with glamour, liberation and slimness. Many adolescent girls mistakenly believed that smoking would help control their weight. Companies also appeared to children through the promotion of sports and beauty pageants. In India, the cricket teams carried the names of tobacco brands on their shirt-backs. Adults should not be promoting those role models, yet in the name of free speech, they allowed such business practices to flourish. That was wrong.

She said that action must be taken now. The tobacco epidemic was a heavy burden of disease, particularly in poor countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 4 million deaths per year from tobacco; that figure was expected to rise to approximately 8.4 million by 2020. By that date, 70 per cent of those deaths would occur in developing countries. The mention of tobacco in the outcome document was welcome, but it did not send a strong-enough message to governments. Delegations must include the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as the draft WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which recognized tobacco as a trade and political issue requiring global action at the international, as well as personal, levels.

MARTA SCARPATO, on behalf of Global Unions, said that Global Unions was a coalition that represented over 150 million trade union members worldwide. At the present meeting, Global Unions was represented by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and Education International. Global Unions and its civil society partners were committed to the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as an international instrument that recognized the right to education as a fundamental human right.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it was unacceptable that large numbers of children worldwide were still denied the right to education. Children had the right to quality education in a democratic, inclusive, participatory school where students, teachers and parents could learn, teach and work in a child-oriented environment. She recommended that States and international lending institutions revise their policies to ensure that education was truly free without the burden of user fees, such as textbooks and uniforms. Further, governments had the responsibility to provide access and opportunities to girls to be fully engaged in the educational process.

PETER VAN DEN HAZEL, International Coordinator, International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety, speaking on behalf of the Environment and Health Caucus, said now was the time to protect the world’s children from the many environmental hazards they faced. Those hazards included, among other things, toxic air and water pollutants that could lead to asthma, cancer or even learning and behavioural disorders. Because children were uniquely vulnerable to the deteriorating condition, it was urgent that the health and environment issues that affected them be addressed head-on in the outcome document of the special session.

He proposed several key recommendations for the Committee’s consideration. Those included, among other things, the importance of ensuring that the number of children under the age of 15 suffering from respiratory disease -– due in part to indoor and outdoor air pollution -– was reduced by one third. He also suggested that a special environmental panel be established to assess, monitor and measure the impact of environmental exposures on children’s health worldwide. Along with eliminating the worst forms of child labour, his organization would also like to see included in the outcome emphasis on the need to eliminate toxic chemical exposure in the workplace. He encouraged States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to conduct impact assessments on their legislation, policies and resource allocation to ensure that the health and well-being of the world’s children were, indeed, adequately protected.

CHARLOTTE McCLAIN, on behalf of the Disability Caucus, said that for children with disabilities, the review of progress was critical both in terms of monitoring progress under the Convention of the Rights of the Child and because it offered an opportunity to evolve one’s understanding of human rights. Fundamentally, the challenge in achieving the human rights of children with disabilities depended on the way that societies valued them. One of the greatest struggles faced by children with disabilities and their families was the devaluing, the dehumanizing and the discrimination of those children by others.

Creating a society which valued differences and diversity and recognized children with disabilities as children first would require that those children be included in all aspects of community, she said. It required that all children must be loved, valued and recognized as full citizens; that they learn in school with their peers; and that they have full access to inclusive supports and services within the community and opportunities to be active participants in community life. It was time to recognize that the human rights of children with disabilities were more than access to services and more than just protection from abuse.

ROBERTA CECCHETTI, speaking on behalf of the Violence against Children Caucus, said she hoped that the Committee agreed that the outcome document of the special session should stress the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It should also stress that the monitoring mechanisms in the plan of action for children should be integrated with those of the Convention. Most importantly, however, the outcome should not undermine agreed international standards. The Caucus believed that the outcome should call on States to review and implement necessary modifications on all relevant domestic legislation by 2005 to ensure that it complied with the Convention. States should also withdraw reservations to that important instrument as soon as possible.

She said that as it stood, the current proposed outcome document contained little or no emphasis on several important issues. Those included, among others, the need to eliminate the death penalty and life imprisonment for crimes committed by children under 18. The outcome also did not highlight the need to reinstate the requirement that States must protect children form corporal punishment. It also did not challenge the practice of warehousing of children and infants in institutions, nor did it stress that exploitation and trafficking in children should be considered crimes against humanity.

