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31 January 2001
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Preparatory Committee for the 2001
Special Session of the General Assembly
On the Children’s World Summit
31 January 2001
5th Meeting (AM)
The Preparatory Committee for the General Assembly’s special session on children this morning began discussion of the draft provisional outcome document, with speakers suggesting, among other things, that the text be concise and provide clear targets and goals.
The 16 page text –- entitled “A World Fit for Children” -- was prepared by the Committee’s Bureau for consideration at the current session, the second of three in preparation for the special session, which is scheduled for 19 to
21 September. The draft document contains eight chapters, headed: our vision; our challenges; new opportunities; goals, targets and reduction of disparities; our tasks; our strategies, monitoring; and our commitments. The special session is intended to follow up implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the 1990 World Summit for Children.
Canada’s representative told the Committee the outcome document must be action-oriented and concise, so that Member States would be able to implement it. The draft document fell short of that mark. She suggested that the “vision” statement be strengthened, by grounding it more solidly in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The second section of the document, "our challenge", should relate directly to the goals of the World Summit. The third section should be a restatement of the principles to which Members States were already committed through the existing network of international treaties and protocols related to children. The final section should be a workable plan of action, combining measurable goals and clear targets.
The Committee’s Chair, M. Patricia Durrant (Jamaica), said that the Bureau, in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), had prepared the draft outcome document and it sought to be an “overarching guide, not a reformulation of agreements”. The document contained eight major segments, beginning with a vision for children based on past commitments. Comments made by delegations would assist the Bureau in providing a revision of the draft, which would provide a basis for reaching consensus at the Committee’s third substantive session, 11 to 15 June.
The representative of Algeria said that the final document should incorporate national reports. Further, there were particular concerns that disproportionately affected children in developing countries, such as HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, armed conflict and sanctions. The outcome document should avoid contentious issues that had not been properly resolved in the United Nations,
such as human security. The outcome document should be one of consensus. In addition, it would be useless to include mechanisms that would duplicate the work done by the General Assembly or by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
Comparing the draft outcome document with Millennium Summit Declaration, the representative of Japan said that the Millennium Declaration had only nine pages. He was certain the outcome document for the special session could be shortened. Moreover, he felt that the concept of human security as a guiding principle needed to be incorporated in the document. He also wanted to see initiatives included for improving the safety of childhood, including the control of infectious disease. The draft contained too many generalizations and lacked focused strategies.
Also this morning, the Committee concluded its general discussion on organizational arrangements for the 2001 special session.
Statements were also made by the representatives of India, Zimbabwe, Mali, United Republic of Tanzania, Belgium, Bangladesh, Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Philippines, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Albania, Dominican Republic, as well as a representative of the Palestinian Authority. Representatives from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and several non-governmental organizations also spoke. Israel and the Palestinian Authority’s representative spoke in right of reply.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of the draft outcome document.
Committee Work Programme
The Preparatory Committee on the General Assembly special session on children met this morning to continue its general discussion on organizational matters. It was also expected to begin consideration of the outcome of the special session.
Statements
VEENA S. RAO (India) thanked all those who had expressed condolences for the destruction caused by the earthquake which struck the western part of India last Friday. While the tragic loss of life was irreparable, the Government had mobilized resources, relief and rehabilitation measures on an emergency basis. As India was home to the largest child population in the world, the state of India’s children had enormous bearing on the world situation. The country had an extremely strong legal regime for the protection of children’s rights. Constitutional provisions, strong legislation and a large number of governmental and non-governmental organization programmes for children formed a legal umbrella for protecting children’s rights. India was determined that the rights of children should not remain merely constitutional and legal, but should also be translated into actual reality.
Steady progress had been made in several areas including female literacy, access to safe drinking water, eradication of polio and ensuring food sufficiency, she said. However, the issue of infant, child and maternal mortality rates must be immediately addressed.
Closely linked was the prevalence of malnutrition, she said. It was an invisible epidemic that must be conquered during this decade. Malnutrition was inter-generational and, therefore, called for a life-cycle approach which linked the malnutrition status of the mother, infant and the adolescent girl. A good start in life for a child was inextricably linked to the health and nutrition of its mother and her development as an adolescent girl. She urged the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to synergize the efforts of other international agencies, under the overall coordination of the Government of India, in support of the campaign against malnutrition, as was done in the case of polio eradication.
The importance of the health, education and development of the girl child could not be over emphasized, she continued. Those indicators were linked to lower fertility rates, later marriage and better health of children. Universal literacy was at the root of achieving goals for children. India launched Sarvsiksha Abhyaan, or Mission for Education for All, which envisaged free and compulsory elementary education for all children by 2000. The most permanent method of preventing child labour was not through regulation and enforcement alone, but by ensuring universal, compulsory education. India supported the emphasis on development of adolescents. In the next two decades, while the number of children below the age of 15 would remain static, the number of adolescents would increase by some 50 per cent. It was, therefore, imperative to implement innovative strategies to equip them with education and vocational skills.
PAULINUS L.N.SIKOSANA (Zimbabwe) said that his country's inadequate resources and the poor performance of its economy had frustrated Government's efforts to make a child-friendly national budget.
It was estimated that 60 per cent of all child deaths in Zimbabwe would soon be AIDS-related, he said. In an effort to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic which had left 600,000 children orphaned, his Government had adopted a National AIDS Policy and an Orphan Care Policy. It had also established a National AIDS Council to coordinate a multisectoral response to HIV/AIDS and an AIDS Trust Fund.
He further stated that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had classified Zimbabawe as a highly unequal society where the richest 20 per cent of the population received 60 per cent of the country's wealth. His Government had tried to resolve this disparity through its Land Reform Programme, but this had led to alienation from the donor community. This alienation had resulted in a decline in donor assistance, which had impacted negatively on efforts to improve child welfare.
He believed that the matter of rights and welfare of children should be above local and international politics and beyond conditionalities that may be imposed on any Government for whatever reason. Zimbabwe should be afforded realistic opportunities and a level playing field to achieve the set global objectives and goals.
MADINA LY TALL (Mali) reminded the Committee that Mali had co-chaired the 1990 World Summit for Children. Since then, Mali had developed its own plan of action. A task force was established to both implement the plan of action and to decide on future directions. Priority had been given to children in the areas of health and education.
All programmes in favour of the child must have a legal basis, she said. In that respect, Mali had adopted many laws to guarantee the rights of children. Future actions included ensuring the survival of the child, the control of HIV/AIDS and malaria, vaccination programmes, better access to drinking water, and increased enrollment in schools. A number of actions had been taken at the regional level.
She said she could not address the issue of children without mentioning the effects of small arms on them. A source of great insecurity, small arms and light weapons had led to the loss of millions of human lives, and to high numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons. The fate of the child solider must be considered. She called on the international community to punish those responsible for involving children in armed conflict situations.
