Universal children's day
Children are our future, UNICEF chief says

Universally, Children’s Day is celebrated on 20th November, every year. This date was chosen as a day to celebrate childhood. Prior to 1959 Children’s Day was universally celebrated in the month of October. This was first celebrated in the year 1954, as decided by the UN General Assembly.

Basically this day was instituted with the sole aim of promoting communal exchange and understanding among children, as well as to bring about beneficiary action to promote the welfare of children, all over the globe. The date 20th November, was chosen as it marks the anniversary of the day in 1959, when the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child was signed on the same date, which has been sanctioned by 191 states, ever since.

“The children of China are the future of the country, and they are the future of the world,” Ann M. Veneman, executive director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), declared.

The UNICEF chief made this statement in an exclusive interview with Xinhua as the world celebrated the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Children's Day on Nov. 20.

“I think the children of China, certainly like all children around the world, are the future of the world,” she believed.

“I think it's important that we all recognize that it is the children who will inherit this world, and it is the children who deserve the investment today so that they can inherit a better world tomorrow and be better prepared to deal with it,” Veneman explained.

Meanwhile, Veneman also spoke highly of the cooperation between China and the UN children's agency, which is the only UN organization dedicated exclusively to children and women.

“China has been a very good cooperator of UNICEF for many years, and we continue to have a strong relationship with China -- we have an office in China that works with the Chinese authorities looking at the most important issues of children -- whether it is access to healthcare, or better educational programs, reaching those most vulnerable children,” she said.

“Because we know that in some of the areas, children don't have access to the same services that those in the cities do,” the UNICEF chief remarked.

“And so, China has had a long-standing relationship with UNICEF, and I think China has made very good progress also in things like under-five mortality rates, education, and so forth ... and I think that we will continue to have a very strong relationship with the people of China and the government of China,” she concluded.

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to champion the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

UNICEF has been in China for over 25 years, working on health and nutrition, education, child protection, water and environmental sanitation projects in the poorest areas of the country.

Source: Xinhu

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