High-Level Expert Group Meeting
19-20 March 2004
Daiwa Research Institute
Tokyo, Japan
Chaired by Malcolm Fraser
Children in poverty in the midst of great wealth
１．Already three years into the third millennium,
humankind is able to explore into the furthermost reaches
of the galaxy and see pictures of the creation of earth
and our planetary system. But down on earth, more than a
billion people don’t have the luxury of knowing where
their next meal is coming from.
2. The hardest hit are the children. The figures alone
cannot tell the whole sad picture, but they make for grim
reading: 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14
are working and there are 70 million child laborers under
the age of 10; 70 per cent of the world’s child laborers
are in agriculture, according to the ILO; more than 120
million children do not get an education; an estimated
300,000 children are soldiers in 30 conflicts worldwide;
about 20 million children have been forced to flee their
homes because of conflicts and human rights violations; by
2010, 25 million children will be orphaned by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
3. The burden of a life of poverty, illiteracy, and
disease falls heavily on girls – and ensures that the
problems will be continued into the next generation
because of the role of girls as future mothers and
principal educators of the next generation. The plight of
these children is something that whole world should be
ashamed of. Children are the worst hit victims of the
irresponsible behavior of adults. Children are the biggest
silent majority in the world.
4. Yet almost 15 years ago, the General Assembly of the
United Nations agreed to adopt a Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which promised that no child would be at
risk and that children would have the rights to grow to
adulthood with full human rights. The fact that 192
countries have ratified the Convention – and two others
have signed but not ratified – raises awkward questions
about how it is that abuse and suffering of children is
still so widespread.
The knowledge and resources exist
5. It is not because the knowledge and the techniques are
lacking for giving an education, medicines and vaccines to
cure most childhood diseases and the prospect of a
fulfilled life to all the children of the world. The
science and techniques are available – and are widely
accepted both in the rich West and among the elite even in
the very poorest countries.
6. It is also true that there have been improvements,
especially in provision of safe drinking water, literacy
and schooling, but these have been far too slow and too
late for too many. At current rates, many of the major
targets for the Millennium Goals will not be met,
prolonging suffering of millions of children generations
ahead.
Failure of political will
7. The basic reason for our failure towards the world’s
poorest children is the lack of political will.
8. This failure reflects not only on political leaders of
the rich and poor countries, but also on religious and
social teachers for not being able to instill an ethical
sense of how we are all bound up with the plight of the
world’s children.
Giving teeth to the Convention
9. Clearly, experience suggests that neither signing the
Convention nor its ratification alone is sufficient to
give force to its provisions.. Measures should be put in
place to ensure that the Convention will be effective.
Enabling legislation, where necessary, by countries that
have ratified the Convention would be an important first
step.
10. Measures should be put in place to make sure that
countries comply with the terms of the Convention so that
every child can reach his/her full potential. The
Committee on the Rights of the Child should be asked to
monitor the progress and publish its reports more widely,
specifically on the countries that have not incorporated
the Convention into their domestic law.
A better spirit of cooperation globally
11. Rapid progress towards the goals will need a better
spirit of international cooperation, including better aid
flows from the developed countries as part of a more
generous spirit. This requires a renewed sense of moral
and ethical leadership.
12. After the Second World War there was a sense of shared
humanity. The US showed great leadership in implementing
the Marshall Plan and the Garioa Eroa Fund as the
foundation for recovery from the devastation after the
war. Its assistance in creating the United Nations also
gave a powerful message that the world would be governed
by law and not by brute power. All countries need to
recapture more of that sense of purpose.
Aid and a sense of priorities
13. Since then, the biggest developed countries have
become less generous – some would say mean – in providing
development aid. Aid is quickly cut as part of tightening
of government budgets or reduced as part of “burden
sharing” when a government is worried about its budget
deficit. Sometimes there is a marked contrast between the
government, which is stingy with aid, and the people of
the same country who give generously to NGOs for
development purposes.
14. Aid should be critically re-examined and assessed
alongside military spending. Countries pour billions of
dollars into military spending, much of which is wasted.
The world has the resources to overcome most of the
problems confronting the world’s children. For example,
the diversion of a mere four days of global military
spending to provide the resources for universal education
would see that every child got a chance to read and write.
Major states must reassess their priorities.
Trade flows
15. Increased aid alone is not enough. Developing
countries need fair access to international agricultural
markets, so that they can sell their goods and provide
jobs for their people. In many cases the international
trading field is distorted by huge subsidies paid to
vested interests in the developed world. Open trade to
wealthy markets would do more for developing countries
than all the official development assistants currently
provided.
16. International organizations should also consider their
programs carefully to make sure that in demanding fiscal
probity of governments they do not demand cuts in social
spending that further endanger the plight of children in
developing countries.
Importance of sharing responsibilities
17. Unless there is a better sense of international
equity, it is doubtful whether the world will ever be able
to achieve real peace or be free of terrorists. Young
people who have no hope in the future have proved fertile
recruiting ground for terrorists. This is particularly
relevant in the Middle East. Europe provides an example of
the pressure of economic and political refugees causing
social discord. If these fundamental issues are not
tackled, armed conflict is likely to spread.
New imagination needed
18. New ideas and imagination are required to involve
children in determining their own future and in creating a
satisfactory place for themselves in a difficult and
competitive world.
19. Humankind has been successful in exploring the limits
of outer space. If a small part of that sense of adventure
and determination and imagination can be put to devise
policies ensuring that no child goes hungry or lacks
shelter or the opportunity to read and write, the world
will be both a richer and a safer place.
20. The InterAction Council has consistently pointed out
that the acceptance of human responsibilities augments
human rights. All countries, but particularly the
developed ones, should consider their responsibilities to
the wider world.
Therefore, we recommend:
That countries that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child should swiftly ensure that its provisions are part of their domestic law;
That the Committee on the Rights of the Child should
publish more widely its reports on the progress of
measures to protect children;
That all countries need to recapture the post World War
Two sense of purpose and commitment as embodied in the
Marshall Plan;
That major states reassess their priorities so as to release more funds to meet their responsibilities to the world’s children;
That wealthy countries should do more to open their agricultural markets;
That international organizations should safeguard social expenditure in imposing fiscal discipline on developing countries;
That governments should ask what needs to be done to enable children to meet their own requirements for the future to reach their full potential and to create a satisfactory place for themselves in a difficult and competitive world;
All countries, but particularly the developed ones, should reassess their responsibilities to the wider world.