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release
Children Issue Statement To World Leaders
at the UN
'We Are Not An Expense, We Are An
Investment - We Are Citizens of This World'
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - Declaring that "we want
a world fit for children, because a world fit for us
is fit for everyone," young people from more than
100 nations sent a powerful message to world leaders
gathered at the United Nations Special Session on Children
this week.
After three days of discussion and debate that ended
Tuesday evening, nearly 400 young people taking part
in the offical Children's Forum unanimously agreed to
a 700-word message to world leaders.
The statement was delivered at the United Nations General
Assembly on Wednesday morning, in the first hour of
the GA's Special Session on Children. It was the first
time children had ever addressed the UN General Assembly
on a substantive issue.
Two young delegates to the Children's Forum were chosen
by their peers to deliver the statement: Gabriela Azurduy
Arrieta, 13, from Bolivia, and Audrey Cheynut, 17, from
Monaco.
UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy was visibly
moved by the work the young delegates put into their
statement, and their resolve and dignity in presenting
it to world leaders. "I believe that for the first
time in the history of the United Nations, children
are not just being seen - they are being heard,"
Bellamy said. "The young people have not only been
eloquent, they have taken responsibility and shown incredible
commitment. I hope it serves to inspire the leaders
attending this conference."
Some 60 summit-level leaders are in attendance at the
Special Session, part of more than 180 high-level government
delegations. More than 3,000 non-government delegates
are also taking part, all of them concerned about children
and nearly half of them from the developing world, where
children face the greatest challenges to survival, health,
education and well-being.
"We are not the sources of problems; we are the
resources that are needed to solve them," the children
said in their statement. "We are not expenses;
we are investments. We are not just young people; we
are people and citizens of this world. You call us the
future. But we are also the present."
Government delegations at the Special Session are reviewing
progress made toward global goals for children that
were set in 1990. They are also expected to agree to
a new set of goals for the next decade.
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Read the full statement issued by children at www.unicef.org
Photos of the children are also available .
For further information, please contact:
UNICEF Media, New York:
(212) 326-7261 or (212) 326-7593
Daily satellite feeds are also available from the Special
Session. For more information visit:
http://www.unicef.org/broadcast/feeds
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