All Issues Affect Child Labor
By Suzanne Freeman

		Meet the Delegates For stories and pictures of individual delegates to both the Children's Forum and the UN Special Session on Children, click on the names below: Meet Jennifer Garay, 16, of Paraguay Meet Misbuhulhag, 14, Afghanistan

From the environment to poverty to education, all children's issues must be addressed to stop child labor, said young members of a child labor panel at the UN Special Session on Children.

The group included representatives from India, South Africa, Kenya, Iran, Australia, Pakistan, and Malaysia. They outlined the conclusions of their working groups from the Children's Forum. Each presented his or her issue accompanied by a list of what governments were expected to do, and a list of what children can do to help solve the problems.

Here are a few of their findings, by issue:

Children Living With War
   In a world fit for children, we want our leaders to:

• End corruption
• Provide funds for children
• Use peaceful dialogue, not force to end disagreements
• Cease using children as pawns
• Teach tolerance
• Stop arms trade
• Stop use of child soldiers

   We will:

• Organize global marches
• Distribute information about effects of armed conflict on children
• Make the governments keep their promises about keeping the peace

Children's Health
   In a world fit for children, we want our leaders to:

• Provide a healthy environment to live a healthy life
• Provide health-care information and medicine
• Provide health insurance from birth to 12 years of age
• Provide aid to pregnant women
• Establish a permanent children's health group at the international level
• Make lifesaving drugs affordable around the world

   We will:

• Get involved
• Create campaigns for government and companies
• Distribute the Children's Forum decisions to leaders
• Inform the media about what each country has agreed to do
• Develop youth exchanges
• Form regional networks

Poverty
   In a world fit for children, we want our leaders to"

• Fulfill economic commitments to children
• Encourage rich countries to devote 0.7 percent of GNP to impoverishd countries

• Preserve natural resources
• Form commissions to hold governments accountable
• Form anti-poverty committees that include private sector companies
• Teach skills to the unemployed
• Provide free education
• Stop government corruption

   We will:

• Launch anti-poverty campaigns
• Work with nongovernmental organizations
• Encourage children to count books not drugs

Education
   In a world fit for children, we want our leaders to

• Help disabled and refugee children get an education
• Have schools provide education
• Follow the articles in the Convention on the Rights of Children
• Encourage richer countries to help poorer countries.

   We will:

• Promise to take advantage of our educational opportunities
• Discuss education issues with our leaders
• Promote the idea that every child needs to be educated