November 1, 2006

Dear Delegates, Greetings and thank you for participating in the Model United Nations program. I am sure this will be a fun and educational experience for all of us as we endeavor to understand such and extensive and far-reaching international organization. We have the opportunity to identify with those we study and I believe that this role playing exercise will be a worthwhile experience. My name is Tanner Peake and I am the chair of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF). I am currently a junior at the University of Montana studying Political Science. I am excited to be involved in this program as this will be my first year participating. My vice chair is Hailey Kemmick. She is also studying Political Science at the University of Montana with an emphasis in International Relations. Like myself,, this is her first experience with the Model United Nations program. UNICEF is a group that was created as a permanent committee in the UN in 1953 to deal with the issues of child poverty in Europe after World War II. Made up of 36 members, today this organization has broadened its agenda to include not only poverty but also to ensuring a childs right to education and proper health care. It also today specializes in granting relief to children in the case of disaster. At the conference, the topics that we, as a committee, will be discussing will be as follows: Access to education for children with disabilities, poverty as a root cause for child trafficking, and protecting the rights of the child by preventing child marriage. I have several expectations for the UNICEF committee at this years Montana Model United Nations (MMUN) conference. First of all I think it is essential that you have knowledge of the country you represent as well as a general idea of their perspective on the issues that we have set before you. Secondly, I expect everyone to have a grasp of Parliamentary Procedure. This is fundamental in being able to participate in committee. Thirdly, I expect everyone to dress modestly and appropriately. Western business dress will be expected from all participants. For example: at minimum boys will be expected to wear slacks and a dress shirt while girls will be expected to wear skirts or slacks with a nice professional looking shirt. As a body, I have the expectation that we can come to some kind of consensus on these issues due to their utmost importance for the children of the world. Childrens rights are important humanitarian issues that cannot be downplayed and effect all countries in the world. For more information about our conference, you can search online at the MMUN website at: http://www.cas.umt.edu/mun. If you are looking for information about facts and details concerning the United Nations you can look at the United Nations-USA site (http://unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=482843). This might be able to answer any questions you have concerning being a model UN delegate, about UN procedures and UN resolutions. We look forward to seeing you in November! Hailey and I anticipate a wonderful conference this year. If you have any questions, feel free to email Hailey or myself. Sincerely, Tanner Peake, Chair, tanner.peake@umontana.edu Hayley, Kemmick , Vice Chair, hailey.kemmick@umontana.edu

Tanner Peake, Chair United Nations Childrens Fund Committee History and Structure United Nations Childrens Fund Establishment Due to the devastation of World War II, much of Europe was in dire need of reconstruction in 1946. With most of Europe cities and countryside having been used as modern day battlegrounds, city infrastructure was broken down as well as bridges and roads destroyed. Socially, Europe was in a crisis and trying to rebuild families in the midst of homelessness and poverty. A United Nations organization called United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation (UNRRA) was a temporary organization designed to assist with the problems of a post World War II Europe. United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was originally birthed out of this committee, as its role was specifically to assist children who were affected by World War II. In 1953, six years after its original birthing, UNICEF gained official permanent status in the UN due to its large success under UNRRA. As it did so it dropped the terms International and Emergency from its name, but because of the difficulty in pronunciation of UNCF it kept the acronym UNICEF. 1 History From its start in 1946, UNICEF took upon itself the mandate to feed the impoverished, improve their health, and provide clothing to the children of Europe. After becoming a permanent member of the UN is 1953, UNICEFs first campaign became combating against yaws, a disfiguring disease affecting millions of children 2 This was UNICEFs first real campaign outside of World War II pertaining to an issue that effected children of the entire world. Later in 1959, the UN adopted the Declaration of Rights of the Child which defined childrens rights to protection, education, health care, shelter and good nutrition 3 This declaration laid a strong foundation for UNICEF, a foundation that for years would be the heartbeat of its many actions protecting the rights of children. Then in 1961, UNICEF broadened its interest by adding to the list of a childs rights education and providing equal opportunities to all children. Four years later, UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the promotion of brotherhood among nations. 4 When giving UNICEF the Nobel Peace Prize Mrs. Aase Lionaes, a Member of the Nobel Committee said this, In an age when so many people are terrified of the destructive effects of the forces that science has placed in our hands, UNICEF offers young people in all countries an alternative worth living and working for a world with: Freedom for all people, Equality between all races, Brotherhood among all men. 5 The responsible use of science in the forms of sanitation and medication became the marks of UNICEFs world changing agenda. In 1982 UNICEF launched a drive to protect the health and well-being of millions of children around the world. This went by the name of Child Survival and Development Revolution. This simple low-cost revolution called for four techniques: growth monitoring, oral rehydration therapy, breast-feeding and immunization. 6 Effects of this drive still reverberate through the world today as children are provided better heath care now than at any other point in history. A few short years later in 1989, a Convention on the Rights of the Child was held. The goal and purpose of this Convention was to reaffirm to the international community the rights of children as defined in 1959 by the Declaration of the Rights of a Child, specifically that the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.7 This document is thought to be one of the most well received human rights treaties to ever exist. The next year in New York City a World Summit for Children was called. This Summits attendance was made up of Heads of State and Governments from all around the world. Here important goals were set for the future of children in the lines of education, nutrition and health. Then following up on the World Summit for Children, in 2002 a special session was

