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Resources > Global Issues > Covering the UN > Children's Ri... > May 2, 2002

May 2, 2002

OTR Kids 3, Issue 10
On the Record: Your Electronic Link to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children
May 2, 2002

Opinion:


In the News:


Also Noted:


Opinion:
By Naomi Lightman (Young People's Press)

We're Almost On Our Way!

The time is fast approaching when children from around the world will be packing their bags and getting ready to give a real shout out for youth issues and involvement! Youth from every background, culture and continent will be hopping on planes and heading to New York City to voice their concerns and suggestions for the UN Special Session on Children, 2002.

I am thrilled at the prospect of hearing young people assert their opinions and brainstorm together. I am looking forward to talking to many other youth, learning from them and feeling a renewed sense of hope and togetherness for our future. I want to hear young people's views on issues that directly affect all of us; issues such as poverty, warfare, child labor, AIDS and the child sex trade.

The time has come for children to really take a stand! We must overcome our historical sense of intimidation or despair. But how meaningful will our participation truly be? Will youth be taken seriously and listened to? Will we be more than a bureaucratic symbol of child involvement?

Alana Kapell, a co-ordinator of child participation from Save the Children Canada, believes that young people's opinions and suggestions will be implemented in a variety of ways.

'The change that we've seen from the very first PrepCom is amazing,' she told me. 'The momentum and the reality and the strength of child participation has been growing steadily over the last two years. Young people are getting together in their countries and on the international level to ensure that they are really heard!'

Kapell says that there is a growing voice for young people in this process. So it's up to us to realize this opportunity and take full advantage of it. We must be informed, enthusiastic and work together. What we want from this Session is a solid document, with strong commitments and strong follow-up and monitoring. This is not too much to ask - it is what we deserve! Let's remind ourselves why we are going and what we want to accomplish.

See you in the Big Apple!


In the News

Consensus Resolution on Child Rights At the UN Commission on Human Rights Draws Mixed Reviews from NGOs

-- Commission adopts compromise wording on child rights convention, calls for an independent study into violence against children and an end to capital punishment for crimes committed under 18, but drops reproductive health care and services --

GENEVA: In a consensus resolution on child rights which some feel could form the basis for a possible compromise at the Special Session, the UN's Commission on Human Rights has agreed that the 'Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant human rights instruments must constitute the standard in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child.'

The carefully-phrased resolution was adopted without a vote on the final day of the Commission last Friday, after days of tense negotiations over the precise wording. A record number of governments - 104 - cosponsored the resolution. (The Commission comprises 53 governments, although observer governments are also entitled to cosponsor resolutions.)

As predicted in On the Record for Children (Vol 3#7), the resolution also encourages the UN Secretary-General to appoint an independent expert to conduct the UN study on violence against children, as recommended by the General Assembly last November. In addition, it asks governments that maintain the death penalty to abolish, as soon as possible, any laws that permit the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18.

Roberta Cecchetti, from the World Organization Against Torture, described these aspects of the resolution as 'positive.' But she also expressed concern that it makes no reference to reproductive health care and services, which was dropped after fierce resistance from the United States, some Arab governments and the Holy See.

The proposed text had called on states to pay particular attention 'to the special needs of adolescents for adequate, affordable, and universally accessible health care and services, including sexual and reproductive health.' Many child rights activists had felt that such an endorsement by the Commission would make it hard for the Special Session to avoid the issue.

This session of the Commission proved to be one of the most difficult in recent years. The session was dominated by the theme of terrorism and the crisis in the Middle East, which took up much more time than expected.

Adding to the pressure, the UN cut out night sessions in order to reduce costs. One consequence was to drastically reduce the time available for NGOs, which were only allowed to talk on an agenda item for 3 minutes or - on some occasions - prevented from speaking altogether. Another result of the squeeze was the clustering of different items on the agenda, including the items on women and children.

Ms. Cecchetti said that the NGO children's rights caucus had monitored government statements during this discussion, and concluded that much more time was given to women's issues than children.

