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xFour reports relating to children’s rights delivered by Secretary-General
Date: 1st November 2013
Category:
UK 1st periodic review
A follow-up report to the special session of the General Assembly on children has been published, which assesses steps taken in 2012 to achieve a world fit for children, highlighting the gaps in achievement as well as the strategic shifts necessary to meet unmet goals.
The report was prepared in response to General Assembly resolutions of the twenty-seventh special session in 2002, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report regularly on progress made in the implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action included in the annex to resolution, entitled "A world fit for children".
At the historic special session of the General Assembly on children in 2002, delegations from 190 countries adopted the Declaration and Plan of Action entitled "A world fit for children" (resolution S-27/2, annex). It committed Governments to a time-bound set of goals for children and young people, with a particular focus on:
(a) Promoting healthy lives; (b) providing quality education; (c) protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence; and (d) combating HIV/AIDS. This report is the eleventh update of progress made in follow-up to the special session of the Assembly on children.
"In most societies the implementation of the right of the child to express his or her views continues to be challenged by cultural attitudes as well as political and economic barriers", according to the report. Additionally, it states that "In most countries children's right to be heard has not yet been systematically integrated into the development of public policies and programmes".
The Secretary-General's four reports relating to children's rights were delivered during the Third Committee session by Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. Among other very important issues, the Secretary General's reports contain a number of references to children's right to be heard and their ability to express themselves.