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Governments 'Say Yes' as agreement
is reached on global goals and plan of action for world's
children
UN Special Session on Children Wraps
Up Successfully
21 New Targets Are Set - Child Delegates
Bring Openness and Inspiration
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - The United Nations
wrapped up its Special Session on Children late Friday
with unanimous agreement on a new agenda for the world's
children, including 21 specific goals and targets for
child health, education and protection over the next
decade, UNICEF announced.
The UN General Assembly Special Session on Children
concluded after a week of inter-governmental negotiations
on the new agenda for children, scores of supporting
events delving into everything from immunization to
child trafficking, and a refreshingly frank exchange
between Heads of State and young people from around
the world.
Friday evening, representatives from some 180 nations
adopted the conference outcome document, entitled "A
World Fit For Children." More than 18 months of
consensus-building resulted in a strong future agenda
focused on four key priorities: promoting healthy lives;
providing quality education for all; protecting children
against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating
HIV/AIDS. Elusive language on child rights, reproductive
health, and other issues was resolved in good-faith
negotiating sessions that lasted through the night Thursday
and wrapped up successfully Friday evening.
"I am enormously proud and pleased at what has
been accomplished this week," said Carol Bellamy,
Executive Director of UNICEF. "If leaders keep
the promises they have made, we can bring about enormous
positive change in the world in less than a generation."
Bellamy praised the government negotiators who worked
hard to build consensus on the document. "No one
wants to fail our children," Bellamy said. "When
it comes to their health and welfare, there is really
very little difference among nations. And when governments
take children seriously, long negotiations are entirely
appropriate."
"But the work does not end this week," Bellamy
added. "It will take committed and bold leadership
over the next few years if we are to meet the standards
we have set for ourselves. In the 1990s we learned that
making promises is not enough - you have to act on them."
Nonetheless, the UNICEF chief - who throughout the
three-day conference dashed tirelessly from meetings
with Heads of State, to substantive panels, to press
briefings with children - was upbeat. "We have
a document the world and its children can be proud of,"
Bellamy said, noting that it was the participation of
young people themselves in the Special Session that
likely had the greatest impact on world leaders.
She listed the accomplishments of the week:
· A strong outcome document setting the agenda
for children over the next decade
· A powerful and unanimous statement to the leaders
of the world from nearly 400 youth delegates, who held
their own debates before joining the adults
· A new partnership to provide better nutrition
for children through the fortification of staple foods
in developing countries, launched with a $50 million
gift from Bill and Melinda Gates
· Individual acts of leadership such as the pledge
by Peru's president to cut military spending and re-direct
public money to basic services for children
· And a successful global pledge campaign called
'Say Yes for Children," which more than 95 million
people supported with pledges to uphold children's rights
"But I think we really made a huge difference
by having so many young people as official delegates,"
Bellamy said, pointing out that children took part in
official General Assembly business for the first time
in history. "They made an enormous impact on everyone
who met with them, from heads of government on down.
And they presented a very clear and united view of their
aspirations and their expectations. I can't imagine
ever going back to summits on children's issues without
young people there to represent their own experiences,
views, and outlook."
Bellamy also praised the leadership of UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, who participated throughout the conference
and who went out of his way to make the children welcome
and to put them at the heart of the United Nations agenda.
Bellamy also acknowledged the Bureau of the preparatory
process, chaired by Ambassador Patricia Durant of Jamaica,
and Bureau members Germany, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzogovina,
and Mali. She also thanked Hans Schumacher of Germany,
who chaired the final negotiations, and the President
of the General Assembly, Mr. Han Seung-Soo of South
Korea.
"Look, it wasn't always easy, but the governments
of the world got where they had to get. They agreed
to 21 concrete, time-bound goals for children, and to
a basic framework for getting there. That result is
the product of an understanding that any lasting progress
in the world must begin with investment in children.
That underlying truth can now be pursued. Let's get
to it."
* * *
For further information, please contact:
Liza Barrie, UNICEF Media Chief, New York (212) 326-7593
Alfred Ironside, UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7261
View and order the Special Session video b-roll, including
the at http://www.unicef.org/broadcast/brolls/specialsession/
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