Summary: January 31, 2001: The Special Session on Children. Consideration of the draft outcome of the special session. Statement by Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg, Head of Delegation of Sweden on behalf of the European Union (New York)
Madame Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union on this important agenda item. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with European Union Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, as well as the EFTA country, members of the EEA Iceland align themselves with this statement.
We would like to express our gratitude to the Bureau and its Secretariat for their efforts to serve this important discussion so constructively. The Draft Outcome Document has been well received by all, including the European Union, and seen as a useful start for this important process. A number of crucial points are made in the text, some of them reflecting suggestions made at the previous preparatory meeting. In particular, we welcome the emphasis on the rights based approach, poverty
reduction, education, combating HIV/AIDS, participation and development of adolescents, measures against discrimination and for the protection of all children. We also appreciate the intention to avoid a bureaucratic language and seek formulations which might broaden the audience of readers.
However, the text could and should be improved in order that we use this unique process to produce an outcome which would be challenging, strategically focused and action oriented. Therefore, the final document has to give clear priorities and not be all-inclusive. There should be an emphasis on implementation and, therefore, on strategies and concrete measures aiming at different actors - in other words, on how changes are to be achieved. We should aim for a document which could serve as an
effective tool for change.
The Outcome Document should be based on a clear and comprehensive analysis of the problems and possibilities for children in today's world wherever they live. It should emphasise the interdependence of generations and the importance of seeing children as part of families and wider communities. In this context we would stress the importance of recognising also the important role of the father.
Analysis of causes and effects might be contained in the report submitted to the Special Session by the Secretary-General. Children suffer, directly and indirectly, from poverty in society. It is of great importance that child poverty be an integral part of all poverty reduction strategies and included in the overall international development agenda and in the processes established to bring that agenda forward. The Outcome Document should therefore relate to the relevant world conferences and
their follow-up sessions. Naturally, it should be rooted in previous agreements relating directly to children, primarily the 1990 World Summit for Children Declaration and Plan of Action and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. In our opinion, the rights based approach should be the lead theme throughout the text. The extraordinary broad support for the Convention is an asset in this context.
It is therefore not necessary to restate or renegotiate all aspects of the Convention. The Special Session should focus on the main principles and seek consensus on the realisation of the rights. The right to basic services for all, especially to health, including nutrition and sanitation, and education, should be put forward as strongly as at the 1990 Summit. This would include as strong emphasis on early childhood development for the youngest, but also on the rights of adolescents. Measures
against discrimination (for instance, against the girl child) and reduction of disparities are important; the rights based approach entails an obligation to reach the most marginalised children.
There should be a clear stance against all forms of violence and abuse against children, including in institutions and home settings. Children should be respected, their participation encouraged and facilitated and their views given due weight. It is important that they be given an opportunity to know their rights, through the school or otherwise. Of course, adults need also to be informed about the rights of the child.
If agreements could be reached on these broader priorities we have a good basis for concrete actions to reverse the HIV/AIDS pandemic; to provide nutrition, clean water, adequate sanitation and a safe and healthy environment; to ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents, to guarantee access to quality education; to ensure gender equality and the rights of the girl child (for instance in the school system); to ensure basic services also for children belonging to minorities
and for unaccompanied migrant children; to promote the rights of children with disabilities; to combat hazardous child labour; to protect children in armed conflict; to ensure the possibility of psycho-social rehabilitation; to fight sexual exploitation and abuse, including sex tourism, against children; to ensure that all children can benefit from the fruits of modern information technology and at the same be protected against its harmful aspects; and other important efforts for the rights of
the child.
In the Outcome Document measures for genuine and sustainable implementation should be spelled out, including the allocation to the maximum of available resources for children and an international burden-sharing in the spirit of solidarity. We cannot afford not to invest in children, our future. Alliances need to be built with civil society, including non-governmental organisations, the corporate sector, the media and, naturally, children themselves. The importance of good political leadership
should be emphasised as well as a system of effective monitoring. The significance of the "best interests" principle in political, administrative and judicial decision-making processes should be made clear.
In order to make the document an important action tool, it has to be clear to whom the recommendations are addressed. Distinctions should be made between joint undertakings by the participating Governments - both in developing and developed countries - and recommendations to the international agencies, including UN bodies, and representatives of the civil society, including non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector.
Further discussion is required on the goals and targets. In order for the Outcome Document to focus on key priorities, the goals should not be too many. The priorities should if possible be defined early in the preparatory process. The 1990 key goals and their supporting goals need a realistic updating, based on analysis why we have not reached some of them. We should keep in mind that international goals will need to be adapted to the specific realities of each country in terms of phasing,
priorities, standards and available resources.
We suggest a focus on key goals and time frames which have already been agreed at previous world conferences and follow-up meetings and in particular in the Millennium Declaration, which should be reaffirmed and built on by the Special Session. At the same time there is a need for further discussion on how goals, qualitative or quantitative, and indicators could meaningfully be defined to protect children from the consequences of, for instance, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, armed
conflicts, hazardous labour. On the latter aspect ILO Conventions 138 and 182 are relevant.
Again, distinction should be made between undertakings by Governments and recommendations for international organisations, including the UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions. It is important that the messages to the UN actors, UNICEF and others, are clear. At the same time, there should be a strong emphasis on the importance of national legislation, planning, priority-setting and adequate allocation of resources. It is on national level the most important actions must be taken.
Comprehensive national child policies are called for and should include mechanisms for co-ordination and monitoring, for instance through the creation of offices of Children's Ombudspersons.
International organisations, including the UN agencies, should as far as possible assist countries in the planning and implementation of agreed programmes. Here the Comprehensive Development Frameworks will be of particular importance as well as the country-led poverty reduction strategies. Bilateral development co-operation should aim at maximum effects in the best interests of the child.
The full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the overarching objective. As we all aim for genuine results, monitoring will be essential. The reporting procedures set up for the 1990 Plan of Action have run parallel to the process related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Special Session should, in our view, aim for a co-ordinated, simple process which would be effective without overburdening countries with additional reporting obligations. This
important matter requires further thought. In this context, we should stress the need for more resources to the Committee on the Rights of the Child to advise on and monitor the implementation of the Convention.
We hope that the text could be organised in a simple and more logical manner. Some of the chapters might be reordered and merged; thereby some of the repetitions could be avoided. Key tasks may be presented in the text in conformity with the General Principles of the Convention: Challenging discrimination; Acting in the best interests of the child; Ensuring survival and development of the child; and Ensuring respect for the views of the child. However, on this occasion we should avoid too
detailed comments on the technical aspects of the Draft. Our hope is that the final text will have a concrete approach, be result oriented and define key priority areas.
The European Union and the thirteen other governments aligned with this statement look forward with optimism towards the next steps in this process. Having now examined the first draft we believe it is important to start the next round of discussions before the next preparatory committee meeting in order that sufficient attention be given to key aspects, such as how to define meaningful goals and targets and how to secure funding for the necessary reforms. How to organise such input and
exchanges within our present time constraints, is a challenge to us all. On our part, we are determined to contribute constructively. We feel consensus building is important and in this spirit, we should also seek co-operation with the non-governmental organisations and listen to their recommendations. In that spirit a regional conference for Europe and Central Asia will be convened by the German and the Bosnia governments.
We should seek the broadest possible support for a concrete and effective Global Agenda for Children. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity.
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