Press Room

OPT: Children facing settler attacks on way to school

From: IPS - Inter Press Service

GHANA: Free health care for children?

From: The Statesman

BELGIQUE: Les mineurs en détention dans les centres fermés pour étrangers

From: Campus Plein Sud

ADOPCIONES INTERNACIONALES: Suiza es criticada

From: no associated organisation

SPECIAL SESSION: NGO participation at follow up event [nomination]
Nomination process for NGO participation to the Special Session follow up event to take place in New York on 11 and 12 December 2007.
From: UNICEF

Paris conference on child soldiers concludes with commitment to stop the recruitment of children

From: UNICEF

UNICEF launches ‘Media Magic Make a Difference!’ for children video contest

From: UNICEF

European governments and NGOs gauge progress toward ‘A World Fit for Children’

From: UNICEF

Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers from across England Demand Change from MPs and Children's Commissioner for England

From: Save the Children UK

Six Months on from South Asia Earthquake 300,000 Children Still Unable to Go to School

From: Save the Children UK

Human Rights in Welsh
Amnesty International in Wales is developing bilingual human rights education materials for use in schools. these will include Welsh web pages for teachers, sample activities and lesson plans. Resources have been developed for children at all key stages through to Sixth Form.
From: Amnesty International Wales Office

Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos inaugura nuevo periodo de sesiones

From: Organization of American States

1st Meeting of Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
In a ground-breaking moment in the fight to protect children in armed conflict, a newly-formed Security Council Working Group, composed of all its members and chaired by France, met in an inaugural session on Wednesday 16 November, 2005.
From: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

Children Address the Assembly
Children present their recommendations at the Regional Consultation.
From: Child Rights Information Network

Child Rights Caucus Update - 23 May 2002
The Child Rights Caucus provides an update on the outcome of the Special Session, including the final outcome document, the US position and the final negotiations.
From: Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children

UN: Child Death Figures Up
15 May 2002 - More than 5,500 children die daily from diseases caused by consuming water and food polluted with bacteria, according to three UN (United Nations) agencies.
From: Allafrica.com

UN Adopts Declaration Aimed At Improving Children's Well-Being
New York, 14 May 2002 - THE United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children has adopted a declaration aimed at improving the well-being of children over the next 10 years.
From: Allafrica.com

UN General Assembly Special Session on Children
New York 14 May 2002 - What should have been a momentous occasion for the protection of child rights turned out to be a set back, said Yvonne Terlingen , Amnesty International's representative at the UN, referring to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS).
From: Amnesty International - International Secretariat

Action Must Follow UN Special Talks on Children, Says UNICEF Chief
May 13, 2002 - The chief of the United Nations Children's Fund, Carol Bellamy, has cautioned that the success of last week's UN Special Session on Children held in New York will be measured by government action in the months and years following the landmark talks.
From: OneWorld International

UN Children's Forum Concludes After Bitter Debate
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A contentious U.N. summit on children concluded early on Saturday with the adoption of a final document marked by a conservative U.S. stamp on matters of adolescent sexuality and the death penalty.
From: no associated organisation

Goals Set by U.N. Conference on Children Skirt Abortion
UNITED NATIONS, May 10 - After nearly 30 hours of bitter, nonstop negotiations over teenagers and sex, delegates to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children tentatively agreed tonight on a declaration of goals.
From: no associated organisation

UN Sets Blueprint for Children's Future
NEW YORK, 11 May 2002 - A special
United Nations summit in New York
has adopted an action plan to
improve children's lives in the coming
decade.
The summit's final document includes
programmes to protect children from
poverty, disease and abuse, with
specific targets for the coming years.

From: BBC

NGOs Disappointed by Outcome of Children’s Summit – Challenge Remains for Follow Up
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - “Governments squandered an opportunity to build on advancements of the last decade” said Jo Becker, Spokesperson of the Child Rights Caucus. “After nearly universal ratification of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, it’s a disappointment that the treaty is not the centerpiece of the Outcome Document.”
From: Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children

Child Rights Caucus Update - 12 May 2002
The Child Rights Caucus provides an update on the final outcome document, A World Fit for Children, adopted by the General Assembly at the end of the Special Session on Children.
From: Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children

TANZANIA: Focus on child welfare
DAR ES SALAAM, 10 May 2002 (IRIN) - Farraja Kotta is a 16-year-old Tanzanian girl who has just finished her O-level education. But on Wednesday, she had the honour of speaking on behalf of African children in an event on promoting children's participation, held at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in New York.
From: no associated organisation