She also said that when children and women were addressed in the same statement, it tended to be in the context of problems that jointly affect women and children - like trafficking, early marriage, and female genital mutilation - to the detriment of issues, like the participation of children, that are vital to children in their own right.

As a result, some fear that the Commission has turned the clock back on years of lobbying by NGOs that was aimed at establishing that children have their own set of rights, deserving of separate attention. NGOs hope that this will not set a precedent for the Commission, and - more immediately - for the Special Session.

Update on Under-18 Participation at Children's Forum and Special Session

UNICEF expects some 400 children to attend the Children's Forum and the Special Session. The children's forum will organize children into regional, 'home' groups based on common language skills. The children will then join working groups based on the eight key themes of the Outcome document: healthcare, education, poverty eradication, HIV/AIDS, child protection, inter-generational partnerships, war, and exploitation from violence.

A team of interpreters and 18 facilitators with extensive experience with young people will be brought in to help encourage discussion and the productive exchange of ideas and experiences. There will also be a number of opportunities to involve children as rapporteurs, timekeepers, and media spokespersons. UNICEF will provide child-friendly versions of the Special Session Outcome document, information on the UN in general and the ten points of the Rallying Call for the Global Movement for Children.

At the end of the Forum, children will have drafted a key statement that will open the Special Session on Children in the General Assembly. 'This is history in the making,' says Jeanette Wijnants of UNICEF. 'The active involvement of young people since the First PrepCom has just steadily continued to go up.'

Children in each of the regional or 'home' groups will nominate two representatives to participate in the drafting committee for the statement to the General Assembly. The representatives will be equally divided along gender lines and will also equally represent governmental and non-governmental delegates.

Five intergenerational roundtables with heads of state and other leaders have also been organized by UNICEF. The Director of the International Labor Organization, the First Lady of Ecuador, Olara Otunnu, Graca Machel, and the Senior Minister of Development from India have been the first to confirm their participation in these closed-door, high level discussions.

Young people will also be actively involved in side events with mayors and parliamentarians, as well as experts on a wide range of issues covered by the Outcome document. 'These are young people who are active in their communities,' says Wijnants. 'They really have something to say. They're not just minister's nephews.'

The Under 18 Task Force of the NGO Committee on UNICEF will be holding an orientation for children and young people under 18 who will not be attending the Children's Forum. The orientation will take place on Tuesday, May 6 from 12:30 to 3 pm in Labouisse Hall at UNICEF House. A special tour of the U.N. for young people will follow the orientation. A special presentation on child protection issues for chaperones of young people has been scheduled for May 6 from 12:45-1:45 pm on the Second Floor of the Church Center.

Children and young people who cannot attend the Special Session will be linked into the Summit through live web broadcasts and candid exchanges with their peers in 'Voices of Youth,'a special youth zone of the UNICEF website. UNICEF has partnered with NGOs around the world to widen the access to online reports about the Special Session.


Singapore to Organize Special Security Council Meeting on Children

The government of Singapore, which will act as president of the Security Council in May, has scheduled a special meeting of the Council on the day before the Special Session on Children begins. Secretary General Kofi Annan, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy, former First Lady of Mozambique and South Africa Graca Machel, Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict Olara Otunnu and three children from war-affected countries will be asked to speak.

'This meeting serves two purposes,' says Chia Hsia Foo of the Singaporean Mission to the UN 'First, it's symbolic demonstration of the Council's concern for the situation of children in situations of armed conflict. And, second, it's the Council's contribution to the Special Session. Our 'hard mandate' of peace and security is often best served when we hear from the struggles of the most vulnerable. Their testimony serves as an indicator of long-term threats to peace.'

In September, the Security Council met to mark the Special Session, which was originally scheduled for last Fall. But objections by the Russian delegation to an address by a Muslim Kosovar Albanian instead of a Christian Orthodox Kosovar Serb resulted in an address by only one child from Sierra Leone. Organizers hope that this year's meeting of the Security Council will proceed more smoothly.