DAUDI N. MWAKAWAGO (Tanzania) said that during the past decade statistics showed that there had been little progress for children in his country, and some critical indicators had worsened. The reasons for this were that national financial and human resource capacity could not adequately provide for the smooth implementation of programmes to achieve the goals of the 1990 World Summit for Children. In order to implement the goals for the next decade, Tanzania would have to critically analyse its national capacity so as to adopt a set of specific time-bound and measurable goals.
He added that persistent poverty had impeded implementation of the World Summit’s goals, and as a result, the Government had decided to put poverty reduction at the centre of its development efforts. He hoped that with strengthened economic policies, laws, strategies and programmes, there would be a bright future for Tanzania's children.
All children should have a good start in life and should have access to good education, as education was key to life, he said. It was imperative also for children to enjoy being children, and therefore, it was necessary to ensure a child-friendly environment catering to their best interests. The challenges which had been articulated in the draft outcome document, including poverty reduction and discrimination against women and children, needed serious attention.
EDDY BOUTMANS (Belgium) said that children were full-fledged citizens with rights and needs. The international community had the duty to act on behalf of children affected by war, and to ensure that they were protected in times of conflict. Health principles often went by the wayside in time of war. It was in that context that Belgium had increased its contribution to ensure greater awareness of the rights of the child. Developing countries should be supported by making resources available to them, by promoting national capacities and by involving youth.
Education was a fundamental right despite a child’s origin, he said. A literate child was aware of his or her rights, and would be better able to evolve in society. While the international community could play an important role in support of education policies, those must be defined by the State. Each country, whether rich or poor, had the duty to ensure that the child was fully integrated into a scholastic system. Primary education should be obligatory, free and accessible to all. Belgium was aware that a great deal remained to be done to improve the situation of children requesting asylum. The international community had the duty to create a world that respected the rights of the child. Belgium had placed the rights of children at the forefront of its national policies.
A representative of Rotary International said that on 21 January, Rotary International, with the assistance of other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), had immunized some 150 million children against polio in a massive one-day effort. The western hemisphere was declared polio-free in 1994, and the western pacific region was also certified as polio-free last fall. Through joint efforts, polio would be eradicated by 2005.
Perhaps Rotary’s greatest legacy, however, would be the success of its formula for the organization of volunteers, he said. The outcome document should emphasize new techniques to mobilize the private sector. With the help of thousands to attack polio, all villages could look forward to caring for more healthy children. Education and literacy was the most important step out of poverty.
Summarizing the discussion since the beginning of the session, M. PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica) Chairperson of the Committee, said the UNICEF presentation on the first day had provided useful background information for debates over the last few days. The comments made by delegations would be incorporated into the Secretary-General’s report on the follow-up to the World Summit. The two panel discussions provided further opportunity for in-depth understanding of key issues, and the briefings on related events had also proved useful.
Consideration of Special Session Outcome Document
Before turning to the consideration of the outcome document of the special session, Ms. DURRANT said that at the end of the first substantive session, the preparatory committee had authorized the Bureau, in cooperation with UNICEF, to prepare a draft outcome document. That document took into account the views expressed during the first substantive session. The document would include lessons learned, emerging issues and actions to be taken. It had also been agreed that the document’s format would be innovative and concise and would be available in November 2000.
Over the course of several months, various elements of the draft had been brought together, she said. The draft took into account the need to integrate the outcome of global conferences during the 1990s as well as those held in 2000. The draft sought to be an overarching guide, not a reformulation of agreements. The document contained eight major segments beginning with a vision for children based on past commitments. Comments made by delegations would assist the Bureau in providing a revision of the draft outcome document, which would provide a basis for reaching consensus at the third substantive session of the Committee.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said a large degree of consensus had emerged on the fundamental rights of children, among them the right to health and nutrition, universal access to quality education, and gender equality. The outcome document should allow for critical self-appraisal of past experiences and update goals and targets that were adopted by the World Summit in 1990.
He added that the draft document had identified three overarching goals for children: the best possible early childhood; a good quality basic education; and the opportunity for children and young people to participate in their communities. The wealth of discussion at the Special Session would show the best and fastest way to achieve those goals. With renewed determination, delegates would be able to overcome the lack of gains during the past decade.
He was convinced that a better future for every child was within reach. The knowledge and resources to ensure the well-being of every child in every society were available. Individually, through national actions, and globally through the commitment of international cooperation, everyone could make a fresh effort to make the best investment in children
ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said having spent 40 years as the poor relation of the United Nations, the child would now become the focus of the international community. Despite some progress in the last 10 years, hundreds of millions of children still had to endure the impact of an inhumane socio-economic environment. The special session in September should adopt specific targets and actions, with realistic objectives that would serve children in a positive way. The measures should be able to integrate the decisions taken at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995).
Though the draft document provided an excellent basis for future negotiations, he said it should have incorporated national reports. There were particular concerns that disproportionately affected children in developing countries, such as HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, armed conflict and sanctions. A great deal remained to be done, especially in the fields of education and health.
He stressed that the outcome document should avoid contentious issues that had not been properly debated in the United Nations, such as human security. The outcome document should be one of consensus. With regard to the international sphere, it would be useless to include mechanisms that would duplicate work done by the General Assembly or by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. A strong political will, both nationally and internationally, together with the mobilization of resources would lead to a successful outcome, he said. The international community had a political and moral responsibility to provide a better world for children.
JORGE VALDEZ CARRILLO (Peru) said that General Assembly resolution
55/26 had established the framework for the process. The final text should be based on future action and promote respect for children’s human rights. The relationship between civil and political rights and economic and cultural rights should be emphasized. The document should be based on commitments for the comprehensive welfare of children, including quality education. That approach was supported by the spirit and letter of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international commitments.
The text could not ignore important agreements of the 1990s, he said. The interdependent nature of human rights must be stressed in the final outcome document and a transversal approach to gender must be adopted. A definition of health must be included, including sexual and reproductive health, and mental health must also be addressed. It was also essential to promote the participation of children in defining policies and programmes. Special attention must be placed on people in extreme poverty. The question of violence must be addressed and the responsibility of the State in the creation of conditions for human rights must be clearly laid out. The status of especially vulnerable child populations must be addressed. The outcome document should also deal with the question of mechanisms for financing programmes to improve the well-being of children.
LANDON PEARSON (Canada) said the outcome document should be short, succinct and action-oriented, so that Members States could implement it. She was, therefore, concerned that the comprehensive document "A World Fit For Children" fell short of those marks.
She suggested that the “vision” statement be strengthened by grounding it more solidly in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The second section of the document, "our challenge", should relate directly to the goals of the World Summit for Children and should be comprised of the same three elements that successfully informed discussions last June.
Further, she added, the third section of the document should be a restatement of the principles to which Members States were already committed through the existing network of international treaties and protocols related to children. The final section should be a workable plan of action, combining measurable goals and clear targets. The existing targets of the World Summit should all be reflected and measurable goals and targets should be set for emerging issues. Her country was conscious of the intensive process needed to achieve results for boys and girls everywhere, and in that regard was going provide $500,000 to UNICEF towards the realization of the special session.