EU Blunder on Reproductive Health Infuriates Allies, Opens the Way to a Rollback on Beijing and Cairo
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - In a major strategic blunder that has infuriated its allies in the Latin American and Like Minded groups, European Union negotiators abruptly abandoned the EU position on reproductive health during the Outcome negotiations Thursday.
From: no associated organisation

Divided U.N. Agrees on Plan for Aiding Children
UNITED NATIONS, May 10 -- The 189- nation U.N. General Assembly tonight adopted a bitterly contested document that charts the U.N.'s strategy for confronting a range of afflictions facing children, from poverty to the recruitment of child combatants and increasing HIV infection rates.
From: no associated organisation

UN Special Session on Children Gets Underway in New York
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - Some 60 heads of state and government descended on New York this week for the United Nations Special Session on Children, taking place May 8-10. An extraordinary array of leading figures from business, culture, the arts, academia, and religion enlivened UN headquarters as the world focused on the future of its children
From: no associated organisation

Morocco to Host Euro-Mediterranean Meeting on Child's Rights
10 May, 2002 - Morocco's Princess Lalla Meryem, personal representative of King Mohammed VI to the UN special general assembly on children, meeting May 8-10 at the UN headquarters in New York, announced in New York Wednesday that Morocco will host before this year's end a Euro-Mediterranean meeting on human security and child's rights.
From: no associated organisation

Children Issue Statement To World Leaders at the UN
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - Declaring that "we want a world fit for children, because a world fit for us is fit for everyone," young people from more than 100 nations sent a powerful message to world leaders gathered at the United Nations Special Session on Children this week.
From: UNICEF

Governments 'Say Yes' as Agreement is Reached on Global Goals and Plan of Action for World's Children
NEW YORK, 10 May 2002 - The United Nations wrapped up its Special Session on Children late Friday with unanimous agreement on a new agenda for the world's children, including 21 specific goals and targets for child health, education and protection over the next decade, UNICEF announced.
From: UNICEF

National Plans of Action Must Involve Young People
9 May 2002, NEW YORK - Youth representatives in a discussion on the participation of young people in national plans of action said the unprecedented involvement of young people at the Special Session on Children could lead to new opportunities for action across generations.
From: UNICEF

Unity Tempered by Harsh Realities
NEW YORK, 9 May 2002 - “We are united by our struggle to make the world a better place for all. We are not only the future, but also the present!” So concluded the statement drafted on the last day of the UN Children’s Forum, the resounding message to be presented to the UN General Assembly today.
From: no associated organisation

Annan Joins Teens in Rebuking Adults
UNITED NATIONS (AP) 9 May 2002 -- There will be more speeches and panel discussions, and a final document to iron out, but the presidents, sheiks and kings at the U.N. children's summit have already gotten a dressing down from the world's young people.
From: no associated organisation

US Health and Human Services Urges World's Kids to Be Active
UNITED NATIONS (AP) 9 May 2002 -- US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson warned that three times as many American children are overweight than 20 years ago, and urged the world to get moving, ``literally.''
From: no associated organisation

Children of War in Sierra Leone Try to Start Over
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, May 8 — He was 14 years old when the rebels seized the capital here, back in 1998, and forced him to join them. A boy with a precocious intensity and frigid self-assuredness, he rose quickly in the ranks and earned the fighting name Poison.
From: no associated organisation

As Assembly Continues Special Session, Speakers Address Negative Impact of Armed Conflict on Children
Among the key issues raised this morning as the General Assembly special session on children continued its general debate were the negative impact of armed conflict on children and the need to put an end to their exploitation.
From: UN - United Nations

WRITE ON!'If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution.'
NEW YORK, 9 May 2002 - These were the words of Emma Goldman, a famous American anarchist and feminist who sought exile in my home town, Toronto. It is worth recalling her words as the UN prepares for the Special Session on Children. Only when we as youth start to work together and make our voices heard, can we truly begin dancing towards a better future.
From: no associated organisation

Open Letter to the Honorable Tommy Thompson, US Secretary of Health and Human Services and the United States delegation to the UN Special Session
The Child Rights Caucus sends letter imploring the United States government not to further impede progress of nations on the Outcome Document.
From: Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children

Children are European Citizens too
The European Children's Network,
EURONET has submitted to the
members of the European
Convention its proposal to include an
article on children’s rights in the next
EU Treaty.



