The United Nations Special Session on Children
The United Nations Special Session on Children was held
May 8-10, 2002 in New York to mark the ten-year anniversary of the World
Summit for Children.
Background information - The 1990
World Summit for Children and The Convention on the Rights of the Child
The 2002 Special Session is an important follow-up to the 1990 World Summit
for Children. In 1990, 71 nations gathered at the World Summit chaired
by then-Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney. The purpose of the World Summit
was to encourage nations to sign onto the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child; ultimately, all the world's nations except the
United States and Somalia signed the Convention. In addition, the countries
at the 1990 World Summit signed the World Declaration on Survival on Survival,
Protection and Development of Children and adopted a Plan of Action with
a set of time-bound goals. Signatories to these two United Nations documents
committed to improving and advancing the wellbeing and rights of children.
What are the objectives of the
Special Session on Children?
The UN General Assembly has defined two objectives for the Special
Session:
• A review of the achievements in the implementation
of the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the 1990 World Summit
for Children.
• A renewed commitment and a pledge for action for children
in the next decade.
Canada's participation in the Special
Session on Children
The government of Canada, on behalf of all Canadians, will join other
nations in signing the UN Declaration "A World Fit for Children".
Many Heads of State will attend. As a signatory, Canada's governments
are obligated to develop a national plan to implement the "World
Fit for Children" Declaration and to ensure that children's best
interests are primary considerations for governments.
Following are links to useful documents regarding the
Special Session on Children and Canada's participation in this important
event as well as related United Nations protocols regarding children.
MAIN DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE 1990
WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN |
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United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Full text of the Convention.
World Declaration
on Survival, Protection and Development of Children
Full declaration.
Plan of action
for implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children in the 1990s
Full action plan.
Goals for children
and development in the 1990s
Complete set of goals.
MAIN DOCUMENTS FOR THE UNITED NATIONS
SPECIAL SESSION ON CHILDREN |
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We
the children: Meeting the promises of the World Summit for Children
UN Secretary-General, 2002.
Full report available.
(This report from the UN Secretary-General reviews the progress made over
the last decade in fulfilling the goals of the Declaration and Plan of
Action adopted at the 1990 World Summit for Children.)
A
world fit for children. Draft outcome document of the Special Session
Preparatory Committee for the Special Session, September 2001.
Draft outcome document.
(The outcome document of the Special Session, "A World Fit for Children",
includes a Declaration and a Plan of Action with provisions for implementation
and monitoring. The Preparatory Committee for the Special Session asked
its Bureau to prepare a draft of this document with the support of UNICEF.
The draft was revised at the Second and Third Substantive Sessions of
the Preparatory Committee (January and June 2001) and in informal consultations.
Agreement has been reached on most of the text and further informal consultations
will take place from 29 April to 2 May to finalize a draft for adoption
at the Special Session. This document indicates the paragraphs where consensus
is still pending.)
For comment on the official outcome document, see the
website of the Child Rights Caucus and
the Advocacy Project.
CANADA AND THE SPECIAL SESSION ON
CHILDREN |
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Reports from the Government of Canada
National
report - Canada: Ten year review of the World Summit for Children
(prepared for the 2002 Special Session on Children)
Government of Canada, September 2001.
Full report.
Canada's
second report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Government of Canada, April 2001.
Full report.
Reports from Canadian NGOs
Putting
promises into action: A report on a decade of child and family poverty
in Canada
Campaign 2000, May 6, 2002.
Full report.
A Canada
Fit for Children.
Campaign 2000 and various organizations, April 2002.
Resolution for action.
Beyond words to action: Position paper to the United Nation General
Assembly, Special Session on Children
Women for PACE (Project for Advancement of Childhood Education), April
2002.
Position paper
- English, Position paper
- French
Canada's
non-governmental organizations report: Submitted for the United Nations
General Assembly Special Session
Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, February 2001.
Full report.
MAIN DOCUMENTS FROM THE NGO COMMITTEE
ON UNICEF |
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(The mandate of the NGO Steering Committee for the United Nations General
Assembly Special Session on Children is to ensure the substantive and
strong participation of NGOs in the process, in collaboration with UNICEF.
The NGO Committee has analyzed the preparatory committee meetings and
will report on the Special Session itself.)
Position
paper on latest outcome document
Child Rights Caucus for the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children,
April 22, 2002
Full position paper.
PrepCom
Reports
Reports of NGO Committee before the Preparatory Committee for the Special
Session.
First, second and third PrepCom reports.
Alternative
NGO Text
Prepared by the Child Rights Caucus for the NGO Committee on UNICEF, April
19, 2002.
Full report.
RELATED WEBSITES |
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(most sites available in English and French)
United
Nations Special Session on Children
contains a vast amount of information.
On the record for children
Newsletter by the Advocacy Project
produced for the NGO Committee on UNICEF. It covers the process leading
up to the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children. The publication
is distributed free of charge to subscribers via e-mail and is also posted
on the NGO Committee website.
Complete issues of "On the Record"
— see "In the News" section.
Campaign 2000
A report on the state of Canada's children prepared to be released at
the time of the Special Session, a Resolution prepared by a coalition
of Canadian NGOs and a letter to the Prime Minister are posted here.
Report, Resolution, and
documents related to the UNSSC.
Canadian Coalition
for the Rights of Children
Child Rights Information Network
NGO Committee
on UNICEF
Save the Children Canada
Special
Session on Children - Senator Landon Pearson
Canadian Senator for the rights of children
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