General Assembly Session 60 meeting 37

The Acting President

The General Assembly will now consider, in a joint debate, agenda item 46, "Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields," and agenda item 44, "Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children". In connection with agenda item 46, the Assembly has before it a note by the Secretary-General transmitting his updated report on the role of the Economic and Social Council in the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits, circulated in document A/60/275.

Under agenda item 44, the Assembly has before it a report of the Secretary-General circulated in document A/60/207.

Mr. Neil (Jamaica)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, under agenda item 46, "Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields".

I wish to thank the Secretary-General for the reports submitted for our consideration. We look forward to future discussions on the various reports. Some of the issues of concern to the Group of 77 and China were highlighted during the recently concluded substantive session of the Economic and Social Council. I wish now only to highlight some points that should be taken into account in our further consideration of this item.

First, the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits requires that all relevant United Nations entities review their priorities and programmes in accordance with the relevant provisions of the relevant outcomes. We hope to receive more details on concrete actions already taken to support the implementation of the decisions, especially those related to development, that were adopted at the High-level Plenary Meeting, which concluded recently. We believe that the Secretariat has an important role to play at the technical level in ensuring that resource flows to developing countries are facilitated. Timely assistance in the adoption of country-level strategies and programmes and in the identification of funding sources will also be very critical.

We therefore anticipate very active participation by the Secretariat in monitoring the release of donor resources and in supporting measures for greater aid effectiveness. Equally, at the level of policies, we expect continuous review of how global economic policies to support development are reflected in the commitments given at the summit and previous conferences.

We recognize that efforts will have to be made to bring those entities not directly under the jurisdiction of the United Nations into the discourse on how best to mainstream development in their respective policies and strategies. We understand that this will be the main focus of the next meeting of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, scheduled for 20 and 29 October.

At the same time, we would like to highlight one area of concern. In the ongoing work to be undertaken by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the relevant funds and programmes, the Chief Executive Board and the United Nations Development Group, adequate oversight arrangements will have to be in place to ensure that the activities are monitored at the inter-Governmental level. For the Group of 77 and China, it is imperative that the outcome of Secretariat deliberations in the field of development should be appropriately reviewed and considered by Member States.

With regard to management reform issues, we will be awaiting the Secretary-General's proposals on a range of issues for consideration in the Fifth Committee. The approach of the Group of 77 and China will be to assess those proposals on their merits as reforms aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the Organization in the interests of all States. We intend to do so carefully and objectively, regardless of the pressures to satisfy particular interests. The position of the Group of 77 and China will continue to be determined on that basis.

That is the end of the statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 46.

I should now like to make a statement on behalf of Jamaica on agenda item 46, "Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children", in my capacity as the Permanent Representative of Jamaica.

Three years have passed since the General Assembly adopted its decision to work towards "A world fit for children" (resolution S-27/2). The Assembly's assessment of implementation of the commitments made on that occasion is taking place in the context of the coordinated follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits. That is most appropriate because mutually reinforcing global development agendas seek to ensure the protection of children's interests in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.

In her recent presentation in the Third Committee, the representative of UNICEF identified some of the challenges facing the implementation of critical programmes for children. Among them are weaknesses in institutional capacity, budgetary constraints and the existence of conflict and instability. She also identified some of the possible ways forward: the establishment of high-level national councils for children, capacity-building to strengthen national child agencies and collaboration with parliamentarians and civil society organizations to promote child-focused budgets. We concur with that assessment.

Implementation of the commitments of "A world fit for children" is among the national priorities of Jamaica. Our support for that outcome document is one of a number of initiatives to which we are committed in order to promote and protect the welfare of children. We have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Our involvement and leadership at the regional level includes the hosting of the 2000 regional conference on children, which adopted the Kingston Consensus.

The outcome document "A world fit for children" called for the development of action plans for children. In that regard, the Government of Jamaica has established a national plan of action as an institutional framework for addressing and enforcing children's rights. To complement that action plan, domestic legislation in the area of children's rights has been enacted, the most important of which is the landmark Child Care and Protection Act, adopted in 2004.