LUIZA RIBEIRO VIOTTI (Brazil) said that in the last decade many victories had been obtained in the struggle to ensure a better future for children. Despite positive trends, however, a daunting task still lay ahead. Nations and individual governments had a crucial role to play in the foundation of a more equitable society. A supportive international economic environment must be established and disparities within the economic system redressed. Rich countries must open their markets to the products of developing countries, particularly in the agricultural sector. The forthcoming special session must put special emphasis on poverty reduction. Strategies should be primarily inspired by the Convention and its Optional Protocols.
The forthcoming special session must also take into account the legal instruments and important decisions regarding children adopted in almost all of the major United Nations conferences in the last decade, he said. There was ample room to build on the commitments set forth during the World Summit for Children. The anniversary should be used as an opportunity to analyse why some of the goals had not yet been fulfilled. The outcome document should be as concise as possible, action-oriented and define an ambitious, yet realistic, agenda. He favoured a strong private sector and civil society involvement in the strategies to promote the rights of the child. The document should put stronger emphasis on the issues of gender, race and discrimination. It should establish a clear linkage with the forthcoming World Conference against racism in Durban, South Africa.
DEYANIRA RAMIREZ (Costa Rica) said the final document should be refocused, with greater attention paid to the Convention on the Rights on the Child. It should contain realistic goals, with strategic guidelines. It should also include specific actions for the elimination of child labour. Also, an appeal should be made to those countries concerned to write off 3 per cent of debt servicing, with the funds allocated to educational projects that guaranteed attendance. Also, an appeal should be made to Member States to devise rights-focused economic policies, which would give special attention to early childhood and adolescents. She was convinced that an expanded international trade -- open, and predictable -- would go a long way towards helping Members States meet the goals of the World Summit.
KIYOTAKA AKASAKA (Japan) said that it was not the time for statements, but rather for comments on the draft. The basic objective of the document was to express a strong commitment to reinforce action. Strategies and priorities must be set out in a clear fashion. Another objective of the document was increased participation on the part of governments and civil society. He had hoped that the document could have been innovative, concise and action-oriented. The current document had 21 pages, whereas the Millennium Declaration had only nine pages. He was sure that the document could be shortened. The concept of human security as a guiding principle needed to be incorporated in the document. Japan would also like to see initiatives for improving the safety of childhood, the control of infectious disease, included. Education and empowerment of women and girls were priority actions. The protection of children from sexual exploitation was also priority. Priorities must be clearly set out in the document.
The draft document had eight chapters, he noted. Some were repetitive, with overlapping paragraphs. As a result, the document did not give clear indication of actions to be taken. The eight chapters could be streamlined into four chapters. A number of targets were set out in the draft. Some were based on existing targets while others were new. What criteria had been used for new targets? Were more targets needed? Also, data was needed to substantiate targets. In paragraph 34 of the draft, for example, targets h, j, k talked about halving problems or reducing numbers. What were the exact numbers? Specific data to substantiate goals was needed. Also, which regions and countries were in need of more action? Without firm data, halving did not necessarily mean anything. The draft contained many generalized words. The paper lacked focused strategies.
LOURDES BALANON (Philippines) said that, although her Government shared the vision laid out in the draft provisional outcome document, the critical role of families should also be recognized in this vision. The family was the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, particularly children. Specific measures to ensure that children grew up in a caring and nurturing family environment should therefore be included in the outcome document.
With regard to the challenges outlined in the outcome document, she said the Philippines recognized those challenges, as it too was faced with the need to address the problems of children of indigenous groups and Filipino migrant workers who lived under difficult conditions and were neglected in the provision of basic services. The Philippines also faced the problem of inadequate financial resources to meet the needs of its children in general. The outcome document should mention additional challenges faced by many Member States in an appropriate way.
She stressed that targets could only be met if the necessary resources were made available and were effectively used. It was therefore necessary for each country to come up with its own targets, based on its capabilities and needs. She assured delegates that the newly-installed Government was fully committed to making significant contributions in creating a "World Fit For Children".
F. AL-RUBAIE (Iraq) said that the comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq for more than 10 years were well known to all. They had generated violent protest at the United Nations. The economic sanctions had given rise to disastrous consequences for the Iraqi people. The most basic human rights were no longer accessible to the Iraqi people. The accumulated consequences of sanctions had led to the death of more than 1 million citizens, most of whom were women and children. The impact of sanctions extended to all sectors of society, including health and social services.
Referring to a statement made by UNICEF in 1999, he said that the Gulf War and the sanctions imposed had lead to a sudden change not only in a political and economic context, but also in social services rendered by the Government. In the 1980s Iraq provided free social services to citizens, but the sanctions led to the collapse of that system. During the period 1984 to 1989, there were 47 deaths for each 1,0000 live births. That figure rose to 79 deaths by 1994. From 1994 to 1999, there were some 108 deaths per 1,000 live births.
He said the report also indicated that each fourth child below the age of five suffered from average to sharp malnutrition and the spread of childhood diseases was rising. It had become clear that the purpose of economic sanctions was to deliberately subject people to severe living conditions. They were meant to physically destroy the country. Iraq hoped that the outcome document would stress the need to end the suffering of Iraqi children, through the lifting of sanctions.
JOHN DE SARAM (Sri Lanka) said that though cultures differed from country to country, which inevitably led to different programmes for the betterment of children, there was general agreement that the economic health of a country went a long way to determining the circumstances and the lives of its children.
Sri Lanka, like most developing countries, had suffered from modern scourges, such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, rapid urbanization and the "not too happy consequences" of globalization. The burden of those had disproportionately affected children in a negative way. The country had, therefore, worked closely with UNICEF, in a project-based approach, to deal with those problems. With regard to the outcome document, his country was committed to working towards a negotiated outcome document. He hoped that the special session would address adequately the enormous problems ahead and advocate ways in which the international community could provide assistance.
BALI MONIAGA (Indonesia) said that the draft was a good starting point for the Committee’s deliberations. As the draft was a follow-up to documents endorsed at the 1990 World Summit, the section of the draft that outlined future vision should deal more precisely with development issues, such as health care, education, poverty and the implications of globalization. Globalization and the issue of how developing countries could best benefit from the rapid advances of information technology was perhaps the greatest challenge confronting the international community. Indonesia supported effort for a universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a review of national legislation to ensure conformity with the Convention and Optional Protocols by 2005.
The outcome document should be action-oriented and include a set of specific recommendations, he said. The draft document was not concise. In light of the situation in several Asian countries, he had hoped that the financial crisis would have been addressed in the draft. The outcome of the special session was at risk, so long as financial markets remained unstable. Such lessons-learned were all too recent not to be included in the final outcome document.
MIMOZA HAFIZI (Albania) stressed that her Government was committed to meeting the goals set by the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, as well as the Plan of Action for the implementation of the Declaration.