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Ziring, Rigs, and Plano. 452 UNICEF Website-History http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_history.html 3 UNICEF Website-History http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_history.html 4 UNICEF Website-History http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_history.html 5 The Nobel Peace Prize Presentation Speech 1965 6 UNICEF Website-History http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_history.html 7 Convention the Rights of a Child, http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/treaties/crc.htm

held in the UN General Assembly to discuss the failures and accomplishments of the goals of the Summit. This special session was also intended to re-energize the world its passion to protect children across the nations. Structure Today, over 50 years later, UNICEF still represents children worldwide as an advocate of childrens rights to education, equality, and health. With its headquarters in New York City, UNICEF is able to efficiently take on the role as being a voice to the voiceless. Also, with eight regional and 125 external offices, UNICEF literally spans the world with a presence in all 191 member states, representing a diverse range of children all the way from Cambodia to those of Eastern Europe. UNICEF is governed by an Executive Board made up of 36 members. E of these ach members is elected to a three-year term by the UNs Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The election system is based on rotation, so as to take all countries into account. The Executive Director of UNICEF is nominated by the Secretary Genera l of the UN. 8 Objectives within the Structure UNICEFs identifies young child survival and development as the first right of the child. More than 10 million children under the age of five die each year. Two thirds of both neonatal and young child deaths over six million deaths every year are preventable9 -UNICEF Facts on Children Education is a basic human right, vital to personal and societal development and well being. UNICEF advocates quality basic education for all children girls and boys with an emphasis on gender equality and eliminating disparities of all kinds. UNICEF works with a range of local, national and international partners to realize the education and gender equality goals10 -UNICEF on Basic Education and Gender Equality UNICEFs major policy and overall administration comes from its organizational headquarters in New York City, New York. Here the Executive Council decides new international initiatives and deals with issues such as funding throughout the organization. UNICEF typically works along with host governments through local offices and along side of other UN organizations existing within the country. Their main goal is to realize and identify the rights of children and women. Needs are realized primarily at the local level and then are given technical assistance with the help of regional UNICEF offices. 11 As the mandate of the organization is to protect a childs right to survival and to ensure that children are given the basic right to an education, needs are analyzed primarily at a local level, assisted regionally by UNICEF and ultimately funded and administrated by UNICEF international. Funding UNICEF is funded primarily by voluntary contributions from governmental and non-governmental organizations. Donations from the private sector also fund this organization. In 2005 the total income of UNICEF was over 2 million dollars: 50 percent of this was directly from governments, 38 percent from the private sector, and the remaining 12 percent came from intergovernmental organizations, non governmental organizations, and Interagency-arrangements. 12 Current Events The 2000 Millennium Summit established 8 goals, referred to as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). At this summit, over 150 heads of state came together at the UN to talk about ways of eliminating poverty, ensuring
8 Organisational Strategy: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 4 9 UNICEF-Facts of Children http://www.unicef.org/media/media_35898.html 10 UNICEF-Basic Education and Gender Equality http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/index.php 11 UNICEF- About UNICEF-Structural and Contact Information http://www.unicef.org/about/structure/index_3368.html
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Careful Stewardship: UNICEF Annual Report 2005. 29

equal human rights to all people and new goals for the new millennium. The goals include: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development for the new millennium. 13 Of these eight MDG, UNICEF has a direct role in six of these goals, making UNICEF a very pivotal international organization.. UNICEF is also currently active in studies on water sanitation, supplying aid to places like Lebanon and Sudan, and combating the bird flu. UNICEF also is very actively called upon in the state of an international humanitarian emergency. For example: UNICEF had an active role in responding to the Tsunami in South East Asia and to the Yellow Fever outbreak in Sudan. UNICEF in these instances was able to efficiently provide aid to these emergency situations. 14 Conference Participation UNICEF is a committee that reports to ECOSOC, and serves under this body within the UN system. Current members of this committee include: Algeria , Burkina Faso, Burundi, Djibouti, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Bangladesh, China, Democratic Peoples Rep. of Korea, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Belarus, Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United States of America. 15 Most decisions that are made in UNICEF are made by consensus. As Mrs. Aase Lionaes of the Nobel Committee once said, As you know, it is not always easy to achieve unanimity in the United Nations. This is understandable when one considers that we are dealing here with 118 member states representing every race, nation, political ideology, and religious creed. But everyone has understood the language of UNICEF, and even the most reluctant person is bound to admit that in action UNICEF has proved that compassion knows no national boundaries. 16 What is being alluded to here is the fact that even countries who typically dis agree on much of everything can come to a place of agreement when concerning the well-being of the children of the world. Conference Topics The topics that we will be discussing this year at the conference will be: access to education for children with disabilities, poverty as a root cause for child trafficking, and protecting the rights of the child by preventing child marriage. These three issues are current issues that are being discussed by UNICEF as a body due to their destructive effect to children around the world. Conclusion UNICEF is an international body that focuses on the well-being of children around the world by striving to ensure to them basic human rights. UNICEF acknowledges that it cant and will not be the solution to the problems plaguing children around the world, but believe that it as a body owes the child the best it has to give. 17 In educating the world about childrens rights and acknowledging that we have failed to provide basic rights to our worlds youngest citizens UNICEF makes great bounds in promoting equality throughout the world.

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UN Millennium Development Goals http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals UNICEF: What we Do http://unicef.org/whatwedo/index.html 15 UNICEF: Executive Board: Members and Offices http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/index_13225.htm 14 Nobel Peace Prize Presentation Speech 1965
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Declaration of the Rights of a Child, http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/25.htm

Recommended Resources Nobel Foundation. Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech 1965 retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1965/ In 1965 UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is just a copy of the Presentation Speech given by Mrs. Aase Lionaes commending UNICEF for their wonderful work. Office of the High Co mmissioner of Human Rights. Declaration of the Rights of a Child 1959 retrieved October 14, 2006 from, http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/25.htm This is the actual Declaration of the Rights of a Child that was drafted in 1959. It is very insightful as this document really is the foundation for everything we believe and adhere to in the line of childrens rights. Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. Convention of the Rights of a Child retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/treaties/crc.htm This is a document produced by the Convention of the Rights of a Child. Written in the late eighties it provides a more modern document concerning the rights of a child.

United Nations. United Nations Development Goals retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ This is a website dedicated strictly to describe the Millennium Development Goals. Very useful to someone that is interested in these goals or in the Millennium Development Summit. United Nation Childrens Fund. Basic Education and Gender Equality retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/index.php I found the UNICEF website very helpful and fairly detailed. You may have to dig a little on this site but the information is there. Interesting facts found here on Education and Gender Equality. United Nation Childrens Fund. Executive Board: Members and Offices retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/index_13225.html This lists the members of the Executive Board. Good source of information concerning how the actual governing body looks and who belongs to it.

