A/34/PV.39 General Assembly

I call first on the representative of Norway, to introduce draft resolution A/34/L.4/Rev.2.

I have the honour, on behalf of the sponsors, of introducing the revised draft resolution on the International Year of the Child, contained in document A/34/L.4/Rev.2. It is sponsored by 66 countries. 3. In this year's draft resolution the main emphasis is on the follow-up activities of the International Year of the Child. The preambular part makes reference to the situation of children in a wider perspective. In the second to the fifth preambular paragraphs, previous resolutions on the International Year of the Child and related questions are recalled'. The need of children for a harmonious and healthy environment from the time of birth onwards is noted in the sixth preambular paragraph. At the same time, it is recognized that the link between programmes benefiting children and the observance of their rights is not only important to the children themselves, but it is also part of a broader and more comprehensive framework of over-all economic and social development. Preparation of the younger generation is essential for sustained economic progress. The observance of the Year can therefore be considered as a step towards the attainment of the goals of the New International Economic Order. This is reflected in the first, eighth and ninth preambular paragraphs. The response to the International Year of the Child has been world-wide, as shown by the debate in the plenary meetings of the Assembly, and, while recognizing this fact in the tenth preambular paragraph, we want to emphasize that the activities generated and the new perspectives opened up by the Year must be followed up by appropriate action, as stated in the thirteenth preambular paragraph. In the eleventh preambular paragraph, there is a reference to the conclusions and recommendations of the International Seminar on Children under Apartheid, held this summer under the auspices of UNESCO. This paragraph is identical to the first Nigerian amendment in document A/34/L.S.

The positive response of many Member States to the proclamation of 1979as the International Year of the Child has been clearly 839 A/34/PV.39 NEW YORK 4. In proclaiming the International Year of the Child, it was agreed that the emphasis should be placed on activities on the national level. Thus it follows that Governments will play a key role in the follow-up activities of the Year. In operative paragraph 3, Governments are urged to consolidate and build further on the results of the Year by measures such as planning of programmes and services benefiting children, further identifying the needs of their children and setting specific national targets and goals for meeting the needs of children. S. Operative paragraph 5 requests Governments and organizations to develop special programmes of assistance to the children oppressed by the inhuman policy of apartheid. This paragraph is identical with the second Nigerian amendment in document A/34/L.S. 6. Governments and organizations providing assistance to developing countries are urged, in operative paragraph 6, to increase the flow of such assistance. In operative paragraph 7, the importance of long-term plans and action to improve the situation of children, especially in the developing countries, is stressed. 7. In operative paragraph 8, we designate UNICEF as the lead agency with the responsibility of co-ordinating the follow-up activities of the Year, in consultation with the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation. At the same time, it is noted in operative paragraph 9 that UNICEF itself will consider the scope of its co-operation with countries as a follow-up of the Year. The non-governmental organizations, which have also played an important role during the Year, are, in operative paragraph 11, invited to expand their programmes related to children. 8. We are aware that a wide range of activities have taken place in Member States during 1979and that some time is still needed in order to evaluate their impact. In operative paragraph 10, we have provided for the possibility of such an exchange of experience between Governments as well as organs and organizations of the United Nations system through the Secretary-General, who will give an oral report on this matter to the thirtyfifth session of the Assembly. 9. In the last operative paragraph, the Preparatory Committee for the New International Development Strategy is requested to take into account the need of children in elaborating its goals and objectives. This will help to ensure that the interests of children are being safeguarded in the years to come. 10. In commending the draft resolution on the International Year of the Child to this Assembly, I should like to express our belief that it will be possible to adopt it by consensus. 13. There seems to be no lack of conviction in the international community about the need for each State to provide a framework for advocacy on behalf of its children. However, the success of the International Year will depend on our ability to translate noble sentiments into concrete and sustained action. 14. In third-world countries, where areas of development relevant to the needs of children - for example health, nutrition, sanitation and education - are already important elements of their national planning, it will be necessary to expand these areas and emphasize their relationship to the goals of the Ir.ternational Year of the Child. The developed countries,which may have to deal less with problems of poverty than with socio-psychological problems, can provide valuable external assistance to help the developing countries, particularly the least developed, provide essential services for as many children as possible. IS. The Secretary-General's report on the Interna- 'tional Year of the Child [A/34/452 and Add.1] points out that many of the developed countries appear to be waiting for a clearer identification of the needs of developing countries before making specific commitments. Since the present debate is an action-oriented one in which countries have the opportunity to outline their problems and needs, my delegation hopes that our discussions will provide a practical basis for the mobilization of the financial resources necessary for carrying out programmes to improve the well-being of our children. Assistance can, of course, bcgiven directly through specific United Nations agencies or through the Fund for ~h~ International Year of the Child. 16. In my countrythe Somali Democratic Republic-we have made a strong effort to evaluate our policies for children and to devise programmes for their benefit. Our National Commission for the International Year of the Child is headed by President Mohammed Siad Barre, and is composed of representatives of Government Ministries and of national organizations of a social or charitable nature. We have set up a number of ';\~tional objectives and have drawn up programmes to 1;el;l' us achieve these objectives. We are attempting, for example, to increase public awareness of the needs of children through various media campaigns and events. In the field of health we are determined to reduce the mortality of infants and mothers through vaccination campaigns, through increased provision of maternal and child health centres and through dissemination of information on nutrition. 17. Education is, of course, a major component of national planning for the needs of children. In the context of the International Year of the Child we are seeking to implement compulsory elementary education in rural and nomad areas, and we are expanding school construction in all areas of the country. In addition, we are 18. Somalia's firm belief in the importance of its children and its dedication to their welfare and sociopsychological development was strongly reaffirmed by President Barre earlier this year when he said that in every progressive society the young people are the most dynamic force, germinating the seeds of nationalism and providing the leaders of tomorrow. Supported by this philosophy we are achieving many of our goals. However, our efforts in all the directions I have mentioned have been greatly complicated by the fact that our society is largely nomadic. 19. Two other factors which have placed restraints on our development capabilities have been, first. the drought, which devastated our country five years ago, necessitating a vast resettlement scheme and, secondly, the influx into our country of approximately 1 million refugees - many of them children - as a result of the recent conflict in the Horn of Africa. Among the problems attending the resettlement of nomads in agricultural and farming communities was the redirection of the energies of children accustomed to the nomadic life. One of our solutions was the creation of children's organizations at the community level called "Flowers of the Revolution", which encouraged children to participate in self-help schemes and fostered creative expression through Somali music and dance. 20. With regard to the refugees, we have done our utmost to provide for their basic needs, to ensure that they do not become second-class citizens and to integrate them into our society, if they so desire. As stated in the addendum to the Secretary-General's report, our vaccination campaigns for children have been carried out in all the refugee camps and we are preparing national refugee legislation which will benefit refugee children, in accordance with the relevant international conventions. But it can be readily understood that an insupportable burden has been placed on our country, which is one of the least'developed. We hope that the plight of the refugees will be seen as an international responsibility and that either directly or through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeeswhich has already been of great assistance - the situation of these unfortunate neople can be improved. 21. I have outlined Somalia's national policies and programmes for its children both in the general context of development and in that of the International Year of the Child. My delegation believes that attention must be also paid to the international conditions which members of;:ae world community are establishing for the world's cl.ildren. We support, first of all, the initiatives being developed by the Commission or tillman Rights for an international convention on the rights of the child, but those rights may never be enjoyed if policies of shortterm material benefit lead I,.. tJ bequeath polluted air, oceano; and environments to '.rchildren. Furthermore, our efforts to provide for .he nurturing and proper development of children seem almost irrelevant when we consider the billions of dollars spent on armaments 22. I wish at this juncture to express the deep appreciation and gratitude of the Somali children, peoples and Government and of the refugees to UNICEF and its Executive Director for their untiring efforts and assistance towards the alleviation of the many problems besetting children in our part of the world. Our thanks also go to FAO, WHO and UNESCO, which have all played, and continue to play, a vital role in the fight against disease, malnutrition and illiteracy among children and mothers in our country. 23. Like the framers of the United Nations Charter, we must recognize our obligations with regard to "succeeding generations". Like the framers of the Charter, we must reaffirm faith in the dignity and worth of the human person, and surely the most important beneficiaries of this faith must be our children. Finally, Somalia would have liked to become a sponsor of draft resolution A/34/L.4/Rev.2.