She said that the draft outcome document was a serious programme for improving the situation of children all over the world. Her Government, therefore, fully supported its objectives and appreciated the participation of children in the process. Society should fully accept children's right to participate in the decision-making process within the family and the community in general. Albania had been encouraged, with the help of UNICEF, to devise a National Strategy for Children and welcomed contributions of all social partners, domestic NGOs, as well as international organizations in the implementation of the strategy.
SIULLIN JOA (Dominican Republic) said resources and mechanisms for implementation must be clear in the outcome document and there should be greater emphasis on adolescents. In January, the Dominican Republic had submitted its national report on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite economic growth and political will, the country continued to show alarming figures for infant mortality and education. The new administration had taken several steps, including reform legislation, ending corruption and directing greater resources to the social sector. Education was a priority, since it was an important mechanism to combat poverty, and investment in it had increased.
Given the high levels of infant and maternal mortality, she said health care for children was also a priority. Some 11 per cent of the national budget was devoted to health programmes. The Dominican Republic would also strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention programmes and the increasing number of childhood pregnancies. Resources to deal with social deficiencies, including housing and water, had been doubled. The special session for children was an important opportunity to evaluate the achievements of the past decade and to commit to future goals.
MUNTHER AL-SHARIF, Deputy Minister of Health of the Palestinian Authority, said that for far too long, Palestinian children had been denied the very rights guaranteed to all children that were enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The situation of the Palestinian child was characterized by the countless negative short-term and long-term consequences of life under foreign occupation. The Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian people for more than three decades had impacted on all aspects of the life of Palestinian children. Recent events had resulted in the deaths of many children and many had been injured. Some would be permanently disabled from their injuries.
He strongly believed that the outcome document should include references to foreign occupation as among the challenges seriously affecting the lives children. The international community should be committed to ensuring the rights of children, including children under occupation. He recommended using the same language used in the 1990 Declaration. In conclusion, he said that he was shocked that the official summary distributed by UNICEF entitled "The State of the World's Children 2001" had not contained anything about Palestinian children. He regretted that omission and intended to address the matter in the appropriate forum.
DAVID LAWSON, of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said that what was a matter of grave concern for the international community 10 years ago had now become an unprecedented human tragedy. The AIDS epidemic had emerged over time as one of the most powerful threats to children and young people. Nearly 6 million children below the age of 15 years had been infected with HIV since the AIDS epidemic began. In a growing number of countries, AIDS was now the biggest single cause of child mortality. Some 4.3 million children had already died of AIDS, including 500,000 in the year 2000 alone.
Today, on a global scale, the majority of all new infections occurred among children and young people. Children were becoming infected at the rate of about one child every minute of every day. Over 36 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the world today. Two thirds of them were Africans. Africa was home to the vast majority of HIV-positive children. In the most affected countries, by the year 2010 life expectancy for a child born 2000-2005 would drop to 43 years, from the pre-AIDS expectation of 60 years of life. AIDS might increase the mortality of children under five years of age by more than 100 per cent.
He said that AIDS orphans were the most explicit manifestation of the human disaster. At the end of 2000, over 13 million children had lost their mother or both parents to AIDS. Some 90 per cent of those orphans were African. By the year 2010, an estimated 42 million children would be orphaned by AIDS. An increasing number of families were headed by a child under 15 years of age. Many were exposed to abuse and exploitation. Children deserved immediate and continued attention.
The draft outcome document proposed some avenues to respond to the challenges posed by the epidemic, he said. To supplement the vision of the outcome document a few key areas must be strengthened. Children must be supported and protected from the HIV infection. Better access to voluntary counseling and testing was needed. Children orphaned by AIDS must be kept on the international agenda. The draft outcome document must elaborate on global commitments made at the Millennium Summit. The groundbreaking goal of providing 75 per cent of HIV-infected women globally with effective treatment, to reduce mother-to-child transmission by 2010 was crucial.
ENCHO GOSPODINOV, representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said he had decided to focus on the HIV/AIDS pandemic because of its devastating impact on the lives of children all over the world, but particularly in southern Africa. More than 13 million children under the age of 15, 11 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa, had lost a mother or both parents to AIDS.
His organization was mobilizing its network of 2 million members and volunteers in Africa to combat the spread of the disease in a 10-year commitment. It realized, however, that the sheer size of the problem needed a creative and innovative response. The special session on HIV/AIDS and the follow-up to the World Summit for Children would contribute significantly to ensuring a brighter and more secure future for the children of the world. He expected the Committee to take into account his organization's concerns and recommendations during discussion on the draft outcome document of the special session.
Right of Reply
In exercising his right of reply to the statement made by the representative of the Palestinian Authority, RON ADAM (Israel) said that he deeply regretted that an august body like the Committee had been used to make political statements. Since late summer, Israel had been forced to address the disturbing phenomenon of children being sent to the frontline to throw stones at soldiers. Children had been taken out of school for that purpose and Chairman Yasser Arafat himself had referred to them as generals of the rocks.
He added that the media, namely USA Today, had reported that there were many mothers within Palestine who were opposed to the practice and had written to Chairman Arafat, asking him to stop sending their children to the frontline. Stone throwing was a dangerous practice. Those stone-throwing youngsters should be safe in their schools and homes, but were instead being forced into throwing stones by their teachers, among others. The Palestinian education system had fostered a culture of hatred against Israel. His country, like Palestine, could also tell stories in order to gain the sympathy of the international community, but refrained from doing so.
In response, Mr. AL-SHARIF, of the Palestinian Authority, denied that children were being taken out of school and encouraged by teachers to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. There were many who were opposed to Israeli occupation and children were among them. Children as young as two years old had been killed by Israeli soldiers.
NGO Statements
A representative of the Child Rights Caucus welcomed the final outcome document. The document should focus on new challenges and the means to achieve them. It should be based on the principles of the Convention and should reflect the rights of the child. It should portray a positive picture for the child, as an active citizen in development. The draft, however, did not face the main problems, including poverty and conflict. Strategies should be interdependent. Other important subjects, such as violence and juvenile delinquency, were also missing. The final document should specify follow-up mechanisms.
A representative of the Caucus on Children and Armed Conflict said that since May last year the world had seen contempt for international norms and resolutions on children and armed conflict had been subject to contempt. Grave violations had been met with silence and inaction. It was important, therefore, that the special session consolidate and institutionalize gains made in recent years in elaborating norms and strategies. Systems for monitoring should be tightened. The Caucus stressed the issue of education as a foundation of child protection. Schools should be treated as zones of peace.
The second priority was youth participation in peace-building, he said. They must be given a lead role in initiatives. Improved monitoring of violations was also a priority. Work should begin on rapid response and individual complaint processes, similar to other human rights mechanisms. Establishing accountability mechanisms was also crucial. States must ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Children and armed conflict issues should be assigned a special place at the special session, with a panel discussion devoted to that issue.