United Nation Childrens Fund. Facts About Children retrieved October1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/media/media_35898.html I found the UNICEF website very helpful and fairly detailed. Listed here are some interesting facts on children. These statistics are very helpful when trying to identify the extent of the problems with children United Nation Childrens Fund. History retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_history.html I found the UNICEF website very helpful and fairly detailed. This is just the ordinary organizations website which is made to inform. You may have to dig a little on this site but the information is there. This particular part of the website really explained the history well. United Nation Childrens Fund. Structural and Contact Information retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/about/structure/index_3368.html I found the UNICEF website very helpful and fairly detailed. This is just the ordinary organizations website which is made to inform. You may have to dig a little on this site but the information is there. It also explains basic structure of UNICEF. United Nation Childrens Fund. What We Do retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://unicef.org/whatwedo/index.html This site is fairly general in its description of its roles. It gives a good look into the general goals and mandates given the UNICEF by the UN and children all over the world.

United Nations Childrens Fund Annual Report. Careful Stewardship 2005 retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/2005/index .html This is an amazing resource for understanding current events in UNICEF. It is very detailed and includes graphs, sketches, pictures and a word from the Executive Director. Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Organisational Strategy 2005-2006 This document is a governmental document written within the Danish government with the purpose of explaining the Danish contributions to UNICEF. It is extremely helpful in getting a grasp of the organization. Ziring, Lawrence, Riggs, Robert E., and Plano, Jack C. The United Nations: International Organization and World Politics, 4th ed. Belmont, Ca: Thompson Wadsworth, 2005. This book offers a comprehensive view of the UN: its history, its major bodies, its activities, and basic functions in the world.

Tanner Peake, Chair United Childrens Fund UNICEF Topic I Access to education for children with disabilities Introduction According to Principle 7 of the Declaration of the Rights of a Child, The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual 1 judgment, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society. Plaguing the children of the world and specifically those of underdeveloped countries, childhood disabilities are becoming more and more recognized as a central issue in identifying the causes of poverty. The growth of the population of children with disabilities worldwide and states governments inability to deal with such an immense problem has contributed to a cycle today that is producing poverty around the world. The cycle of poverty and disability is due to the failure of government institutions to re-integrate the disabled into society, their inability to provide them equal access education and their shortcomings in terms of providing them basic human rights. History In 1982 a resolution was passed called the World Programme of Action for Disabled Persons. 2 This important resolution set out three major objectives and goals in integrating the disabled more into society. The first would be to take measures in order to prevent disabilities and their scarring psychological damages from occurring; the second to better rehabilitate the disabled by eventually increasing their functionality to ease their integration back into society; the third goal was to equalize opportunities for the disabled, primarily opportunities to an education. This document distinctly calls for action on behalf of those who are disabled. But not until the last ten years was this cry heard. It was heard because of a larger broader epidemic, the poverty and destitution of the worlds children. Now, more than ever, children have gained the eyes, hearts and attention of the international community. Large international summits such as the World Summit of 1990 set out to establish goals for children in promoting healthy lives; providing quality education; protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV/AIDS. Of the eight Millennium Development Goals that were set in 2000 by the international community, six of them directly deal with the well being of children. Yet despite all this attention the work is far from done. 3 Despite mass efforts on the part of the international community More children are living in poverty than 10 years ago. Contributing to this high level of poverty is an invisible factor overlooked by many analysts and theorists, disabilities. This invisible demon effects one and twenty people worldwide and twenty percent of the worlds poorest people. 4 According the Department of International Development disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Eliminating world poverty is unlikely to be achieved unless the rights and needs of people with disabilities are taken into account. The history of disabilities and the worlds ineffectiveness in dealing with them can be linked to the idea of institutional responsibility. 5 Believing that the state can provide the best care for those with disabilities has actually done anything but help the disabled. Large institutions are largely ineffective in caring, curing, or educating those who are disabled. Disabled children are separated from their parents with hopes that an institution with financial backing might be able to better provide quality care and education. But more
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Declaration of the Rights of a Child- Principle 7 Disability Statistics Compendium, 18 2 Environmental Health Perspectives-UNICEF A256 3 Disability, Poverty, and Development-1 4 Innocenti Research Centre- VI 5 Disability, Poverty, and Development-3

often than not, children are treated with minimal care and given minimal education. Disabled children admitted to institutions are more susceptible to violence, prejudice, abuse, and are more likely to contract HIV. 6 In these institutions, children with disabilities are being deprived of basic human rights, care, and education. According to the Childrens Rights Information Network, Some 97 per cent of disabled children in developing countries are without any form of rehabilitation and 98 per cent without any education; they suffer more violence and abuse than other children and are often shut away in institutions, cupboards and sheds, and even starved to death. 7 Institutionalizing these children has obviously been counterproductive. Clearly these humans must not be deprived of an education and basic human rights. In 1959 the Declaration of the Rights of a Child was passed defining and protecting the rights of the child. According to Principle 2 of this resolution The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. 8 Under this UN resolution children were to be given equal access to education and other opportunities. This includes the disabled child. So why are the statistics showing that the disabled population are being so mistreated and underrepresented? It is important that we, the international community, identify our shortcomings in living out what we set out to by the Declaration of Rights of a Child in terms of the disabled child. While these children are handicapped in some fashion or other, they still are human and in that deserve equal rights. The Cycle When breaking down the causes of impairments in the disabled the statistics are startling. As many as 50 percent of disabilities are preventable and directly related to poverty. In developing countries up to 70% of blindness in children is either preventable or treatable 9 The correlation between poverty and disabilities is alarming. According to the World Health Organization, 20 percent of disabilities are caused by malnutrition, reinforcing again that poverty and disabilities correlate directly. 10 The cycle of poverty and disability goes on and on as it reinforces itself. Poor living conditions, lack of vaccinations, and unsanitary conditions create an environment that fosters disabilities. Then, over time as the disabled multiply, the developing countrys inability to provide education and care for this portion of society end up with more of a problem than before. This cycle goes on and on leaving a portion of the world behind. Thus the disabled population grows as education and general care decrease. Today developing countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, amidst a whole list of other structural problems, face difficult challenges as they try to deal with this silent but growing population of the disabled. In some ways the struggle for the survival whole the whole depends on the survival of the one and in this case that one is the disabled child. 11 Raising Awareness The battle for equal education and better integration for the disabled begins with one very simple yet profound element: awareness. Because of ignorance and a lack of standards by the international community summits are being formed set apart specifically for discussion on the rights of the disabled. Mulit-national conferences are being mobilized to get developing countries talking about their problems in integration of the handicapped into their society. UN resolution 56/168 seeks to establish an Ad Hoc Committee, open to the participation of all Member States and observers of the United Nations, to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. 12 There are high hopes that by joining together as a community through international conventions we can together help provide these disabled children their rights.