The Sri Lanka delegation deems it an honour and privilege to participate in the debate on.,he International Year of the Child, i.e., on plans and action to improve the situation of children in the world, particularly in the developing countries. From the time the idea of observing a particular year as the International Year of the Child was mooted in UNICEF in 1974, Sri Lanka has taken a keen interest in evolving the programme of the Year with a view to giving it a practical slant that would be of direct benefit to the child, oarticularly the deprived child. The main objective of the Year has been to encourage a significant rise in the le~el of services that can be of immediate and relevant benefit to the child and ensuring that such services are maintained on a permanent basis. Although the emphasis is on the child in the developing countries, the International Year of the Child was envisaged as concerning itself with all children throughout the world, and designed to mobilize support for national and local action programmes that are specifically adapted to each country's conditions, needs and priorities. It was sought to achieve such programmes by making a conscious effort at both international and national levels for the provision of services that would benefit the child in developing countries. Government support, forthcoming in the first instance, was recognized as being not the only method by which such services Were to be provided. Voluntary participation by individuals, national organizations and non-governmental organizations was all brought into the proposed observance of the Year of the Child. 2S. In this context, we regard the report of the Secretary-General of 3 October 1979 [A/34/452], transmitting the report of the Executive Director of UNICEF as a document of prime importance. The emphasis of General Assembly resolution 33/83 of 1S December 1978that the report should be comprehensive and action-oriented has, to tf.. ~ gratification of the Sri Lanka delegation, been borne in mind. We wish to congratulate the Executive Director of UNICEF on the manner in which the report has been compiled and for the advice and directions that have been recommended to national Governments in assessing the efforts that have so far been made to study the situation and needs of the children in their countries and in deciding, as paragraph 7 of the report states, "as a result, what 26. The Sri Lanka delegation proposes to outline briefly the experience that its Government has gained so far in the International Year of the Child and also to describe the action-oriented programmes that have been devised for the development of the child in Sri Lanka. In the first place, in pursuance of the suggestion made by UNICEF, a Sri Lanka International Year of the Child secretariat was set up in November 1977. It is not without significance that the Government decided that the secretariat should be part of the Ministry of Plan Implementation, whose Minister is the President of Sri Lanka himself. The central committee of the secretariat consists of the executive heads of the ministries directly concerned with the welfare of children, namely, the ministries of education, health, social services and cultural affairs, among others. The chairman of the secretariat appropriately is the head of the Ministry of Plan Implementation, and he is assisted by a full-time executive secretary of the secretariat. In order to obtain the fullest possible co-operation of all sectors of the people of Sri Lanka, a committee of non-governmental organizations and a panel of experts act as advisors to the secretariat. 27. The work of the secretariat for the International Year of the Child in Sri Lanka has been enhanced by the keen and active interest of His Excellency President J. R. Jayewardene, who persuaded Mrs. Jayewardene to be the patron of the secretariat. In addition, the President has demonstrated his abiding interest in this vital subject by issuing a special message in his capacity as Head of State welcoming and endorsing the aims and objectives of the International Year of the Child. That the observance of this Year is timely and has helped Sri Lanka to focus attention on the needs of the child as an essential part of the socio-economic development of Sri Lanka is reflected in his words: "We are aware of the vital link between social development and the welfare of children and, although Sri Lanka has achieved relatively high literacy rates and long life-expectancy, further progress in the situation of our young generation is necessary to achieve the goals of our nation." 28. As we are all aware, in Sri Lanka as in many other developing countries, UNICEF has been playing an active and purposeful role. It is, therefore, not out of place for the Sri Lanka delegation to pay its own tribute to the indefatigable workers in UNICEF who have in a practical and tangible manner been operating in Sri Lanka, not only in the context of the Year of the Child, but from as early as 19S2. No doubt all these efforts have been crystallized, as it were, in this Year of the Child. From the time that UNICEF began its operations in Sri Lanka in 19S2, programmes totalling $6 million in the fields of health, nutrition, education, child care and water supply have been undertaken by UNICEF in Sri Lanka. When we take into account that almost 40 per cent of the population in Sri Lanka is below 1Syears of age and that half of this percentage is below S years of age, it will be seen how UNICEF has participated in the pioneerin ~ task of the Government of Sri Lanka. Much remains to be done and weare of the viewthat the International Year of the Child that we are now observing is truly an opportune time to focus on the need to apprise 30. I take this opportunity to outline in this debate the specific programmes that have been initiated and are now under implemeruation by the Government of Sri Lanka for the children of Sri Lanka. I do so because this debate is the outcome of the "comprehensive and action-oriented" approach that the General Assembly resolution of last year called for. It is our hope that the account I have given so far is comprehensive. This latter part of my contribution is to refer to the concrete action taken in Sri Lanka. Thanks to assistance being provided by UNICEF, 2,500 small schools are being supplied with basic necessities. With assistance from various sources in addition to our own resources. we provide all school children with a free midday meal. This is in addition to the free education scheme that ensures that education from the kindergarten to the university is made available to all children irrespective of the level of income of the parents. Thus. one of the highest rates of literacy yet achieved in the world has been due to the efforts of Sri Lanka, made possible by utilizing a greater part of our limited resources for the benefit of our children. 31. The International Year of the Child has focused attention on the libraries that local government bodies in Sri Lanka operate. It is now compulsory for the 25 such libraries that exist to have children's sections. In the cultural field, 17 May 1979 was observed by the Ministry of Education's organizing children's festivities in all schools. 32. Non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka have beenprovided the opportunity to advise the secretariat of activities of their own devoted to the welfare of the children and also to promote such activities. The fields on which they are concentrating are 33. It would not be out of place for me to refer to one more organization that has taken a deep and abiding interest in making its own contribution to the International Year of the Child in Sri Lanka. I refer to the projects that the Save the Children Fund has undertaken in Sri Lanka. This Fund set up an advisory committee in 1978 to select a site and to make a base-line study in Sri Lanka and in March 1979. as a result of that study. the major problems and needs of a particular area were identified. Diseases consequent upon insufficient sanitation. unhygienic water supply, and inadequa.te latrines and garbage disposal are being tackled. The Save the Children Fund is providing technical assistance in these and related fields. Further projects are also being examined. We are indeed grateful to the Save the Children Fund for the effective and timely assistance being given to the welfare of the child in Sri Lanka. 34. These are the major areas in which the secretariat of the International Year of the Child in Sri Lanka is actively engaged. We are grateful to that body for providing this opportunity for us in Sri Lanka to spotlight and to create the climate specifically suited to the development of the child in Sri Lanka. It is our hope that the momentum generated in this Year of the Child will be carried forward in the years to come and that with the able and active assistance of UNICEF we shall make ever more progress for the benefit and welfare of the child, who is, after all, the citizen of tomorrow. We have no doubt that these principles which are being instilled into the child of today will become a part and parcel of the legacy of our country.

