Comite de pilotage des ONGs Africaines sur le Sommet Social
Association pour le progrès et la défense des droits des femmes maliennes
Rue Dakar 129 X126, Dravela No. 6 BP 1740
Bamako, Mali
Tel:+223/226146;Fax:+223/230025
Rights Of The Child Caucus
The purpose of the Rights of the Child Caucus has been to build solidarity and concerted action among NGOs concerned with the rights of children.
We are pleased that some children's rights have been reaffirmed in the Declaration and Plan of Action. We regret, however, that some of the worst violations of children's rights have not been sufficiently addressed.
One of them is the situation of children in armed conflict. There are over 40 conflicts raging in the world today and children continue to be the main victims, sometimes are even the main targets and forced to be soldiers. A total ban on the production, sale and use of land mines has become a moral imperative and should have been one of this Summit's goals. How can the Summit claim to address social development without a serious discussion of the armed conflicts which in many parts of the world are part of the vicious circle of poverty and social disintegration?
Another issue of concern is the lack of a timetable for with child labour. The Plan of Action calls for its elimination without direct and clear strategies. It fails to set a cut‑off date or target year. Sending children to work as early as age three represents not only a gross violation of their rights, but also a loss to the country in terms of the children's potential, creativity, energy and productivity.
Children are a country's most precious asset ‑ the most precious human social and economic asset. They demand the highest priority on national and international investments. Unless a new vision for a viable human society comes out of this Summit, whole generations will continue to miss out on the right to develop as full human beings. Present policies have marginalized more and more children. They have gone too far in promoting inequality and unfairness.
We recognize the attention given to the rights of girls in the Summit provisions on gender equality; we emphasize the need for national and international commitment to fulfil these provisions.
We would have hoped that the Summit would have established concrete targets to reach peace, security, development, democracy and freedom, based on the satisfaction of basic needs for all human beings. A hungry person is not a free person and cannot be asked to be a peaceful person.
Nevertheless, we see the Summit as a first step for governments, NGOs and the UN to reflect deeply and to act cooperatively in addressing poverty, unemployment and social marginalization.
We are told that we have to be realistic, that no new funds are available in today's economy, but unless new resources are created and existing ones are reallocated, the Plan of Action will remain nothing but words. New resources and new policies need to be created within the framework of the globalization of the economy. Unless you take radical measures, we will soon wake up to the reality that the only real power in the world are the transnationals, the bankers, the money lenders and the big traders, and that States are powerless to protect the people.
We raise this concern as citizens of nations that now are being deprived of their independence, and equally we speak with the voices of the civil society which we represent.
We need everyone's contribution if we are to emerge from the present period of uncertainty, social unrest and despair. Children and youth also need to be part of this process. Avenues should be created for children to have a voice in matters that affect their lives, in accordance with their evolving capacities, and in the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the spirit of this Summit, which calls for people's participation. A young person from Turkey said: "We the young people, want to be partners, but equal partners, and we are ready to play our role and take responsibility.
One of the objectives of this Summit is social integration. How is this cohesion to be achieved? It has not been ensured here at Copenhagen. This gathering must commit itself to achieving human dignity and social justice among nations and within societies. That is the frame of reference in which children's rights can be ensured ‑ or lost.
For our endeavours in favour of children, the future generations will thank us ‑ or if we fail, they will judge us. It is we who are on trial here today.
Mercedes Roman-Bamat
Rights of the Child Caucus
Defense for Children International
3 Stephen Place, Ossining NY 10562, USA
Rotary International
Rotary International is a non‑profit, non‑political, non‑governmental volunteer service organisation, today represented in 151 nations. The most recent are Belarus, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan and in the near future Armenia, Georgia and Cambodia.
It is formed by 27,000 clubs with 1.2 million members, professional men and women united in the idea of "Service above Self'. This means that Rotary International is a tight network worldwide of leaders in business, companies, official administration and all other professions.
The main purpose is to promote understanding and thus peace between individuals, groups and nations. Through the Rotary Foundation the organization provides Humanitarian assistance of many kinds, such as medical supplies, health services education, refugee help.
The major project is the Polio Plus Program to eradicate Polio and other deceases from the earth before the year of 2000. 606 million children are immunized through volunteers, donated vaccine doses and in close cooperation and administration of the UN World Health Organization. 247
million US$ have been raised for this program through the Foundation.
As we are in Denmark, I would like to mention a Scandinavian project named "the Rotary Doctor Bank". 400 physicians and doctors are lining up today for volunteer service in mainly Central Africa and South East Asia. They work without any salary for 2 months or more (some have been out 8‑10 times) They not only serve as doctors, they also educate local physicians. The Rotary Doctor Bank pays for their travel costs and lodging (housing) living. Today this idea has
started in Great Britain and the Netherlands as well.
This year, a special emphasis is stressed by Rotary International and its clubs on community concerns. Unemployment is one of the increasing social needs all over the world, where the concept of Community Concerns will be used. The idea, developed by President Bill Huntley, is to encourage rotarians to work with the community, not only for the Community, locally, nationally and internationally.
So, this means that you have this tight network of 1.2 million men and women, who are willing and able to assist their local governments ‑ voluntary with their skills and knowledge as professionals to try to solve the problems by training, education and to get new jobs.
The organization itself, the Rotary International, is prepared to continue its cooperation with the United Nations as well as with other volunteer organizations.
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