From: European Children's Network

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Sexual and Reproductive Rights, A Guide for Young People
New York, 8 May - The International Planned Parenthood Federation and members of the International Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition today marked the opening of United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the Child with the launch of a new guide: The Young Person's Guide to the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child and Sexual and Reproductive health.
From: International Planned Parenthood Federation

Save The Children Warns UN Delegates That A Child Dies of Poverty Every Three Seconds
As the UN General Assembly convenes for a Special Session devoted entirely to children, leading child rights and development organization Save the Children called on world leaders who will be present at the event to deliver on the promises that have already been made to the world's children - beginning with eradicating child poverty.
From: International Save the Children Alliance

Children take centre-stage at UN
8 May, 2002 -- The UN Special Session on Children, which begins on Wednesday and runs until Friday, will look at issues affecting children around the world.
From: no associated organisation

Annan Opens U.n. Children's Summit
UNITED NATIONS (AP), 8 May 2002 - Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the first U.N. children's summit Wednesday with a stinging rebuke to ``the grown-ups'' of the world for failing ``deplorably'' to uphold the right of every child to grow up free of poverty and war and receive a quality education.
From: no associated organisation

U.N. Children's Summit Opens
New York, 8 May, 2002 - More than a decade after nations agreed to set standards for treatment of the world's children, delegates gathering in New York for a U.N. summit say there is still much work to be done to protect future generations.
From: no associated organisation

Some Demand U.N. Address Church Abuse
NEW YORK (AP), 8 May, 2002 -- As the United Nations turns its attention to the plight of children, a maverick group of Roman Catholics is asking the international body to intervene in the priest sex abuse crisis.
From: no associated organisation

Profile: Olara Otunnu
Olara Otunnu, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict has a deep commitment to ending the exploitation of infants.
From: no associated organisation

Mandela cheered at UN children's forum
8 May, 2002 -- A petition with more than 94 million signatures has been presented to Nelson Mandela in New York, at the world's most important meeting about children.
From: no associated organisation

Annan plea for world's children
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accused adults worldwide of failing children, forcing far too many to grow up in poverty or threatened by war.
From: no associated organisation

Teens in Zimbabwe In Need of Reproductive Health Services
8 May 2002 - Zimbabwe has the third highest rate of prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world, and people aged 15-24 are at extreme risk. Nearly one-half of all new HIV infections in the country, estimated to be 7,000 new infections daily, occur among this age group.
From: no associated organisation

U.N. Session Begins to Tally the Perils of Being Young
UNITED NATIONS, May 8 — "We are street children. We are the children of war. We are the victims and orphans of H.I.V./AIDS."
From: no associated organisation

Hundreds march for children's rights
NEW YORK, 8 May 2002 - Hundreds of children paraded through Manhattan today in a march for child rights, grabbing the attention and support of New Yorkers.
From: UNICEF

Indian Children to Address U.N.
NEW DELHI, India (AP), 7 May, 2002 - - Nearly half the toddlers in India suffer from malnutrition. Almost half the girls can't read. And 22 percent of children have no access to safe drinking water.
From: no associated organisation

Children Appeal to Security Council
UNITED NATIONS (AP), 7 May, 2002 -- Wilmot Wungko was 5 when he and his mother fled Liberia as war erupted around them. He saw a man get killed before his eyes. He watched as schools were burned to the ground.
From: no associated organisation

Key Facts About Children's Summit
7 May, 2002 -- Key facts about the U.N. Children's Summit in New York from May 8-10:
From: no associated organisation

Rights Groups Demand Stronger Commitments from "Children's Summit"
The much-heralded United Nations "Children's Summit" is in danger of simply ushering in another decade of broken promises by world leaders, a coalition of children's advocates said Tuesday as 60 heads of state prepare to arrive in New York.
From: OneWorld International

Children Challenge World Leaders To Improve Their Lives
NEW YORK- May 7, 2002- As the United Nations General Assembly convenes for the first time in its 56- year history for a Special Session devoted entirely to children, leading child rights organization Save the Children is playing a central role in enabling children across the globe to speak up and demand that world governments keep their promises to improve their lives.
From: International Save the Children Alliance