Mr. President. since my Minister waived his right to speak during the general debate and therefore could not congratulate you from this rostrum. it now devolves on me to extend to you on behalf of the Gambian delegation sincere congratulation on your unanimous election to the high office of President of the thirty-fourth session of the Assembly. Your election. Mr. President. is a well-deserved tribute to you personally and a testimony to the skill. industry and discipline of your great country and people. The United Republic of Tanzania has always played and continues to play a vital role in the promotion of the aspirations of the peoples of Africa. of the third world and•.indeed. of the world at large. With your wide experience. dedication and fairness. you will no doubt guide the proceedings of this Assembly to a successful conclusion. I can assure you. Mr. President. that during your tenure of office, as always, discipline and cooperation will accompany the acts of every member of my delegation. 36. There is no doubt that the International Year of the Child has inspired new initiatives to give meaning to the rights of the child. and to protect children against all forms of neglect. cruelty and exploitation. But we must now be more vigilant as the International Year of the Child comes to an end to see to it that the new gains, the new perspectives and increased awareness of the universality of children's needs do not fade away with the passing of 1979. 38. We in the developing world are aware of the fact that we cannot enhance the welfare of our children without sustained progress in our national development programmes. It is for this reason that my Government is vigorously involved in the implementation of several programmes which will not only contribute to our socioeconomic development, but will also particularly enhance the well-being of all children in the Gambia. 39. The health and nutrition status of the population of the Gambia resembles that of most West African countries: it is characterized by a vicious cycle of malnutrition and a high incidence of diarrhoea, parasitic and infectious diseases resulting in exceedingly high infant and child mortality. Most diseases causing sickness, disability and death affect children and mothers. With mothers and children forming the majority of the population, the establishment of health programmes aimed at meeting the basic needs of the child is a priority of the Gambia Government. 40. Nationwide immunization activities have been organized in the past in vaccination campaigns against measles and smallpox. Immunization IS an important tool in the control of whooping cough, measles, tetanus, smallpox, tuberculosis, diphtheria and polio. Some immunization has been carried out in the maternal and child health clinics, and it is proposed to increase vaccination work in those clinics. 41. It is the Gambia Government's policy to create a fully integrated referral system within reasonable reach of the whole population by stt.engthening existing health infrastructure. The proposed maternal child health scheme involves reorganization and additions to existing health facilities. Ute aim is to offer combined mother and child clinics, in place of the separate sessions, thus widening the scope and coverage of the programme and standardizing activities. 42. The maternal and child health objectives are as follows: first, to improve and strengthen maternal and child health activities, extending these to cover 85 per cent of pregnant women and children under five, by 1985; secondly, to immunize all those attending clinics according to standard schedules; thirdly, to standardize activities according to methods tested in pilot areas; fourthly, .to incorporate the maternal and child health programme into the basic health services; and fifthly, to reduce maternal and child mortality by 50 per cent. 43. Of about 30,000 children born in the Gambia about 8,000 are delivered in institutions by trained midwives. However, the majority of deliveries, especially in the rural areas, are carried out by traditional birth attendants who have little or no training in the care of the pregnant woman during labour and delivery. There is an urgent need to id~ntify and train the traditional birth attendants in safe methods of labour and delivery. A na- 45. This project has already begun..Its foundation will be an exhaustive survey of the project areas' current health and sanitation status. 46. The introduction of day-care centres is of comparatively recent origin. These are institutions for the care of healthy children who cannot be looked after in their own homes for several hours of the day. They are not substitutes for family care; they supplement it. Daycare centres should never be thought of merely as places for mothers to leave their children when they go to work. The early years of life are the most formative and without proper stimulation in th;", period, a child may suffer lasting mental and psychological trauma. Among the various functions of the day-care centre clinics, the most important is regular supervision of the health and growth of the child. 47. On the subject of education, Gambia has recently introduced a system of free but non-compulsory primary education which is already in effect. The ultimate aim is eventually to introduce free compulsory primary education as soon as sufficient accommodation and staff are available. 48. The school feeding programme exists in a number of primary and secondary schools in the country where cooking facilities are available. Our main objective is to extend this programme to all schoolsin the country in order to combat malnutrition and improve the health of our children, particularly those in the rural areas. 49. The programmes I have mentioned are only a few of many such programmes, which are in direct response to the challenge we post ourselves by declaring 1979the International Year of the Child. SO. Gambia shares the view that undernourished children cannot absorb education, and that emotional deprivation in children can have far-reaching consequences which are as damaging as those resulting from physical deprivation. In this regard, therefore, my delegation feels compelled to draw attention to the fact that while we celebrate the International Year of the Child, the black children of South Africa, because of afHlrth~id, continue to be subjected to rampant malnutrition, high infant mortality and inadequate social and welfare services. 51. Toe challenge for action to ensure that children receive a higher national priority, in terms of planning, the allocation of resources, and operational programmes and services must be faced with a concomitant pledge to carryon the children's struggle against apartheid. The international community must remember that 58. Moreover, the childis important not only for sentimental and altruistic reasons, but also for practical reasons that I! '~ relevant to our work here. Today's children are the brickswith which the verystructure of tomorrow's "uman society and the new international political, economic and social order will be built. The healthier and the stronaer these bricks of the social edifice are and the sounder the structure of human society, the more secure man's future will be. The leaders, the workers, the soldiers and the diplomatsofa world that is earnestlystrivina to rid itself of conflicts and the scourge of war will come from amona the children we are talking about today. 61. Mydelegation is particularlygratifiedto note that the observance of the International Year of the Child coincides with the first year of an intensive economic and cultural development campaign going on in Ethiopia. That is especially relevant and of particular importance to us since we cannot view the well-being and development of the child in isolation from the generalconditions of socialexistence. The social conditions which existed under the decadent feudal order are too well knownto requiredescription. In that regard, it will be sufficient to point out that the country had been kept in extreme backwardness for far too long. 62. The Ethiopian revolution thus inherited from the feudal-bourgeois order of the past conditions of abject poverty and extreme misery. It was a country in which disease, famine, illiteracy and other socialills were rampant, one in which the infant mortalityrate was247 per thousand and the maternal mortality rate, 20 per thousand. It wasprecisely because of those appalling conditions that a genuine social revolution erupted in Ethiopia five years ago, and a new era dawned of hope and progress for the adults and children of mycountry. 63. It is against that background that we are today striving to establish a new society in which true freedom, equality, peace and progress will prevail. And in this lofty objective of our revolution the child has a central place, because raising the child is the only sure way of creating "the new man". 64. Emphasizing the importance of this task, our Head of State, Comrade Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam, stated on the occasion of the inauguration of the International Year of the Child in Ethiopia on 15 January 1979: "... bitter is the lot of our country's children who, because of dislocation in life and upbringing, are now without shelter and reduced to beggary. This year is not one of euphoria or of celebration but rather one during which each one of us should resolve, and implement such resolutions, to make unreserved efforts to improve the future prospects of these deprived tender youth." 65. Thus we are committed to mobilizing all the human and material resources of our motherland to make the future of our children brighter, for, in the words of Comrade Mengistu, cc••• unless we come to their aid without a moment'sdelay,wewill besufferingfromgreatpangsof conscience because of the. horrid fate that isbound to 67. If the achievements to date are to be taken as indices of what the future has in store for the Ethiopian child, we have every reason to be optimistic. The progress made especially in the field of education has indeed been gratifying. In 1978 alone, 200 new schools were built and are now fully operational. In the course of the current year 511 more are being constructed. While attendance at pre-school centres before the revolution was 30 to 40 children per centre, the number has now grown to between 100 and 200, while participation of children of primary-school age has increased from 19 per cent to 28 per cent. In absolute figures the number of students has increased from 860,000 to 1,350,000-an increase of nearly half a million over what had been achieved during the last 32 years. An additional 9,000 primary-school teachers have been employed and... a new curriculum, adapted to the practical requirements of the child, has been designed to meet the needs of the country. 68. In the area of health results have also been encouraging. Since 1974, the number of paediatric clinics has been substantially increased. Vaccination campaigns conducted during the last five years have already eradicated some communicable diseases which had claimed the lives of thousands of our children in the past. Mother and child health service programmes have been expanded. 69. Great improvements have also been made in the area of nutrition. The Btbiopiar, Nutrition Institute, for example, has developed two infant formulas which are now being commercially produced in the country. 70. The mass organizations of the country have been waging a cultural campaign with a view to liberating the Ethiopian child who had long been the victim of cultural oppression, inhibition and anachronistic feudal practices not conducive to the wholesome development of the child's personality. An intensive national literacy campaign is being conducted, with the mass organizations at the forefront. Consequently, some 3 million men and women were taught to read and write in 1979 alone. We consider this to be a positive, though perhaps modest, factor in our endeavour to create better parents. 71. As a socialist country, Ethiopia invests a substantial portion of its resources in the future and in this venture the welfare of the child is bound to be the central element since that is indeed the single most important factor which will determine our fate as a people. For that reason my country welcomed with enthusiasm the resolution adopted by the General Assembly that this year be observed throughout the world as the International Year of the Child. 72. In response to that historic call, we established the Ethiopian National Commission which was entrusted with the task of co-ordinating all endeavours aimed at 73. As to future programmes of action, our short-term strategy includes at least one pre-schoel unit per higher urban dwellers' association and the training of nursery school and kindergarten teachers, the expansion of daycare centres, the achievement of universal primary education as early as possible, the eradication of illiteracy, the training of 10,000 primary-school teachers, on-the-job training for health workers in mother and child health care, the supply and distribution of medicines and vaccines in the rural areas, the expansion and construction of new hospitals and clinics, the registration and training of traditional birth attendants in modern techniques of midwifery, the expansion of feeding programmes, and so on. 74. In this regard, the proclamation of the month of October as the Month of the Child by my Government is aimed at helping to maintain the momentum of activities carried out for and in the name of the child. 75. Much remains to be done in the field of child development, and yet the fruits of the first year of our development campaign are greatly encouraging. Thus, we shall continue to wage a war on hunger, disease and ignorance in order to assure a better future for the children of our country. This, we hope, will contribute to the collective endeavours of the international community aimed at building a better world. 76. Before I conclude my statement, I should like to express my delegation's full support for draft resolution A/34/L.4/Rev.2 and at the same time to announce that we have joined in sponsoring that draft.

