Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: The much-heralded United
Nations "Children's Summit" is in
danger of simply ushering in another
decade of broken promises by world
leaders, a coalition of children's
advocates said Tuesday as 60 heads
of state prepare to arrive in New
York.
The much-heralded United Nations Children's Summit" is in
danger of simply ushering in another decade of broken promises
by world leaders, a coalition of children's advocates said Tuesday
as 60 heads of state prepare to arrive in New York.
The U.N. Special Session on Children, taking place on May 8-10 in
New York City, requires stronger commitments from governments
in order to substantially improve the condition of children's lives
around the world, according to the Child Rights Caucus, a
grouping of more than 100 national and international non-
governmental organizations.
"Millions of children are today denied basic rights and suffer
unconscionable abuse because governments have failed to live
up to their commitments," said Bill Bell of Save the Children UK,
speaking on behalf of the Caucus.
According to UN statistics, over 125 million children are presently
not in school, 250 million are involved in child labor, and two
million have died in armed conflicts over the last 10 years. Ten
million die from malnutrition and preventable diseases every year.
The conference aims to strengthen support on a variety of child
rights topics, but groups said that the United States, in particular,
is posing a major obstacle to conference agreement on the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international treaty
which has been ratified by all countries except for the U.S. and
Somalia.
"The U.S. has tried to sideline the Convention as the global
standard for protecting the rights of children," said Jo Becker of
Human Rights Watch.
Concerns about that the jurisdiction of parental rights within the
Convention is one of the primary reasons for the U.S.
government's reluctance to go along with accord, according to
rights groups.
Andrea Khan, director of the Child Rights Information Network--a
global grouping with a membership of more than 1,100
organizations in over 100 countries--told OneWorld Tuesday that
only an effective plan for children could save the summit from
failure.
She explained that with "600 million children living in extreme
poverty" the absence of a practical plan of action, with firmly
established dates for the eradication of child poverty, was one of
the most significant gaps in the conference preparations.
The wording of the conference declaration on aid for children's
programs in poor countries is also expected to be one of the
most hotly debated topics at the meeting.
In a report last year on progress towards the goals set by the
1990 World Summit for Children, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
said that "the world has fallen short of achieving most of the
goals not because they were too ambitious or were technically
beyond reach. It has fallen short largely because of insufficient
investment."
Despite these problems, Kathleen Hunt of Care US, said the
conference "matters profoundly" and that one of its most
important aspects "is the reaffirmation of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which is fundamental for everything we do for
children."