Full coverage: Children

31.12.2007 Recruitment of child soldiers in Sri Lanka by rebel forces has long been seen as a serious violation of human rights. A new report by the United Nations says that both factions of LTTE continue to abduct and recruit children to fight their wars.

28.12.2007 Offering children a platform, in the form of special children’s village councils, to voice their concerns and problems is bringing about a perceptible change in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. For once, their suggestions are not only being heard but also acted upon.

27.12.2007 The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking invites UN agencies, international organisations and other stakeholders to create an active online community to exchange and share knowledge on ways to combat this global crime. UN.GIFT encourages participants to engage in e-discussions, showcase positive projects, practices, and stories of courage, and draw on its various resources.

26.12.2007 Only a fraction of the millions of children with disabilities in Bangladesh are able to get basic education, owing to government’s apparent indifference in ensuring their educational rights. However, the country's social welfare secretary says all that may change soon.

22.12.2007 "La circolare del Comune di Milano è in netta violazione dei diritti dell'infanzia sanciti dalla Convenzione ONU del 1989, ratificata dall'Italia, che ribadisce l'uguaglianza fra tutti i bambini come principio cardine e sottolinea come l'interesse superiore del bambino debba sempre prevalere su ogni altra considerazione": lo afferma il Presidente di Unicef Italia, Antonio Sclavi, commentanto la circolare milanese sulle nuove modalità d'iscrizione alle scuole dell'infanzia che di fatto nega ai bambini di famiglie extra-comunitarie prive di permesso di soggiorno l'accesso alle 170 scuole materne del capoluogo lombardo. La circolare richiede agli stranieri extra-UE il documento di "permesso di soggiorno in corso di validità o ricevuta di presentazione della domanda di rinnovo" e subito dopo precisa che chi non è in regola entro la fine del periodo delle iscrizioni, non verrà ammesso. "Mi sembra veramente penoso che ci si nasconda dietro al fatto che le materne comunali non offrono un servizio obbligatorio per legge" - commenta don Virginio Colmegna, presidente della Casa della Carità di Milano.

21.12.2007 Dalit and tribal children from across Madhya Pradesh in central India face discrimination at the hands of fellow students and teachers. This was revealed at a public hearing organised by ActionAid partner in Dewas district that exposed major shortcomings in implementing government education policy in the state, and sought a way forward.

20.12.2007 Located in a small hamlet in Boormajra in northern Indian state of Punjab’s Ropar district, a government school was adjudged as the country’s greenest school second time in a row. A Delhi-based organisation, Centre for Science and Environment under its Green School Programme, in a ceremony held here distributed the awards to 20 schools for their best environmental practices.

18.12.2007 Eight years ago the world's wealthiest countries promised to provide the funding needed to ensure that all children worldwide can attend school. But now, halfway to the global 2015 deadline for universal primary education, developed countries are failing to come up with the aid.

18.12.2007 UNICEF along with Google and One Laptop per Child has recently launched “Our Stories” project. By sharing stories online, children of the world will be able to understand different countries, their cultures, religious traditions and languages.

18.12.2007 In launching an e-learning tool to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS pandemic in Nigeria, OneWorld UK and others had three main objectives: Using ICT to educate young people on reproductive health, improving information on sex education and gender equality.

18.12.2007 UNESCO’s recent report presents quite a bleak scenario of the state of education in Pakistan, where six million children are not attending schools. With the country spending less than 3% of its GDP on education, the organisations like Children’s Resource International are playing a crucial role in spreading literacy.

18.12.2007 Planin itäisen ja eteläisen Afrikan aluejohtajan Deepali Khannan mukaan kaikkein köyhimmät, eritoten maaseudulla ja epävakaissa maissa asuvat lapset ovat toistaiseksi jääneet vaille kehitystä.

18.12.2007 Meningkatnya kasus HIV dan AIDS di kalangan perempuan, ternyata berimbas pada bayi yang mereka lahirkan. Saat ini RSCM telah merawat lebih dari 200 bayi positif HIV. Maka, menjelang peringatan Hari AIDS Sedunia, Yayasan Pelita Ilmu (YPI) mengelar malam amal bagi mereka.

17.12.2007 Renewed fighting between army troops and rebel forces in the eastern province of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, is worsening displacement among civilians in the area and leading to forced recruitment of displaced people, including children, as fighters.

16.12.2007 While delegates to the Bali climate conference tried to hammer out an agreement to preserve the planet for future generations, in New York delegates to a UN General Assembly Special Session wrestled with another pressing problem: how to meet the promise of "A World Fit for Children" made by world governments in 2002.

14.12.2007 A recent UNICEF report signals progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

12.12.2007 To remind the Indian government of its own promises that it had made by ratifying the UN Child Rights Convention fifteen years ago on this day (December 11), Child Rights and You (CRY) held a press conference in New Delhi.

11.12.2007 Kerala will soon become the first Indian state to achieve total IT literacy. ICT-based education has shown promising results. Now decision to equip 2,800 high schools with broadband internet connectivity by August next year would open up immense possibilities in the education sector.

11.12.2007 Elenca i "progressi concreti" ma non dimentica le "carenze da colmare" l'ultimo Rapporto statistico dell'Unicef presentato ieri alla vigilia della riunione plenaria dell'Assemblea Generale dell'Onu che da oggi farà il punto sulle raccomandazioni contenute nel documento finale della Sessione Speciale ONU sull'infanzia del 2002 su "Un mondo a misura di bambino". Nonostante nei Paesi in via di sviluppo anche solo la mancanza di servizi igienici basilari e di acqua potabile contribuisca ogni anno alla morte di 1,5 milioni di bambini, nel 2006 il numero dei bambini morti prima dei 5 anni per malattie, fame e guerre è sceso per la prima volta al di sotto dei 10 milioni. "Questo è un momento storico" - ha affermato il Direttore generale dell'Unicef, Ann Veneman. "Sopravvivono più bambini oggi che mai prima in passato. Dobbiamo far leva su questo successo per accelerare il raggiungimento degli Obiettivi di Sviluppo del Millennio" - ha aggiunto.

11.12.2007 Lapsia koskevissa vuosituhattavoitteissa on edistytty, ja tavoitteet voidaan vielä saavuttaa, kertovat Unicefin julkaiseman Progress for Children -raportin (engl.) tilastot. YK:n lapsiasiain seurantakokous (engl.) alkaa tänään tiistaina.