Shortly after the special session, the Child Development Agency, headed by the first Ambassador for Children, was established. The Agency was given the responsibility of achieving the holistic development of children through the creation, implementation, coordination and regulation of programmes and policies aimed at fulfilling Jamaica's obligations. The Child Development Agency is also working on public education, social mobilization and community outreach in order to help citizens understand what their responsibilities are and to equip them to be better parents, among other things.

In addition, the Agency has adopted a multisectoral approach in developing policies that relate to and affect children. They include the national plan of action on children, the national plan of action on child labour and the new policy framework for street children.

The Government of Jamaica has undertaken to achieve the minimum targets relating to reducing infant and maternal mortality and has made significant strides in that area over the past few years. It has effectively reduced severe and moderate malnutrition among children under five years and has an extensive, ongoing immunization programme. Additionally, access to safe drinking water has been improved.

The Government is committed to providing quality education, providing free, compulsory education at the primary level.

With a view to implementing a comprehensive policy to counter violence against children and protect their rights, a child-specific national human rights institution has been established. Other initiatives include the establishment of a juvenile unit in the police force, as well as a victim support unit in the Ministry of National Security to assist child victims of violent crimes.

We remain fully committed to the goal of combating HIV/AIDS, but significant challenges remain. We are pleased that, as a result of the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to more women, there has been some progress in reducing the rate of mother-to-child transmission. But, while we note the success in that area, we remain concerned about the rate of new infections among women and, in particular, young girls. That means that the battle continues and that there is need for an injection of even greater resources to achieve our target of reducing the proportion of infected infants by 20 per cent by 2005 and by 50 per cent by 2010. The need for adequate resources is critical to support the political commitment that is already assured.

We commend the role of UNICEF in helping the country meet its national objectives, particularly in the area of the fight against HIV/AIDS, in response to the rising number of cases of children orphaned by the disease.

In all our efforts, we are committed to the involvement of non-governmental organizations and civil society, which we believe can play a useful role in monitoring the State's implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

We owe it to our children to provide them with a safe haven fit for them to inhabit as they make their transit into adulthood. My Government remains fully committed to achieving that.

Ms. Kidwai (India)

At the outset, please allow me to thank you, Sir, for this opportunity to express our views on the critical task before us, namely, the implementation of and the follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, in particular, the decisions of the 2005 World Summit. We believe that effective follow-up to and implementation of decisions is often as important as the decisions themselves, and we therefore take the task before us seriously.

The 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1) included a number of key decisions designed to improve the functioning and performance of the United Nations. Those included, inter alia, a commitment by all Governments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015; the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council in a time-bound manner; the conclusion of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism; the strengthening of the United Nations oversight capacity; the scaling-up of the international community's response to infectious diseases and other emerging health challenges; support for early reform of the Security Council; and agreement on the deletion of anachronistic references to "enemy States" in the Charter.

At the same time, much of the work initiated by the preparatory reports of the United Nations reform process has been left incomplete. There is a need for the United Nations to provide direction on issues such as debt cancellation, the achievement of official development assistance targets, foreign direct investment flows, the transfer of resources and environmentally-friendly technology to facilitate sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The World Summit Outcome reflects agreement to work expeditiously towards implementing the development dimensions of the Doha Work Programme but did not provide clear, comprehensive political direction to the World Trade Organization's Doha Round. Such direction could set the stage for the success of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization to be held in December 2005. The growing impasse shows that such political direction is needed. We need to rectify that situation.

For satisfactory progress on United Nations reform, the question of distribution of economic and political power in the United Nations, including in the Security Council, also needs to be addressed. As the Secretary-General has stated, no reform of the United Nations can be complete without reform of the Security Council.

The President of the General Assembly has attached utmost importance to the follow-up to, and implementation of, development issues in the 2005 World Summit Outcome. He has stressed the need for political momentum on development to be maintained and strengthened. He also pointed out that the United Nations, in particular, had to play its part in ensuring that the international community has in place appropriate ways and means to achieve the timely and full realization of the Millennium Development Goals.

He noted that the General Assembly's ongoing work had to include items such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), HIV/AIDS, migration and arrangements for reviewing the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, and that the outcome document had invited the Secretariat to undertake work on system-wide coherence this year, with the aim of improving the way United Nations development, humanitarian and environment activities were managed and coordinated. We agree with the approach taken by the President of the General Assembly to the work that lies ahead, particularly as concerns follow-up to the development aspects of the outcome document.