In this debate on the International Year of the Child where so many distinguished speakers - in particular, First Ladies and chairpersons of national committees - have already contributed so much, my delegation would have had nothing to say were it not for the unique position of Lebanon in this connexion. Indeed, it is important for us that we should underline that, despite five years of war, Lebanon has, almost as an act of faith, shared in its own modest way in the international efforts of the United Nations. 78. A National Committee has been established under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic, grouping representatives of both governmental and private organizations. The Committee has five subcommittees dealing with legislation, research, studies, co-ordination of local and international contracts, and publicity and public relations. 79. New legislation is being enacted, inspired by the International Year of the Child, aimed at, for instance, perfecting compulsory education and preventing abusive child labour.· A large number of recreational and cultural activities have been inaugurated, such as the National Children's Theatre and artistic centres and 80. Despite the events in Lebanon with which we are all familiar, the Lebanese Government has found it possible to take part in three international conferences-in Brussels, Moscow and Budapest-within the scope of the International Year of the Child. Moreover, national conferences and seminars are being held on the topics of child welfare and rehabilitation,on living conditions in war-affected areas and on the Importance of literary and scientific extra-curricular programmes through books and audio-visual media, in children's education. Above all, our main theme has been to bring happiness to the sad and frightened child, since an entire generation of Lebanese children has been literally traumatized by the horrors of war. 81. It was natural that in a country afflicted by war much of the nation's efforts should be devoted to the rehabilitation of the child population. Thousands of children have been the innocent victims-casualties, orphans, disabled, amputees-let alone those who were caught in hurricanes of violence and drama and sometimes drawn, against their will, into addiction to various social, as wellas physical, evils. Innumerable institutions have been created-some strictly by private institutions and some jointly with the Government-to heal the moral as wellas the physical wounds of a nation that has proved to the world beyond any doubt its determination to survive. In this context, I wish to take advantage of this occasion to state how indebted we feel and we are to all those who have extended a helping hand, to friendly Governments, to intergovernmental organizations and, finally, and in particular, to international agencies such as UNICEF. 82. We in Lebanon cannot praise the efforts and achievements of UNICEF too highly, and we are especially grateful to the Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. Henry Labouisse, for devoting special-I venture to say, loving-attention to our overwhelming problems. UNICEF has helped to provide food, medical supplies, blankets, clothing, cooking utensils and even soap. UNICEF has also assisted in the restoration of the water supply to urban and rural areas and has reequipped primary schools and social institutions. Furthermore, UNICEF has planned several long-term activities and has implemented a national network of basic service units, which offer local communities manpowertraining equipment and educational assistance. Finally, UNICEF has developed a three-to-five year plan for orphans in Lebanon to upgrade child-care institutions and to help formulate a national policy of servicesto them. This final measure acquires a special magnitude when one remembers that in war-torn Lebanon today wehave over 50,000 orphans out of a total population of 3 million. 84. This Lebanon, we say, not without some naivete, willbe our children's country, not ours. We are building it for them, but we believe that they, more than we, should be called upon and given the opportunity to create for themselves, gradually and in serenity, a better homeland and a better republic. This, we think, is an historical dimension of democracy, in which we have learned to believe, for we think that this course will shelter our body politic against social convulsions, revolts and revolutions, which we, as well as other developing countries, have experiencedsometimes at great cost. 85. Hence, our message today in this International Year of the Child is the lesson that we have learned from recent history. Indeed, responsibility must be the goal of education and rehabilitation, if we are to have, in our part of the world, societies where dedication to the motherland blends with earnestness in the search for moral values in Government. 86. We are eager-indeed, we are most eager-that our children should not carry with them into the society of the future any of the scars, moral or physical, that have been inflicted upon them in the past. We hope that for their sake, as well as for the sake of humanity, this society of the future will be one of joy, of love, confidence and international brotherhood. 87. In this International Year of the Child, this is the message of peace that we pray the world will join us in bringing to our martyred land.

In accordance with the General Assembly resolution proclaiming 1979 the International Year of the Child, it gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the delegation of the Yemen Arab Republic, to convey to you, and through you to the United Nations, our deep appreciation of its pioneering role, its wise resolution and its constructive sponsorship of all activities connected with the International Year of the Child. 89. The United Nations' concern for children is an important facet of its concern with political, social, cultural, economic and other problems. There is no doubt that the children of today will be the men of tomorrow, the bearers of the torch of the future. Childhood itself is the smile of today and the rising sun of tomorrow. We realize this and we feel it daily in our hearts, our minds and our hopes. The Yemen Arab Republic has joined all the other countries of the world in celebrating the International Year of the Child, realizing as it does the tremendous role the child will be called upon to play in the near future. At the same time, my Government has responded to the humane resolution adopted by the United Nations by taking a number of measures. 90. First, a national committee has been formed to prepare for the International Year of the Child. It is composed of the following organizations: the Office of the President, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry 91. Secondly, commemorative celebrations were organized in schools throughout the Republic during which the children presented artistic exhibits and took part in sporting events. The President of the Republic and Commander of the Armed Forces personally sponsored these celebrations, in connexion with which he issued a statement associating himself with the feelings and happiness of our nation on the occasion of the International Year. 92. Thirdly, the State has decided to open special children's departments in the State Civil Servants' Consumer Co-operatives in both the public and the semiprivate sectors and in the Economics Institute. These departments will be provided with all children's requirements as far as food and clothing are concerned, which will be sold at reasonable prices. 93. Fourthly, the Government decided to issue a postage stamp commemorating the Year and a calendar containing photographs and children's drawings. 94. In order to join with other nations in contributing to international peace and security, the immortal revolution of 26 September, which dates from 1962, is making every effort to resolve all problems. In the dark days of government by the Imams, Yemen suffered from poverty, ignorance and disease. The Yemeni people had to face those scourges with courage and determination. There can be no doubt that if the Yemeni citizens have been able to overcome all these difficulties and scourges, it is because they have devoted all their strength to eradicating and fighting them. For instance they have built schools and hospitals and they have established a national economy which satisfies the needs and requirements of Yemeni citizens. A glance at the statistics shows the differences since the revolution. For instance, on the level of education, there used to be 15 schools throughout Yemen, whereas today there are more than 700 primary schools, 320 preparatory schools and 150secondary schools. In addition there are many technical, industrial, agricultural and health institutes and schools, as well as the University of San'a, which has 6 faculties. The education provided by these schools, institutes and faculties is free and there is no discrimination and there are no exceptions. 95. In the field of health, the Government has approved a project submitted by the Preparatory Commission for the International Year of the Child under which certain mother and child health projects would be given hrst priority, instead of second priority as at present. Similarly many hospitals, health centres and health units have been established in different provinces of the Republic; 22 health centres, a new paediatric hospital and a new lying-in hospital have been opened in the capital and, in the other provinces, 34 health centres and 150 health units are now being established. 96. The Yemen Arab Republic is giving great attention to establishing social service centres in addition to those which already exist. The Government is determined to 98. This initiative will have a tremendous impact on the minds of the children of today throughout the world, and in this connexion we cannot forget that there are handicapped and delinquent children and orphans. The State is making every effort to provide essential services for these children within the framework of national efforts and taking advantage at the same time of the services provided by the United Nations and other international organizations operating in Yemen in the fields of health, social work, education and culture. 99. Although countries throughout the world have been organizing festivals and seminars and have been providing every facility for children, we should ask ourselves what we shall do in the future when hundreds of millions of children between the ages of 10 and 12 cannot read or writefor instance in the developing countries and in the least developed of the developing countries who constitute the majority of the international family. Thousands of children have not a mouthful to eat and are deprived of health and social services. They leave their countries in order to satisfy such essential needs as earning their livings, protecting their health and securing an education. 100. We are spending millions on armaments and war; would it not be more reasonable to spend that money on development and human progress and at the same time make children happy? That's why the United Nations must promptly establish the new international economic order. My Government urges the international organizations to expand their programmes and to continue their activities on behalf of children so that we may give them a happy life, a bright future full of hope, love and well-being for humanity. 101. In conclusion I should like to say that my delegation supports the draft resolution on the International Year of the Child.