CRIN-Children Rights Information Network www.crin.org 7 Ibid 8 Declaration of the Rights of a Child-Principle 2 9 Disability, Poverty, and Development-2-3 10 Ibid 11 Ibid 12 Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention- http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/adhoccom.htm

Committee Role in Solution Beyond rising awareness, a major role of UNICEF on an international level has been to monitor techniques and institutions dealing with disability around the world. By conducting detailed research UNICEF is able to both monitor and inform individual states and the international community on the successes and shortcomings in reintegrating children with disabilities back into society. In order to conduct such thorough research, UNICEF formed the Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) to study the well-being of children around the world. While monitoring the Baltic States, UNICEF identified that disability rates had doubled and sometimes tripled in the period since communism. After conducting research on children with disabilities in the region, UNICEF was able to identify institutional problems that were left over from the past communist regime and call for an immediate end of institutionalization of disabled children.13 UNICEF was able to identify the problems within the structures of these Baltic States in dealing with the disabled. Another role of UNICEF in dealing with issues like disability has been to act as an influence on state governments by pressuring them into passing legislation that would make ethical national laws in relation to children. Standing as a kind-of international lobbyist representing disabled children UNICEF has supported the drafting of childrens codes and facilitated extensive reviews of national laws related to children, as well as the development of recommendations for revisions and new legislation with a focus on childrens rights. 14 Today UNICEF works actively with a mass number of IGOs, NGOs and with the governments of underdeveloped countries like Moldova, Armenia, much of Central Asia and the Eastern European states in monitoring progress in terms of equal opportunities for children with disabilities. By doing this UNICEF hopes to see change from within these governments that will allow for equal education for the disabled. Conclusion To summarize the issues at hand: fifty percent of those who are disabled have impairments directly related to poverty, there is a strong relationship between poverty and disabilities, the vicious cycle that fuels poverty and binds one in twenty of the world with a disability 15 , the failure of institutions to effectively integrate the disabled back into society; the lack of awareness on the part of the international community and the injustice of our inability to assist and properly re-integrate disabled back into society. We as a committee must ask ourselves what is our role in protecting the rights of the disabled? How can we as a committee most effectively educate the international community about the devastating effects of poverty, disabilities and its effects on children? What can we do as a committee that will assist developing countries in offering equal education to the disabled? Where are the places of greatest tension between the disabled and the institutions created by the government to assist them?

Recommended Resources British Department of International Development. Disability, Poverty, and Development (DFID), February 2000. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/disability.pdf#search=%22DISABILITY%2C%20POVERTY %20AND%20DEVELOPMENT%22
This is an extremely useful and easy to understand document that provides a clear picture of what the problem is in terms of disabilities and poverty. Included in this document is an easy to read chart that accurately shows the cycle of poverty to disability.

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Innocenti Research Centre-Introduction UNICEF- Convention on the Rights of a Child- www.unicef.org 15 Disability, Poverty, and Development 2-3

Childrens Rights Information Network. Childrens Rights: Disabilities. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://crin.org/themes/ViewTheme.asp?id=5 This is a great site on childrens rights around the world. It is also a good source on current events and up to date articles concerning children with disabilities. Also I found it very useful in providing links to other valuable and applicable information. McGovern, Victoria. United Childrens Fund Reports on the State of the Worlds Children. Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 108, Number 6, 2000: A256 In JSTOR [database online]. Cited October 8, 2006 This is a short scholarly journal entry focusing primarily on the United Childrens Fund in general. This is not a source for disability statistics or information but more as a commentary on the actions of United Childrens Fund

United Nations. Disability Statistics Compendium. New York: Publishing Division United Nations, 1990. Online Book. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://unstats.un.org/UNSD/demographic/sconcerns/disability/disab2.asp This is very thorough document that was produced by the United Nations Statistical Division. It is very detailed and extensive and a good source if you know what you are looking for. This document is full of social statistics.

United Nations Enable. Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/adhoccom.htm This is a very basic document concerning the committee that has been formed to organize a convention for children with disabilities United Nations. General Assembly. Declaration of the Rights of a Child. Resolution 1386. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/25.htm This is the actual resolution that was written in 1959. It includes the actual wording, goals and structures that were intended set in place. This is a broad document in that it can be used for anything concerning the rights of a child. United Childrens Fund. Convention of the Rights of a Child. Retrieved October 22, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30215.html This website is the general United Childrens Fund website. It is useful when trying to understand broadly what this organization does but is also can be very vague.

United Nations Childrens Fund. Innocenti Research Center. Children and Disabiltiy in Transition in CEE/CIS and Baltic States. 2005. Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/ This is a very detailed document written about the condition of children with disabilities in the Central Asian, Eastern Europe and Baltic Regions. It has numerous facts and many quotes of mistreated children. This is a published document by the United Childrens Fund through one of its research centers.

