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Compilation
of the Family-Specific recommendations of the WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN The World Summit for Children, held on 29 and 30 September 1990 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States of America, provided a historic forum for proposing new ideas for redressing the situation of children worldwide. Its objective was to bring attention and promote commitment, at the highest political level, to goals and strategies for ensuring the survival, protection and development of children as key elements in the socio-economic development of all countries and human society. The World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan of Action for implementing the World Declaration in the 1990s, adopted by the Summit, set a new global agenda for the well-being of children to be achieved by the year 2000. Both documents enunciated the importance of the family as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, particularly children. World
Declaration on the Survival, Protection The World Declaration consists of sections on: The opportunity, The task, The commitment, The next steps. The task [paragraph 14] Half a million mothers die each year from causes related to childbirth. Safe motherhood must be promoted in all possible ways. Emphasis must be placed on responsible planning of family size and on child spacing. The family, as a fundamental group and natural environment for the growth and well-being of children, should be given all necessary protection and assistance. [paragraph 15] All children must be given the chance to find their identity and realize their worth in a safe and supportive environment, through families and other care-givers committed to their welfare. They must be prepared for responsible life in a free society. They should, from their early years, be encouraged to participate in the cultural life of their societies. The commitment [paragraph 20] We have agreed that we will act together, in international co-operation, as well as in our respective countries. We now commit ourselves to the following 10-point programme to protect the rights of children and to improve their lives: (4) We will work to strengthen the role and status of women. We will promote responsible planning of family size, child spacing, breastfeeding and safe motherhood. (5) We will work for respect for the role of the family in providing for children and will support the efforts of parents, other care- givers and communities to nurture and core for children, from the earliest stages of childhood through adolescence. We also recognize the special needs of children who are separated from their families. (8) We will work carefully to protect children from the scourge of war and to take measures to prevent further armed conflicts, in order to give children everywhere a peaceful and secure future. The essential needs of children and families must be protected even in times of war and in violence-ridden areas. .... Plan of Action for implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s The Plan of Action consists of: I. Introduction; II. Specific Actions for Child Survival, Protection and Development; III. Follow-up Actions and Monitoring. II. Specific Actions for Child Survival, Protection and Development Role of women, maternal health and family planning [paragraph 17] All couples should have access to information on the importance of responsible planning of family size and the many advantages of child spacing to avoid pregnancies that are too early, too late, too many or too frequent .... Role of the family [paragraph
18]
The family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and [paragraph 19] Every effort should be made to prevent the separation of children from their families. Whenever children are separated from their family owing to force majeur or in their own best interest, arrangements should be made for appropriate alternative family core or institutional placement, due regard being paid to the desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing in his or her own cultural milieu. Extended families, relatives and community institutions should be given support to help to meet the special needs of orphaned, displaced and abandoned children. Efforts must be made to ensure that no child is treated as an outcast from society. Basic education and literacy [paragraph 20] The international community, including virtually all the Governments of the world, have undertaken a commitment at the World Conference on Education for All at Jomtien, Thailand, to increase significantly educational opportunity for over 100 million children and nearly 1 billion adults, two thirds of them girls and women, who at present have no access to basic education and literacy. In fulfillment of that commitment, specific measures must be adopted for (a) the expansion of early childhood development activities, (b) universal access to basic education, including completion of primary education or equivalent learning achievement by at least 80 per cent of the relevant school age children with emphasis on reducing the current disparities between boys and girls, (c) the reduction of adult illiteracy by half, with emphasis on female literacy, (d) vocational training and preparation for employment and (e) increased acquisition of knowledge, skills and values through all educational channels, including modern and traditional communication media, to improve the quality of life of children and families. Children in especially difficult circumstances [paragraph
22] Millions
of children around the world live under especially difficult Protection of children during armed conflicts [paragraph 25] Children need special protection in situations of armed conflict. Recent examples in which countries and opposing factions have agreed to suspend hostilities and adopt special measures such as "corridors of peace" to allow relief supplies to reach women and children and "days of tranquility" to vaccinate and to provide other health services for children and their families in areas of conflict need to be applied in all such situations. Resolution of a conflict need not be a prerequisite for measures explicitly to protect children and their families, to ensure their continuing access to food, medical care and basic services, to deal with trauma resulting from violence and to exempt them from other direct consequences of violence and hostilities. .... III. Follow-up Actions and Monitoring [paragraph 33] Effective implementation of this Plan of Action will require concerted national action and international co-operation. As affirmed in the Declaration, such action and co-operation must be guided by the principle of a "first call for children"- a principle that the essential needs of children should be given high priority in the allocation of resources, in bad times as well as in good times, at national and international as well as at family levels. Action at the national level [Paragraph 34] It is particularly important that the child-specific actions proposed must be pursued as part of strengthening broader national development programmes combining revitalized economic growth, poverty reduction, human resource development and environmental protection. Such programmes must also strengthen community organizations, inculcate civic responsibility and be sensitive to the cultural heritage and social values which support progress without alienation of the younger generation. With these broad objectives in mind, we commit ourselves and our Governments to the following actions: (IV) Families, communities, local governments, NGOs, social, cultural, religious, business and other institutions, including the mass media, are encouraged to play an active role in support of the goals enunciated in this Plan of Action. The experience of the 1980s shows that it is only through the mobilization of all sectors of society, including those that traditionally did not consider child survival, protection and development as their major focus, that significant progress can be achieved in these areas. All forms of social mobilization, including the effective use of the great potential of the new information and communication capacity of the world, should be marshalled to convey to all families the knowledge and skills required for dramatically improving the situation of children; (VII)
Progress towards the goals endorsed in the Summit Declaration and this
Plan of Action could be further accelerated, and solutions to many other
major problems confronting children and families greatly facilitated,
through further research and development. Action at the international level [Paragraph
36]
The goals enunciated in the Declaration and this Plan of Action are |
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