The main purpose of the 2005 world summit was to review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. Unfortunately, most countries will not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), given their current levels of growth and the level of international support they are receiving. Efforts have to be made at both the national and international levels to reach the targets set. While both the Millennium Declaration and the outcome document have spoken of exploiting the beneficial aspects of globalization, agreement on and implementation of the modalities is still lacking. Making the process of globalization fairer and more equitable remains one of the main challenges of our time. One achievement made by the G-77 was progress on systemic issues critical for good international economic governance. That progress has to be built upon.

Monitoring the progress made in the implementation of MDG 8 by developed countries is an integral part of the monitoring of the MDGs as a whole. Therefore, country-level reports by developed countries with regard to progress on commitments to developing countries remains important. It is essential to ensure that commitments to provide additional resources are implemented without delay. We also believe that debt stock cancellation should be complemented by sharp increases in official development assistance, in keeping with the Monterrey Consensus. The outcome document, in the context of commitments and initiatives aimed at enhancing resources for the development agenda, recognized the progress made on the Innovative Financing Framework for Immunization (IFFI). Operationalizing the IFFI is particularly important, since frontloading aid will enable many recipient countries to overcome the initial bottleneck in pursuing the MDGs.

However, no implementation scheme should obscure the fundamental objective, namely the rapid economic growth of developing countries so as to enable them to meet the MDG targets, especially with regard to reducing poverty and increasing employment. The implementation of the agreements contained in the outcome document should lead to the creation of a more favourable international economic environment that would be more supportive of development efforts.

The 2005 World Summit Outcome document has given impetus to the development of a strong counter-terrorism agenda. In accordance with the outcome of the world summit, our priority must remain the conclusion and adoption of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism early in this session of the General Assembly. We welcome the Secretary-General's offer to make available to the General Assembly an updated version of the elements of his previous strategy, and we would be happy to lend our full support towards the adoption of a counter-terrorism strategy after the comprehensive convention is adopted.

We also appreciate the formation of a counter-terrorism implementation force and the Secretary-General's plan to submit proposals by early 2006 to the Security Council and to the General Assembly to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations system to assist States in combating terrorism and to enhance coordination. We caution against duplication of work and mandates, given the plethora of bodies that are currently engaged in this exercise in the Security Council and elsewhere in the United Nations system.

To overcome the marginalization of the developing countries, their empowerment through reform of the Security Council remains imperative. India will continue to work with like-minded countries to reach the broadest possible agreement for an expansion of the permanent and non-permanent categories, to respect deadlines, and to bring the reform process to an early and successful conclusion.

India looks forward to working with the President of the General Assembly in his efforts to complete work on the other unfinished reform agenda, as contained in the outcome document. This includes working through informal consultations of the plenary on the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council. India welcomes the establishment of the Commission and hopes that it can begin its work before 31 December 2005. We also support negotiations with a view to concluding, during the early part of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, work on establishing a Human Rights Council.

The doubling of the regular budgetary resources of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) should respond to the broad mandate of human rights, especially in augmenting capacity-building and offering greater technical assistance to Member States at their request. The activities of the Office in the area of greater country engagement should not automatically result in an increase in its personnel deployments -- rather, it should focus on improving the institutional capabilities of the country concerned. The interaction of the OHCHR with other relevant United Nations bodies should be coordinated in order to mainstream all human rights, including the right to development. The activities and programmes of the OHCHR should address, in a balanced manner, not only civil and political rights but also economic, social and cultural rights. Additional resources should also be used judiciously to streamline reporting procedures and extend technical assistance to Member States for capacity-building.

We note from the report that the United Nations Development Group will finalize the strategy and work plan on strengthening the role of the United Nations special representatives, resident coordinators and humanitarian coordinators, and resident coordinator and country-based coordination systems by January 2006. A report on progress will be provided in the Secretary-General's annual report to the Economic and Social Council in 2006. We look forward to examining that report. We also expect the Secretary-General to apprise Member States of the next set of operational reforms to further strengthen the management and coordination of United Nations operational activities.

