General Assembly Session 55 meeting 63

Mr. Mabilangan (Philippines)

The commitment and dedication of the Philippines to our children and to the promotion of child welfare and development, and the importance it attaches to this subject, find expression in our most fundamental law. Enshrined in our Constitution is a peremptory directed to the State to defend the rights of the child -- from the right to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, to the right to special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development. This is a statement of Philippine law and policy that found further meaning upon our signing and prompt legislative ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

But, while we stand at the threshold of unprecedented global growth and technology-driven progress, we still face the tragic spectre of children going through indescribable suffering. In areas of conflict, children continue to be recruited and thrown into battle. Their fragile bodies have been held up to stop bullets. Millions of them have been killed, maimed or orphaned as a result of war and conflict. Those who have survived suffer deep psychological scars. Children continue to experience all kinds of abuse, from trafficking to the exploitation of their labour. This reality mirrors an image of complacency, neglect and heartlessness that does not say much for our efforts to provide care and protection and to improve their lives.

We took a step in the right direction when many of us signed the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The President of the Republic of the Philippines reaffirmed our commitment to the rights of the child when he signed these two Protocols during the Millennium Summit. The Philippines welcomes these Protocols, because they contain policies that our country has already adopted, including raising the minimum age for recruitment to military service to 18, as well as preventing participation in hostilities by individuals under the age of 18. In addition, we have criminalized violations of the rights of children in the context of the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography.

The Philippines believes that the follow-up to the World Summit for Children is an important opportunity to take stock of where we are in improving the lives of children and in building a better and brighter future for them. We will participate actively in the preparations, as well as in the follow-up conference itself. We hope that the outcome of the follow-up conference will not only provide policy directions but will also contain proposals for concrete actions to create a better world and offer our children a brighter future.

The Philippines would like to suggest that, in addition to what we already have before us, we should consider other elements to be included in the agenda of the follow-up conference in its preparatory meetings. First, we would like to include the issue of early childhood care and development. We believe that early childhood care and development provide children with a good start in life. The care that a child gets in his or her early years plays a critical role in the child's total development, as well as in his or her future well-being as an adult. We must also seriously consider the need to provide children with special protection. Special protection is a vital part of efforts to uphold the rights of children. Survival, development and participation are essential rights of children; however, these rights will not be exercised if children are not protected from abuse and exploitation.

We must also ensure, as we promote the rights of the child, that we hear the voice of the child. Children's participation in matters affecting them is increasingly becoming a trend in the area of their rights. When children become aware of the plight and problems of other children, they become part of the solution and not of the problem.

Mr. Mabilangan (Philippines)

Children are close to the hearts of each and every Filipino family and Philippine society. For their sake and the sake of all children in this world, let us all call on our leaders, who time and again say that today's children will be the leaders of the future, to sign and ratify the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instruments that offer the promise of a better world for all children.

We must also welcome and support the many activities of the United Nations Children's Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which bring relief, succour and hope to suffering children all over the world, as mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General.

Everything else that we achieve in this world will be less meaningful if we are unable to care for our children and for their future. We must renew our efforts and put a stop to all unconscionable acts of inhumanity and build a better and brighter world for our children.

Mr. Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia)

At the outset, I wish to express my delegation's appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report on the state of the preparations for the special session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow-up to the World Summit for Children. Like many others, I am pleased to note that substantive preparations are under way at the national, regional and international levels. As can be seen from the report, the Preparatory Committee is successfully carrying out the important tasks assigned to it, in particular to prepare a draft outcome document for the special session.

The appeal made by world leaders at the 1990 World Summit for Children to give every child a better future resulted in the adoption of two major documents: the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan of Action for its implementation. The appeal was universally accepted, and relevant measures to implement it have been undertaken throughout the world.

Nevertheless, recent reports indicate that, despite those achievements, progress has been uneven in different regions and within different countries. Thus, the Human Development Report 2000 states that today some 90 million children are out of school at the primary level and that more than 30,000 children die every day from mainly preventable causes. Therefore, there should be no doubt that both renewed commitment and definition of specific areas of future action are the major challenges for the next decade.

