UN Special Session on Children Wraps Up Successfully

21 New Targets Are Set - Child Delegates Bring Openness and Inspiration

The United Nations Special Session on Children, held in New York from 8-10 May, reached a 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.

Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Begum Khaleda Zia, was among the 60 heads of the states that attended the Session. Her attendance at the Session illustrates the depth of commitment of Bangladesh to the cause of children.

The UN General Assembly Special Session on Children concluded after a week of inter-governmental negotiations on the new agenda for children, scores of supporting events delving into everything from immunization to child trafficking, and a refreshingly frank exchange between Heads of State and young people from around the world.

Setting the new agenda for children over the next decade, the representatives from some 180 nations adopted the conference outcome document, entitled "A World Fit For Children." More than 18 months of consensus-building resulted in a strong agenda for the future, focused on four key priorities: promoting healthy lives; providing quality education for all; protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV/AIDS. Elusive language on child rights, reproductive health, and other issues was resolved in good-faith negotiating sessions that lasted through the night Thursday and wrapped up successfully Friday evening.

"I am enormously proud and pleased at what has been accomplished this week," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. "If leaders keep the promises they have made, we can bring about enormous positive change in the world in less than a generation."

Bellamy praised the government negotiators who worked hard to build consensus on the document. "No one wants to fail our children," Bellamy said. "When it comes to their health and welfare, there is really very little difference among nations. And when governments take children seriously, long negotiations are entirely appropriate."

"But the work does not end this week," Bellamy added. "It will take committed and bold leadership over the next few years if we are to meet the standards we have set for ourselves. In the 1990s we learned that making promises is not enough - you have to act on them."

Among the accomplishments of the Special Session are:

1. A strong outcome document setting the agenda for children over the next decade

2. A powerful and unanimous statement to the leaders of the world from nearly 400 youth delegates, who held their own debates before joining the adults

3. A new partnership to provide better nutrition for children through the fortification of staple foods in developing countries launched with a $50 million gift from Bill and Melinda Gates

4. Individual acts of leadership such as the pledge by Peru’s president to cut military spending and re-direct public money to basic services for children

5. And a successful global pledge campaign called ‘Say Yes for Children," which more than 95 million people supported with pledges to uphold children’s rights.