'A World Fit for Children'
An agenda both visionary and concrete
The Special Session culminated in the official adoption,
by some 180 nations, of its outcome document, 'A World Fit
for Children'. The new agenda for - and with - the world's
children, including 21 specific goals and targets for the
next decade. More than two years of consensus-building resulted
in a strong future agenda focused on four key priorities:
promoting healthy lives; providing quality education for all;
protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence;
and combating HIV/AIDS.
The document's Declaration commits leaders to completing
the unfinished agenda of the 1990 World Summit for Children,
and to achieving other goals and objectives, in particular
those of the UN Millennium Declaration. It reaffirms leaders'
obligation to promote and protect the rights of each child,
acknowledging the legal standards set by the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. All of
society is called upon to join a global movement to build
a world fit for children, based on a 10-point rallying call
that also formed the core of the Say Yes for Children campaign.
The Plan of Action sets out three necessary outcomes: the
best possible start in life for children, access to a quality
basic education, including free and compulsory primary education,
and ample opportunity for children and adolescents, to develop
their individual capacities. There are strong calls to support
families, to eliminate discrimination and to tackle poverty.
A wide range of actors and partners are called upon to play
active roles, including children themselves; parents, families
and other caregivers; local governments; parliamentarians;
NGOs; the private sector; religious, spiritual, cultural and
indigenous leaders; the mass media; regional and international
organizations; and people who work with children.
The Plan of Action also reaffirms previous goals and targets
relevant to children endorsed by world summits and conferences,
including the UN Millennium Summit. It lists 21 goals for
children in the four priority areas of action, goals considered
a vital step towards the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals adopted in 2000 by world leaders at the Millennium Summit.
"We have learned from previous meetings that setting
goals is a crucial step. With goals, we have something to
strive for. Without them, we have no way of measuring our
successes and failures." - Patricia Durrant, Chairperson
of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session.
To achieve these goals and targets, 'A World Fit for Children'
calls for the mobilization and allocation of new and additional
resources at both national and international levels. It supports
the pursuit of agreed-upon global targets and actions, such
as the 20/20 Initiative and the allocation by industrialized
countries of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product
(GNP) for official development assistance, as well as the
development of local partnerships.
The document concludes with a section on follow-up actions
and assessment to facilitate implementation and to ensure
monitoring, periodic reviews and reporting. UNICEF is requested
to prepare and disseminate information on progress made.
Read the approved outcome document of the Special Session,
'A World Fit for Children':
World Fit for Children:
Outcome document of the Special Session
This is the official, final text of the outcome document
approved at the Special Session of the General Assembly
on Children on 10 May 2002. (Document
in pdf format, Acrobat Reader required.)
The complete report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole
that transmitted this text for approval by the Plenary (General
Assembly official records: 27th Special Session: Supplement
3. Document A/S-27/19/Rev.1) can be found in the Archive