ARCHBISHOP MARTINO ADDRESSES U.N. ON CHILDREN

VATICAN CITY, FEB 1, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, apostolic nuncio and Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in New York at the Second Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session on Children, now underway at the U.N. It will end tomorrow.

He recalled that "eleven years have passed since leaders of the world gathered for the World Summit for Children." And he added that, "at this time, the Holy See notes three specific elements taken from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children which must have their proper place in the final document to be adopted."

Archbishop Martino listed these three points: "1. The promotion and protection of the right to life as well as the human dignity and rights of the child, before as well as after birth; 2. The fact that the family is the basic unit of society, and 'has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children from infancy to adolescence' and 'should be afforded necessary protection and assistance so that it can duly assume its responsibility within the community'; 3. The outcome document must include strong statements concerning sustainable development, debt relief and the eradication of poverty."

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