Hayley Kemmick, Vice-Chair United Nations Childrens Fund Topic II Poverty as a Root Cause of Child Trafficking Introduction to the Connections of Poverty to Child Trafficking Child trafficking is a growing problem that affects millions of children and families in nearly every country around the world. Some estimates suggest that as many as 1.2 million children are trafficked every year.1 The extreme physical and sexual abuse and exploitation that victims of child trafficking endure make it a very dangerous and harmful crime. 2 Trafficking violates the most basic rights of a child, such as the right to health, to play, to an education, to a family life, and to happiness.3 The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking of Persons, especially Women and Children contains the current widely accepted definition of child trafficking, which was developed in consultation with a number of governments and international organizations. The Protocol defines child trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child (any person under eighteen years of age) for the purpose of exploitation, even if it is consensual and the child was not threatened, forced, coerced or deceived.4 The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) identify poverty as a leading cause of child trafficking. A report on child trafficking done by the two organizations asserts that trafficking victims often come from poor families and lack economic opportunities, and that a childs vulnerability to traffickers is increased by poverty.5 The International Labour Organization (ILO) declares that poverty is unquestionably the most significant root cause of vulnerability to trafficking. Poor children are vulnerable to the lure of higher wages, which increases their likelihood of being trafficked, either voluntarily or through coercion.6 Children are trafficked because there is a demand for their labor, or their bodies. In addition to poverty, factors such as war, natural disaster, family displacement, and lack of laws against trafficking make children more at risk of trafficking. Children are vulnerable to trafficking because they are easily exploited, and are less able to demand their rights than adults. Because of the lower status that girls are often accorded, they are generally more at risk than boys.7 Current Problems and Cases Child trafficking is a complicated issue for a number of reasons: It is not an isolated event, rather a series of events that transpire in several different locations; it can include many different actors, such as recruiters, intermediaries, counterfeiters, transporters, employers, brothel/inn operators, etc.; and sometimes it is the children themselves, or their families who approach recruiters.8 It is also very difficult to obtain accurate statistics on child trafficking, since it is carried out in secrecy, away from the public eye. Victims are commonly given forged identity and travel papers,
1

UNICEF, Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse: Trafficking and sexual exploitation. Retrieved Sept. 28, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_exploitation.html 2 IPU and UNICEF, Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 9 (2005): Combating Child Trafficking. Pg 3. Retrieved Sept. 29, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/IPU_combattingchildtrafficking_GB(1).pdf 3 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. (November 1989). The Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm 4 UN General Assembly, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000), Article 3. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2006 from http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/protocoltraffic.htm 5 IPU and UNICEF, Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 9 (2005): Combating Child Trafficking. Pg 17. Retrieved Sept. 29, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/IPU_combattingchildtrafficking_GB(1).pdf 6 ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). Unbearable to the Human Heart: Child trafficking and action to eliminate it. Principal authors: Panudda Boonpala and June Kane. ILO 2002. Pg 25. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2006 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/childtraf/unbearable.pdf 7 Wee, Darwin T. Child trafficking a major problem in Zamboanga del Sur. BusinessWorld. September 8, 2005. 8 ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). Unbearable to the Human Heart: Child trafficking and action to eliminate it. Principal authors: Panudda Boonpala and June Kane. ILO 2002. Pg XI. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2006 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/childtraf/unbearable.pdf

making them more difficult to trace. Also, many victims are afraid to come forward, and so their stories are never heard.9 Although some children are forced into labor such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing, fishing, begging and domestic service, most children are trafficked into the sex trade. 10 The End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) organization estimated that in 1996 there were 800,000 child prostitutes in Thailand, 400,000 in India, and 60,000 in the Philippines. The Peking Peoples Daily reported that in Sichuan, China over 10,000 women and children are sold into sexual slavery annually. In 2001, it was reported that child prostitution had increased five times in the last seven years in Colombia. In Sri Lanka, it has been estimated that 100,000 children age 6 to 14 are being prostituted in child brothels. In Vietnam, as many as one in five prostitutes are under the age of 18.11 A number of country or region-specific studies have shown the role that poverty plays in relation to child trafficking. A study done by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and UNICEF on the problem of child trafficking in Lao PDR found that the countrys position as one of the worlds least developed countries situated at the center of a rapidly developing region, made it especially susceptible to trafficking.12 It is estimated that annually 15,000 to 20,000 young women are trafficked out of Lao PDR.13 Desiree Jongsma, Acting UNICEF Representative in Lao PDR, concluded that real opportunities for children must be created in Lao PDR: If they [children] believe they can realize their dreams for a bright future at home, they will no longer feel compelled to leave their communities for distant cities or neighboring countries.14 In 2003, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) developed an Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, which focused on the southern European countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, and The UN Administered Province of Kosovo. The plan found that in this region, poverty, weak social and economic structures, and the lack of employment opportunities were among the root causes of trafficking. Furthermore, the plan highlighted economic policies as integral to the prevention of trafficking: It recommended that states take measures to create employment opportunities for all, develop programs that offer basic education, literacy, and communication, reduce and remove barriers to entrepreneurship, and finally, promote flexible financing and access to credit.15 Committee Work Since its inception, UNICEF has been committed to the protection of childrens rights.16 UNICEF draws heavily upon a number of international human rights agreements, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, as the foundation for its actions.17 UNICEFs overarching strategy for protecting children is to work for the creation of a protective environment, most simply defined as a safety net which prevents abuses from happening.
9

IPU and UNICEF, Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 9 (2005): Combating Child Trafficking. Pg 13. Retrieved Sept. 29, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/IPU_combattingchildtrafficking_GB(1).pdf 10 ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). Unbearable to the Human Heart: Child trafficking and action to eliminate it. Principal authors: Panudda Boonpala and June Kane. ILO 2002. Pg XI. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2006 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/childtraf/unbearable.pdf 11 Flowers, R. Barri. The Sex Trade Industrys Worldwide Exploitation of Children. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2001. Published by Sage Publications, Inc. 12 UNICEF, October 26, 2004. Joint press release: Child trafficking requires action in Lao PDR. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/media/media_23871.html 13 Walter, Lynn (Editor-in-Chief), Manisha Desai (Volume Editor) The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Womens Issues Worldwide, Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2003. Benjamin F. Shearer, Laos. Pg 277 14 UNICEF, October 26, 2004. Joint press release: Child trafficking requires action in Lao PDR. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/media/media_23871.html 15 Limanowska, Barbara; UNICEF; UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; OSCE/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, (2005). Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe. Pgs 13-15. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/Trafficking.Report.2005.pdf 16 UNICEF, UNICEFs mission statement. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_mission.html 17 UNICEF, Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse: Introduction. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index.html

