Conference on Children in Europe and Central Asia

Summary: This conference will review the achievement of the goals of the World Summit and CRC for the European and Central Asian Region. It will consider future actions for children and young people in the next decade. Draft programme included.

Conference on Children in Europe and Central Asia, 16-18 May 2001, Berlin, Germany. The German and Bosnian governments will be co-hosting a Conference on Children in Europe and Central Asia, which will involve representation from European and Central Asian countries. The Conference will, from a regional perspective, review the achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children and the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will consider future actions for children and young people in the next decade. The end-decade review process will provide the substantive basis for the renewed commitment and consideration of future actions for children. The Conference will discuss common problems of children and young people across the borders, national and regional priorities, implementation of national strategies to develop and protect children’s rights, challenges of social and economic development and other issues. Governments are being urged to restrict their delegations to four people, and to include one NGO representative NGOs can forward their feedback on this draft of the Berlin Commitment by April 17th to Stephen Woodhouse, UNICEF (Fax: 00 41/22 909 59 08). Full details Purpose of the Conference The main purpose of the Conference is to facilitate preparation of the countries of Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Baltic States for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session of the General Assembly for Follow-up to the World Summit for Children (September 2001). The Conference will be held in accordance with the resolution 54/93 of the UN General Assembly inviting the Governments and relevant organisations, in particular UNICEF, as well as regional and sub-regional organisations, to undertake reviews of progress achieved since the World Summit for Children and encouraging appropriate national and regional preparatory activities with a view to contributing to the preparations for the Special Session and building partnerships for and with children. The Conference will, from a regional perspective, review the achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children and the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will consider future actions for children and young people in the next decade. The end-decade review process will provide the substantive basis for the renewed commitment and considera- tion of future actions for children. The Conference will discuss common problems of children and young people across the borders, national and regional priorities, implementation of national strategies to develop and protect children’s rights, challenges of social and economic development and other issues. Framework of the Conference In order to provide a structure for substantive discussions on the relevant issues, the work of the Conference will be centred around the following 6 working groups: - Protection of Children from Violence, Abuse and Discrimination - Poverty, Transition, Development Approaches - Health and Social Environment - Participation - Ecological Sustainability and Intergenerational Justice - Education, including New Technologies Conference outcomes There will be a report on the Conference, including 'The Berlin Commitment for Children of Europe and Central Asia' as adopted by the participating States, as well as the findings of the working groups, that will be submitted to the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children at its third session and to the Special Session itself. Participation Official delegations from all countries of Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Baltic States, namely Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, the Holy Sea, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, Slo-venia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav, Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Yugoslavia will be invited to participate in the Conference. The countries will be represented at the level of "Personal Representatives of Heads of State and Government to the Preparatory Committee" or senior officials. Representatives of regional and sub-regional organisations, including the European Union, Commonwealth of Independent States, Council of Europe, OSCE, OECD, EBRD, ADB will be invited to participate in the Conference. Relevant entities of the United Nations system, including ECE, ILO, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIFEM, WHO, World Bank will also be invited to participate in the Conference and to contribute to its preparation. Young People and Non-Governmental Organizations for children will also be invited to contribute their input through a process of national and regional consultations. Representatives from the regional consultations will be invited to present the outcome of their deliberations. States are invited to include young people and members of NGOs in their delegations. The UNICEF regional offices in Geneva will jointly assist as the substantive secretariat. Reference and background materials - In order to provide the Conference with an overview of the situation of children and young people in the region (in countries under consideration), UNICEF will provide a summary of the national end-decade reviews. - It is also recommended that the Governments concerned provide information on the situation of children and young people in their countries with special emphasis on the main themes of the Conference, and will share their plans and programmes in resolving the main problems. Technical support on the above may be provided by UNICEF upon request. - The results of a children and adolescent opinion poll commissioned by UNICEF (launch at the Conference). UNICEF will also prepare a report on the emerging issues in the CEE, CIS and the Baltic States, priorities and regional strategies for children and young people. These documents will draw on the results of the national end-decade reviews, UNICEF analysis and database on social conditions during transition and on extensive technical consultations with a range of experts. In addition, UNICEF will prepare background documents to help frame the discussions of the working groups. Draft programme Berlin Conference on Children in Europe and Central Asia preparing for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children, (Berlin, May 16 – 18, 2001). Wednesday, May 16 10.00 h – 12.00 h Registration 12.00 h – 12.45 h Opening statements by German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, German Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women + Youth, UNICEF Executive Director, young person chosen at Budapest Consultations - presentation of Youth Opinion Poll results 12.45 h – 14.00 h Light buffet 14.00 h – 15.30 h Summary of the situation of children in CEE/CIS and Baltic States countries;Summary of the situation of children in Western Europe 15.30 h – 16.00 h Coffee break 16.00 h – 17.00 h Statement of the NGO-Forum (Bucharest- Conference) Video message + statement from Budapest (Young people's consultations) Statement from Western European NGOs 17.00 h – 17.30 h Clarification on working group procedures 20.00 h "Berliner Abend" - reception hosted by German Government - exhibition "Childhood is not child's play" - Thursday, May 17 9.00 h – 12.30 h Working groups 12.30 h – 13.30 h Lunch 13.30 h – 17.00 h Working groups 18.00 h – 20.00 h 'Say Yes for Children' reception hosted by UNICEF in the German Federal Foreign Office atrium reception area Friday, May 18 9.00 h – 11.30 h Presentation of working group results Discussion of working group results Adoption of the Berlin Commitment for Children of Europe and Central Asia 11.30 h – 12.00 h Coffee break 12.00 h – 14.00 h Closing statements Personal Representatives of Heads of State & Governments (or Ministers if participating), Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Government of Germany, UNICEF