The 2005 World Summit Outcome called for the General Assembly and other relevant organs to review all mandates older than five years and take decisions based on that review during 2006. The expectation expressed in the Secretary-General's report (A/60/430) that all relevant organs and specialized intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations will complete that review in time for action in the first quarter of 2006 seems overly optimistic. That report also states that the resulting strategic framework for the forthcoming biennium will be submitted to the Committee for Programme and Coordination in August/September 2006. We assume that an additional session of the Committee is being proposed, since that Committee has not taken any decision on postponing its substantive session from June/July 2006.

We welcome the urgency with which the issue of strengthening the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is being treated. However, in the haste to carry out the recommendations of the outcome document, it would be a pity if we were not to seek the views of OIOS itself on the areas that require strengthening and on the extent of reform.

We are also puzzled to note that a separate, independent external evaluation of the Office is contemplated, something which was not mandated by the outcome document. That document states quite clearly that the external evaluation will focus on the entire auditing and oversight system of the United Nations and specialized agencies in the context of the comprehensive review of the governance arrangements. We do not believe that a piecemeal approach such as that proposed has any merit. We also look forward to receiving proposals from the Secretary-General on the other aspects of management and Secretariat reform as mandated in the outcome document.

We have carefully examined the report of the Secretary-General containing the third update on progress made in follow-up to the Assembly's special session on children (A/60/207). We agree that most of the goals of "A world fit for children" (resolution S-27/2, annex) will be achieved only through a greater intensification of action for disadvantaged children and families throughout the world. Examples of rapid progress in individual countries and regions have demonstrated that accelerated progress is possible, but current efforts need to be expanded and better supported through resource allocations.

Mr. Hasan Malek (Malaysia)

On behalf of the Malaysian delegation, I wish to thank the Secretary-General for his report containing the third update on progress made in follow-up to the special session of the General Assembly on children (A/60/207). We are pleased to note that Governments are taking substantive measures to pursue the goals aimed at creating a world fit for children, as envisaged in the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the special session of May 2002 (resolution S-27/2, annex).

The outcome document of the special session on children focused especially on promoting healthy lives, providing quality education, protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence, and combating HIV/AIDS. While considerable progress has been achieved in certain areas, setbacks have occurred in others. We note the assessment in the Secretary-General's report that while by 2004 many countries had taken concrete actions to translate the commitments made at the 2002 special session into national action plans and policies, the overall rate of progress had been uneven. We are heartened to note that the situation now seems to be more encouraging.

While a clear and genuine effort is being made to strengthen partnerships within the international community to improve child survival and promote healthy lives, much remains to be done to achieve the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals. Similarly, greater efforts are required to promote the other goals set at the special session, namely, providing quality education, protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence, and combating HIV/AIDS.

Some of the obstacles to achieving the goals contained in the outcome documents of the world summit and the special session on children include the lack of resources, debt and the decline in international funding to implement identified programmes. Those are clearly development issues and have to be addressed if we are honest in our conviction to further the promotion and the protection of the rights of children.

In that regard, my delegation commends the invaluable support and commitment demonstrated by the relevant United Nations development agencies in their activities to assist and support Member States in implementing the policies, plans and programmes proposed by the special session's Plan of Action. We urge the relevant United Nations agencies to continue their efforts to assist developing countries in establishing and strengthening their national capacities and institutions for the promotion and the protection of the rights of children and to achieve the goals set at the special session on children. Malaysia continues to participate in some of those efforts at the regional and multilateral levels.

At the national level, many of our efforts have been carried out in the context of our second National Plan of Action on Children for the period 2001 to 2020. The Plan, whose theme is caring for the children of Malaysia, was formulated in conformity with the nation's vision of achieving the status of a fully developed nation by 2020 and implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and of the outcome document of the special session on children. The Plan sets out a broad framework of actions and measures to address all areas of concern affecting on social and developmental needs, as well as the protection of the rights of children.

Since our independence, Malaysia has consistently made a conscious effort to make quality education the cornerstone of the national agenda. The national education policy is oriented towards providing basic education for a minimum of nine years. Girls and boys have equal access to educational opportunities, with the enrolment rates for the two genders almost at par -- 50.4 per cent of boys and 49.6 per cent of girls -- except at the level of tertiary education, where girls have a higher rate of enrolment.

Having put in place educational facilities throughout the country for the disabled, the Government has now made primary education compulsory for all.