As we all enter the new millennium, we need to jointly identify the most effective ways of ensuring appropriate conditions for the protection and development of our children. The World Summit's goals need to be updated and its achievements sustained. Most importantly, the gap between children's legal rights and their actual rights in practice should be narrowed and eliminated. To ensure this, as was rightly pointed out at the Preparatory Committee's panel discussions, appropriate policy, budget and institutional reforms should be instituted in all countries. My delegation fully shares the view that the future agenda for children to be adopted at the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly should be innovative, concise and action-oriented. For its part, Mongolia will continue its efforts to ensure the all-round development of children and to actively participate in and make its own contribution to this global endeavour.

Issues related to children, to their development and to the protection and promotion of the rights of children are of particular importance for my country, where children and youth constitute an overwhelming majority of the population. Over the past years, consistent efforts have been made by the Government of Mongolia to ensure broader access to health services and education for all children and to mobilize resources to fully implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the goals of the World Summit.

Much has been accomplished within the framework of the National Programme of Action for the Development of Children, adopted in 1993. In order to draw the attention and efforts of society to child-related issues, the National Summit on Child Protection and Development was organized in 1995. While 1995 was observed as the National Year for Children, 1996 was declared the National Year for Education and over 20 per cent of the national budget was allocated to education alone. In May 1996, the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child was adopted. As a result of the efforts of the Government, the mortality rates for infants and children under five have decreased by 3.5 times and 2.7 times, respectively, in terms of the number of related deaths between 1991 and 1997.

However, it should be recognized that further efforts and concerted actions are needed at the national level to reach the goals of the World Summit. As the country is still grappling with transitional difficulties, the growing number of street children and school drop-outs raises serious concern. Infant and under-five mortality are still high. Thus, according to figures from the National Statistical Office, in 1998 infant and under-five mortality rates were at 35.4 and 47.8 per 1,000 live births, respectively. Moreover, we have to deal with such newly emerging social ills as suicide, especially among adolescents, prostitution and alcohol and tobacco abuse in order to comprehensively address the complex issues facing children today.

The Labour Law sets the minimum working age and maximum working hours for all. Children under 16 are not permitted to work. Those under 18 are prohibited from doing arduous work and from working in dangerous areas such as mineshafts. However, according to a recent survey, child labour is becoming an issue that needs coherent state policy and control, an improved legal framework and concrete preventive actions on the part of the State. Among the most recent actions undertaken in this regard, I wish to single out the recent ratification by the Mongolian Parliament of International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour.

In its efforts to ensure a better life for future generations, the Government of Mongolia actively cooperates with international organizations, other Member States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Among these, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) plays an important role. The Fund is working in close cooperation with our national counterparts, other United Nations bodies - such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization - and NGOs to provide community-based services in primary health care, nutrition, basic education, child and family welfare, safe water and sanitation. Thus, the current 1997-2001 Mongolia-UNICEF Country Programme has 13 ongoing projects related to child health and nutrition. I am also pleased to underscore that the visit of UNICEF's Executive Director, Ms. Bellamy, to Mongolia last year was important in expanding further the cooperation with UNICEF. Shortly after her visit, a mid-term review of the Country Programme was undertaken. Its recommendations highlighted the importance of ensuring an integrated implementation of many ongoing programmes, projects for children and coherent interaction between various organizations that act on behalf and for children.

I wish to inform the Assembly that the year 2000 is being observed in Mongolia as the National Year for Child Development. It is a manifestation of Mongolia's strong political commitment to improving the situation of children. Within the framework of the Year, a national review of the progress achieved since the World Summit is being undertaken so as to map out specific recommendations for the future, including the elaboration of the next national programme of action for the development of children up to 2010. This programme will be carried out in line with the global preparations for the special session of the General Assembly.

In conclusion, I wish to express my delegation's support for the draft resolution submitted for our consideration and to reiterate its determination to actively participate both in the preparatory process and in the special session next year.

Mr. Ahmad (Pakistan)

We thank the Secretary-General for his report on the state of the preparations for the special session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow-up to the World Summit for Children.

On behalf of the Pakistan delegation, I would like to convey our appreciation to the Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, for effectively leading the work of the Bureau and the Committee. We are confident that her personal commitment to the cause of children will make the General Assembly special session a singular success.

