The future for Young People

Increasing numbers of uprooted and abandoned children throughout the world

Catherine Vincent . LE MONDE | 02.06.09

Twenty years after the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20th 1989, the condition of children in the world remains a cause for serious concern. The text, which was ratified by all the member countries of the UN except Somalia and the US, declares the rights of “every human being below the age of 18 years” to be considered a person in his own right, equal in law without discrimination. 

Children in cities : rising numbers, increasing vulnerability

The average age of city dwellers – in Latin America, Africa, South Asia or China (the epicentre of urban growth) – is falling fast. Each week urban population figures rise by 1 million. And the UN predicts that in 2025 60% of children in developing countries will be living in urban areas; the majority of them in poverty.

According to the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) which uses the CRC to bring children’s rights to the top of the international agenda, 640 million children in the developing world (1 in 3) do not have adequate housing. In urban areas they also live with everyday violence. IN 2007 498 children were killed in Guatemala. In Salvador and Honduras roughly 30,000 young people are involved in violent gangs – “maras.”

If the transposition of this text into national law has brought about real progress as regards these rights, serious violations nonetheless continue to be carried out in many regions of the world. This can be seen in the reference document recently published on-line by the International Catholic Child Bureau (ICCB or BICE), a non-governmental organisation which promotes and protects child rights around the world.

This report, produced after a two year inquiry carried out in 66 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe, highlights the plight of millions of “uprooted” children, further threatened by the economic crisis which is spreading over the planet. This assessment convinced BICE to call for a “new mobilisation for children” on the 20th anniversary of the Convention.

Child soldiers, child workers, abandoned children, the raped, abused, those forced to flee from war, famine, natural disasters: whatever the catastrophe, these unhappy children frequently end up in the street. The UN puts the figure at 150 street children worldwide, suffering appalling conditions as far as education and health are concerned, exposed to abuse, violence and exploitation. And everything suggests that this figure will continue to rise, as long as the poorest populations keep moving to the cities in the hopes of finding work.

 “Most of these people end up in shanty towns, in truly awful living conditions” says Yves Marie-Lanoë, president of BICE. “These children, culturally uprooted, experience a violent move from a protective family and community structure to life on the street, which is like the jungle”

This change of circumstances is all the more catastrophic as experts have noticed a worrying breakdown of the family in all regions of the world. Whilst this phenomenon is relatively old in Latin America, it can now also be observed in Africa where children are “increasingly viewed as not so much a blessing as a burden.”

The situation in Asia is more uneven. But the speed at which socio-economic changes occur has its own consequences which are just as important for the structure of the family: “An increase in the age at which people marry, a reduction in family size, a change in the role of the sexes within the family, the appearance of foster families, the aging of the population.”

While in Europe and in the Community of Independent States (CIS), where 18 million children under 15 live in conditions of “extreme poverty”, the breakdown of families and the rising divorce rate can all too often result in the “neglect or even the abandonment of children by their parents.”

Of particular concern is the situation of Romany children, deprived of their right to education. It is estimated that of the 4 million living in the member states of the Council of Europe 2 million will never go to school. And another major and recent worrying trend: the number of abandoned children in Russia. According to the official figures there are 3 to 5 million children in this situation, of which only “700,000 are orphans or children removed from the responsibility of their parents.”

However, in this generally gloomy picture there is some light.

It is called “resilience” and refers to the capacity that children have to overcome the challenges of life if given a bit of help. BICE emphasises the importance of helping in a way that encourages the participation, solidarity and responsibility of children, so that they become active agents of their own lives.

In its report the organisation highlights a number of cases where groups of children and adolescents bring their rights to the attention of adults; with relative but undeniable success. “In Latin America there is a real culture of making sure that children participate in decisions. They know about the Convention, and use it to help them stand up for their rights and their claims”, says Mr Marie- Lanoë. The Working Children’s Movement – which defends children who work, rather than the work done by children - began in Peru thirty years ago and has spread to all the countries of South America, and to a lesser extent to Africa and Asia.

World Program of Action for Youth (1995-2005)

The World Program of Action for Youth (WPAY) General Assembly identified:

 

In 1995, 10 priority areas for young people: education, employment, poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure time, specifics for girls and young women, participation in the decision process

 

In 2003 5 additional issues emerged : Globalisation, Information and Communication Technologies, HIV/AIDS, youth and conflict, intergenerational relations.

Main conclusions :

 

The marked contrast between young people from developed countries and those from developing countries has become blurred with urbanisation, globalisation and the appearance of a media-fed youth culture.

 

We must forget negative stereotypes. Investment in youth needs to begin in childhood. We must commit fully to the Millennium Development Goals. This will bring about major improvements for young people.

 

We must invest more in youth.

 

Young people should be considered partners in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Governments at all levels are encouraged to develop and apply policies which favour young people. They should also pay particular attention to disadvantaged young groups : the disabled, young immigrants...

 

Ideally a few verifiable indicators should be selected, some of which could be “Millennium Objectives for Youth Development” and would make it easier to measure / assess the progress made for young people in the future.

 

Governments must continue to evaluate their youth policies and involve young people in the evaluations.

Extracts from contribution to the General Assembly of the United Nations, 6th October 2005 following the presentation of the Global Youth Action Program (1995-2005)

Louise Frechette (UN Vice Secretary General)

"On this tenth anniversary, let us recognize that young people form an enormous resource for the benefit of society; that they are crucial partners in our work to reach the Millennium Development Goals; that their energy is our most valuable asset in our efforts to build a more peaceful, democratic, and prosperous world."

Maria Fabiane-Loguzzo (Argentina on behalf of the Rio Group)

"We have two goals : to keep adolescents in the education system, and at the same time to create jobs which correspond to their skill level.

“I call for an increase in resources destined for the United Nations Youth Fund to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of young people”."

Ali Hacheri ( Tunisia)

“The youth of today have to cope with new problems, as unemployment and underemployment are no longer viewed as simple social problems, but rather as problems which also have economic, political and safety repercussions.

The under 24s represent nearly half of the world’s population. In the context of globalisation we now need to come up with new responses to the problems of young people and education, training, health, employment and access to new technologies.”

Bakhtiyar Hajiyau (responsible for youth in Azerbaijan)

“It is a shame that only a small number of young people in the world have the chance to start up their own businesses. Governments need to create national funds managed by young people to help them create their own businesses.”

Pravit Chaimongkol (Thailand)

“We need to concentrate on youth training and on the quality of jobs available to young people. I wish to emphasise the importance of giving young people their independence if we are to create a world that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more democratic.”

Early stage initiatives ...

Youth Employment Network (YEN)

The YEN was created by the secretary general of the UN in 2001 in the context of the declaration of the Millennium Goals. The heads of state and government decided to “design and implement strategies to give a real chance for ALL youth to find decent and productive employment.”

It is a partnership of United Nations, International Labour Organization, and World Bank. YEN is managed by a permanent secretariat hosted by ILO in Geneva.

It brings together governments, employers, employees, youth groups and other partners who share their resources, experience and knowledge in the search for original and lasting solutions to the problems of youth employment.

Aims :

 

To facilitate, coordinate and implement a coherent work program for youth employment which accepts the principles of decent work and the issue of the fight against poverty, and which brings together various social partners.

 

To involve young people in the implementation of the programs which concern them.

The YEN now supports 10 lead countries committed to national youth employment strategies : Azerbaijan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka and since 2008, RDC.