17.4 million children have to work in Latin America
May 7th, 2002 - Mortgaging their future in order to be able to survive today, some 17.4 million children in Latin America between the ages of 5 and 17 have to work in order to contribute to their family's economic survival. There are an estimated 180 million working children in the world - one in eight children on this planet.
From: Casa Alianza - Covenant House Latin America

Special Session Updates
Special Session Update is published during the Special Session by CRIN. In addition to being distributed to over 1,800 email addresses, more than 1,000 printed copies are available to delegates in New York. To subscribe, email crin_specialsession- subscribe@domeus.co.uk. Archives at www.crin.org/email/index.asp. Available in English, French and Spanish.
From: Child Rights Information Network

Últimas noticias sobre la Sesión Especial
El boletín ‘Últimas Noticias sobre la Sesión Especial’ será publicado a todo lo largo de la Sesión Especial por la Red de Información sobre los Derechos de la Niñez (CRIN). Para suscribirse a este servicio, que proseguirá durante toda la Sesión Especial en favor de la Infancia, envíe un mensaje electrónico a crin_specialsession- subscribe@domeus.co.uk.
From: Child Rights Information Network

Mise à jour sur la Session extraordinaire
Cette édition sera publiée pendant toute la durée de la Session. Elle sera diffusée à plus de 1.800 adresses e-mail, et plus de 1.000 exemplaires seront disponibles pour les délégués à New York. Pour vous abonner, veuillez envoyer un e-mail à crin_specialsession- subscribe@domeus.co.uk. Les archives sont disponibles sur www.crin.org/email/index.asp.
From: Child Rights Information Network

Millions of children in slavery as world reviews child labour
7 May 2002 - Millions of children are in slavery. Girls as young as six work as maids in the Philippines, children break rocks in Ghana's quarries, young boys are abducted from their homes in South Asia and forced to be camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates and girls are forced into prostitution in the United Kingdom
From: Anti-Slavery International

Children’s Summit Spotlights Governments’ Failures
New York, May 6, 2002: The United Nations “Children’s Summit” is in danger of simply ushering in another decade of broken promises, a caucus of children’s advocates said today.
From: Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children

Young people want action from world leaders
6 May, 2002 -- Two UK teenagers are in New York to demand solutions from world leaders about issues regarding children around the world.
From: no associated organisation

India 'losing' child-labour battle
6 May, 2002 -- A decade after India ratified a UN convention pledging to protect children's rights, the country continues to be home to the world's largest number of child labourers.
From: no associated organisation

Child labour 'fuels commodity trade'
6 May, 2002 -- A high proportion of globally-traded commodity crops such as cocoa, coffee and tea are produced by child workers, according to a new United Nations (UN) report.
From: no associated organisation

Little for EAto Boast At UN Children Meet
MAY 6, 2002 - As the United Nations Special Session on Children gets underway, East African countries are admitting they have made little or no progress in meeting the goals for child and maternal health set at a UN conference 12 years ago.
From: no associated organisation

Syria participates in UN General Assembly session on Children
World Leaders will gather in New York City for a major conference focused on global progress for children and the key role that investment in children can play in building global peace and security.
From: no associated organisation

Youth Facilitators are Hopeful, yet Realistic on UNGASS Outcomes
New York, 5 May 2002 - Emmen Seed, 16, from Pakistan, is one of the facilitators of the Children’s Forum. Her job is to lead a discussion with 234 government delegates from 128 countries. While she wanted to be part of the Special Session “because it’s a really, really big event” she has no allusions about the outcome.
From: no associated organisation

Aids Turns Back the Clock for World's Young
4 May, 2002 - The pandemic of HIV/Aids, and the poverty associated with it, is hitting children with a force no one foresaw, according to a new study. In Africa, in particular, it has already undone the achievements in social development of the last half century.
From: no associated organisation

Oh, and Somalia too
3 May 2002 - Being a child can be no fun these days. According to UNICEF, 1.4m children under 15 are living with HIV, and 13m have been orphaned by AIDS. Between 1990 and 2000, conflict killed 2m children. Over 100m of primary age do not attend school, while 149m are malnourished.
From: no associated organisation

Tanzania: ILO Targets Both Women's Income and Child Labour
NAIROBI, 2 May 2002 (IRIN) - The International Labour Organisation (ILO), along with the government of Tanzania and Akiba Commercial Bank, has launched a project to help tackle the problem of child labour in the country by boosting women's income-earning potential.
From: International Labour Organisation

