This last week, two UNICEF-sponsored events took place in several nations: the 18th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the launching of the International Year of Sanitation 2008.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was celebrated in several countries. InGermany, UNICEF representatives and children from the Berlin International School celebrated the 18th birthday of the CRC. A huge blue banner which read ‘A Call from Berlin: Children First – Kinder haben Rechte’ (Children have Rights) covered the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's landmark to the end of the Cold War. The ‘Children First’ banner served as a reminder to Germany of its obligations 15 years after the country’s ratification of the Convention. To this day, Germany has yet to ratify the CRC treaty’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography.
In New York, the CRC was celebrated with UNICEF appointing its first Advocate for Children Affected by War, Ishmael Beah, a child soldier survivor from Sierra Leone. With his appoitment, Beah becomes a symbol of hope for children who have suffered violence and deprivation of their rights as children.
A website called CRC@18 was also launched by UNICEF to help protect the fundamental rights of every child, raise awareness and involve young people in advocating for their rights.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was celebrated in several countries. InGermany, UNICEF representatives and children from the Berlin International School celebrated the 18th birthday of the CRC. A huge blue banner which read ‘A Call from Berlin: Children First – Kinder haben Rechte’ (Children have Rights) covered the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's landmark to the end of the Cold War. The ‘Children First’ banner served as a reminder to Germany of its obligations 15 years after the country’s ratification of the Convention. To this day, Germany has yet to ratify the CRC treaty’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography.
In New York, the CRC was celebrated with UNICEF appointing its first Advocate for Children Affected by War, Ishmael Beah, a child soldier survivor from Sierra Leone. With his appoitment, Beah becomes a symbol of hope for children who have suffered violence and deprivation of their rights as children.
A website called CRC@18 was also launched by UNICEF to help protect the fundamental rights of every child, raise awareness and involve young people in advocating for their rights.
Also in the UN's headquarters in New York, the International Year of Sanitation 2008 was launched and spearheaded by His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The project promotes making water adequate and sanitation available to everyone. It aims to focus the world’s attention on cutting in half the proportion of people without access to safe water and basic sanitation by 2015.
In her speech, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said that “Children are the most vulnerable, and they are the ones who continue to pay the highest price in terms of lives and futures lost.” Worldwide, lack of access to proper sanitation is linked to the deaths of 1.5 million children each year.
It may take years to resolve all these problems on poverty and rights of children but the efforts have already started and hopefully they soon will bear fruit for the most needy and the world to benefit from.