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Special Session of the General Assembly
On the Children’s World Summit
31 January 2001
5th Meeting (AM)
The Preparatory Committee for the General Assembly’s special session on children this morning began discussion of the draft provisional outcome document, with speakers suggesting, among other things, that the text be concise and provide clear targets and goals.
The 16 page text –- entitled “A World Fit for Children” -- was prepared by the Committee’s Bureau for consideration at the current session, the second of three in preparation for the special session, which is scheduled for 19 to
21 September. The draft document contains eight chapters, headed: our vision; our challenges; new opportunities; goals, targets and reduction of disparities; our tasks; our strategies, monitoring; and our commitments. The special session is intended to follow up implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the 1990 World Summit for Children.
Canada’s representative told the Committee the outcome document must be action-oriented and concise, so that Member States would be able to implement it. The draft document fell short of that mark. She suggested that the “vision” statement be strengthened, by grounding it more solidly in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The second section of the document, "our challenge", should relate directly to the goals of the World Summit. The third section should be a restatement of the principles to which Members States were already committed through the existing network of international treaties and protocols related to children. The final section should be a workable plan of action, combining measurable goals and clear targets.
The Committee’s Chair, M. Patricia Durrant (Jamaica), said that the Bureau, in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), had prepared the draft outcome document and it sought to be an “overarching guide, not a reformulation of agreements”. The document contained eight major segments, beginning with a vision for children based on past commitments. Comments made by delegations would assist the Bureau in providing a revision of the draft, which would provide a basis for reaching consensus at the Committee’s third substantive session, 11 to 15 June.
The representative of Algeria said that the final document should incorporate national reports. Further, there were particular concerns that disproportionately affected children in developing countries, such as HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, armed conflict and sanctions. The outcome document should avoid contentious issues that had not been properly resolved in the United Nations,
such as human security. The outcome document should be one of consensus. In addition, it would be useless to include mechanisms that would duplicate the work done by the General Assembly or by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
Comparing the draft outcome document with Millennium Summit Declaration, the representative of Japan said that the Millennium Declaration had only nine pages. He was certain the outcome document for the special session could be shortened. Moreover, he felt that the concept of human security as a guiding principle needed to be incorporated in the document. He also wanted to see initiatives included for improving the safety of childhood, including the control of infectious disease. The draft contained too many generalizations and lacked focused strategies.
Also this morning, the Committee concluded its general discussion on organizational arrangements for the 2001 special session.
Statements were also made by the representatives of India, Zimbabwe, Mali, United Republic of Tanzania, Belgium, Bangladesh, Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Philippines, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Albania, Dominican Republic, as well as a representative of the Palestinian Authority. Representatives from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and several non-governmental organizations also spoke. Israel and the Palestinian Authority’s representative spoke in right of reply.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of the draft outcome document.
Committee Work Programme
The Preparatory Committee on the General Assembly special session on children met this morning to continue its general discussion on organizational matters. It was also expected to begin consideration of the outcome of the special session.
Statements
VEENA S. RAO (India) thanked all those who had expressed condolences for the destruction caused by the earthquake which struck the western part of India last Friday. While the tragic loss of life was irreparable, the Government had mobilized resources, relief and rehabilitation measures on an emergency basis. As India was home to the largest child population in the world, the state of India’s children had enormous bearing on the world situation. The country had an extremely strong legal regime for the protection of children’s rights. Constitutional provisions, strong legislation and a large number of governmental and non-governmental organization programmes for children formed a legal umbrella for protecting children’s rights. India was determined that the rights of children should not remain merely constitutional and legal, but should also be translated into actual reality.
Steady progress had been made in several areas including female literacy, access to safe drinking water, eradication of polio and ensuring food sufficiency, she said. However, the issue of infant, child and maternal mortality rates must be immediately addressed.
Closely linked was the prevalence of malnutrition, she said. It was an invisible epidemic that must be conquered during this decade. Malnutrition was inter-generational and, therefore, called for a life-cycle approach which linked the malnutrition status of the mother, infant and the adolescent girl. A good start in life for a child was inextricably linked to the health and nutrition of its mother and her development as an adolescent girl. She urged the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to synergize the efforts of other international agencies, under the overall coordination of the Government of India, in support of the campaign against malnutrition, as was done in the case of polio eradication.
The importance of the health, education and development of the girl child could not be over emphasized, she continued. Those indicators were linked to lower fertility rates, later marriage and better health of children. Universal literacy was at the root of achieving goals for children. India launched Sarvsiksha Abhyaan, or Mission for Education for All, which envisaged free and compulsory elementary education for all children by 2000. The most permanent method of preventing child labour was not through regulation and enforcement alone, but by ensuring universal, compulsory education. India supported the emphasis on development of adolescents. In the next two decades, while the number of children below the age of 15 would remain static, the number of adolescents would increase by some 50 per cent. It was, therefore, imperative to implement innovative strategies to equip them with education and vocational skills.
PAULINUS L.N.SIKOSANA (Zimbabwe) said that his country's inadequate resources and the poor performance of its economy had frustrated Government's efforts to make a child-friendly national budget.
It was estimated that 60 per cent of all child deaths in Zimbabwe would soon be AIDS-related, he said. In an effort to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic which had left 600,000 children orphaned, his Government had adopted a National AIDS Policy and an Orphan Care Policy. It had also established a National AIDS Council to coordinate a multisectoral response to HIV/AIDS and an AIDS Trust Fund.
He further stated that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had classified Zimbabawe as a highly unequal society where the richest 20 per cent of the population received 60 per cent of the country's wealth. His Government had tried to resolve this disparity through its Land Reform Programme, but this had led to alienation from the donor community. This alienation had resulted in a decline in donor assistance, which had impacted negatively on efforts to improve child welfare.
He believed that the matter of rights and welfare of children should be above local and international politics and beyond conditionalities that may be imposed on any Government for whatever reason. Zimbabwe should be afforded realistic opportunities and a level playing field to achieve the set global objectives and goals.
MADINA LY TALL (Mali) reminded the Committee that Mali had co-chaired the 1990 World Summit for Children. Since then, Mali had developed its own plan of action. A task force was established to both implement the plan of action and to decide on future directions. Priority had been given to children in the areas of health and education.
All programmes in favour of the child must have a legal basis, she said. In that respect, Mali had adopted many laws to guarantee the rights of children. Future actions included ensuring the survival of the child, the control of HIV/AIDS and malaria, vaccination programmes, better access to drinking water, and increased enrollment in schools. A number of actions had been taken at the regional level.
She said she could not address the issue of children without mentioning the effects of small arms on them. A source of great insecurity, small arms and light weapons had led to the loss of millions of human lives, and to high numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons. The fate of the child solider must be considered. She called on the international community to punish those responsible for involving children in armed conflict situations.
