PROTECT CHILDREN, THE MOST PRECIOUS MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2000 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in New York before the plenary of the 55th session of the General Assembly on Item 42, Special Session of the General Assembly in 2001 for Follow-Up to the World Summit for Children.

"This past April," stated the archbishop, "the Commission on Human Rights expressed its concern that the situation of children in many parts of the world remains critical as a result of poverty, inadequate social and economic conditions in an increasingly globalized world economy, pandemics, natural disasters, armed conflicts, displacement, exploitation, illiteracy, hunger, intolerance, disability, and inadequate legal protection."

He pointed out that "those issues concerning children that have demanded the attention of the world for so many years continue to be the center of our attention. The recently adopted optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child are evidence of this concern."

"The Catholic Church," affirmed Archbishop Martino, "has always recognized that children are the most precious and, at the same time, the most vulnerable members of the human family and in need of the greatest protection."
He added that the Holy See delegation hoped that the discussion during the preparatory meetings for the 2001 UN Special Session for follow-up to the World Summit for Children "will center especially on how to bring peace to situations of armed conflict and violence, end hunger, protect the family, strengthen education, stop discrimination, provide better health care, build stability and maintain security."

"It is the hope of the Holy See," Archbishop Martino said in conclusion, "that the discussions throughout the United Nations system will center around ways to move forward, rather than simply languish on issues that are never resolved."

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