FW: [EW2000PlusUpdates] Urgent Action on the Rights of Children and the UN

[Szabo Erzsebet]

Kedves Listatagok!

Lehet, hogy kicsit hosszu, de szerintem az infotartalma miatt is erdemes
vegigolvasni: gyermekek.
Remelem, ezuttal semmilyen ellenerzest nem vallt ki senkibol a "tettem" -
mint legutobb :(
Ha megis esetleg igen, elore is elnezest kerek miatta     :))

Szabo Erzsebet

-----Original Message-----
From: gjissues at presbyun.org [mailto:gjissues at presbyun.org]
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 10:34 PM
To: EW2000PlusUpdates at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [EW2000PlusUpdates] Urgent Action on the Rights of Children and the
UN



Urgent Action-
Rights of Children, Especially Girl Children Need Your Support!!!

Five minutes of your time here can make a significant difference at an
upcoming UN meeting.

This fall the UN is holding a Special Session on Children to renew
international commitments to children and address emerging issues.
Unfortunately, the US government delegation has not been commited to
fully supporting children's rights. A preparatory meeting for the
Special session will take place in June. We need you to write now in
support of children's rights and organize letter writing campaigns
where possible.

Opponents mistakenly assert that the concept of children's rights
undermines the family, and the US delegation appears to believe this
erroneous assertion.  It is very important that you let the President
and State Department know of your stance on this issue.

The commitments governments make at the Special Session on Children
have the potential to further gender justice concerns. The draft
document for the Special Session highlights the unique needs of girl
children and the importance of access to reproductive health care and
education, including HIV/AIDS education (in some countries, young
girls are the fastest growing population with AIDS). Sexual
exploitation and improved access to education are also major issues
raised.

Below is a draft letter and the addresses of the President and
Secretary of State. After the letter is a background section about
the Special Session. The Ecumenical Women 2000+ website has even more
information (www.ew2000plus.org). Thank you for your actions! They
will make a difference. You may use email, fax or mail.

Write in Support of The World Summit for Children:
(Date)
Dear Mr. President/Secretary of State,
As you know, the United Nations Special Session on Children will take
place in September, 2001 and will review the UN World Summit for
Children held in 1990. I am writing to urge you to support children's
rights as defined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

The CRC and Child Summit are important because they call upon states
to protect the rights of parents in a manner consistent with the
evolving capacities of the child. Families are strengthened when
governments set policies that both strengthen the role parents and
protect children. The CRC is the most important civil document in
existence seeking to support and protect the family.

Commitments made at the 1990 Summit include improving the living
conditions for children, reducing the spread of preventable diseases,
improving education, providing better sanitation, and protecting
children in danger. I hope that the United States will provide
leadership for the international community in meeting and expanding
those commitments.

Sincerely yours,

(This is a sample letter. You might customize the letter by adding
specific concerns about children you would like to raise (about sex
trafficking, child abuse, child labor etc). Mention that the Child
Summit and CRC can help nations to address this issue. If you know
your church's policy, mention that as well)

Send letters to:

President George Bush
president at whitehouse.gov
Fax: 202/456-2461
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500


Secretary of State Colin Powell
secretary at state.gov
Fax: 202-261-8577
Phone: 202-647-4000
Address: 2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520


Background: The World Summit for Children
In 1990, UNICEF (the United Nations Fund for Children) was the
driving force behind the World Summit for Children, attended by
representatives from 159 countries, including 71 heads of state.  At
no time before had so many heads of state gathered together for a
common cause: children.  They adopted a Plan of Action
(http://www.unicef.org/wsc/plan.htm), committing themselves to work
toward a set of goals, including decreasing maternal mortality and
malnutrition,  increasing access to education, immunization, and safe
drinking water, and one hundred percent ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The UN General Assembly is convening a Special Session on Children in
September, 2001. Governments will review achievements in implementing
the Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children and will renew
commitments and consider future action for children. The third of
three preparatory meetings for the Special Session will take place in
June.

The original Plan of Action focused narrowly on development and
survival issues. In the past decade, awareness about the challenges
children face has increased. A wider range of issues need to be
addressed more systematically by the global community:  child labor,
armed conflict, sexual exploitation, violence, juvenile detention and
school violence.

In 1989 the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) which spells out basic human rights to which every child is
entitled: rights to survival, development, protection and
participation. The CRC and Child Summit call upon states to protect
the rights of parents in a manner consistent with the evolving
capacities of the child. The CRC is the most important civil document
in existence seeking to support and protect the family.

US involvement
While the US has been generous in giving money to support the needs of
children and seeking to end child labor, the US needs to be
encouraged to support the United Nations work on children. The US is
the only country with a government that has not yet ratified the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although the majority of US
citizens support the CRC, Congress and President have more often
heard from voices opposed to the CRC rather than those in support of
the CRC. The unwillingness of the United States to support the CRC
has unfortunately impacted the preparations for the Child Summit as
well. As the preparations for the Child Summit continue, your voice
in support of children's rights is crucial.

Church Policy:
The General Assembly of the PC(USA )has urged the US government to
ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990, 1992, 1996,
1997). Many other churches have done so as well. Check your
denominational policy on the EW2000+ website.




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