General Assembly resolution 31/169 of 21 December 1976 proclaiming 1979 International Year of the Child, was a laudable recognition of the importance of the children of the world, whom the poet-philosopher Khalil Gibran so aptly described as "the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself". 103. In its desire to pay a special tribute to the child during this International Year, the Government of 104. The Committee acknowledged the existence of children's services provided by voluntary goups, religious organizations and the State, but at the same time identified the lacunae in a unified plan for child care services, State supervision of most of the existing services and laws protecting children. It therefore quickly set about drawing up a programme of strategies to deal with these aspects,' both in the long and the short term. lOS. The Committee initiated its work by identifying the pressing needs of children in society in order to provide a rationale for the International Year of the Child programme. These pressing needs were listed under four headings: the development of the child, the protection of the child, school and health needs of the child and the handicapped child. 106. These clearly defined areas of need laid the foundation on which the International Year of the Child programme was constituted in the five areas of social action, community action, research, education and creative play. In each of these five areas, the Committee made wide-ranging recommendations for State projects, which are at present receiving the concerted attention of the Government. 107. Among the suggested social action plans is the updating and changing of existing laws relating to children, such as new legislation regarding the right to inheritance of children born out of wedlock. 108. In the community programme, several organizations have put forward projects which are receiving financial assistance. These projects include day-care centres, seminars, adventure playgrounds and vacation schools. 109. The research facet of the programme has been designed to generate, collect and disseminate information pertinent to specific aspects of child development. Some areas meriting particular concern from the Committee are adolescent pregnancy ~ school drop-outs, low achievers, juvenile delinquency and leisure activities of children in depressed areas. 110. The most comprehensive social service provided by the Government for the care of the child in Trinidad and Tobago is in the field of education, where there is free primary and secondary education for all. The plans for provision of services for school children include free meals, free medical and dental care and free bus transport. A paediatric hospital is also included in these plans. It should also be noted that all schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago benefit from a special allowance to defray expenses incurred in the purchase of schoolbooks. The National Organizing Committee has also sought State assistance for training and scholarship programmes to be offered in various aspects of child care. 112. Two of the highly successful creative programmes were the visit to Trinidad and Tobago in April 1979 of the Little Theatre of the National Theatre of the Deaf of Connecticut, United States of America, and four rallies devoted to artistic performances by the children themselves which took place on 1October 1979 to mark Universal Children's Day, 113. My delegation wishes to commend the International Year of the Child secretariat and its very devoted Special Representative, Mrs. Estefania Aldaba-Lim, for their untiring efforts to make the international community more conscious of the condition of children all over the world. There can be no doubt that the activities of the International Year of the Child secretariat have instilled in many of us a renewed appreciation of children, whom my Prime Minister has described as "our greatest capital investment". 114. In this connexion we particularly welcome the announcement of a project to assist the 60 national commissions for the International Year of the Child to compile and review their countries' laws affecting the rights of the child in such areas as education, health, food and nutrition, and job opportunities, in the light of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and other human rights principles. A plan of classification of the relevant laws has already been prepared and translated into Spanish by the Inter-American Children's Institute of the Organization of American States and into French by the International Year of the Child secretariat. My delegation commends this very meaningful and worthy project and hopes that it will attract universal participation. I1S. Trinidad and Tobago is deeply appreciative of the work of UNICEF and hopes that that body will continue expertly to perform its function as the lead agency for child-related issues in the United Nations system. We for our part intend to ensure that the end of the International Year of the Child 1979 in no way diminishes our keen interest in and our determination to take action to meet the special needs of our own children and, indeed, of children all over the world. It would be less than noble of us if we were not to highlight the cause of those children who live in societies where they are deprived of their right to full development-indeed, where they are deprived of their very right to childhood-because of systems of racism, racial discrimination and apartheid and circumstances of war. 116. My delegation wishes to mention a special fund of SO million Trinidad and Tobago dollars which was earmarked by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to the normal annual subventions, for the further improvement of: 117. In the opinion of my delegation, there can be no conclusion to international debate on the child since in a very real sense every year is international children's year. The well-being of children is inextricably linked with the peace and prosperity of tomorrow's world. Their value cannot be measured in terms of dollars and cents, but in the spiritual strength and beauty which they bring to a society. By way of conclusion, I wish to share with the children of the world, through this Assembly, part of a message directed by the President of Trinidad and Tobago to the children of Trinidad and Tobago on the occasion of the launching of the International Year of the Child, 1979, words which may be inspiring to all of us who have long since "put away childish things". I quote: "As you travel along the path of life, you must have a sense of direction that will help to steer you away from the dangers and pitfalls and lead you to the goals and objectives you have set for yourself. If you do not establish these goals and objectives, then there are no sign-posts to help you determine whither you are heading, whether you have arrived or whether you are proceeding in the wrong direction. You are then a drifter, tossed about by every changing fad that happens to be in vogue. You need a sense of perspective if you are to distinguish between what is essential and what is not, how you yourself relate to others in your community,how your community fits into the nation or how your nation fits into the entire fellowship of man". 118. If it is true, as has been reflected by so many statements made before this Assembly, that our attempts to create this fellowship of man have left us with bitter memories, it is perhaps only too timely that we should start afresh, with the children.

In addressing this meeting for the first time, I do not wish to go beyond what was said by my President, Mr. Tolbert, when addressing the General Assembly on 26 September [10th meeting], in congratulating you, Mr. President, on a well-deserved expression of confidence in you, as a worthy son of Africa, reflected in your election to high office. Our tong association and our knowledge of your abilities justify my limiting myself to reassuring you of our full support and co-operation as you serve in your high office. 120. A word of high commendation is also necessary to our dedicated Secretary-General on his untiring and positive efforts to maintain a high level of commitment to the international community. A further word of praise must be said about the fine and committed officers of the General Committee, whose devotion to duty makes it possible for us to maintain a high level of efficiency in our cherished Organization. 121. My delegation is delighted to participate in the celebrations of the International Year of the Child and we warmly greet all children of the international community. 123. The theme for the celebration of the International Year of the Child in Liberia is "Our children, our nation, our future"-a theme which has given full expression to the fact that children are the ultimate preservers and perpetuators of the value systems and social and cultural traditions of our society. 124. President Tolbert has, since the beginning of his incumbency, made the physical, social, emotional, moral and intellectual development of children one of his highest priorities. In a most affectionate way he refers to Liberian children as "my precious jewels", an indication of his recognition of the valuable role of children in a strong and viable nation. 125. Liberia has therefore whole-heartedly joined in the celebration of the International Year of the Child, since we are totally convinced of the valuable contributions that the Year can make to the cause of children everywhere by focusing world-wide attention on their problems. 126. In order that every segment of Liberian society might fully and effectively participate in the activities of the Year, and also to give the celebrations a significance commensurate with the importance which Liberia attaches to the welfare m~ children, the President of Liberia, himself the Chief Patron of the International Year of the Child, launched the Year in Liberia by initiating two important steps. First, he issued a Presidential Proclamation calling special attention to the Year, and then he constituted a National Commission under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to prepare and implement programmes for the celebration of the Year. 127. The over-all Commission includes sub-committees and associations for the development and advancement of children that were already in existence in the country and operating throughout our nine counties. 128. Some of the programmes undertaken in celebration of the Year in Liberia included the compilation by the University of Liberia Law School of a record of all laws relating to adoption, legitimization, child neglect and child abuse, citizenship, custody and guardianship, laws relating to juvenile offenders and laws relating to protective services. All of these laws are under review for the purpose of updating them and making them more relevant to the changing needs and conditions of our children. 129. Besides legislation and legal guarantees for the protection of the rights of children, special projects directed to the full development of children have been introduced in various parts of the country. An integrated rural child-care project, geared towards child care, health, education and immunization, was launch- 130. In different parts of the country, a series of "Well Baby" contests have been conducted as part of the family health programme, with emphasis on breastfeeding, immunization and the growth and development of the child. 131. Perhaps one of the most important programmes for the Year is the project undertaken by the Government in the formulation of a national plan of action with the following goals in view: free education for all children up to university level; access to elementary education as well as high school or vocational training for every child, including special education for the physically and mentally handicapped; a drastic reduction of the high rate of infant mortality; the availability of immunization to every child; the elimination of the scourges of malnutrition, measles and other childhood diseases, and the development of easy access to a potable water supply, adequate food, shelter, clothing and medical care for all. These are some of the efforts Liberia has made to promote the goals of the International Year of the Child-goals which are in conformity with Liberia's own priority objectives for genuine and sustained development. 132. Liberia's efforts, however, go beyond national endeavours in giving full support to international programmes, especially through UNICEF, to bring hope and comfort to millions of suffering children throughout our world. 133. It is my delegation's view that the International Year of the Child will have attained its goals not only through the national programmes undertaken, but also through the unserving support and commitment of the international community to UNICEF and other international organizations dedicated to relieving the plight of children throughout the world. 134. The deep concern of Africa about the future of African children and the welfare of children throughout the world was fully manifested at the sixteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government ofthe Organization of African Unity [OA U], held in Monrovia in July 1979, where the International Year of the Child featured as a prominent item. The Assembly took two important decisions relating to children: one related directly to the celebration of the International Year of the Child within the African region and called upon all member States and international organizations to co-operate with and support the Secretary-General of the OAU in carrying out projects in favour of the African child [see A/34/552, p,41]; and the other decision constituted a Declaration on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child [ibid., pp. 81-83]. 135. The Declaration, among other things, calls upon member States of the OAU to make their respective national commissions or machineries for the International Year of the Child permanent organs; to review legal codes and provisions relating to the rights of children; 136. There is no better way to conclude this brief statement than to quote the message which President Tolbert delivered on the occasion of the celebration of 1979 as the International Year of the Child: "On the occasion of the Proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly of the year 1979 as the International Year of the Child, it gives me great pleasure to record the fact that we regard this Declaration as very important. Consequently, it merits our unstinted official and personal support in its observance not only in our own country, the Republic of Liberia, but also throughout the world. "In Liberia, this event is being fittingly and memorably observed under a proclamation which I have issued calling on the nation as a whole to execute with immense vigour and in all seriousness the programmes of national and local activities that have been drawn up by the Liberian National Commission for the observance of the International Year of the Child. "We are vigorously emphasizing to parents and the general public that every child has the right to develop physically, socially, emotionally. morally and intellectually to its fullest capacity. . "And we shall delineate the importance of providing integrated, comprehensive and improved health care, education and social welfare programmes for children, especially underpriviliged children. "Our concern for children, especially those deprived and vulnerable, has resulted in several actions instituted over the year for their benefit. These include free medical care for all Liberian children from their birth and up to two years of age. There is free elementary education for children and we are currently establishing special homes to care for the indigent. "We in Liberia realize full well that the children today are now and will always be the inheritors tomorrow of our national heritage. It is they who must make the Liberia of the future, the more prosperous, viable and wholesome functioning society we envisage. Consequently, no sacrifice is too great to develop them as our most precious resource that they may be able to give better quality leadership to tomorrow's world." 137. Finally, let me further add that the presence here of the First Ladies of the Philippines, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Costa Rica and the messages they brought on behalf of their respective countries have indeed lent great significance to this historic celebration at the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly. We all warmly and affectionately salute them and all the mothers who have spoken on behalf of their countries and, particularly the entire staff and all the officials who have planned and implemented this historic programme. 138. Let us take pride in the fact that it is our respective responsibility to provide the children of our respective countries and, for that matter, the children of the whole world, who are the leaders of tomorrow, with the means and facilities that will enable them to develop 139. May God bless all of us.

