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INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FRESHWATER
2003
World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development
of Children
Agreed to at the World Summit for Children
on 30 September 1990
1. We have
gathered at the World Summit for Children to undertake a joint
commitment and to make an urgent universal appeal - to give
every child a better future.
2. The children
of the world are innocent, vulnerable and dependent. They are
also curious, active and full of hope. Their time should be
one of joy and peace, of playing, learning and growing. Their
future should be shaped in harmony and co-operation. Their
lives should mature, as they broaden their perspectives and
gain new experiences.
3. But for
many children, the reality of childhood is altogether
different.
The challenge
4. Each day,
countless children around the world are exposed to dangers
that hamper their growth and development. They suffer
immensely as casualties of war and violence; as victims of
racial discrimination, apartheid, aggression, foreign
occupation and annexation; as refugees and displaced children,
forced to abandon their homes and their roots; as disabled; or
as victims of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.
5. Each day,
millions of children suffer from the scourges of poverty and
economic crisis - from hunger and homelessness, from epidemics
and illiteracy, from degradation of the environment. They
suffer from the grave effects of the problems of external
indebtedness and also from the lack of sustained and
sustainable growth in many developing countries, particularly
the least developed ones.
6. Each day,
40,000 children die from malnutrition and disease, including
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), from the lack of
clean water and inadequate sanitation and from the effects of
the drug problem.
7. These are
challenges that we, as political leaders, must meet.
The opportunity
8. Together, our
nations have the means and the knowledge to protect the lives
and to diminish enormously the suffering of children, to
promote the full development of their human potential and to
make them aware of their needs, rights and opportunities. The
Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a new
opportunity to make respect for children's rights and welfare
truly universal.
 9.
Recent improvements in the international political climate can
facilitate this task. Through international co- operation and
solidarity it should now be possible to achieve concrete
results in many fields - to revitalize economic growth and
development, to protect the environment, to prevent the spread
of fatal and crippling diseases and to achieve greater social
and economic justice. The current moves towards disarmament
also mean that significant resources could be released for
purposes other than military ones. Improving the well-being of
children must be a very high priority when these resources are
reallocated.
The task
10. Enhancement
of children's health and nutrition is a first duty, and also a
task for which solutions are now within reach. The lives of
tens of thousands of boys and girls can be saved every day,
because the causes of their death are readily preventable.
Child and infant mortality is unacceptably high in many parts
of the world, but can be lowered dramatically with means that
are already known and easily accessible.
11. Further
attention, care and support should be accorded to disabled
children, as well as to other children in very difficult
circumstances.
12. Strengthening
the role of women in general and ensuring their equal rights
will be to the advantage of the world's children. Girls must
be given equal treatment and opportunities from the very
beginning.
13. At present,
over 100 million children are without basic schooling, and
two-thirds of them are girls. The provision of basic education
and literacy for all are among the most important
contributions that can be made to the development of the
world's children.
14.Half a million
mothers die each year from causes related to childbirth. Safe
motherhood must be promoted in all possible ways. Emphasis
must be placed on responsible planning of family size and on
child spacing. The family, as a fundamental group and natural
environment for the growth and well-being of children, should
be given all necessary protection and assistance.
15. All children
must be given the chance to find their identity and realize
their worth in a safe and supportive environment, through
families and other care-givers committed to their welfare.
They must be prepared for responsible life in a free society.
They should, from their early years, be encouraged to
participate in the cultural life of their societies.
16. Economic
conditions will continue to influence greatly the fate of
children, especially in developing nations. For the sake of
the future of all children, it is urgently necessary to ensure
or reactivate sustained and sustainable economic growth and
development in all countries and also to continue to give
urgent attention to an early, broad and durable solution to
the external debt problems facing developing debtor countries.
17. These tasks
require a continued and concerted effort by all nations,
through national action and international co- operation.
The commitment
18. The
well-being of children requires political action at the
highest level. We are determined to take that action.