As one of the initiator countries for the World Summit for Children held in 1990, Pakistan has an abiding commitment to the effective realization of the goals of the Plan of Action adopted at the Summit. We believe that the special session in 2001 will provide us with an opportunity to galvanize political commitment to the implementation of the unfinished agenda of the Summit.

The World Summit for Children was instrumental in placing the issues of children in the centre of the development activities of the international community. The Plan of Action adopted by the Summit stipulated specific and quantifiable goals to be achieved within a decade. Despite the obvious shortfalls, progress towards the realization of these goals has been encouraging. In certain areas, significant strides have been made in achieving the targets of the World Summit for Children.

The near universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been an important factor in the achievement of these goals. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has played a central role by supporting the efforts of Member States for the implementation of their plans of action. Other agencies and non-governmental organizations have also contributed to promoting the well-being of children. We would like to express our appreciation for their efforts in this regard.

Following the World Summit for Children, Pakistan formulated a national plan of action with goals for the year 2000. Considerable advances have been made in the realization of these goals and objectives. But further action is required in areas of better nutrition, basic education and education for the girl child.

The present Government is deeply committed not only to the realization of the goals of the Summit but also to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in its letter and spirit. The head of Government has also launched a national plan of action for the elimination of exploitative child labour. The juvenile justice system is being revamped in order to safeguard the rights and privileges of children.

Like Pakistan, many developing countries have launched major initiatives for the realization of the goals of the World Summit for Children. However, the pace of progress has been uneven. One of the major challenges facing us today is the need to eliminate deep disparities in the conditions and quality of life available to children of different regions of the world. In some of the countries of Africa, child mortality rates are one-third higher than those recorded at the beginning of the last decade. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia together account for three-fourths of all under-five deaths of children.

The goals for the development of children are deeply linked with the achievement of overall goals of development. It is widely acknowledged that progress in that area has been rather dismal. Despite the availability of unprecedented wealth in the global economy, more than 600 million children struggle to survive on less than one dollar a day. In almost 80 countries, per capita income is lower today than it was a decade ago.

Moreover, heavy external debt burden has seriously curtailed the ability of the developing countries to allocate sufficient resources to achieve the goals and objectives of the Summit. In the highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs), children are 10 times less likely to live up to the age of five than those in rich countries.

Reaching global goals for children was rendered even more difficult by declining levels of official development assistance (ODA). Without an alleviation of the debt burden and an increase in ODA, there is little likelihood that national policies can be fully implemented or that the goals of the Summit could be achieved anytime in the near future. We recognize the efforts being made to provide some relief to HIPCs. It seems, however, that only large-scale debt relief and debt cancellation would enable developing countries to allocate sufficient resources to the resolution of problems being faced by children. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to fulfil the 0.7 per cent of gross national product target for ODA. The negative effects of globalization, rising income disparities and increasing marginalization of developing countries should also be addressed by the special session.

A future agenda for children should include the unfinished agenda of the Summit. A good start in life has to be preceded by substantial reduction in child mortality rates. The goal of quality education has to be pursued in tandem with the objective of ensuring universal access to education. Opportunities for adolescents to fully realize their potentials need to be provided. But the critical role of parental guidance and family cannot be underestimated in the proper development of adolescents and children. In this context, cultural and social values must be respected.

We recognize the importance of building partnerships with non-governmental organizations and other relevant actors. The proposal to hold a special event or forum on the rights of the child deserves serious consideration. As far as the timing of the forum is concerned, it should be held at least three months prior to the special session. This would enable the Preparatory Committee to benefit from the proposals to be presented by the forum.

At the national level, we have established a national steering committee to coordinate national preparations for the special session, as well as for the national end-decade review. We hope that the national end-decade review report will be completed by the end of this year.

The present Government has also launched a major awareness-raising campaign regarding the United Nations General Assembly special session. A plan for the participation of children and youth in all national events is also being drawn up in consultation with the relevant organizations. A proposal for holding a meeting of experts from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries on the subject of the girl child during the first quarter of next year is also under serious consideration. Modalities for arranging this meeting are being explored with UNICEF.

Thorough preparations hold the key to the success of the special session. We thank the Government of Canada for hosting the International Conference on War-Affected Children last September and all other Governments that have arranged or plan to organize regional or global meetings in preparation for the General Assembly special session. Global and regional meetings would provide us with the necessary inputs required to identify the areas where further action is needed to implement the Plan of Action.

