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What is the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children?
The Special Session on Children is a meeting of the UN General
Assembly, where government delegates, NGOs, children, and
other world leaders in the field of children's rights gather
to discuss the needs of all children. In more than 50 years
of establishment, this is the first time the UN General Assembly
is meeting specifically to address the issue of children's
rights. This historical meeting will take place on May 08-10,
2002, at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
So far, a record number of Heads of the States have confirmed
their participation for a conference exclusively on children.
This reaffirms the world's commitment to ensuring that the
next generation will fully enjoy their rights to education,
health and development. Similarly, the Special Session on
Children will be joined by the largest number of children
to attend a meeting of the UN General Assembly. These child
and youth participants will represent real needs of children
from around the world and provide unique but much needed enthusiasm
to discussions.
The Special Session on Children is being held in response
to the World Summit for Children in 1990
and to the adoption of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child. The meeting aims to bring
the government delegates, NGOs and children together again
to assess the progress in the last decade and to make a renewed
commitment to further promote and protect the rights of the
child.
What will be the outcome of the UN Special Session on
Children?
The commitment to realizing the goals determined at the World
Summit has helped to move the issue of children and children's
rights to a higher level on the world's agenda. The Special
Session on Children being held in May this year, is an important
follow-up to the 1990 World Summit and the commitments made
to the welfare of the world's children.
The Special Session seeks to review the progress made on
children's issues since the 1990 World Summit for Children.
The main outcome of the Special Session is expected to be
a declaration and plan of action, tentatively titled "A
World Fit for Children," which aims to build on
the achievements of the 1990 Summit and to update the global
agenda.
Adopted by the government delegates at the January-February
2001 Prep-Com, the draft declaration seeks to create a "child-friendly
world" by promoting principles designed to put children's
"physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual development"
at the forefront of national and global priorities.
More specifically, the declaration focuses on a set of 10
principles designed to reaffirm the commitments made at the
1990 Summit and to mobilize a "global movement for children"
that will put them "first" in all national and international
plans.
Among these principles are: ending all forms of discrimination;
ensuring free, basic, compulsory education for all; protecting
children from war; stopping the exploitation of children;
fighting poverty; protecting the environment for future generations;
and listening to children more carefully.
The Special Session on Children hopes to accomplish:
- A review of the progress made for children in the decade
since the 1990 World Summit for Children and the World Declaration
and Plan of Action.
- The end-of-decade review encompasses national, regional
and global processes of analysis. The review charts the
achievements and constraints of the last decade. It also
identifies lessons learned which serve to inform world leaders
as they plan future actions for children.
- A renewed commitment and a pledge for specific actions
for the coming decade.
World leaders will explore the long-standing challenges of
serving and protecting children, as well as the issues emerging
in this rapidly changing world.
They will be asked to identify strategic solutions to the
problems facing children and to commit the critical human
and economic resources that will be called for.
Find out more about the UN Special Session on Children, go
to UNICEF
The World Summit on Children
Over the past 12 years, a number of significant events have
contributed to the promotion of the rights of the child in
the international arena. These events have all contributed
to the UN General Assembly deciding to convene a Special Session
on Children in 2002.
Prior to the World Summit, in November 1989, the United Nations
General Assembly adopted the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
This was a major step towards ensuring the protection of childrens
rights. Later, in May 2000, two Optional Protocols were also
adopted as part of the CRC.
The first World Summit for Children was held in 1990
in New York. At the conclusion of this meeting the 71 attending
Heads of the States undertook a joint commitment to the needs
of the worlds children. In doing so, they made an urgent universal
appeal - to give every child a better future. They collectively
agreed that childhood should be a time of joy and peace and
of playing, learning and growing. They also acknowledged that
for millions of children, violence, exploitation, poverty
and injustice have led them to childhood of suffering. Together
they made a solemn commitment to give high priority to the
protection of the rights of the child.
Most significantly, these world leaders adopted the World
Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of
Children and the Plan
of Action on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.
These declarations were later endorsed by 181 countries. The
Plan of Action established 7 major and 20 supporting goals,
considered to be achievable by the year 2000. This plan aimed
to greatly improve a child's chance of survival by addressing
issues such as; health, food and nutrition, the role of women,
maternal health and family planning, the role of the family,
basic education and literacy, children in especially difficult
circumstances, the protection of children during armed conflicts,
children and the environment, and the alleviation of poverty
and revitalisation of economic growth.
Governments were urged to prepare national plans of action
for the implementation of these goals. At the international
level, multinational agencies were asked to assist under-developed
and highly indebted poor countries, to achieve their plans
of action. UNICEF, in collaboration with other UN bodies,
prepared a consolidated analysis of each of these plans, along
with later periodic reviews of progress.
In 1996 a Mid-Decade Review was held following the World
Summit for Children. The results of the review stressed that
the Assembly should consider holding a Special Session to
examine how far the world's nations have managed to fulfill
their 'promises to children' and implement the Declaration
and Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children.
What can I do?
Take part in the March
for Children's Rights in New York and make the voice of
the children be heard!
You can also Write
Letters to Heads of State and ask for the ratification
and the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child in your Country.
Links to sites having information on UN Special Session
on Children
Some of the text come from UNICEF
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