ISTANBUL - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy said on Monday that the campaign named ''All Children Have Equal Rights'' was related with hope, not with despair.
The First General Assembly of Non Governmental Organizations-UNICEF Communication Network which brings together representatives of non-governmental organizations of 27 countries started in Istanbul the same day.
Speaking in the meeting, Bellamy said that world leaders promised to ''create a world suitable for children'' in the U.N. Special Session on Children last year and confirmed their loyalty to children's rights.
Bellamy noted that the new campaign was launched in Turkey and Turkey joined the former campaign named ''Yes For Children'' with 16 million signatures. That participation was not a coincidence, Bellamy said.
Noting that the new campaign was related with hope not with despair like the campaign entitled ''Yes For Children'', Bellamy said that the campaign was an opportunity to remind that the citizens were not only the circle which was obliged to create a protective environment to help ensuring welfare to the most marginal and excluded children.
Bellamy stated that exclusion was a permanent situation for millions of children.
It was the children of the rural area which were affected the most by poverty, Bellamy pointed out.
Bellamy said that 10 percent of the children excluded from the society were the physically and mentally disabled children due to insufficient nutrition and diseases.
Stating that more than 18 people children were excluded from the society due to poverty, Bellamy said that more than one million children were staying in institutions not with their families.
A total of 2.2 million people were displaced till 2000, Bellamy noted. She said that almost one million people, most of whom were women and children, became refugees.
Bellamy said that poverty, ethnic differences, mental and physical handicaps, settlement in state institutions, effects of conflicting areas, social ownership discrimination, and AIDS were the main reasons for exclusion.
Those issues were the main themes of the campaign, Bellamy stated.
Bellamy said that Turkish government, Children's Rights Coalition and young people would launch education campaign for children in eastern Van province together with UNICEF the following day.
Fight against exclusion and discrimination were the first and leading responsibility of the governments, Bellamy pointed out.
Bellamy added that starting global movement for children could be possible with cooperation like they started the same day.
European Union (EU) Commission's Representative to Turkey Hansjoerg Kretschmer said that Turkey took very positive steps in many issues such as ending discrimination between legitimate and illegitimate children.
Kretschmer noted that however, there were still some deficiencies in Turkey.
There were issues to be changed in Turkey in accordance with the European Social Charter, Kretschmer pointed out.
Kretschmer noted that Turkey had signed a protocol against child abuse and pornography.
International Labor Organization (ILO) appreciated Turkey's efforts to prevent child labor, Kretchmer stated. However, he said, it was predicted that there were almost 900 thousand child laborers in Turkey.
Kretschmer noted that Turkey would sign the protocol on prevention of joining of children in armed clash and that works related with that issue had to be accelerated.
Turkey signed conventions on establishment of child's courts and child's police in 2001, Kretschmer said.
Stating that those conventions had not been put into practice throughout the country yet, Kretschmer said that efforts should be accelerated.
Noting that EU Commission provided finance to Turkey regarding those projects, Kretschmer drew attention to establishment of child's courts and child's police stations in every country as soon as possible and training of Turkish police department.
The EU also extended support to train girls in different regions in Turkey, Kretschmer said.
Kretschmer pointed out that two million children could not receive education before the eight-year compulsory basic education reform in Turkey.
Noting that the EU extended 100 million Euro assistance to Turkey for the basic education reform, Kretschmer stated that Turkey's efforts had been appreciated.
Pointing out that the Turkish government exerted efforts to eliminate shortcomings, Kretschmer added that poverty and lack of education were the reasons of all those problems.
(BRC-AÖ) 16.06.2003