UNICEF has been working on encouraging governments to commit to the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. 18 This convention includes child trafficking as one of the worst forms of child labor, and declares that it is a practice similar to slavery. It also asserts that child labor in general is largely caused by poverty and that the long-term solution lies in sustained economic growth leading to social progress, in particular poverty alleviation and universal education.19 In 1999, the Government of Benin and UNICEF conducted research on activities against child trafficking, and came up with a decentralized plan. Village committees in Benin each assign one member to monitor and report on the number of children in a village, and on any missing children. UNICEF has initiated community watch systems and para-legal groups working against child trafficking in 14 districts in Nepal. They have also helped to establish hostel facilities and rehabilitation centers for sexually-abused and working children.20 In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, UNICEF is working with the district administration and a local NGO to combat child trafficking. They have set up village based anti-trafficking committees which register police cases against traffickers and monitor, follow up and counsel girls and women who are approached by traffickers. The committees have als o been working to include vulnerable women and minors in development schemes: They are trained in livelihood skills and are directed towards alternative forms of employment.21 Conclusion Child trafficking is a very complex problem with deep roots in economical, social and cultural issues. Trafficking of children results not only in violation of rights, but also in very adverse physical, psychological and moral consequences for the victims which are serious, life-long and also life-threatening. Ms. Patricia Rodriguez is a former commercial sex worker and founder of Cave of Adlam, an organization that seeks to rehabilitate women and girls on the streets in Zimbabwe. She says that at least 60 to 70 percent of the women and girls that she has dealt with suffer from more than one disease including sexually transmitted illnesses such as HIV and AIDS. She also says that trafficking can only be dealt with by addressing the root cause, which in most cases is poverty.22 As the need for the prevention of child trafficking grows, it is important to ask a few fundamental questions: What can be done to encourage more national governments to adopt prevention programs like those in India, Lao PDR, and Benin? What is the most effective way to educate children, and especially girls, about their rights associated with child trafficking? Given that many national and international anti-trafficking laws are already in place, what can be done to strengthen enforcement of these laws?

Recommended Resources Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) March, 2005. Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 9: Combating Child Trafficking. Retrieved Sept. 29, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/IPU_combattingchildtrafficking_GB(1).pdf. This handbook was written by the IPU and UNICEF in 2005. It provides detailed information on the global problem of child trafficking, including its causes and effects. It addresses the role that poverty plays
18

UNICEF, Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse: Eight elements of a protective environment. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_environment.html 19 ILO, Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 1999. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/ratification/convention/text.htm 20 UNICEF, Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse: Eight elements of a protective environment. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_environment.html 21 UNICEF India, Trafficking Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved Oct. 13, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/india/child_protection_272.htm 22 The Herald, Zimbabwe; Stop Trafficking in Women and Children. Africa News. August 22, 2006

in the vulnerability of children to trafficking. Finally, it outlines steps that have been taken, and that can be taken by the international community to end child trafficking. ILO, Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 1999. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2006 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/ratification/convention/text.htm This convention discusses the need to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. It outlines causes of child labor, and strategies for elimination. It also defines the worst forms of child labor. UNICEF: Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse. Homepage. Retrieved Sept. 28, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index.html This web page gives you a comprehensive look at what UNICEF does in the name of child protection. It provides links to information on specific child protection topics, including child trafficking. This site provides background information about programs that UNICEF is involved in, current events, legal standards, statistics, and resources related to child trafficking. United Nations Childrens Fund. (2005). The State of the Worlds Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible. New York. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2006_English_Report_rev(1).pdf This report details the condition of children all around the world. It discusses those Millennium Development Goals (adopted by 189 countries in 2000) that relate to children, and the progress that has been made on those goals. It discusses the problems associated with child trafficking and what countries and regions are most affected by it. The Herald, Zimbabwe; Stop Trafficking in Women and Children. Africa News. Aug. 22, 2006 This article explains the problem of child trafficking in Zimbabwe, as well as in other parts of Africa. In addition to poverty as a root cause, the article discusses some other main contributing factors. It also describes the physical, psychological, and moral consequences that inflict the victims of this horrible practice. Flowers, R. Barri. The Sex Trade Industrys Worldwide Exploitation of Children. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2001. Published by Sage Publications, Inc. This article focuses on international trafficking of children and other forms of child sexual exploitation. Flowers lists statistics on child sexual exploitation from many countries, which give a good idea of the seriousness of the problem. He explains why the problem needs urgent attention, and gives some recommendations for action. Wee, Darwin T. Child trafficking a major problem in Zamboanga del Sur. BusinessWorld. Sept. 8, 2005. This article discusses the problem of child trafficking as it exists in the Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur. It provides a good definition of child trafficking, and discusses its many causes and effects. It also describes what is being done by the government and various NGOs to fight child trafficking. It explains how all parties involved must act in cooperation, all the way from the victim and their family, to the national government. Walter, Lynn (Editor-in-Chief), The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Womens Issues Worldwide, V.1-6. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2003. This six-volume set provides data on a number of womens issues in more than 130 countries around the world. Each of the countries is given a chapter; in each chapter the major issues facing women are discussed. The issue of trafficking in women and children is discussed for many of the 130 countries. It is very useful because it covers so many countries and so many issues.