UNICEF Head Urges Leaders to Invest in Children as Key to Global Development and Stability
NEW YORK, 2 May 2002 - World leaders must make strong commitments to their children's well- being and, more importantly, follow through on these promises with concrete actions, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund said today.
From: UNICEF

General Assembly Special Session on Children to Explore Challenges to Youth Development, Child Rights, Beginning 8 May
Geneva, 1 May 2002 - The United Nations is set to renew its commitment to the world's children and adolescents as the General Assembly dedicates a landmark three-day special session to explore long-standing obstacles to young people's well-being and development, as well as new challenges to the promotion and protection of their rights.
From: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Stand by your commitment to adolescents, IPPF urges UN
London, 1 May 2002 - The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) today called on the United Nations Special Session on Children to stand by its previous commitments to young people's sexual and reproductive health needs and rights.
From: International Planned Parenthood Federation

UN gambit: 'A little child shall lead them'
NEW YORK - Krista Riley turns and reaches for Akello Betty Openy's hand. The two teenage girls, one Canadian the other Ugandan, smile, then slip easily through the crowd outside an auditorium at the United Nations.
From: no associated organisation

Obasanjo, NGO Men for World Session On Kids
Lagos, 29 April 2002 - President Olusegun Obasanjo with 11 delegates representing eight non- governmental organisations from Nigeria would be among over 72 heads of states and governments and 1,400 delegates from 800 NGOs around the world expected at the United Nations Special Session on Children Scheduled to hold between May 8 and 10 in New York, United States.
From: Allafrica.com

UK Public Wants More Action from World Leaders to Beat Child Poverty
London, 29 April 2002 - A groundbreaking survey into public attitudes to child poverty, published today by MORI for Save the Children Week, reveals that the public have little faith in the ability of world leaders to tackle the problem, despite their promises.
From: Save the Children UK

Commission on Human Rights Adopts Measures On The Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory, Colombia, Children
The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon adopted a resolution on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, a Chairperson's Statement on the situation in Colombia, and a resolution on the Rights of the Child at the last meeting of its fifty-eighth session.
From: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations Member States Poised to Endorse Wide-Ranging Goals for Children
GENEVA / NEW YORK, 26 April 2002 - Member States of the United Nations are expected to adopt a wide- ranging series of goals at a global conference next month in New York that will place children back at the top of the world's agenda and address the pressing issues of child mortality, AIDS, exploitation and poverty.
From: UN - United Nations

Children's Needs for Sex Education Largely Unmet, Report Shows
Young people's needs for information about sexual and reproductive health are not being met in most countries around the world, despite a rapid increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among those aged between 15 and 24, according to a new report
From: OneWorld International

Africa: Meeting of the African Committee of Experts - a positive step to promote and protect the rights of the African child
Amnesty International commended the commitment shown by those African states that have ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (the African Children's Charter).
From: Amnesty International - International Secretariat

ETHIOPIA: Two teenagers to promote child concerns at UN session
Two Ethiopian teenagers are set to make history at a landmark United Nations session dedicated to children.
From: no associated organisation

Second Anniversary Pushes Education Agenda
Two years after the world promised to provide free, quality education for all, children, teachers, and activists in over 80 countries are back on the streets, in schools, and in front of government officials demanding the right to education.
From: Global March Against Child Labour

Abortion Remains an Issue for UN Child Summit
Abortion looks set to become an issue at next month's "Children's Summit", with the United States reportedly planning to exclude support for abortion counselling and services from the final declaration of the United Nations conference.
From: OneWorld International

Teen reporters to cover historic UN gathering in New York
Four young reporters from the Children’s Express news agency will provide specialist coverage of May’s United Nations Special Session on Children for the UK media.
From: no associated organisation

From City Hall to the World's Stage
Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF and a former New York City Council president, has become a celebrity among the world's poor.
From: no associated organisation

The Struggle For Childhood
On 20 November 1989, the United
Nations adopted the Convention on
the Rights of the Child. It restated
the UN's commitment to the plight of
children, while addressing the issues
of street violence, sexual exploitation
and drug abuse.

From: BBC

Record number of children to be official delegates at upcoming UN Special Session
GENEVA / NEW YORK, 19 April 2002 - More than 300 children will serve as delegates at next month's landmark United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children, UN officials announced today. This is also the first time young people will actively participate in deliberations at a major UN conference in such large numbers.
From: UNICEF