DAUDI N. MWAKAWAGO (Tanzania) said that during the past decade statistics showed that there had been little progress for children in his country, and some critical indicators had worsened. The reasons for this were that national financial and human resource capacity could not adequately provide for the smooth implementation of programmes to achieve the goals of the 1990 World Summit for Children. In order to implement the goals for the next decade, Tanzania would have to critically analyse its national capacity so as to adopt a set of specific time-bound and measurable goals.
He added that persistent poverty had impeded implementation of the World Summit’s goals, and as a result, the Government had decided to put poverty reduction at the centre of its development efforts. He hoped that with strengthened economic policies, laws, strategies and programmes, there would be a bright future for Tanzania's children.
All children should have a good start in life and should have access to good education, as education was key to life, he said. It was imperative also for children to enjoy being children, and therefore, it was necessary to ensure a child-friendly environment catering to their best interests. The challenges which had been articulated in the draft outcome document, including poverty reduction and discrimination against women and children, needed serious attention.
EDDY BOUTMANS (Belgium) said that children were full-fledged citizens with rights and needs. The international community had the duty to act on behalf of children affected by war, and to ensure that they were protected in times of conflict. Health principles often went by the wayside in time of war. It was in that context that Belgium had increased its contribution to ensure greater awareness of the rights of the child. Developing countries should be supported by making resources available to them, by promoting national capacities and by involving youth.
Education was a fundamental right despite a child’s origin, he said. A literate child was aware of his or her rights, and would be better able to evolve in society. While the international community could play an important role in support of education policies, those must be defined by the State. Each country, whether rich or poor, had the duty to ensure that the child was fully integrated into a scholastic system. Primary education should be obligatory, free and accessible to all. Belgium was aware that a great deal remained to be done to improve the situation of children requesting asylum. The international community had the duty to create a world that respected the rights of the child. Belgium had placed the rights of children at the forefront of its national policies.
A representative of Rotary International said that on 21 January, Rotary International, with the assistance of other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), had immunized some 150 million children against polio in a massive one-day effort. The western hemisphere was declared polio-free in 1994, and the western pacific region was also certified as polio-free last fall. Through joint efforts, polio would be eradicated by 2005.
Perhaps Rotary’s greatest legacy, however, would be the success of its formula for the organization of volunteers, he said. The outcome document should emphasize new techniques to mobilize the private sector. With the help of thousands to attack polio, all villages could look forward to caring for more healthy children. Education and literacy was the most important step out of poverty.
Summarizing the discussion since the beginning of the session, M. PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica) Chairperson of the Committee, said the UNICEF presentation on the first day had provided useful background information for debates over the last few days. The comments made by delegations would be incorporated into the Secretary-General’s report on the follow-up to the World Summit. The two panel discussions provided further opportunity for in-depth understanding of key issues, and the briefings on related events had also proved useful.
Consideration of Special Session Outcome Document
Before turning to the consideration of the outcome document of the special session, Ms. DURRANT said that at the end of the first substantive session, the preparatory committee had authorized the Bureau, in cooperation with UNICEF, to prepare a draft outcome document. That document took into account the views expressed during the first substantive session. The document would include lessons learned, emerging issues and actions to be taken. It had also been agreed that the document’s format would be innovative and concise and would be available in November 2000.
Over the course of several months, various elements of the draft had been brought together, she said. The draft took into account the need to integrate the outcome of global conferences during the 1990s as well as those held in 2000. The draft sought to be an overarching guide, not a reformulation of agreements. The document contained eight major segments beginning with a vision for children based on past commitments. Comments made by delegations would assist the Bureau in providing a revision of the draft outcome document, which would provide a basis for reaching consensus at the third substantive session of the Committee.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said a large degree of consensus had emerged on the fundamental rights of children, among them the right to health and nutrition, universal access to quality education, and gender equality. The outcome document should allow for critical self-appraisal of past experiences and update goals and targets that were adopted by the World Summit in 1990.
He added that the draft document had identified three overarching goals for children: the best possible early childhood; a good quality basic education; and the opportunity for children and young people to participate in their communities. The wealth of discussion at the Special Session would show the best and fastest way to achieve those goals. With renewed determination, delegates would be able to overcome the lack of gains during the past decade.
He was convinced that a better future for every child was within reach. The knowledge and resources to ensure the well-being of every child in every society were available. Individually, through national actions, and globally through the commitment of international cooperation, everyone could make a fresh effort to make the best investment in children
ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said having spent 40 years as the poor relation of the United Nations, the child would now become the focus of the international community. Despite some progress in the last 10 years, hundreds of millions of children still had to endure the impact of an inhumane socio-economic environment. The special session in September should adopt specific targets and actions, with realistic objectives that would serve children in a positive way. The measures should be able to integrate the decisions taken at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995).
Though the draft document provided an excellent basis for future negotiations, he said it should have incorporated national reports. There were particular concerns that disproportionately affected children in developing countries, such as HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, armed conflict and sanctions. A great deal remained to be done, especially in the fields of education and health.
He stressed that the outcome document should avoid contentious issues that had not been properly debated in the United Nations, such as human security. The outcome document should be one of consensus. With regard to the international sphere, it would be useless to include mechanisms that would duplicate work done by the General Assembly or by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. A strong political will, both nationally and internationally, together with the mobilization of resources would lead to a successful outcome, he said. The international community had a political and moral responsibility to provide a better world for children.
JORGE VALDEZ CARRILLO (Peru) said that General Assembly resolution
55/26 had established the framework for the process. The final text should be based on future action and promote respect for children’s human rights. The relationship between civil and political rights and economic and cultural rights should be emphasized. The document should be based on commitments for the comprehensive welfare of children, including quality education. That approach was supported by the spirit and letter of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international commitments.
The text could not ignore important agreements of the 1990s, he said. The interdependent nature of human rights must be stressed in the final outcome document and a transversal approach to gender must be adopted. A definition of health must be included, including sexual and reproductive health, and mental health must also be addressed. It was also essential to promote the participation of children in defining policies and programmes. Special attention must be placed on people in extreme poverty. The question of violence must be addressed and the responsibility of the State in the creation of conditions for human rights must be clearly laid out. The status of especially vulnerable child populations must be addressed. The outcome document should also deal with the question of mechanisms for financing programmes to improve the well-being of children.
LANDON PEARSON (Canada) said the outcome document should be short, succinct and action-oriented, so that Members States could implement it. She was, therefore, concerned that the comprehensive document "A World Fit For Children" fell short of those marks.
She suggested that the “vision” statement be strengthened by grounding it more solidly in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The second section of the document, "our challenge", should relate directly to the goals of the World Summit for Children and should be comprised of the same three elements that successfully informed discussions last June.
Further, she added, the third section of the document should be a restatement of the principles to which Members States were already committed through the existing network of international treaties and protocols related to children. The final section should be a workable plan of action, combining measurable goals and clear targets. The existing targets of the World Summit should all be reflected and measurable goals and targets should be set for emerging issues. Her country was conscious of the intensive process needed to achieve results for boys and girls everywhere, and in that regard was going provide $500,000 to UNICEF towards the realization of the special session.