Hayley Kemmick, Vice-Chair United Nations Childrens Fund Topic II Protecting Children by Preventing Child Marriage Introduction to Early Marriage The right to free and full consent to marriage is recognized in Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), with acknowledgement that this consent cannot be free and full when at least one of the partners is not sufficiently mature to make an informed decision about a life partner.1 Therefore, child marriage (marriage of children under the age of 18) is a violation of human rights. When a girl is given away as a bride, she is considered her husbands possession, and in most cases divorce is virtually impossible. They remain in these marriages, experiencing early and frequent childbirth which can involve very serious physical implications:2 Premature pregnancy and childbirth entail high risks of maternal and neonatal mortality. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for 15- to 19-year-old girls worldwide. Their children are less likely to survive as well: A baby born to a mother under 18 is 60 percent more likely to die within the first year of its life than is a baby born to a mother older than 19.3 Married children are almost always subject to social isolation and a lack of education and vocational training, which makes them extremely vulnerable if they do manage to escape their situation. As girls who get out of their marriage are usually under-educated and under-skilled, they are left without any potential to generate an income. Also, they are often subjected to community exclusion and/or physical threats. In some cases girls who insist on divorce are violently punished by their family, and in extreme cases their lives are threatened by honor killings.4 Hu man Rights Watch defines honor killings as murder committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family. 5 Current Preoccupations The early marriage of girls is most common in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, followed by the Middle East, North Africa and some other parts of Asia, and lastly, parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe. 6 Essentially, the only parts of the globe where child marriage is not common, and therefore not an issue, are in the developed, industrialized countries (U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand). These statistics lead to the question of what factors lead to early marriage. Poverty and tradition are among the main factors contributing to child marriage. For some poverty stricken families, a young girl may be seen as an economic burden and her marriage to an older man is a common family survival strategy. A brides family is often given some sort of financial compensation from the grooms family, such as cattle or land.7 In some cases, parents are worried about the risk of their daughters becoming pregnant outside of marriage, and as a result seize upon any prospect for early marriage. In some cultures, families protect their honor by marrying their daughters off as early as possible. Fear of HIV or other sexually transmitted infections encourages men in some African countries to seek young virgin partners. In some war-torn countries, such as Uganda and

UN Commission on Human Rights (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2006, from http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html 2 Mikhail, Susanne Louis B. Child marriage and child prostitution: two forms of sexual exploitation. Gender & Development; March 2002, Vol.10 Issue 1, p43-49 3 UNICEF (2005). The State of the Worlds Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2006_English_Report_rev(1).pdf 4 Mikhail, Susanne Louis B. Child marriage and child prostitution: two forms of sexual exploitation. Gender & Development; March 2002, Vol.10 Issue 1, p43-49 5 Human Rights Watch. Human Rights News. April 6, 2001. Retrieved Oct. 18, 2006, from http://hrw.org/english/docs/2001/04/06/global268.htm 6 Innocenti Digest, No. 7, March 2001. UNICEF & Innocenti Research Center. Early Marriage: Child Spouses. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/childrenandislam/downloads/early_marriage_eng.pdf 7 Ibid.

Somalia, some families are known to marry their daughters to militia members to secure what they see as protection for themselves and their children. 8 In India, although the legal age of marriage for girls is 18, it is estimated that more than one-third of all brides are below the age o f 18. Many activists are pushing for tougher legislation and enforcement to protect children, but the deep rooted traditions and the societal values of Indias rural and poor population are formidable obstacles.9 Similarly, in Bangladesh, the legal age for marriage is 18, yet nearly half of all girls are married before the age of 18. For Bangladeshi women, marriage is an obligation and single women are not granted any status by society. Girls are seen as a burden to their parents because they do not contribute financially to their natal families. Boys, on the other hand, are considered an asset as they are expected to financially support their parents. Sadly, these traditional beliefs paired with widespread poverty often result in early marriage for many young Bangladeshi girls.10 Preventing Child Marriage On a very broad level, there are a number of actions that need to be taken by governments and civil societies to help prevent child marriage. A commitment to poverty reduction on the national and international level would most certainly lead to a decrease in child marriages. Governments everywhere need to establish and enforce 18 as the legal age of marriage. The attitudes and customs that encourage or excuse the practice must be addressed. Young girls and their parents need to be educated about the physical risks associated with early marriage. 11 Also, programs to promote birth and marriage registration should be established. Annually, some 40 million births and thousands of marriages around the world go unregistered.12 Without an official birth cert ificate, children have no defense against age-related abuses, including marriage before the legal age. Without marriage registration, there is no way for the minimum age requirement to be enforced. In addition to the UDHR, many other international human rights instruments include provisions on age and consent to be applied to marriage. Article 1 of the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery states that the following practice is similar to slavery: when a woman, without the right to refuse, is given in marriage on payment (of any form) to her parents/guardians.13 The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 14 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 15 the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages,16 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women17 all state that both parties of a marriage must have free and full consent, and both must be of marriageable age (to be established through legislation). UNICEF is involved with a number of programs and projects that are working to prevent child marriage. Research done in 2005 shows that the more education a girl receives, the less likely she is to be married while still a child. UNICEF is the lead agency working on the UN Girls Education Initiative, which is working to ensure that by 2015, all children around the world will be able to complete primary schooling.18

8 9

Ibid. Chopra, Anuj. India tackles child marriages. Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 2006. Vol. 98, Issue 125 10 Chowdhury, Farah Deeba. The socio-cultural context of child marriage in a Bangladeshi village. International Journal of Social Welfare; July 2004, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p244-253 11 Innocenti Digest, No. 7, March 2001. UNICEF & Innocenti Research Center. Early Marriage: Child Spouses. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/childrenandislam/downloads/early_marriage_eng.pdf 12 Ibid. 13 UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956). Retrieved Oct. 8, 2006, from http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/slavetrade.htm 14 UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), Article 8. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2006, from http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm 15 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), Article 23. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2006, from http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm 16 UN Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1964), Articles 1 and 2. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2006, from http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/convention.htm 17 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), Article 16. Retrieved Oct. 8, 2006, from http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/cedaw.htm 18 UN Girls Education Initiative. Homepage. Retrieved Oct. 9, 2006, from http://www.ungei.org/index.php