The biggest challenge however is to translate the documents adopted by these meetings into action. The success of the General Assembly special session will be measured by its impact on the revitalization of international efforts to promote the implementation of the Plan of Action. We urge the international community to build a new partnership to provide the necessary political will and impetus to save our children from the scourge of hunger, war, death, disease and exploitation. In a world of unprecedented prosperity, it is unconscionable that so many children are suffering so grievously. We should make every effort to save our children.

Mr. Kafando (Burkina Faso)

The item we are discussing today, "Special session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow up to the World Summit for Children", is of primary importance among matters of concern to the entire world.

By ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 23 July 1990, my country showed how important this issue is for us and demonstrated its commitment to the cause of promoting and protecting the rights of the child.

In light of the Convention and the Plan of Action for the ten years from 1990 to 2000, Burkina Faso, in December 1991, adopted a national plan of action for children whose implementation, follow-up and assessment have all been entrusted to a national committee.

Furthermore, several other legislative measures have also been adopted always out of concern for better ensuring the well-being of our children. For instance, the code relative to the person and the family, adopted in December 1989, set down as its main principle the equality of all children, whatever the origin of their birth. It also made obligatory registering the child at the registry office in the first two months of life, so that it has an identity in the eyes of the State. And, under the new criminal code, adopted in November 1996 and promulgated in December 1996, in addition to the old crimes against minors such as kidnapping or infanticide, certain traditional practices recognized as harmful, such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation, are now also classified as crimes.

As far as implementation is concerned, a district for children has been built in Ouagadougou and the Burkina Faso educational system is experimenting more and more with satellite schools.

As can be seen, even though much has been done over these last few years to improve the legal and social status and situation of children, unfortunately it has to be said that there are many children in Burkina Faso who still face problems of health and malnutrition and who are not in school, all of which prevent them from developing their full potential. This presents real challenges and obstacles that seriously handicap our development.

Not only are there these negative effects, but to them must be added the incalculable consequences of AIDS, as well as the proliferation of armed conflicts, where children, the most vulnerable group, are the first victims.

In order to counter all these major obstacles and in order to implement the rights of the child, all countries, especially developing countries, should continue with their legal, political and economic reforms.

At the legal level, if they have not yet done so, it is important, as stated in the Millennium Declaration, that they should encourage the ratification and comprehensive implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as its optional protocols, which concern children in armed conflicts, trafficking in children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Politically and economically, policies and strategies for development must stress -- possibly as their first priority -- getting children into school and making sure that every child has at least a basic primary education. At the moment, it is estimated that some 100 million children in the world are not in school. This is intolerable and it is hard to understand, as we stand on the threshold of a new Millennium. This situation must be corrected quickly in the years to come, if we are to avoid a widespread social cataclysm.

It is high time for us to stop thinking of education as something sterile or non-productive; we must recognize it as a real investment. The quality of our human resources is the essential factor on which all development is predicated and these human resources are the product of our educational system. That is why we must be aware of the need and the urgency for directing financial resources to education -- something to which our development partners must agree.

In this respect we must recognize the positive contribution that certain countries have made -- those of the European Union, the Nordic countries and Canada -- together with certain international organizations, especially the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in its concern for the well-being of children, particularly in Africa. These efforts are greatly appreciated by all who benefit from them. I have only to mention the countries which have faced wars -- Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, among others -- for it to be seen how much UNICEF has done to provide humanitarian aid for children. In certain natural disasters -- such as in Mozambique or Madagascar last year -- once again UNICEF went in and reopened the schools.

The World Food Programme has also provided various vital operational activities such as, for instance, providing $37 million to promote basic education in sub-Saharan Africa. Together with the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Food Programme is now helping 15 African countries to improve the rates of schooling.

Burkina Faso hopes that the follow-up to the World Summit for Children, which will take place in 2001, will take very important decisions to support children in the form of a plan of action for the coming ten years. Let us make sure that these decisions are adequate to face the many challenges that stand before the international community in this area of our activities.

May I take this opportunity to thank in advance the Preparatory Committee, as well as UNICEF, for their support to many regional activities which form part of the preparation for the special session and for all the coordinating and implementing work they have done to provide information on the progress of the preparatory process.

Mr. Widodo (Indonesia)

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