Mr. Chairman
The vulnerability of children remains an acute challenge everywhere in the world. This is acknowledged by and reflected in the daily work of IFRC's network of 178 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who together with our colleagues from the ICRC have worked for many years towards improving children's life in contexts characterized by natural disasters, deadly pandemics, poverty, hunger, conflict, exploitation or discrimination.
The promotion and protection of the rights of children are of dramatic relevance at a time when so many children are left stranded, orphaned or made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, when so many are victims of poverty and left to be exploited in the most terrible ways, and when problems of social inequality and discrimination leave children without hope for education, or for a place in a prosperous and well-functioning society.
Our concern in this respect is shared with a large number of organisations, governmental and non-governmental, and our member Red Cross and Red Crescent societies seek dialogue with their governments in search for solutions at national level, as well as promoting solutions at international level. For these efforts to succeed, recognition of the potential added value of our member societies to their respective governments' policy formulation and implementation is, however, imperative.
Having said this, we are heartened by the response which has been given by the Government of Spain to an initiative of the Spanish Red Cross to convene an international conference entitled "Adding Colour to Peace", which is to be held in Valencia from 5 to 7 November 2003. The conference will focus on the issues surrounding children affected by armed conflict, - and as such it is within the mandate of our sister organisation the ICRC, - but it also enables Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies and governments to consider the best ways of promoting a culture of peace amongst children, with all what this implies for the place of children in the future of their countries.
Mr. Chairman,
The IFRC believes that the most effective first step in addressing this situation is to work to preserve the right of children to be reared in their own home environment, by their own parents and relatives. We know well, too well in fact, that for many children, particularly in Africa, whose families have been decimated by HIV/AIDS, this is a difficult task. Nevertheless, our main message to governments and the international organisations concerned about the welfare of children is that the family unity should be maintained, and that families and communities should be provided with the resources required to care for and protect their children. Whilst institutions, like orphanages, must be seen as a last resort, the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in some Afrcian countries have now reached a level where many of those family members who normally would replace the parents have died. Therefore, are orphanages like the one supported by the Danish Red Cross in Ethansweni, Zimbabwe, which provides care and primary education to the OVC, combined with support to the remaining adults, of great importance.
One priority for the IFRC is to support our network in Africa. There are now approximately 14 million children in Africa living as Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) as a result of HIV/AIDS, and it is estimated that this number will grow dramatically to 25 million by 2010.
In its efforts to address this tragedy the IFRC has produced OVC Guidelines to assist the work of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies working with children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. These Guidelines are a substantial contribution to the work of civil society and its partners in this field, and they can be downloaded from our website.
Furthermore, Red Cross Societies in southern Africa have made strong progress in terms of integrating OVC into their programs. More specifically, their projects now include supporting OVC to remain in school; supporting caregivers (principally grandparents or other elderly relatives); setting up day-care centres offering psychological support for OVC under 5; providing psychological support to parents and other caregivers, especially those traumatised by the experience of living with HIV/AIDS.
Finally, priority is given to anti-stigma work with OVC and other persons living with HIV/AIDS by our member societies in Southern Africa and elsewhere. As indicated by our President during the special debate on HIV/AIDS on 22 September, anti-stigma work lies at the heart of the struggle against the pandemic, and it is vitally important that we advocate for children in our fight against stigma and discrimination.
Mr. Chairman,
The IFRC believes that the involvement of children as participants in the search for solutions is crucial. Governments and others must encourage and facilitate processes allowing for children to define their own problems and needs, and to be involved in programme design, implementation and monitoring.
It is in this spirit that we renew our call to all governments, to accept the obligations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to utilise the resources created by the Convention - the Committee on the Rights of the Child - to share experiences and benefit from the expertise of the members of the Committee.
We also ask that the concern for the best interests of the child be translated into programs that work in the long term. The need to promote and protect the rights of children is not something that can be met by a one-off donation - it is important that all governments recognise that protection of children requires long-term commitments, built into sustainable programs, which provide for the children themselves as for the development of the communities in which they will live as adults. It is a continuum, and unless we address it as such, we will never succeed.
Mr. Chairman,
As indicated at the outset of this statement, we believe that partnership is the practice to build on, and we have examples of good work between a wide range of National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies and governments. To name just a few, dialogue and partnership for the benefit of children are established in countries as different as France, Bangladesh, Colombia, Mongolia, Namibia, Cambodia, Cuba, Samoa, Finland, China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We hope that they will serve as food for thought and examples for others
We encourage every government to establish productive relationships with its National Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. It is our earnest hope that all governments and all National Societies will speak with one voice on these issues when they convene in Geneva in December 2003 for the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, because unanimity of purpose must follow our work to build an effective agenda for the promotion and protection of our children.
Thank you