The General Assembly had already recognized the importance and the role of the child in the world before it confirmed the international Organization's interest by proclaiming 1979 the International Year of the Child. Moreover, in its resolution 31/169, it defined the general goals of the International Year. 141. As the year 1979draws to an end, we are meeting here today to review and evaluate the results achieved during the year. On the whole, those results will help in the preparation of the future generation. 142. It is no coincidence that our meetings to consider the results of the International Year of the Child coincide with another occasion-the twentieth anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in resolution 1386 (XIV). That confirms the importance that this Assembly attaches to the role that Governments and various organizations must play in the protection of the children of today, who form the basis of future societies. 143. There can be no doubt that the children in our contemporary world, and particularly in the countries of the third world, need more than kind words. Deeds must accompany the words; there must be serious, sincere action to ensure that the aspirations to a better life are fulfilled. To that end, children in all parts of the world must be provided with at least a minimum standard of food, lodging, education and medical care. Unfortunately, however, the official statistics of international organizations and specializ-d agencies show that there are millions of children not attending school because of a lack of means of education, not to speak of the millions of children who die of poverty, hunger, dispersion and disease, One would have very much wished that some international organization could gather even a small part of the amounts spent on the armaments race and direct it towards action to save the lives of these millions of children in the world. 144. Moreover, it is regrettable, indeed deplorable, to see hundreds of thousands of children dispersed, for no reason and through no fault of their own, in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories, in southern Africa, in Asia, subjected to the various forms of oppression and racial persecution and deprived of the exercise of the most elementary right-the right to life-by the plundering authorities, while the world stands by with its arms folded, powerless to help them regain their rights or to ensure for them a dignified and respectable life. 145. There can be no doubt that the problems of the child differ very much from country to country, particularly as between the countries of the North and the countries of the South. Each State has prepared and put into effect programmes designed to achieve the goals of the International Year of the Child, in a way adapted to 146. Several laws have been promulgated for the benefit of children. The most important are: the law making education compulsory for all children of primary-school age-the appropriate bodies have already begun to put this law into effect; the law making it compulsory for all illiterate children and adults to go to school-this law is in the process of being implemented throughout the country. 147. Decree No. 856 has been promulgated. Under that Decree aU children's toys and supplies are exempt from custom duties; they are regarded as instruments necessary to the development of the child and the awakening of his creative talents. 148. Measures have been taken to increase the number of public libraries for children, as well as the number of nurseries and child-care centres and centres for mothers and children. At present there are hundreds of public libraries for children. 149. A competition among children has been held and prizes have been awarded to the successful candidates in the fields of painting, penmanship, music and so forth. The best among these children were sent to participate in the world-wide meeting of artistic children held in the People's Republic of Bulgaria. A plan has been drawn up for the publishing of 30 children's books in 1979. 150. Institutes for physically handicapped children and for mentally handicapped 'children have been established. Specialized teaching seminars have been held in the field of assistance to deaf-mutes and the blind. 151. In January 1979 a festival was held, under the patronage of the President of the Republic, to inaugurate the International Year of the Child. 152. A new plan for the education of the child during its first six years has been drawn up. A series of training and "follow-up" meetings for female personnel of nurseries and day-care centres has been organized. Radio and television programmes have been presented for the benefit of children, parents and teachers. The national plan for vaccination of children has been extended throughout the country. Health information campaigns on the importance of child health, including prevention of child diseases, have been organized. A plan to apply social insurance to the treatment of children who are ill, in order to ensure that that treatment is given free, is now under study. The postal administration has issued two stamps commemorating the International Year of the Child. 153. A draft amendment to the law on juvenile delinquency has been drawn up, taking into account the 154. My delegation joins other delegations that have already participated in this discussion in expressing appreciation for the efforts made by UNICEF and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the International Year of the Child. 155. We would add that this International Year has brought out the large number of problems affecti,ng children and the need for broad-based, comprehensive solutions. It has also thrown light on the similarity of the problems and needs of children in various countries. From that we conclude that it is necessary to follow up the co-ordination of the positive aspects and constructive developments that have been highlighted during this Year, by means of long-term plans, and to take effective measures to improve the status of children in the world, particularly in the developing world. Thus, we shall not end our efforts when the International Year of the Child ends. We shall continue to work for and show interest in our children in all the years to come. 156. The activities and programmes which States have adopted or will adopt to ensure an improvement in the status of children must form part of the economic and development plans adopted by those States. Similarly, allocations for these activities and programmes must be included in the development budget of each country so that the general ideal may be achieved-e-that is, the improvement of the well-being of children throughout the world and the continuous harmonious development of such children. In that way it will be possible to achieve the objectives that led to the proclamation of the International Year of the Child and to contribute to the building of an international society based on wider cooperation and understanding among the members of the future generation.