With a rate of 98 per cent enrolment in primary school, the Government has now moved a step further by embarking on the provision of quality education to ensure that children have access to the best system of instruction to enable them to cope with the rapid progress of the information age. Efforts in this regard include modernizing schools, providing well-trained teachers and equipping all schools with computer laboratories and information and communications technology equipment.

To promote healthy lives, Malaysia is constantly upgrading its medical facilities and programmes and has allocated 1.3 billion Malaysian dollars for this purpose in the 2006 national budget. There has been a steady decline in maternal and neonatal mortality in Malaysia, which currently stand at 0.2 and 5 per 1,000, respectively. Health and community clinics set up throughout the country, which provide services such as immunization and normal development assessment for children, ensure that the child is in optimum health.

Malaysia is committed to the concept of total rehabilitation for disabled children. This entails a multidisciplinary approach whereby the Department of Social Welfare provides rehabilitation services for disabled children through institutional services, with the Ministry of Health providing technical inputs. The Department has also forged small partnerships with non-governmental organizations by supporting them financially in the administration and management of the institutional centres they operate.

Concerning the protection of children against abuse, exploitation and violence, Malaysia's Child Act 2001, formulated in line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, sets out provisions for the care and protection of children. A court for children has been established, which allows the affected child to participate in discussions and deliberations in court. In the area of child abuse, Malaysia has developed mechanisms for child protection, care and rehabilitation by setting up intersectoral Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect teams at district and state hospitals. A milestone in preventive measures is the establishment of child protection teams, which are involved in multiple programmes run by the community and for the community. Among other things, they run parental education activities and serve as counselling centres.

Having identified action against commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children as one of the priorities in the region, Malaysia is mindful that this challenge cannot be surmounted by any single country acting alone. In this regard, Malaysia subscribes to the Declaration on the Commitments for Children, adopted in 2001 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Under this Declaration, ASEAN has drawn up cooperation programmes in the areas of child trafficking, child prostitution and intercountry adoption. At the same time, programmes have been put in place to provide alternative family care arrangements for the victims of child abuse, neglect and exploitation, as well as to address the special needs of children with disabilities.

Recognizing the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, which poses serious health and developmental challenges to humankind and which disproportionately affects the young, Malaysia gives serious attention to combating HIV/AIDS. Although the reported cases of HIV infection are relatively few compared to our population, the Malaysian Government continues to give serious attention to measures for combating HIV/AIDS. The Government has taken a comprehensive and integrated approach to deal with this problem, which includes preventive measures, care, support and treatment for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. In that regard, the Malaysian Government also works very closely with non-governmental organizations.

Malaysia believes that the well-being of children and women is a reliable indicator of a healthy society and of good governance. In this respect, the Malaysian Government will continue to promote and facilitate the rights of the child, especially in the areas of protection, development and participation, and to create a favourable and enabling environment towards the goal of a world truly fit for children.

Mr. Swe (Myanmar)

Sir, may I first of all say how happy I am to see you, current Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), presiding over this important meeting. My delegation fully associates itself with the statement made by the Ambassador of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I shall therefore confine my statement mainly to agenda item 44, follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children.

Three years ago, the special session of the General Assembly on children adopted a Declaration and Plan of Action entitled "A World Fit for Children". Since then, the international community has come together to protect and promote the cause of children. But we cannot be complacent. According to the Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme, every hour of the day, over 1,200 children die around the world, most because of a preventable disease called poverty.

Five years ago, the leaders of the world adopted a comprehensive and detailed set of human development objectives -- the Millennium Development Goals. The strong focus of the Millennium Declaration on the lives of children gives added impetus towards attainment of a world fit for children and has led to the convergence of national planning processes around a common set of goals. Both the Millennium Development Goals and "A World Fit for Children" aim to reduce infant and under-five mortality rates by two thirds by 2015. Presently, only a few countries are on track to attain those goals. The Human Development Report 2005 projects that if current trends continue, this goal will be achieved only in 2045.

In an era of globalization, when technology, trade and investment have advanced dramatically, it is disturbing that 6 million children die annually of diseases that could be prevented or effectively treated. They die because simple yet high-impact and cost-effective interventions that could prevent their deaths remain beyond the reach of their families, particularly in the developing world. Effective national action complemented by sustained assistance from the international community is needed to reverse that trend.