The outcome should include strategies to implement economic and social solutions to particularly address all forms of violence, neglect and abuse of children, she said. It should promote programmes aimed at providing comprehensive public education, as well as training programmes to be developed with their active participation and input, to promote positive, non-violent forms of care and discipline. Greater attention should also be given to worldwide juvenile justice systems to ensure that they were reflective of the principles of the Convention.

J. MOYERSOEN, International Federation Terre des Hommes, said a separate chapter on child trafficking should be included in the outcome document. That chapter should include all provisions addressing that issue currently listed under the chapter "elimination of sexual exploitation" in the draft outcome document. It was also recommended that organized crime against children must be considered as a crime against humanity. Regional and inter-country cooperation should be strengthened regarding harmonization of legislation, investigation and the justice system.

RIEOBERTO MORALES, of the Global March against Child Labour, called for a declaration and plan of action that included the ratification, full implementation and enforcement of ILO Conventions 138 and 182. He also stressed development and implementation, as a mater of urgency, of national programmes for the time-bound elimination of child labour, as well as monitoring of progress towards that end.

He underscored that there should be an immediate end to the recruitment of new child labourers, a guarantee of proper rehabilitation, reintegration and education of all children withdrawn from exploitative work, and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods for their families. In addition, he called for the immediate removal of all financial barriers to quality education for all, including charges for admission, books or uniforms. He stressed that children's needs should also be a first priority in national, State and local budgets.

MARIE ODILE, Fraternité Notre Dame, asked what progress had been made 10 years after the World Summit. The twenty-first century was accompanied by global problems, such as environmental catastrophes, the lack of resources and bloody conflicts. Today, over 160 million children throughout the world suffered from malnutrition, 260 million were not schooled at all and millions died because medical care was wanting. Children’s rights were part of human rights. Left unattended, with no stimulation, no medical care or food, children would waste away instead of developing fully. A family was necessary to the development of children. She was convinced that the first cornerstone to be laid down for creating an equitable balance between men and women was that of free orphanages and schools, in a well balanced, effective and educational environment.

Right of Reply

MARWAN A. JILANI, Observer for Palestine, said that he was not sure of the nature of the statement made by Israel this morning, whether it was an actual statement or right of reply. The Israeli delegate stated that the Committee was not the proper forum in which to discuss the situation of the Palestinian territories. The Committee was meeting in preparation for the special session of the General Assembly, where high government officials would be participating and taking important decisions.

The Declaration and Plan of Action of the World Summit indicated clearly the relevance and importance of children in armed conflict, including those under foreign occupation, he said. In his statement this morning, he had merely addressed the situation of the children in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem. Israel’s references to Israeli casualties could only mean that Jewish blood was more valuable than Palestinian blood. Further, the accusation that Palestinians sent their children out to the front lines was racist and absurd. Most of the Palestinian children who had been killed had died 500 yards from their homes.

He also pointed out that the transfer by Israel of its population into the occupied territories constituted a war crime and crime against humanity. The question of Palestinian refugees, numbering 3.5 million, was also clearly relevant to the Committee’s work. There could be no serious consideration of the situation of children in armed conflict without addressing the situation of those children living under occupation.

JAMES ANDERSON, Children’s Rights Alliance for England, read out a statement written by young members of a country-wide organization run by and for children and young people under 18 years of age that worked to actively promote the children’s Convention, especially the right for children and young people to have a voice in the decisions that affected them. It was totally unacceptable, he said, that the use of corporal punishment and violence against children had been deemed acceptable in many countries. Indeed, children should be protected from all forms of physical punishment and violence. Governments that had joined the Convention must provide children with the same protection under law as adults, under article 19. Governments must implement the Convention and fulfil the promises made to youth.

Hopefully, he said, the special session would advocate a global change in attitudes and mindsets, which result in the treatment of children like second- class citizens. The outcome document should more strongly emphasize the protection of children from corporal punishment, in specific terms. That provision must not be left for each country to interpret, or misinterpret. The message must be clear –- all forms of physical punishment were wrong, and children deserved to be protected from them. With the aim of the preparatory process and the special session to help create a world that was “fit for children”, what gains had been made if children did not even have basic protection from assault? he asked.

Background information:

Official coverage
(United Nations)