Since our theme is the International Year of the Child, I promise to be brief as many speakers have ~lready highlighted some useful points and my delegation has already had occasion to congratulate you, Mr. President, on y~ur appointme.nt. Being one of the last speakers on this matter, I fmd myself miserably left with very little to say. None the less, Uganda strongly believes and supports all efforts deployed by the international community in making 1979 an International Year of the Child. Let it be a fruitful and successful year for the many millions of children in the world. Let it be a year that awakens the conscience of mankind in order to realize the needs of children and to evaluate and uphold their just aspirations to education, health, protection and, above all, their desire to be loved by the adult world. 158. It is appropriate at this point to acknowledge the contribution of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose profound love and care for children has led to her being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize during this International Year of the Child. 159. Uganda believes that cruelty to children is the highest degree of wickedness to humanity. Can the world become morally just and peaceful by neglecting 160. Children have certain good moral qualities and values that we adults might do well to emulate. In their simplicity, they may fight but they soon forgive each other and go on to share what they have without acrimony or rancour. In other words they never harbour vengeful thoughts or carryon vendettas to poison their relationship with one another. Unlike children, we adults wage unjust wars against one another, resulting in misery for children, widows and orphans. 161. For the last eight years, the Fascist dictatorial regime of Idi Amin plunged Uganda's children into such a plight. Homes, schools, and lives were destroyed. Many Ugandan children have been orphaned as a result of genocide and the systematic cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians. Many children have died of malnutrition, abandonment or lack of medicine. Kwashiokor, a disease which had previously been curtailed or reduced through the efforts of WHO, has reappeared in alarming proportions. We have even had outbreaks of plague and cholera, which had been contained in Uganda. 162. As I speak, many Ugandan orphans are still unable to begin schooling, and unless drastic measures are taken now at national and international levels, the fate of these helpless victims is nothing other than continued misery without education and without good health. The result will be a maladjusted society in the future Uganda. Therefore, my delegation calls on the world community to treat the plight of Ugandan children with sympathy in all possible practical ways. Our recovery from the psychological, moral and economic ruin of the Fascist dictatorship of Idi Amin will not be easy, but we have the determination and will to give priority to the rehabilitation of the young generation, many of whom became adults in the last eight years, without any moral guidance. 163. Within the short period since its liberation, Uganda has given a positive response to the call of the International Year of the Child. As indicated in the Directory of National Action, I a national commission has been established in Kampala under the chairmanship of Dr. Josephine M. Namboze, a leading children's physician in the country. The commission consists of representatives from several Ministries- Information, National Guidance, Education, Justice, Health, Agriculture and Forestry, Culture and Community Development - as well as representatives of major non-governmental organizations. 164. Through the Ministry of Local Administration and Community Development, communities are being encouraged to set up International Year of the Ch.ild sub-commissions to study problems and estabhsh priorities for action at the local level. Priority has been given to the issues of pre-school, orphaned, destitute and handicapped children and to an increase of familyplanning services, including a national training programme for family-planni!lg officers, to ensure that s~r­ vices are made available 10 all the maternal and child health centres throughout the country. 166. In conclusion, Uganda believes that the work done by UNICEF and the other agencies related to the United Nations should continue. The year 1979 is a landmark in the history of Africa. A number of countries have been liberated or have returned to the rule of law and order and with that change we hope that the welfare of children will come to the fore in the next decade, in Africa and the world at large. 167. If we want peace, let us love mankind in the children. Let us refrain from war' for the sake of the little ones. loR. Mr. FOLI (Ghana): Ghana is delighted to be closely associated with the International Year of the Child, which was proclaimed three years ago by the General Assembly. That proclamation has focused the attention not only of Governments and international organizations but of the world community as a whole on the world's children and on the responsibilities of the international community towards them. Governments, in particular, have consequently undertaken a more thorough appraisal of the conditions of their own children and of children in other parts of the world. 169. My delegation avails itself of this opportunity to pay a tribute to the Secretary-General and to all the relevant United Nations bodies, especially UNICEF, for the role they have played in bringing about a higher level of international commitment to the cause of children all over the world. In this connexion, may I pay special homage to Mrs. Estefanla' Aldaba-Lim for the indefatigable work she is doing to promote this laudable cause. We recall her visit to Ghana last year and the contacts she had with high government officials as well as with the National Ad Hoc Committee, then in existence in connexion with Ghana's national programme relating to the International Year of the Child. 170. Children are the future. They are the true legacy that any generation can bequeath to history. What we make of our children today will dictate the nature of our world society tomorrow. It is obvious, therefore, that not only the family, or the village community, or even national Governments can have a direct and immediate responsibility for the welfare of children in this ever more interdependent and shrinking world. It is for that reason that our call for a New International Economic Order is not a demand which excludes the interests of children. On the contrary, the early advent of this new order will, in our view, constitute the best investment in the peace and well-being of the world's future generations. That means, therefore, that any structural transformation in the current largely unjust system of international relations must be designed with children uppermost in our minds. 172. Following the meeting of the UNICEF Executive Board, held in Mexico City last May. Ghana converted its Ad Hoc National Committee on the International Year of the Child into a permanent national committee. The new body supervises and directs all activities, programmes and other efforts undertaken at the national level within the context of the United Nations proclamation of the International Year of the Child. For us, the establishment of a permanent national committee is fundamental. It serves as an earnest of our belief that, although only one short year has been declared the International Year of the Child, all programmes generated by the proclamation must be a permanent feature of international as well as national policies and measures taken to combat all problems affecting children. We therefore call upon all members of the international community to regard 1979as only the starting-point and as a perpetual reminder of their obligations towards children everywhere, and consequently to intensify their programmes aimed at promoting the interests of children until the problems of disease, malnutrition, illiteracy, cruelty and brutality, and the entire range of injustices and evils from which children continue to suffer, especially again in South Africa, are eradicated from the face of the earth. 173. We therefore take this opportunity to appeal to those fortunate nations which, for one reason or another, have reservations in respect of this Declaration and Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order [resolutions 3201 (8-VI) and 3202 (8- VI)] to reconsider their posture in the light of the deleterious effects that their aloofness will ultimately have on the chances of resolving the problems of children, particularly those of the developing world. 174. We in Ghana launched the International Year of the Child in a big way to reflect the capital importance we attach to it. In January this year, there was a weeklong country-wide celebration of the International Year of the Child. The event was launched by the Head of State himself. Activities included open-house exhibitions, film shows, symposia, fun fairs, radio and television discussions, essay competitions, sporting events, musical programmes involving children, children's plays, parent-teacher discussions with children as the central subject and so forth. Other lectures and symposia in honour of the International Year of the Child were also held. Organizations such as the National Council on Women and Development, the Association of Ghana Medical Students and the Ghana Paediatric Association were a few of the non-governmental organizations which lent their efforts to the successful celebration of the Year. 176. We have also exposed a few of our children to contact with their counterparts in other countries of the world as an integral part of our celebration of the International Year of the Child. In this connexion, Ghana accepted an invitation from the Government of Bulgaria to send 10 children to participate in an International Children's Assembly held in Sofia in August 1979. In November this year, four more children will proceed to India to participate in an international conference <!f children which will take place in New Delhi. I take this opportunity, on behalf of my Government, to express our gratitude to the Governments and peoples of Bulgaria and India for their kindness. in placing these opportunities at the disposal of Ghanaian children a~d in this way harmonizing their national programmes With our own in order to give them a more international content and flavour. 177. It remains for me to avail myself of this 0l?portunity to express my Government's profound gratitude to Mr. Labouisse, the outgoing Executive ~irector of UNICEF for his tireless and devoted service to the Organization and to welcome whole-heartedly :~r. Grant, his successor, to whom .Ghana now pledges ItS sincere assistance and co-operation.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate. 179. We turn now to the draft resolution contained in document A/34/L.4/Rev.2 and Add.l. I shall now call on those representatives who wish to explain their vote before the vote. May I remind Members of the ~ecision of the General Assembly at its 4th plenary meeting that explanations of vote, which should be limited to 10 minutes, should also be made by representatives from their places. 180'. Mr. MANAJARY (Madagascar) (interpretation from French): Since we did not have occasion to take part in the debate, the Malagasy delegation would like to make a statement at the present stage of our deliberations in order to give its full support to draft resolution A/34/L.4/Rev.2 and Add.l. The provisions in this draft correspond to the activities and measures undertaken by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar in the framework of its national policy for children. 181. We take this opportunity in order to emphasize the special Importance my country attaches to.childrelated issues, since more than half the population of my country is under the age of 20, more than half of these less than 14 years of age. 182. Within the framework of its socialist options, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar 184. My country, like so many others, continues to observe the International Year of the Child actively by organizing, under the eminent patronage of Mrs. Celine Ratsiraka, the wife of the President of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a goodly num~er of a~tivities, of seminars and of very diverse pubhc relations activities, whose major themes are children and health, children and education, children and the environment, and children and their rights. 185. This observance should culminate in the elaboration of a long-term programme involving specific projects of benefit to children. 186. In summary, the following slogan, used in the framework of the observance of the International Year of the Child, reflects the confidence of the Malagasy nation in its children for the future. This slogan states: "Children of today, builders of tomorrow, militants for ever, safeguarding the Revolution". 187. In speaking on the rights and duties of children on 27 May 1979, the President of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, Mr. Didier Ratsiraka, reminded young people that their duties begin "in the home, in the school, in Malagasy society as a whole, and finally at the international level", because, as he stated, "we must carry out the class struggle not only in our own country, but also on the international scene". 188. On that same occasion, he mentioned the case of many countries still under the yoke of imperialism and racial discrimination and suffering all types of exploitation and he referred to the fate of the children living in thos~ countries. He encouraged children to support all progressive international ideas, so that all the world's children might have the same opportunities for equality, freedom and a peaceful life. 189. . It is in that same spirit that we support all the activities carried out at the international level for the benefit of children, and especially UNICEF. As testimony to this support and despite our limited ~ea.ns, my country has constantly made a regular contribution to UNICEF each year. 190. We venture to hope, in conclusion, that the International" Year of the Child will not end merely with ceremonies in observance of the Year. 191. We are pleased with the provisions contained in draft resolution A/34/L.4/Rev.2, that provide for specific measures of international scope designed to permit the study of the most distressing aspects of childhood. We hope that the Assembly will adopt this draft by consensus, and that it willsubsequently benefit

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/34/L.4/Rev.2 and Add.l. May I take it that the Assembly adopts that draft resolution?