In Myanmar, we are making great efforts to promote the health of the children. Under-five mortality rates have dropped from 130 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 66.6 per 1,000 live births in 2003. We aspire to reach the target of 38.5 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2015. The decline in prenatal, infant and child mortality rates during the past two decades is the result of the implementation of the national health plan, which provides increased access to primary health care, increased immunization coverage, promotes oral rehydration therapy and emphasizes the Making Pregnancy Safer initiative as a high-priority component of the reproductive health strategy.

Access to safe drinking water and sanitation also has an important bearing on child mortality rates. In Myanmar, a safe drinking water supply programme for water-scarce rural areas has been carried out for years and will continue. According to multiple indicator cluster surveys, access to safe drinking water has increased from 32 per cent of the population in 1992 to 72 per cent in 2000. Access to improved sanitation has also increased during the same period, from 36 to 83 per cent.

In today's world of abundance, it is regrettable that more than 1 billion people survive on less than $1 a day, 208 million of whom are youth. While increased official development assistance is an effective tool for fighting poverty, solutions also need to be found for improving market access for developing countries. Unfair and unbalanced trade rules greatly hamper efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the goals set out in "A world fit for children" (resolution S-27/2, annex).

In Myanmar, as part of our efforts to achieve economic growth and social progress in line with the MDGs, three national development programmes are being implemented to achieve balanced development and to narrow the socio-economic development gap existing between rural and urban areas. The three programmes are the border area development programme, the 24 special development zones plan and the integrated rural development plan.

We believe that education is the key to progress and poverty alleviation. In Myanmar, to achieve the goal of universal primary education, we have implemented Education for All activities since the 1996-1997 academic year. In accordance with the Dakar Education for All goals, a national plan of action was drawn up in 2003. As a result of such efforts, the school enrolment rate of children five years and older in the academic year 2004-2005 was 96.56 per cent, the net primary school enrolment rate was 84.5 per cent and the primary school completion rate was 74.5 per cent. The number of primary, middle and high schools has increased from some 34,000 in 1992 to more than 40,000 in 2004. Efforts have also been made to improve the quality of education. The reform of the official curriculum and assessment methodology has been undertaken, and the use of information and communication technology is strongly encouraged.

The border areas of Myanmar have lagged behind in development due to decades of armed insurgency, which led to the absence of an effective education infrastructure and created barriers to education. The lack of education opportunities resulted in more violence, creating a vicious cycle. Today, that cycle has been broken. Because of the Government's national reconciliation efforts, 17 armed insurgent groups have now returned to the legal fold. Now that peace and stability have returned to the border areas, the Government has been able to provide education for the children residing there. Fifteen years ago, there were a mere 28 schools in the border areas of Myanmar; today there are 790 schools, with more than 120,000 children currently enrolled.

In an effort to ensure that no child is left behind, two nationalities youth resource development degree colleges affiliated with major universities have been established. There are also 27 training schools for the development of nationalities youth from border areas. Nineteen domestic science vocational training schools for girls and women have been established in the border areas, and more than 14,000 girls and women have benefited from the vocational training provided in those schools.

Since the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (S-26/2, annex) was adopted, there has been stronger leadership at all levels, and new resources have been mobilized. The global commitment is unprecedented. However, greater efforts are needed if the international community is to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.

Where HIV/AIDS is declining, it is primarily because young people have learned to practice safe behaviour. In Myanmar, life skills training and social development for youth is conducted by the national AIDS programme in coordination with national non-governmental organizations. In collaboration with UNICEF, the Ministry of Education developed a school-based healthy living and AIDS prevention education kit in 1997. Since then, the programme has been adopted as part of the official curriculum and is taught at all levels, starting at the primary level. The programme has also been expanded to key groups outside the formal education system.

In today's interconnected world, assistance to developing countries to fight HIV/AIDS is not just a moral imperative but an investment for a common future. HIV/AIDS poses a serious challenge to the global community and it is a challenge that can be successfully addressed only through the cooperative efforts of the entire international community.

I conclude by reiterating Myanmar's firm commitment to the goals set by the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields. Myanmar stands ready to work together with others in the international community to implement them. By fulfilling those common goals, we will also be creating a world fit for children.