Global Peace Curriculum Launched in High Schools

The office of Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, has launched a school program for understanding and promoting global peace on April 24, 2002. The program provides a suggested curriculum to better help young people between the ages of 12 and 15 to understand the situation of their peers in conflict zones. Norman Thomas High School in New York City will be the first school to adopt the initiative into its curriculum.

The Peace Program is based on a series of fictional books by Jerry Piasecki that are rooted in the real lives of children in conflict zones around the world. Characters and scenarios are often constructed around a range of country situations in any one conflict zone or region such as Eastern Africa or the Balkans.

The first book by Piasecki, a long-time children's author who also works for the UN, is entitled 'Marie-In the Shadow of the Lion.' The book traces the life of a young African girl whose life changes traumatically overnight when her country becomes embroiled in armed conflict. 'Marie is the name of one of the girls I met when researching this book,' says Piasecki. 'Every aspect of these books is extensively researched. I've interviewed former child soldiers, children in refugee camps, and many other young people caught in the crossfire.'

'Marie' is the first book in the series and has served as the framework for the pilot program of the Schools for Global Peace initiative. Schools in New York City, Connecticut, Louisiana, and Mexico participated in the pilot program.

So far, the response from schools participating in the pilot program has been overwhelmingly positive. In the United States, children have set up clothing banks for young people in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Letter writing campaigns to politicians and speeches in youth communities are just a few of the other follow-up activities that participants in the program can pursue.

Though the program is largely designed for children in countries at peace, plans are underway to introduce the program in countries experiencing or recently recovered from armed conflict. Ultimately, organizers hope to establish a network of 10,000 'peace' schools around the world. Each school that participates in the program will be designated a 'United Nations Global Peace School' by Otunnu's office.

'The purpose of this program is to inspire children to do something,' says Piasecki. 'We're trying to encourage a humanitarian commitment from young people that will last a lifetime. And we're also trying to give young people something they can do right now to get involved.'

Piasecki's next book, 'Thomas and Deng-Paradise Burning' has been completed and will soon be added to the curriculum for the program. The initiative will be further publicized during the Special Session.


Adolescent Zimbabweans 'Imperiled' by Denial of Reproductive  Rights Says New Report

A new report on adolescent reproductive rights in Zimbabwe will be launched at the Special Session by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Law & Policy (CRLP) and the Child and Law Foundation of Zimbabwe. 'State of Denial: Adolescent Reproductive Rights in Zimbabwe' reveals an ineffective and inadequate legal and policy framework for protecting the reproductive rights of adolescents.

More than one-third of the Zimbabwean population is under the age of 18 and most become sexually active between the ages of 12 and 17. Almost 40 percent of female adolescents in Zimbabwe are mothers by the age of 19 and up to 26 percent of girls and women between the ages of 15-24 are HIV positive.

'State of Denial' calls on the government of Zimbabwe to revamp its legal framework to better protect sexually active young people and highlights the urgent need for adequate public education campaigns about reproductive health, along with widespread and safe access to public health facilities for young people.


US Considers New Legislation Protecting Unaccompanied Juneniles Seeking Asylum

The US Congress is considering new legislation that would provide special protections to unaccompanied refugee children arriving in the United States. The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act was introduced in the US Senate late last year by Senator Diane Feinstein, a Democrat from California. A hearing on the proposed legislation was held in February of this year and child rights advocates are hoping that the Special Session on Children will help get the bill passed into law.

The legislation would create a new Office of Children's Services within the Department of Justice and would transfer responsibility for all unaccompanied alien children from the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to a neutral agency. The Act would also require that unaccompanied alien children be provided with pro bono legal assistance and guardianship by a child welfare professional.

In 2000, the INS detained nearly 4,700 children who arrived unaccompanied to US borders. These children often arrive without any papers, especially if they are fleeing persecution. The INS has used outdated and inaccurate methods of age verification, and many children and young people under the age of 18 end up in adult prisons as a result.

'We saw a big increase in abuse of non-US prisoners by American prisoners after 9/11,' says Kathleen Lucas, an Amnesty International member and founder of the CIRCLE Coalition for Immigrant Rights at the Community Level, based in York, Pennsylvania. 'These people are in horrible conditions to begin with and the INS often dumps them into prisons in small towns around the country where they won't have access to proper legal counsel.'