19. We ourselves
hereby make a solemn commitment to give high priority to the
rights of children, to their survival and to their protection
and development. This will also ensure the well-being of all
societies.
20. We have
agreed that we will act together, in international
co-operation, as well as in our respective countries. We now
commit ourselves to the following 10-point programme to
protect the rights of children and to improve their lives:
 (1)
We will work to promote earliest possible ratification and
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Programmes to encourage information about children's rights
should be launched world-wide, taking into account the
distinct cultural and social values in different countries.
(2) We will work
for a solid effort of national and international action to
enhance children's health, to promote pre-natal care and to
lower infant and child mortality in all countries and among
all peoples. We will promote the provision of clean water in
all communities for all their children, as well as universal
access to sanitation.
(3) We will work
for optimal growth and development in childhood, through
measures to eradicate hunger, malnutrition and famine, and
thus to relieve millions of children of tragic sufferings in a
world that has the means to feed all its citizens.
(4) We will work
to strengthen the role and status of women. We will promote
responsible planning of family size, child spacing,
breastfeeding and safe motherhood.
(5) We will work
for respect for the role of the family in providing for
children and will support the efforts of parents, other
care-givers and communities to nurture and care for children,
from the earliest stages of childhood through adolescence. We
also recognize the special needs of children who are separated
from their families.
(6) We will work
for programmes that reduce illiteracy and provide educational
opportunities for all children, irrespective of their
background and gender; that prepare children for productive
employment and lifelong learning opportunities, i.e. through
vocational training; and that enable children to grow to
adulthood within a supportive and nurturing cultural and
social context.
(7) We will work
to ameliorate the plight of millions of children who live
under especially difficult circumstances - as victims of
apartheid and foreign occupation; orphans and street children
and children of migrant workers; the displaced children and
victims of natural and man-made disasters; the disabled and
the abused, the socially disadvantaged and the exploited.
Refugee children must be helped to find new roots in life. We
will work for special protection of the working child and for
the abolition of illegal child labour. We will do our best to
ensure that children are not drawn into becoming victims of
the scourge of illicit drugs.
 (8)
We will work carefully to protect children from the scourge of
war and to take measures to prevent further armed conflicts,
in order to give children everywhere a peaceful and secure
future. We will promote the values of peace, understanding and
dialogue in the education of children. The essential needs of
children and families must be protected even in times of war
and in violence- ridden areas. We ask that periods of
tranquillity and special relief corridors be observed for the
benefit of children, where war and violence are still taking
place.
(9) We will work
for common measures for the protection of the environment, at
all levels, so that all children can enjoy a safer and
healthier future.
(10) We will work
for a global attack on poverty, which would have immediate
benefits for children's welfare. The vulnerability and special
needs of the children of the developing countries, and in
particular the least developed ones, deserve priority. But
growth and development need promotion in all States, through
national action and international co-operation. That calls for
transfers of appropriate additional resources to developing
countries as well as improved terms of trade, further trade
liberalization and measures for debt relief. It also implies
structural adjustments that promote world economic growth,
particularly in developing countries, while ensuring the
well-being of the most vulnerable sectors of the populations,
in particular the children.
The next steps
21. The World
Summit for Children has presented us with a challenge to take
action. We have agreed to take up that challenge.
22. Among the
partnerships we seek, we turn especially to children
themselves. We appeal to them to participate in this effort.
23. We also seek
the support of the
United Nations system, as well as other international and
regional organizations, in the universal effort to promote the
well-being of children. We ask for greater involvement on the
part of non- governmental organizations, in complementing
national efforts and joint international action in this field.
24. We have
decided to adopt and implement a Plan of Action, as a
framework for more specific national and international
undertakings. We appeal to all our colleagues to endorse that
Plan. We are prepared to make available the resources to meet
these commitments, as part of the priorities of our national
plans.
25. We do this
not only for the present generation, but for all generations
to come. There can be no task nobler than giving every child a
better future.
New York, 30
September 1990
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