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Summary: NEW YORK, 9 May 2002 - “We are
united by our struggle to make the
world a better place for all. We are
not only the future, but also the
present!”
So concluded the statement drafted
on the last day of the UN Children’s
Forum, the resounding message to
be presented to the UN General
Assembly today.
Unity Tempered by Harsh Realities
By Naomi Lightman
“We are united by our struggle to make the world a better place
for all. We are not only the future, but also the present!”
So concluded the statement drafted on the last day of the UN
Children’s Forum, the resounding message to be presented to
the UN General Assembly today.
The Forum ended in a united vision, despite some internal
divisions that had emerged over the three days.
Ultimately, child delegates feel connected to the issues and to
the communities in which they live.
“Children have vision which goes deeper than a President, who
looks at everything on a very global level,” said Manuel de Jesus
Acasta Delgado, 15, of Peru.
“They are more capable of seeing what needs to be done,” he
said. “They say it how it is - and how they feel.”
Gencer Ceron, 17, of Colombia, agrees. “Children know what’s
going on in their towns. But many of the adult delegates coming
to the United Nations live at a great distance from the real people
that they’re speaking about.”
Not only are adult delegates living at a greater distance from the
problems they describe, but they are burdened by process. “In
the United Nations, every word is very carefully analysed, so
discussions can be very difficult,” says Ceron.
Sam Van de Putte, 16, of Belgium, is also frustrated by the
abstract nature of the UN discusssions. “The problem is,” she
says, “the Outcome Document we saw had nothing really
concrete [in it].”
Emily Simpson, 15, of Australia, thinks that actions speak louder
than words. “It’s all down on paper,” she said. “We just need to
improve and implement the ideas and try and really solve the
issues. We need to get out there and do it rather then just sit
and talk about it.”
Linace Gordon, 15, of Jamaica, will be part of the team speaking
to the heads of state about Intergenerational Dialogue during
the Special Session. “We are not only going to present issues,
we are going to give solutions,” she says.
“For instance in education, I believe they should have a national
youth advisory committee, made up of children supervised by
UNICEF.” she says. “We could talk about the problems in our
schools. That way, they’ll know from a direct source, because
adults are not going to school.”
Discussions at the Children’s Forum were not without
controversy. “There were a lot of ideas circulating,” said
Delgado. “But sometimes it fell apart because of differences in
ideas and opinions on the issues being brought up, as well as
the language divisions.”
Van de Putte felt that it was inevitable that differences would
arise. “It [the debate] is really broad when you are working
internationally, because different regions have different problems
affecting them.”
One of the primary areas of difference was a North-South divide
in the debates around education and child labour. “I believe that
children should be able to work as long as it’s under good
conditions, especially in the case of a poor child,” said Delgado.
“If they’re not able to work, how will they be able to eat? If a
child goes to school without anything in their stomach, they’re
not going to learn anyway.”
But, differences aside, child delegates rallied around universal
standards of justice and fairness. “Ultimately we all believe in the
same thing, that we need to improve the conditions for young
people,” said Delgado.
And there’s plenty of work to be done. “The real work begins
when we go back to our countries and our governments and
implement everything that we’ve been discussing,” said Monica
Rusk, 18, from the U.S.
Naomi Lightman is 16 years old.
Association: Young People’s Press