RIGHTS-SOUTH ASIA: Children Drive Home Message to Corporate World

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

KATHMANDU, May 22 2001 (IPS) - Maldivian hotel magnate Wahir Deen was so moved by the call from a group of South Asian children for rights to education that he spontaneously offered to provide a computer to each youngster in the group.

“I was amazed at their capacity to understand and the way they made an appeal to us,” Deen told IPS during a unique two-day meeting between children and corporate leaders in South Asia that ended here on Monday.

The meeting was organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) regional office for South Asia based here, and is part of three meetings organised by the U.N. agency this week on the theme ‘Investing in Children’.

While children — or change makers as they are called in U.N. jargon — and corporate leaders held a meeting, they also had separate discussions on issues ranging from how children could get involved in decision-making and the greater involvement of businessmen in South Asia in children’s issues.

The final, two-day meeting under the tripartite discussion opened on Tuesday with ministers of finance or planning and their officials in South Asia addressing the issue of investing in children and the costs of not investing in them.

“This is a unique meeting of government ministers, corporate leaders and children getting together for a discussion on children,” noted Robert Fisher, UNICEF’s regional director for South Asia.

South Asia is home to a quarter of the world’s children but almost half of the world’s poor youngsters. Children below 18 years constitute over 40 percent of the region’s population.

Fisher said the South Asian high-level summit on children was a regional initiative in the ‘Global Movement for Children’ and a preparatory meeting for the special heads of state and government meeting of the U.N. general assembly on Sep. 19 to 21.

Simultaneous meetings are being held in Beijing (covering the rest of Asia), Cairo (for Africa) and Berlin (for Europe) ahead of the U.N. summit. But the South Asian session is unique in bringing together children and corporate leaders to discuss with government leaders a course of action.

Kelzang Dorjee, a 14-year-old child from Bhutan, said that before they met corporate leaders, he wondered whether they would be listened to.

“We had some fears so we prepared ourselves, had a successful workshop and then met corporate leaders who made many promises to us,” said Dorjee, a spokesperson for the children’s group.

He said the corporate leaders advised them to prepare a business plan. “We raised priority concerns for children in South Asia like protection against child abuse and child labour and exploitation, quality education for all, health and participation in decision-making,” he said.

The youngster, whose forceful speech drew thunderous applause from delegates, said governments should invest in children “because they will be investing in the future as children are future leaders. Children can help their own children when they grow up.”

Corporate participants said they were impressed by the contributions by children. Seventeen children between 12 and 18 years and 15 businessmen from the region attended the meeting.

“I was moved by their demands for rights to education and other needs. They did not take things lying down and questioned us on our promises and whether we were committed,” one participant said.

Reena, a 11-year old girl from Dehra Dun in India, feels that if there is enough awareness among the business community, there could be some change in the place she lives.

The Indian girl, whose parents are farmers, goes to school but many in her village do not have that privilege. “We are also deprived of proper health services as the clinics are too far from the village. The other problem is that even if we go to these clinics, girls are discriminated against boys,” she added.

Mohamed Amin is a 16-year old bottle collector living off the streets of New Delhi who made it to the conference because he is a child activist. Amin is a member of a Child Rights Union, a child rights club, and edits a local paper for children.

“We are often beaten up by police, coolies (labourers) and the public when we work on the street. But much of that has stopped after we formed a union and fought for our rights,” said Amin.

He added: “I believe some of the promises made by corporate leaders at the meeting to help in children’s education, stop abuse and discourage child labour would be kept.”

UNICEF’s Fisher said there has been discussion, debate and analysis on the state of children since the global U.N. summit on children 10 years ago.

“There has been considerable progress in the region for children but not enough has been done. The U.N. summit will discuss what happened in the last 10 years, what has worked, what hasn’t not worked and what should be done in the future,” he said.

“We are looking at the balance sheet of children,” he said.

Jinnat Ali Main, chairman of the standing committee on child labour in Bangladesh and chairman of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said: “I learnt many things as a corporate leader today and the need for a greater involvement in children’s issues.”

“I will help to raise awareness among other corporate leaders in my country in investing in time and money on children,” he said.

Bangladesh is one of the South Asian countries accused of child labour in industry but Main’s association has sharply reduced child labour in the garments’ industry.

Indeed, UNICEF’s Fisher said corporate leaders at the meeting had offered to help persuade other business leaders not to employ children.

“On the other hand the employment of children is inevitable as most work for their family’s survival. What we need to do is find ways of making work less exploitative and ensure children study and get educated while working,” he said.

Conference officials cited as a good example the work of a non- governmental agency in Mumbai to teach shoeshine boys at railway stations in India’s commercial capital while at work. “The boys sit on the railway platform with their teachers and study during off-peak hours,” one official explained.

Fisher said the theme of the meeting was creating partnerships and not seeking funds from business people.

Maldives’ Deen, who owns a string of hotel resorts, said the 17 children he decided to give computers to would be wired and be provide their own networks with a changemaker.com website.

“I felt they need to be networked to move forward. That’s why I wanted to make a meaningful contribution to their progress,” he added.