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| Press Release
World leaders to take centre stage at
UN Special Session on Children
NEW YORK, 5 April 2002 - The United Nations
Children's Fund said today that world leaders are poised
to take centre stage at the upcoming Special Session
on Children this May, noting that 72 Heads of State
and Government have so far committed to attending.
"The attendance figures for Heads of State and
Government is a tribute to the commitment these leaders
have shown to their children," said UNICEF Executive
Director Carol Bellamy. "Their role in building
a world fit for children is absolutely essential, and
the commitments they make at the Special Session are
vital to a more peaceful, equitable world."
More than 170 nations are sending delegations to the
General Assembly Special Session on Children, which
takes place May 8-10 in New York. Of those, more than
70 delegations will be led by a Head of State or Government,
according to confirmations received as of 4 April. Additional
national leaders are expected to confirm their attendance
in the coming weeks.
"With five weeks to go before the session, the
turnout of leaders is already outstanding," Bellamy
said. She noted that the numbers are higher at this
point than they were at a comparable juncture late last
summer, when the Special Session on Children had been
scheduled to take place in mid-September. The event
was postponed after September 11.
The Special Session on Children will present a major
opportunity for leaders to focus on the concrete and
specific actions needed to produce gains for children
- and for societies as a whole.
Leadership Roles
In addition to meeting in summit style on the first
day of the conference, many world leaders in attendance
will have key roles throughout the three days of plenary
discussions, side events, and roundtables.
- Nelson Mandela will join President Kim Dae-jung
of South Korea and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
as hosts of a gala celebration of children's rights.
- President Kim, who is a leader in the Global Movement
for Children, will also host one of three Roundtable
discussions with Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa.
Mr. Mwanawasa is also president of the Organization
of African Unity.
- President Vicente Fox of Mexico, fresh from hosting
the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development,
and President Tarja Halonen of Finland will also host
a Roundtable discussion.
- Romanian President Ion Iliescu and Mongolian Prime
Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar will host the third Roundtable.
President Iliescu is one of only a handful of leaders
attending the UN Special Session who were also present
at the 1990 World Summit for Children.
- Bill Gates, Jr. is expected to be joined by President
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka, President
Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President Olusegun Obasanjo
of Nigeria, and President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia
in a Public-Private Dialogue that will also feature
additional national leaders as well as CEOs from Nokia,
Cisco Systems, the Indian software giant WIPRO, and
other major corporations and foundations.
Bellamy noted that religious leaders, parliamentary
leaders, private sector CEOs, Nobel laureates, and the
heads of major non-profit organizations and UN agencies
have also committed to attending the Special Session
in large numbers.
"What these leaders share is the belief that investment
in children is the key to positive change in the world,"
Bellamy said. "Children have the power to bring
people together, and the turn-out for this Special Session
is a reflection of that optimism and can-do spirit."
For further information, please contact:
Liza Barrie,
UNICEF Media Chief, New York (212) 326-7593
Alfred Ironside,
UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7261
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