We the Children: Meeting the Promises of the World Summit for Children.

This abridged version of the Secretary-General's report to the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session on Children details the achievements of the 1990 World Summit for Children. Nearly 150 countries provided national progress reports of their implementation of goals set forth in the Summit and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The first part of the report, First Call for Children, provides an overview of successes throughout the 1990s and areas of continued concern. The Secretary-General acknowledges net progress for children, despite unfinished business and new challenges. Some areas of disappointment are the growth of HIV/AIDS and the enlarged gap in per capita income between industrialized and developing countries. Failure to achieve many goals of the Summit can be attributed to insufficient financial commitment from developing countries and donors. The second and largest part of the report details progress in implementing the World Summit declaration. This part has three subsections: (1) Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation; (2) Education and Literacy; and (3) Children's Protection and Civil Rights. Health topics include women's health, HIV/AIDS, policy strategies, and future actions. Education includes not only primary, secondary, and vocational education but also child labor, adult literacy and life skills. The section on children's protection consists of Role of the Family, Civil Rights and Freedoms, and Special Protection Measures, including child labor, children in armed conflict, and sexual abuse and exploitation. The reports final part deals with perspectives for the future. This part explains lessons learned from the past decade, such as the need for broad human rights, accountable government, and empowerment of all people in order to improve the lives of children. The report concludes with a reminder that the international community has the resources, understanding, and experience to build a world fit for children and the irrefutable obligation to do so. (KK)