Children Activism

Children Activism

The Special Session on Children is an unprecedented meeting of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the children and adolescents of the world. It will bring together government leaders and Heads of State, NGOs, children's advocates and young people themselves from 19-21 September 2001 at the United Nations in New York City. The gathering will present a great opportunity to change the way the world views and treats children. A follow-up to the 1990 World Summit for Children In 1990, at the World Summit for Children, 71 Heads of State and Government and other leaders signed the World Declaration on Survival, Protection and Development of Children and adopted a Plan of Action to achieve a set of precise, time-bound goals. These goals included:

· Improving living conditions for children and their chances for survival by increasing access to health services for women and children

· Reducing the spread of preventable diseases

· Creating more opportunities for education

· Providing better sanitation and greater food supply; and protecting children in danger.

The commitment to realizing the World Summit goals has helped move children and child rights to a place high on the world's agenda. The Special Session is an important follow-up to the 1990 World Summit.

What does the Special Session on Children hope to accomplish?

· A review of the progress made for children in the decade since the 1990 World Summit for Children and the World Declaration and Plan of Action.

The end-of-decade review will combine national, regional and global reports. The review will not only chart the achievements of the last decade; it will also serve to inform world leaders as they plan future actions for children.

· A renewed commitment and a pledge for specific actions for the coming decade.

World leaders will explore the long-standing challenges of serving and protecting children, as well as the issues emerging in this rapidly changing world. They will be asked to identify strategic solutions to the problems facing children and to commit the critical human and economic resources that will be called for.

Expected outcomes of the Special Session

The Special Session is expected to produce a global agenda with a set of goals and a plan of action devoted to ensuring three essential outcomes:

· The best possible start in life for all children.