I now call on the representative of the United States.

The United States Government is pleased to participate in the General Assembly's adoption of this draft resolution, which has as its objective the continuation of the momentum generated during this International Year of the Child with respect to the efforts aimed at improving the situation of the children of the world. 195. While we appreciate the general nature of this resolution, we nevertheless wish to call specific attention to the plight of the children in Kampuchea. UNICEF has been designated as the lead agency within the United Nations to provide not only relief assistance to the people of Kampuchea, but also to co-ordinate assistance offered by the international community. 196. We urge all nations and organizations to support this international effort to save the lives of Kampucheans, particularly tomorrow's citizens, their children.

I call on representatives who wish to be allowed to exercise their right of reply.

I understand that at a late hour last night at the 38th meeting the representative of the Greek Cypriot usurpers of power and long-time oppressors of their fellow citizens in Cyprus intervened under the right of reply to add insult to injury. 199. Since a discussion of these vicious and baseless accusations is entirely out of place during a debate on the International Year of the Child, I shall confine myself to saying that the so-called Government of Cyprus is now aligning itself with the most dastardly acts of terrorism. 200. To bring up tragic incidents dating back 65 years on the very day when a victim of terrorism and assassination, the son of the Turkish Ambassador to The Hague, was being laid to rest, is nothing short of an incitement to further acts of terrorism and dastardly assassination. This is another item to be added to the crimes of the band of Greek-Cypriot usurpers whose violations of human rights and whose atrocities during the dismal years 1963-1974are faithfully recorded in the Secretary-General's reports covering those years.

In its statement yesterday afternoon, the Albanian delegation briefly expressed its views and com" 202. In view of the nature of the debate, the Albanian delegation did not go into a detailed analysis of such events in support of our statement. The People's Socialist Republic of Albania's position in this regard is well known. The head of the Albanian delegation at this thirty-fourth session, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, made it clear during the general debate a few days ago [19th meeting]. Our delegation will have other opportunities to present it later in this session. 203. Yesterday evening, the representative of the Soviet Union attacked our statement, describing it as a "calumny", and attempted to avail himself of the opportunity to launch a miniature propaganda campaign designed to show black as white a1.ld to justify the aggressive, bellicose and expansionist policy of the Soviet Union. He even remarked that in order to judge the policy of a Government, deeds and not words must be borne in mind. It is precisely in the light of the deeds and not of the words of the Soviet social imperialists that we can affirm with the greatest cert. ade that all the Soviet Union's policies and strategies are purely imperialist, aggressive and bellicose. , .. 204. We need only examine the words of the Soviet social imperialists and compare them with their conduct to see that behind their talk of peace, detente, disarmament and friendship for peoples are dissimulate aggressive designs, perfidious manoeuvers and some war practices. 205. The list of the facts quite clearly reveals the true aggressive and hegemonistic nature of Soviet social imperialism; it is too lengthy to go into in a right of reply. Nevertheless, there are grounds for recalling certain matters. 206. The Soviet social imperialists, like the American imperialists, base their foreign policy on exploitation and hegemony by means of an arms race and through military, economic and ideological pressure and blackmail. They practice, for example, a typically neocolonialist policy in countries members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and they use the aggressive Warsaw Pact as an instrument for war and aggression. The armed forces they have stationed-in Warsaw Pact countries are in no way different from an army of occupation: They arrogate the right to act in the territories. of other States as if they were in their own homeland, maintaining military bases and as many military forces as they want. 207. It is not to defend peace but to wage war that the Soviet social imperialists each year carry 'out numerous major military manoeuvres of an offensive nature and 208. Surely, it is pure demagoguery when its representatives speak to us of disarmament and when they praise the Treaty resulting from the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which is nothing but a bargain struck between the two, designed to enable them better to define the framework and the modalities of their arms race in the years to come. 209. The strategy and the policy of the Soviet social imperialists are inconsistent with what they tell us In their propaganda even here. They have nothing in common with a policy of peace. They represent a policy of rapacious imperialism which is aimed at extending its domination over the entire continent. This hegemonistic and neo-colonialist policy is similar to that followed by the United States and, for some time now, by China. The clash of interests between the imperialist super- Powers in dividing the world between them is lncreas ingly wide in scope. Their demagoguery aimed at hoodwinking peoples and public opinion is continuing at the same pace. 210. We should like to conclude this brief statement by once again refuting the calumnies of the delegation of the Soviet Union.

I very much regret having to speak again in yet another exercise of the right of reply by my delegation to the statement made by the representative of Turkey. 212. It is indeed with much regret that I have to expose the representative of Turkey for having used excessive language that was hardly convincing, for he has vainly attempted to contradict the facts, the record and indeed history itself which are well known to this body. 213. He called us "oppressors". Qui accuse s'accuse. Representatives know who the oppressor is in the case of Cyprus. He called us "terrorists", yet representatives know that for the fifth consecutive year Turkey has been practising State terrorism and organized terrorism against the indigenous Cypriot inhabitants of the occupied area in order to force them to flee and abandon 214. He perhaps spoke out of a guilty conscience. Again, he rehashed the case of the Armenians. It is not our intention to reopen wounds. Not at all; he himself brought it up. But I want to assure him and representatives that my Government and the people of Cyprus do not believe in terrorism. They believe in a noble struggle, and they engage in such a struggle with tenacity and perseverance. 215. The representative of Turkey referred to the alleged oppression, harassment and ill-treatment of the Turkish Cypriot community by the Government of Cyprus. This is a myth that has been effectively refuted over the years through specific quotations from the Secretary-General's semi-annual report to the Security Council. I should indeed be very pleased to furnish the representative of Turkey, if he so wishes, with a full attestation of these facts by way of a formal letter to the Secretary-General. 216. What does the representative of Turkey expect from us? Does he really expect us to continue to be ruthlessly oppressed by Turkish invading forces without raising any protest? Are we expected to tolerate the violation of the fundamental human rights of the indigenous Cypriot people? Are we expected to ignore the fact that over 40,000 Cypriot children are deprived of their fundamental human rights and condemned to live a life of misery and deprivation? No, I am sure that we are not expected to do exactly that, and I can assure the representative of Turkey that we shall never fail to raise our voices loud and clear as long as the oppressive presence of Ankara in my country continues. 217. The PRESlDENT: The representative of Turkey has asked to speak in exerciseof a second right of reply. May I remind members of the decision taken by the General Assembly at its 4th plenary meeting that the number of statements in the exerciseof the right of reply for any delegation at a given meeting be limited to two per item and that the second statement be limited to five minutes. 218. I now call on the representative of Turkey in exercise of his second right of reply, to be limited to five minutes.

I apologize for speaking a second time, but I feel that there is a question which requires an answer. 220. The representative of the Greek Cypriot administration asked the question: "What does he expect of us?" Well, what weexpect of him is quite simple. We expect collaboration in the solution of the problem of Cyprus, instead of vituperation addressed to this audience. 221. He took me to account for not referring to them as the Government of Cyprus. Unless and until the two communities which form the Cypriot nation get together and form a Government, a legal and legitimate Government of Cyprus, there is no Government of Cyprus. In the meantime, they can call themselves, if

The representativeof Cyprus has asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply. I call on him on the basis of the same conditions that I have just applied to the representative of Turkey.

Mr. President, I am obliged to you for your patience and tolerance. I shall be very, verybrief. 224. First, the representative of Turkey knows full well who is to blame for the failure of the commendable Secon~ly, I regret to be ironic, but it seems that he is a lr. '1ty .of one when he refers to my delegation as rep.Iii. "t18g no Government. By the same token I would perhaps beintroducing the norms of the jungl~ in callinghim the representative of the Turkish community of Turkey, for example.If he so wishes, I could perhaps in future address him in that manner.