Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 28 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 6

Written Answers. - Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Dan Neville

Ceist:

146 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government has made submissions to the UN in relation to the upcoming ten year review of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at a special session of the UN General Assembly in September 2001 to negotiate a document to extend the convention; if the Government has already participated in preparatory committee meetings; the plans there are to attend these committee meetings in 2001; and if Ireland will ensure that UNICEF is not involved in projects that support or facilitate abortion in any way and that UNICEF will resume its intended objective of care for the world's children. [27340/00]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

The special session of the UN General Assembly on children is an important follow-up to the 1990 world summit for children, where 71 Heads of State and Government and other leaders signed the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and adopted a plan of action to achieve a set of precise, time-bound goals. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, had set the foundation for these objectives. The special session will review the implementation and results of the World Declaration and will consider future action for children in the decade ahead. The special session is expected to produce a global agenda with a set of goals and plan of action devoted to ensuring three essential outcomes: The best possible start in life for all children; A good-quality basic education for all children; The opportunities for all children, especially adolescents, for meaningful participation in their communities.

Ireland participated in the first preparatory committee for the special session, and will continue to follow preparations for the special session carefully. As a mark of our commitment to this important event, Minister of State O'Donnell has recently approved a contribution of IR £75,000 from Ireland Aid to the children's special session. This funding will be used, inter alia, to facilitate the participation of representatives from the least developed countries.

UNICEF's mission statement states that its primary goal is the protection of children's rights. It is guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.

UNICEF is one of the most highly regarded UN development agencies. Its activities in the areas of health and education of children and women fit well with Ireland Aid's priorities. Indeed, Ireland will become a board member of UNICEF in 2002. In line with our ODA policy, UNICEF has been one of the main recipients of Ireland Aid support for many years. Ireland ranks eighth among the major donors in its per capita contribution to UNICEF. This contribution is made up of Government, NGO and other sources of funding. Ireland Aid contributed IR£2 million from its multilateral funds to UNICEF in 2000. It is hoped that this contribution will increase when a decision is taken on next year's allocation. In view of its invaluable role and experience in combating child poverty worldwide, UNICEF will remain a priority agency for Ireland Aid in the years ahead.

UNICEF has given assurances that it does not advocate any particular method of family planning. UNICEF believes this to be a matter best decided by people themselves in accordance with their needs, cultural/religious values and preferences. As a matter of practice, UNICEF does not provide contraceptive supplies for family planning purposes. UNICEF co-operation in all countries is consistent with this policy and is closely monitored by UNICEF field offices.

Safe motherhood and responsible parenthood are the fundamental concepts on which UNICEF formulates its programmes. These concepts have been endorsed in public debate and proven over time to be invaluable in fulfilling the unique and clearly circumscribed mandate of UNICEF – to work for the health, well-being, survival and the development of children in the developing world.