LUIZA RIBEIRO VIOTTI (Brazil) said that in the last decade many victories had been obtained in the struggle to ensure a better future for children. Despite positive trends, however, a daunting task still lay ahead. Nations and individual governments had a crucial role to play in the foundation of a more equitable society. A supportive international economic environment must be established and disparities within the economic system redressed. Rich countries must open their markets to the products of developing countries, particularly in the agricultural sector. The forthcoming special session must put special emphasis on poverty reduction. Strategies should be primarily inspired by the Convention and its Optional Protocols.
The forthcoming special session must also take into account the legal instruments and important decisions regarding children adopted in almost all of the major United Nations conferences in the last decade, he said. There was ample room to build on the commitments set forth during the World Summit for Children. The anniversary should be used as an opportunity to analyse why some of the goals had not yet been fulfilled. The outcome document should be as concise as possible, action-oriented and define an ambitious, yet realistic, agenda. He favoured a strong private sector and civil society involvement in the strategies to promote the rights of the child. The document should put stronger emphasis on the issues of gender, race and discrimination. It should establish a clear linkage with the forthcoming World Conference against racism in Durban, South Africa.
DEYANIRA RAMIREZ (Costa Rica) said the final document should be refocused, with greater attention paid to the Convention on the Rights on the Child. It should contain realistic goals, with strategic guidelines. It should also include specific actions for the elimination of child labour. Also, an appeal should be made to those countries concerned to write off 3 per cent of debt servicing, with the funds allocated to educational projects that guaranteed attendance. Also, an appeal should be made to Member States to devise rights-focused economic policies, which would give special attention to early childhood and adolescents. She was convinced that an expanded international trade -- open, and predictable -- would go a long way towards helping Members States meet the goals of the World Summit.
KIYOTAKA AKASAKA (Japan) said that it was not the time for statements, but rather for comments on the draft. The basic objective of the document was to express a strong commitment to reinforce action. Strategies and priorities must be set out in a clear fashion. Another objective of the document was increased participation on the part of governments and civil society. He had hoped that the document could have been innovative, concise and action-oriented. The current document had 21 pages, whereas the Millennium Declaration had only nine pages. He was sure that the document could be shortened. The concept of human security as a guiding principle needed to be incorporated in the document. Japan would also like to see initiatives for improving the safety of childhood, the control of infectious disease, included. Education and empowerment of women and girls were priority actions. The protection of children from sexual exploitation was also priority. Priorities must be clearly set out in the document.
The draft document had eight chapters, he noted. Some were repetitive, with overlapping paragraphs. As a result, the document did not give clear indication of actions to be taken. The eight chapters could be streamlined into four chapters. A number of targets were set out in the draft. Some were based on existing targets while others were new. What criteria had been used for new targets? Were more targets needed? Also, data was needed to substantiate targets. In paragraph 34 of the draft, for example, targets h, j, k talked about halving problems or reducing numbers. What were the exact numbers? Specific data to substantiate goals was needed. Also, which regions and countries were in need of more action? Without firm data, halving did not necessarily mean anything. The draft contained many generalized words. The paper lacked focused strategies.
LOURDES BALANON (Philippines) said that, although her Government shared the vision laid out in the draft provisional outcome document, the critical role of families should also be recognized in this vision. The family was the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, particularly children. Specific measures to ensure that children grew up in a caring and nurturing family environment should therefore be included in the outcome document.
With regard to the challenges outlined in the outcome document, she said the Philippines recognized those challenges, as it too was faced with the need to address the problems of children of indigenous groups and Filipino migrant workers who lived under difficult conditions and were neglected in the provision of basic services. The Philippines also faced the problem of inadequate financial resources to meet the needs of its children in general. The outcome document should mention additional challenges faced by many Member States in an appropriate way.
She stressed that targets could only be met if the necessary resources were made available and were effectively used. It was therefore necessary for each country to come up with its own targets, based on its capabilities and needs. She assured delegates that the newly-installed Government was fully committed to making significant contributions in creating a "World Fit For Children".
F. AL-RUBAIE (Iraq) said that the comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq for more than 10 years were well known to all. They had generated violent protest at the United Nations. The economic sanctions had given rise to disastrous consequences for the Iraqi people. The most basic human rights were no longer accessible to the Iraqi people. The accumulated consequences of sanctions had led to the death of more than 1 million citizens, most of whom were women and children. The impact of sanctions extended to all sectors of society, including health and social services.
Referring to a statement made by UNICEF in 1999, he said that the Gulf War and the sanctions imposed had lead to a sudden change not only in a political and economic context, but also in social services rendered by the Government. In the 1980s Iraq provided free social services to citizens, but the sanctions led to the collapse of that system. During the period 1984 to 1989, there were 47 deaths for each 1,0000 live births. That figure rose to 79 deaths by 1994. From 1994 to 1999, there were some 108 deaths per 1,000 live births.
He said the report also indicated that each fourth child below the age of five suffered from average to sharp malnutrition and the spread of childhood diseases was rising. It had become clear that the purpose of economic sanctions was to deliberately subject people to severe living conditions. They were meant to physically destroy the country. Iraq hoped that the outcome document would stress the need to end the suffering of Iraqi children, through the lifting of sanctions.
JOHN DE SARAM (Sri Lanka) said that though cultures differed from country to country, which inevitably led to different programmes for the betterment of children, there was general agreement that the economic health of a country went a long way to determining the circumstances and the lives of its children.
Sri Lanka, like most developing countries, had suffered from modern scourges, such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, rapid urbanization and the "not too happy consequences" of globalization. The burden of those had disproportionately affected children in a negative way. The country had, therefore, worked closely with UNICEF, in a project-based approach, to deal with those problems. With regard to the outcome document, his country was committed to working towards a negotiated outcome document. He hoped that the special session would address adequately the enormous problems ahead and advocate ways in which the international community could provide assistance.
BALI MONIAGA (Indonesia) said that the draft was a good starting point for the Committee’s deliberations. As the draft was a follow-up to documents endorsed at the 1990 World Summit, the section of the draft that outlined future vision should deal more precisely with development issues, such as health care, education, poverty and the implications of globalization. Globalization and the issue of how developing countries could best benefit from the rapid advances of information technology was perhaps the greatest challenge confronting the international community. Indonesia supported effort for a universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a review of national legislation to ensure conformity with the Convention and Optional Protocols by 2005.
The outcome document should be action-oriented and include a set of specific recommendations, he said. The draft document was not concise. In light of the situation in several Asian countries, he had hoped that the financial crisis would have been addressed in the draft. The outcome of the special session was at risk, so long as financial markets remained unstable. Such lessons-learned were all too recent not to be included in the final outcome document.
MIMOZA HAFIZI (Albania) stressed that her Government was committed to meeting the goals set by the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, as well as the Plan of Action for the implementation of the Declaration.
