STATEMENT BY

Mr. Mohammed Saleh
Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the UN
To the Third Committee 21st Meeting

Of The Fifty-Seventh General Assembly

New York, 16 October 2002

CONDITIONS OF PEACE, SECURITY ESSENTIAL
FOR CHILDREN'S PHYSICAL HEALTH
THIRD COMMITTEE TOLD

Committee Concludes Discussion of Children's Issues;
Will Consider Indigenous People Tomorrow

Delegations expressed grave concern for the physical health and psychological well-being of children as a result of war, civil strife and occupation, as the General Assembly's Third Committee (Humanitarian, Social, Cultural) this morning concluded its consideration of the rights of children.

Today, more than 300,000 children served as canon fodder in conflicts they did not even understand, said the representative of Cameroon, as he reminded the Committee that the rights of children were severely threatened and violated during armed conflicts. The number of children affected by armed conflict was shocking, he said. Since 1990, two million children had been killed, six million had been hurt or disabled, and ten million children had been traumatized by either the loss of parents or sexual exploitation during armed conflicts.

In armed conflicts of recent years, children had been the targets of violence and, even more unacceptably, as perpetrators of violence, said the representative of Malaysia. He stressed that strategies to protect children in armed conflicts must be all encompassing, ensuring their physical security as well as legal protection under international law. There must be no leniency in dealing with crimes perpetrated on innocent children; yet, it was necessary to deal humanely with children who had been manipulated by unscrupulous adults to participate in the perpetration of atrocities during conflicts.

The observer of Palestine highlighted the plight of Palestinian children -- children who had only known a life under brutal occupation. Only the constant denial and violation of human rights had marked the life of Palestinian children, she said. They had suffered killings, injuries, raids, and destruction, and a recent study had revealed that 68 per cent of Palestinian children suffered from psychological trauma, resulting in anxiety, fear, nightmares, anger and depression. The world of Palestinian children today -- that of life under occupation -- could in no way be reconciled with the ideal of a world fit for children

MOHAMMED SALEH (Bahrain) said that while the Convention on the Rights of the Child provided a blueprint for the protection and promotion of children's rights, much remained to be done. The new decade should be marked by strenuous efforts to implement international obligations, and the best way to ensure those rights were protected was to promote them within the broader framework of overall human rights initiatives. It was also necessary to work toward the eradication of poverty.

Much of what had been elaborated in international instruments was already reflected in Bahrain's Constitution and laws, he said. Its Council of Ministers had adopted a decree to establish a National Committee for Children which governed the activities of all institutions that addressed issues concerning children and youth. A relevant law on the Rights of the Family had also been adopted in 2000. Other legislation covered the health of adolescents and children with disabilities.

Heads of State and Government at the Millennium Summit had pledged to address the tragic situation of children in armed conflict, he said. In that regard, Bahrain would draw attention to the unprecedented suffering of the women, elderly persons, as well as children living in the Palestinian occupied territories. Indeed, the occupation itself was a violation of human rights, as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention. The international community should spare no efforts to bring an end to the occupation and secure a better future for all the children of the region.