Fewer children are dying, more are in school, UNICEF says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Twenty years after the U.N. adopted a treaty guaranteeing children’s rights, 1 billion children are still deprived of food, shelter or clean water, and nearly 200 million are chronically malnourished, UNICEF said Thursday.

There are some bright spots — fewer youngsters are dying, and more are going to school, the U.N. children’s agency said in a report issued on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said the convention “has transformed the way children are viewed and treated throughout the world.”

“As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, the convention stands at a pivotal moment,” she told a news conference.

“Its relevance remains timeless. The challenge for the next 20 years is to build on the progress achieved, working together to reach those children who are still being denied their rights to survival, development, protection and participation.”

The convention has the widest support of any human-rights treaty, with ratifications legally binding 193 countries to its provisions. But not all countries are implementing its requirements, Veneman said.

Only two countries — the United States and Somalia — have not ratified it. The Clinton administration signed the convention but never submitted it to the Senate for ratification because a number of groups argued it infringed on the rights of parents and was inconsistent with state and local laws.

Over the past 20 years, she said, more than 70 countries have used the convention to incorporate codes protecting children and ensuring their rights into national legislation.

The convention has also brought measures “to ensure that children are safeguarded from violence, abuse, discrimination and exploitation,” Veneman said.

Still, the report said that between 500 million and 1.5 billion children are estimated to experience violence annually. Among those attending the news conference was a former child soldier from Uganda, 29-year-old Grace Akallo.

The report noted one of the convention’s outstanding achievements was the improvement in child survival. The number of deaths of children under 5 decreased from around 12.5 million in 1990 to an estimated 8.8 million in 2008 — a 28 percent decline, it said.

In 2002, some 115 million children weren’t going to school, but in 2007, the number dropped to 101 million, the report said. However, though the gender gap has narrowed, girls are still losing out, it said.

Nevertheless, UNICEF said children’s rights are far from assured.

“It is unacceptable that children are still dying from preventable causes, like pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition,” Veneman said in a statement. “Many of the world’s children will never see the inside of a school room, and millions lack protection against violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and neglect.”