She said that the draft outcome document was a serious programme for improving the situation of children all over the world. Her Government, therefore, fully supported its objectives and appreciated the participation of children in the process. Society should fully accept children's right to participate in the decision-making process within the family and the community in general. Albania had been encouraged, with the help of UNICEF, to devise a National Strategy for Children and welcomed contributions of all social partners, domestic NGOs, as well as international organizations in the implementation of the strategy.
SIULLIN JOA (Dominican Republic) said resources and mechanisms for implementation must be clear in the outcome document and there should be greater emphasis on adolescents. In January, the Dominican Republic had submitted its national report on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite economic growth and political will, the country continued to show alarming figures for infant mortality and education. The new administration had taken several steps, including reform legislation, ending corruption and directing greater resources to the social sector. Education was a priority, since it was an important mechanism to combat poverty, and investment in it had increased.
Given the high levels of infant and maternal mortality, she said health care for children was also a priority. Some 11 per cent of the national budget was devoted to health programmes. The Dominican Republic would also strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention programmes and the increasing number of childhood pregnancies. Resources to deal with social deficiencies, including housing and water, had been doubled. The special session for children was an important opportunity to evaluate the achievements of the past decade and to commit to future goals.
MUNTHER AL-SHARIF, Deputy Minister of Health of the Palestinian Authority, said that for far too long, Palestinian children had been denied the very rights guaranteed to all children that were enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The situation of the Palestinian child was characterized by the countless negative short-term and long-term consequences of life under foreign occupation. The Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian people for more than three decades had impacted on all aspects of the life of Palestinian children. Recent events had resulted in the deaths of many children and many had been injured. Some would be permanently disabled from their injuries.
He strongly believed that the outcome document should include references to foreign occupation as among the challenges seriously affecting the lives children. The international community should be committed to ensuring the rights of children, including children under occupation. He recommended using the same language used in the 1990 Declaration. In conclusion, he said that he was shocked that the official summary distributed by UNICEF entitled "The State of the World's Children 2001" had not contained anything about Palestinian children. He regretted that omission and intended to address the matter in the appropriate forum.
DAVID LAWSON, of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said that what was a matter of grave concern for the international community 10 years ago had now become an unprecedented human tragedy. The AIDS epidemic had emerged over time as one of the most powerful threats to children and young people. Nearly 6 million children below the age of 15 years had been infected with HIV since the AIDS epidemic began. In a growing number of countries, AIDS was now the biggest single cause of child mortality. Some 4.3 million children had already died of AIDS, including 500,000 in the year 2000 alone.
Today, on a global scale, the majority of all new infections occurred among children and young people. Children were becoming infected at the rate of about one child every minute of every day. Over 36 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the world today. Two thirds of them were Africans. Africa was home to the vast majority of HIV-positive children. In the most affected countries, by the year 2010 life expectancy for a child born 2000-2005 would drop to 43 years, from the pre-AIDS expectation of 60 years of life. AIDS might increase the mortality of children under five years of age by more than 100 per cent.
He said that AIDS orphans were the most explicit manifestation of the human disaster. At the end of 2000, over 13 million children had lost their mother or both parents to AIDS. Some 90 per cent of those orphans were African. By the year 2010, an estimated 42 million children would be orphaned by AIDS. An increasing number of families were headed by a child under 15 years of age. Many were exposed to abuse and exploitation. Children deserved immediate and continued attention.
The draft outcome document proposed some avenues to respond to the challenges posed by the epidemic, he said. To supplement the vision of the outcome document a few key areas must be strengthened. Children must be supported and protected from the HIV infection. Better access to voluntary counseling and testing was needed. Children orphaned by AIDS must be kept on the international agenda. The draft outcome document must elaborate on global commitments made at the Millennium Summit. The groundbreaking goal of providing 75 per cent of HIV-infected women globally with effective treatment, to reduce mother-to-child transmission by 2010 was crucial.
ENCHO GOSPODINOV, representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said he had decided to focus on the HIV/AIDS pandemic because of its devastating impact on the lives of children all over the world, but particularly in southern Africa. More than 13 million children under the age of 15, 11 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa, had lost a mother or both parents to AIDS.
His organization was mobilizing its network of 2 million members and volunteers in Africa to combat the spread of the disease in a 10-year commitment. It realized, however, that the sheer size of the problem needed a creative and innovative response. The special session on HIV/AIDS and the follow-up to the World Summit for Children would contribute significantly to ensuring a brighter and more secure future for the children of the world. He expected the Committee to take into account his organization's concerns and recommendations during discussion on the draft outcome document of the special session.
Right of Reply
In exercising his right of reply to the statement made by the representative of the Palestinian Authority, RON ADAM (Israel) said that he deeply regretted that an august body like the Committee had been used to make political statements. Since late summer, Israel had been forced to address the disturbing phenomenon of children being sent to the frontline to throw stones at soldiers. Children had been taken out of school for that purpose and Chairman Yasser Arafat himself had referred to them as generals of the rocks.
He added that the media, namely USA Today, had reported that there were many mothers within Palestine who were opposed to the practice and had written to Chairman Arafat, asking him to stop sending their children to the frontline. Stone throwing was a dangerous practice. Those stone-throwing youngsters should be safe in their schools and homes, but were instead being forced into throwing stones by their teachers, among others. The Palestinian education system had fostered a culture of hatred against Israel. His country, like Palestine, could also tell stories in order to gain the sympathy of the international community, but refrained from doing so.
In response, Mr. AL-SHARIF, of the Palestinian Authority, denied that children were being taken out of school and encouraged by teachers to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. There were many who were opposed to Israeli occupation and children were among them. Children as young as two years old had been killed by Israeli soldiers.
NGO Statements
A representative of the Child Rights Caucus welcomed the final outcome document. The document should focus on new challenges and the means to achieve them. It should be based on the principles of the Convention and should reflect the rights of the child. It should portray a positive picture for the child, as an active citizen in development. The draft, however, did not face the main problems, including poverty and conflict. Strategies should be interdependent. Other important subjects, such as violence and juvenile delinquency, were also missing. The final document should specify follow-up mechanisms.
A representative of the Caucus on Children and Armed Conflict said that since May last year the world had seen contempt for international norms and resolutions on children and armed conflict had been subject to contempt. Grave violations had been met with silence and inaction. It was important, therefore, that the special session consolidate and institutionalize gains made in recent years in elaborating norms and strategies. Systems for monitoring should be tightened. The Caucus stressed the issue of education as a foundation of child protection. Schools should be treated as zones of peace.
The second priority was youth participation in peace-building, he said. They must be given a lead role in initiatives. Improved monitoring of violations was also a priority. Work should begin on rapid response and individual complaint processes, similar to other human rights mechanisms. Establishing accountability mechanisms was also crucial. States must ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Children and armed conflict issues should be assigned a special place at the special session, with a panel discussion devoted to that issue.
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