The Challenge

More than fifty years since the formation of the UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) and thirteen years since the ratification by 191 countries of the most comprehensive document on the rights of the child (the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child), the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children of May 2002 concluded that “ Much remains to be done to secure survival, health, education and protection from exploitation for the nearly two billion children of the world ”.

Children continue to suffer and die needlessly everywhere in the world. In developing countries, a large number of children suffer from poverty, hunger and the destruction of the environment. Exploitation through child labour remains prevalent. In developed countries, children are victims of family breakdown, psychological and physical violence, suicide, negligence and social disintegration. Sexual exploitation and war claim many more innocent children.

Statistical data from the UNICEF indicates that nearly 650 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty – victims of social abuse, child labour, the sex trade and health disorders. Every year about eleven million children die of preventable causes, often for want of simple and easily provided improvements in nutrition, sanitation and maternal health and education. Everyday, more than 30,000 children around the world die of preventable diseases. Globally, more than 104 million children are not in school, 59 million of them girls.  

We live in a violent world. More money and resources have been spent on war activities during the last 50 years than in the entire millennium. We must recognize that, since 1990, almost 80% of the victims of war and conflict have been civilians, mostly women and children. Over two million children were killed, six million children injured or disabled and twelve million became homeless in the last decade. The proliferation of small arms, in particular, has caused children to become killers as well as victims of these deadly weapons of destruction. Only a handful of countries have as yet adopted laws to give children the same protection that adults enjoy from physical assault.

Thus, poverty and violence are crucial issues for children in our modern industrialized world. The human, economic, social and health costs of not addressing these issues are already enormous and pose a serious threat to our future as a society.

It is in this context that the Organization for the Protection of Children's Rights (OPCR) organized an International Summit on Children, Poverty and Violence. The OPCR, committed to creating a better future for children everywhere, believes that while the United Nations and other international institutions have already held such events and will probably hold more in the future it is the accumulated efforts of many that will succeed in furthering the cause of children.

Objectives

The main objectives of the Summit on Children, Poverty and Violence were to:

Topics

•  Health
•  Education & Literacy
•  Legal & Social Protection of Children / Violence
•  Food & Nutrition

Participation

Over 30 recognized specialists and leading experts representing 17 different countries from Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America and Europe as well as 24 students from six English Montreal School Board schools and 3 youths from Cuba took part in the Summit .

Format

The Summit was held over two days. It was organized in a manner that recognizes and supports our conviction that youth can and do have a lot to contribute when given the chance and the venue to do so as well as our commitment that young persons should be active participants – on an equal footing with adults - in their own development rather than passive beneficiaries. Youth delegates benefited from a preparatory meeting on October 21 that included a one-hour session with renowned motivational speaker Dr Ken Nedd. During the Summit , each youth was also paired with an adult delegate to encourage their full participation in the deliberations and provide opportunities for informal exchanges and interactions.

Following an overview of the current situation of children globally, all participants were divided into four subgroups to analyse the data, identify the main issues and constraints, assess strategies and make recommendations pertaining to each of the Summit 's four main topics. Each subgroup then reported its findings to other participants.

A preliminary version of the Summit declaration and recommendations is to be distributed to all participants for comments and amendments, before being incorporated into the child-rights based five-year action plan that will be forwarded to stakeholders and agents of change worldwide.

Summit Final Programme

Please click here to consult/download a copy of the Final Programme of the International Summit.

Expected Outcomes

International Summit Documents