South Asia Since November 2005 UNICEF has supported four regional workshops in India. The workshops aim to develop plans of action to address the issue of child marriage at various levels and to formulate strategies for law reform. 19 In Bangladesh, a UNICEF-supported project called Kishori Abhijan is working to empower teenagers, particularly girls, to participate in decisions about their lives and become role models for others. The project focuses on educating girls on issues such as child marriage, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. It also offers technical training for livelihoods and advice on how to start a business. The project hopes to give girls the self-esteem and confidence needed to take control of their lives; and consequently, know and defend their rights concerning marriage. 20 In recent years, Sri Lanka has experienced an increase in the average age at marriage. The success has been attributed to the introduction of legislative reforms which require the registration of all marriages along with the consent of both marriage partners. Strengthening these reforms is a legal argument that Islamic law recognizes that in order to consent to marriage, both partners must be mentally mature enough to judge things reasonably, which makes child marriage unacceptable under Islam. These legislative reforms have also been reinforced and supported by social policy changes in health and education, which include, among other things, free education for all from the primary to university level. 21 Sub-Saharan Africa In Benin and Niger, UNICEF supports village committees to prevent and respond to early marriage. This is accomplished through a number of activities: helping young girls attend maternity hospitals to have safe births; raising awareness of the need for birth registration; enrolling and keeping children in school; preventing sexual and all other forms of child abuse; and spreading messages on childrens rights throughout their communities. These practices have been successful at helping to prevent early marriage, as well as helping to change the harmful attitudes and customs associated with early marriage. 22 In Niger, young girls are beginning to receive support from community elders. One member of the committee of elders said, The girls are right. If this is what they expect from us, well go along with them. From now on, none of the girls in our villages will be given in marriage before the age of 17 or 18, and no girl will be forced into marriage.23 Conclusion Child marriage is an extremely harmful practice that endangers thousands of girls every year. This practice denies children their right to consent to marriage, exposes girls to the risks associated with premature pregnancy, and leaves them socially and economically vulnerable. Although the foundations for action are already set, such as the inclusion of provisions pertaining to early marriage in the above mentioned international human rights instruments, there is still much to be done to prevent the practice. It is a very difficult issue overcome because of its many different causes and contributing factors. The reduction of poverty and the transformation of cultural tradition are both paramount projects which are vital to the reduction and/or prevention of early marriage. 24 While researching this topic, ask yourself the following questions: How can we implement strategies for the prevention of child marriage without undermining cultural norms in areas where it is a common traditional practice? What can be done to strengthen the enforcement of the laws that are already in place that help prevent child marriage?
19

UNICEF (April 17, 2006). Early Marriage: a childhood interrupted. Retrieved Oct. 5, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/india/child_protection_1536.htm 20 Nettleton, Steve. Empowering girls by challenging the tradition of child marriage. UNICEF (August 31, 2006). Retrieved Oct. 5, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/bangladesh_35505.html 21 Innocenti Digest, No. 7, March 2001. UNICEF & Innocenti Research Center. Early Marriage: Child Spouses. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/childrenandislam/downloads/early_marriage_eng.pdf 22 UNICEF. Real lives: Preventing early marriage in Niger and Benin. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_1420.html 23 Ibid. 24 Walter, Lynn (Editor-in-Chief), Mari Tripp, Aili (Volume Editor). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Womens Issues Worldwide: Sub-Saharan Africa. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2003. Berhane-Selassie, Tsehai. Ethiopia. p136-137.

Which of these two initiatives needs to come first and why: Implementation/enforcement of legislation at the national level? Or Small-scale work at the community level to work directly with victims or potential victims of child marriage?

Recommended Resources Chopra, Anuj. India tackles child marriages. Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 2006. Vol. 98, Issue 125 This article discusses the issue of early marriage in India. It gives a good description of the psychological suffering that young married girls endure. It also describes the form of action that many in India are taking to prevent the practice, as well as the obstacles that confront them. Chowdhury, Farah Deeba. The socio-cultural context of child marriage in a Bangladeshi village. International Journal of Social Welfare; July 2004, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p244-253 This article concentrates on the reasons for child marriage in rural Bangladesh , and its consequences for the individuals involved, the local community and society as a whole. It discusses some of the principal causes for child marriage such as social values, poverty and local beliefs. Although this article focuses only on rural Bangladesh, the causes and consequences it presents give a good representation of the situation for many rural areas, especially those areas where Islam is the dominant religion. Innocenti Digest, No. 7, March 2001. UNICEF & Innocenti Research Center; Florence, Italy. Early Marriage: Child Spouses. Retrieved October 6, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/childrenandislam/downloads/early_marriage_eng.pdf This text looks at the causes of early marriage, such as poverty and cultural tradition. It also examines the harmful impacts of the practice, such as health risks, and the denial of education and/or livelihoods. It looks at the national and international laws and norms that are already in place, and analyzes their effectiveness. It also offers guidelines to end the practice. Mikhail, Susanne Louis B. Child marriage and child prostitution: two forms of sexual exploitation. Gender & Development; March 2002, Vol.10 Issue 1, p43-49. This article discusses the similarities between child marriage and child prostitution. In recent years, increasing numbers of NGOs, human rights advocates, politicians, cultural elites and members of the general public are beginning to recognize the similarities between the two practices. This article provides detailed explanations of the various ways that children, especially girls, are harmed by this traditional practice. UNICEF (2005). The State of the Worlds Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible. New York. Retrieved October 6, 2006 from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2006_English_Report_rev(1).pdf This report details the condition of children all around the world. It discusses those Millennium Development Goals (adopted by 189 countries in 2000) that relate to children, and the progress that has been made on those goals. It discusses the problems associated with early marriage for children and what countries and regions are most affected by it. UNICEF (2005). Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice. New York. Retrieved October 5, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Early_Marriage_12.lo.pdf This text analyzes household survey data from the Demographic and Health Surveys to gauge child marriage levels by country. It also provides analysis of how the practice correlates with other indicators. The report also presents a global assessment of differentials in child marriage rates according to socioeconomic and demographic variables, and access to sexual and reproductive health information and materials. It also reveals potential strategies for promoting the delay of marriage. UNICEF: Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse. Homepage. Retrieved October 8, 2006, from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index.html

This web page gives you a comprehensive look at what UNICEF does in the name of child protection. It provides links to information on specific child protection topics, including child marriage. It relation to the various issues it provides background information, programs that UNICEF is involved in, current events, legal standards, statistics, and resources. Walter, Lynn (Editor-in-Chief), The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Womens Issues Worldwide, V.1-6. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2003. This six-volume set provides data on a number of womens issues in more than 130 countries around the world. It provides a broad outline of topics associated with womens issues, including early marriage of young girls.