UN Matters
By Jennifer Butler
Get Involved
To learn more about what you can do to support or advocate
for children's rights, request a Convention on the Rights of
the Child advocacy and education packet from the Presbyterian
UN Office, 212/697-4568 or unoffice@presbyun.org.
Find ways you can help. Visit the Year of the Child Web site,
http://www.pcusa.org/pw/yoc, or the UNICEF Web site, www.unicefusa.org.
Consider having your youth or children Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
during Halloween-an activity that was started by a Presbyterian
minister. Materials can be ordered via UNICEF's Web site or by
calling 800/252-KIDS.
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Advocating for the Least of These
As Christians, we follow a savior who was born in a barn and
who as a child became a refugee, fleeing to Egypt with his parents
to escape persecution. Children around the world today face many
such hardships-poverty, disease, war, violence, exploitation.
In Christ, God demonstrates compassion for the world's vulnerable
and so reveals to us, "Just as you did it to one of the
least of these . . . you did it to me" (Matt. 25:40).
Convention on the Rights
of the Child
The innocence and vulnerability of children calls Christians
to ensure that children receive extra protection. For this reason,
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been celebrating the Year
of the Child (July 2000--June 2001). As our Year of the Child
ends, the United Nations will be celebrating the tenth anniversary
of the World Summit for Children and the eleventh anniversary
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In September 2001
the world's governments will gather to review the world's progress
in meeting the goals set at the UN World Summit for Children
held in 1990. They will also determine what new steps must be
taken over the next ten years to ensure the protection, survival
and development of the world's children. One of the proposed
goals is to achieve universal ratification of a UN treaty called
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted by the
UN in 1979. Once the UN adopts a treaty, each country is invited
to ratify it. The CRC is the most widely recognized human rights
agreement in history. Only two countries have not ratified the
CRC-the United States and Somalia. Somalia has not ratified the
CRC because it currently has no government.
Much has been accomplished as a result of the World Summit and
CRC. Many countries have enacted wholesale legislative reform
in favor of children's rights as a result of the review process
for the World Summit and the CRC. To name just a few examples,
Mozambique ratified the landmine-ban convention, Ethiopia wrote
provisions for children and women's rights into its new constitution
and legislation, and Romania instituted a national policy reform
related to children in public care. Leaders around the world
have become more aware of the importance of listening to children
themselves when seeking solutions to complex problems. For the
first time, children are being seen and heard in government,
through child and youth councils, summits and seminars. One exciting
example is the Children's Social Movement for Peace in Colombia,
which has spurred a popular mass movement of more than 400 organizations
rallying the nation to take action to secure peace.
Sobering Statistics
Still much remains to be done. The Presbyterian General Assembly
and others have encouraged the United States to ratify the Convention
on the Rights of the child and should continue to do so. The
status of children in the United States is surprisingly poor,
considering the nation's great wealth. According to the Children's
Defense Fund, in the United States
· Every 40 seconds a baby is born into poverty;
· Every 4 hours a young person commits suicide;
· Every 2 hours a child or youth is killed by a
firearm;
· Every 4 minutes a baby is born to a mother who
had late or no prenatal care;
· Every 19 hours a young person under 25 dies from
HIV infection.
Countries with fewer resources and stability face even greater
challenges.
· Globally, an estimated 12 million children under
the age of five die every year, mostly of easily preventable
causes.
· Some 130 million children in developing countries
are not in primary school and the majority of them are girls.
· An estimated 250 million children are engaged
in some form of labor.
· Armed conflicts continue to shorten and ruin
the lives of millions of children; last year, about 300,000 children
served as soldiers in national armies.
Jennifer Butler is the associate for global issues at the Presbyterian
United Nations Office in New York.
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