The 68th General Assembly is on its way in New York, and delegates to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded on the 18th October a three-day debate on the rights of children. Featuring 46 statements by Member States, the general debate focused on the protection and promotion of the rights of children. Each delegate outlined the substantial national investments they were taking to improve the lives of children.
Citing the Nobel laureate in economics, James Heckman, who said that early interventions to help disadvantaged children had the best effect and were being economically profitable, Norway’s delegate informed the Assembly that each marginalized child who dropped out of the system cost any society the equivalent of about $2 million. “Failing to intervene and invest in children carries a high price for any society,” she said.
The delegates of Algeria, Rwanda, the Democratic of Congo, Montenegro, Vietnam and Swaziland, among others, highlighted national policies and strategies to support families facing multiple challenges in the care of their children including poverty and social exclusion, and to support children deprived of parental care. The delegates of Iran and Egypt, among others, underlined that with 2015 approaching, the rights and welfare of children should be placed at the centre of the post-2015 agenda.