Amnesty International has launched a number of urgent action campaigns for minors illegally detained by the US government. Most recently, an AI campaign helped lead to the transfer of Malik Jarno, a mentally retarded young person from Guinea, to a youth prison after 15 months in adult prisons where he was severely abused.


New Compilation of Documents Relating to Children in Armed Conflict

Sandrine Valentine, of the Working Group on Armed Conflict in the NGO Committee on UNICEF, has put together a comprehensive catalog of UN resolutions and informed opinions relating to the situation of children in armed conflict. The handbook consists of an introduction and text for nine documents and resolutions, including the Graca Machel review of the situation of children in armed conflict, the Winnipeg NGOs Document, and three UN Security Council Resolutions. Also included are brief summaries of each of the documents along with contact information for experts and NGO coordinators.

The compilation, which has been titled 'Children in Armed Conflict - What Can Be Done - A Summary of Informed Opinions,' has been divided into three subject areas: prevention, protection/intervention, and rehabilitation. These subjects are explored within the framework of different actors such as governments, nonstate entities, civil society organizations and the media. The report will be available as a resource and advocacy tool for the Special Session on Children and beyond.


Also Noted

Candlelight Vigil to Mark Opening Day of the Special Session

The New Delhi-based 'Global March Against Child Labor' is sponsoring a worldwide candlelight vigil to draw attention to children's rights as the Special Session begins in New York. 'Many of the promises that sparkled so brightly in 1990 have gone unfulfilled,' says a statement from the Global March. 'Now, instead of looking for ways to finally live up to those promises, many governments would like to simply forget them. Therefore we must make our voices heard around the world!'


Campaign for Global Education Demands Free Access to Basic Education for All

Oxfam has initiated a global campaign for free, basic education for all. The Global Campaign for Education organized a series of rallies, seminars, street theater and other consciousness raising activities in countries around the world from April 22-28. The campaign was also launched online in an effort to further pressure world leaders to provide universal education ten years after the Dakar World Education Forum. Worldwide, at least 125 million children are not in school. Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires governments to 'make primary education compulsory and available free to all.'


Signature Drive for Support of Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Albina's Action for Orphans, an initiative of the Switzerland-based child rights organization the Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud, is trying to collect two million signatures in support of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Organizers are hoping to reach their target by the opening of the Special Session.


Child Rights Caucus Releases Position Paper on Outcome Document

The Child Rights Caucus has released a position paper on paragraphs 4, 8, 29, 30 and 56 of the Outcome Document for the Special Session on Children. The statement also includes remarks on the sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents in the Outcome Document.


New Report Documents Failure of IMF and World Bank to Reduce Poverty

A new report from World Vision entitled 'Masters of Their Own Development' argues that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) of the World Bank and the IMF have not helped to alleviate poverty around the world. The report includes a special section on how the PRSPs have affected young people in Bolivia, Nicaragua and Honduras. For a complete electronic copy of the report, visit here.

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From the Editors:
About On the Record for Children

On the Record for Children is the newsletter of the NGO Committee on UNICEF, a network of 125 nongovernmental organizations that work closely with UNICEF while remaining independent.

On the Record for Children has covered the run-up to the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Children since January 2001. It will be produced in email form until the Special Session, which will be covered daily in email and hard copy versions. One issue will be produced by young journalists for the Children's Forum.

On the Record for Children is produced by The Advocacy Project (AP). Anaga Dalal is the principal writer and Colleen Malone serves as copy editor and manager. AP is also working with Young People's Press (YPP), a Toronto-based organization that trains and works with young journalists. Naomi Lightman, 16, from YPP, serves as youth editor for On the Record for Children.

The material in On the Record for Children is reviewed by an editorial group of the NGO Committee prior to publication. The editors welcome ideas for articles, letters, and opinion pieces, although they might be edited for length. 

The material in this issue will be posted on the website of the NGO Committee, together with photos where appropriate. The website is currently being revised.

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