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Summary: NEW YORK, 2 May 2002 - World
leaders must make strong
commitments to their children's well-
being and, more importantly, follow
through on these promises with
concrete actions, the head of the
United Nations Children's Fund said
today.
UNICEF Head Urges Leaders to Invest in Children as Key to
Global Development and Stability
Comments Come Ahead of Major United Nations Conference on
Children
NEW YORK, 2 May 2002 - World leaders must make strong
commitments to their children's well-being and, more importantly,
follow through on these promises with concrete actions, the head
of the United Nations Children's Fund said today. In comments
preceding the most important international conference on
children in over a decade, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of
UNICEF, said that "investing in children is synonymous with
investing in a more prosperous and stable world."
"World leaders today are focused on peace and security, and
what we must do to achieve it. Our view is that they must invest
in children. Children are the key force driving human development
and global stability," Bellamy said. "It's foolish to think that there
is no connection between the state of the world today and the
fact that hundreds of millions of children are denied an education,
are not immunized, and are malnourished, exploited and raised
on diets of poverty and violence."
"If we want to overcome poverty and the instability it breeds, we
must start by investing in our young people," Bellamy added. "I
implore national leaders to seriously examine their records on
children. Are you getting all your children into the classroom? Are
you protecting all your children against disease? Are they safe
from abuse, exploitation and violence? Unfortunately, we already
know the answers. We know we have work to do."
Bellamy said the deplorable situation of hundreds of millions of
children around the world largely stems from a lack of leadership.
She urged world leaders to act decisively on their commitments in
the areas of child health, education and protection, starting with
the May 8-10 United Nations General Assembly Special Session
on Children. The goal of the Special Session is to move children to
the center of every government's agenda and to emphasize the
link between the welfare of children and the development of
societies.
More than 60 heads of state or government and 170 high-level
delegations are expected to attend the meeting, which is a follow
up to the 1990 World Summit for Children. Nearly 350 child
delegates will also take part in the formal debates and dozens of
supporting events, along with more than 2,000 delegates
representing non-government children's organizations.
Statistics State the Case
Statistics recently compiled by UNICEF highlight the troubling
condition of children around the world. One in twelve children die
before the age of five every year, often from readily preventable
causes. Malnutrition levels are barely down in Asia and have
actually increased in sub-Saharan Africa since 1990. Around one
out of every six people is without safe drinking water and two
out of five are without adequate sanitation - the majority of them
children. Nearly 120 million children don't attend school.
The UNICEF chief said that funding remains one of the crucial
shortfalls of governmental commitment. "Many governments
simply don't give children the resources they deserve - and that
goes for both developing countries and donor nations," said Ms.
Bellamy. "Developing world governments must dedicate more of
their budgets to basic social services like health and education.
Wealthy countries can help by accelerating debt relief and
earmarking more aid directly to these same services."
The Special Session will produce a declaration and plan of action
designed to improve child well-being over the next ten years. This
outcome document, A World Fit for Children (available at
www.unicef.org/specialsession), to be agreed by all Member
States of the United Nations, is built around a set of 21 goals on
child health, education, protection and the prevention of
HIV/AIDS. Key goals include reducing infant and maternal
morality, expanding access to clean water and sanitation, and
reaching universal primary education.
"We have 21 goals world leaders can embrace. But how can we
move from the mixed results of today to real success for
tomorrow?" Bellamy asked. "The difference will come from our
leaders. They must provide real commitment, real follow-up and
real action for children. And the place to start, to renew their
dedication to children, is at this Special Session of the General
Assembly."
Citizens Support Change
A key issue at the Special Session will be governmental
accountability. Ms. Bellamy pointed to the success of a pledge
campaign for child rights and development, called "Say Yes for
Children," that garnered nearly 100 million pledges from people
around the world over the last year. The pledges will be handed
over to world leaders on May 6. "We have a growing movement
of people numbering nearly 100 million. They are demanding that
governments put the rights and well-being of children above all
other concerns," Bellamy said. "They are saying simply and
powerfully: if national leaders fail, they must be held
accountable."