OMNI UNITED NATIONS Universal Children's
Day, 20
November, 2013. Compiled by Dick Bennett
for a Culture of Peace.
OMNI’S NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL DAYS PROJECT
OMNI is part of the international peace and justice
movement—transforming the structures
of the world from violence and wars to peace and the golden rule, for which the
UN is the leading organization.
My blog: War
Department/Peace Department
My Newsletters:
Index:
Visit OMNI’s Library.
Write or Call the White House
President
Obama has declared his commitment to creating the most open and accessible
administration in American history. That begins with taking comments and
questions from you, the public, through our website.
Call
the President
PHONE NUMBERS
Comments:
202-456-1111Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TTD
Comments:
202-456-6213Visitor's Office: 202-456-2121
Write a letter to
the President
Here are a
few simple things you can do to make sure your message gets to the White House
as quickly as possible.1. If possible, email us! This is the fastest way to get your message to President Obama.
2. If you write a letter, please consider typing it on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper. If you hand-write your letter, please consider using pen and writing as neatly as possible.
3. Please include your return address on your letter as well as your envelope. If you have an email address, please consider including that as well.
4. And finally, be sure to include the full address of the White House to make sure your message gets to us as quickly and directly as possible:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington , DC 20500
Contents November 20, 2012
Global Day for Children
Convention on the Rights
of the Child
May 2002 World
Conference on Children
Appeal for Ratification
Contents Nov. 20, 2013
UN Universal Children’s
Day 2013
UNICEF, Empathy for the
Filipino Children after Typhoon Haiyan
UN Declaration of the
Rights of the Child
Totten, Children and
Genocide
Sheehan, A Mother’s
Compassion
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY NOV. 20, 2013
·
Home
·
Calendar
·
Weather
·
Timers
·
Free Fun
Calendar
IndexCalendar
2013Calendar
2014Print
Calendar PDFMonthly
CalendarBasic
Calendar CreatorAdvanced
CreatorHolidays
Universal Children's Day
Quick Facts
The United Nations' (UN) Universal Children's Day is an occasion
to promote the welfare of children and an understanding between children all
over the world. It is held on November 20 each year
Universal Children's Day 2014
Thursday,
November 20, 2014
List of dates for other years
List of dates for other years
The United Nations' (UN)
Universal Children's Day, which was established
in 1954, is celebrated on November 20 each year to promote international
togetherness and awareness among children worldwide. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund,
promotes and coordinates this special day, which also works towards improving
children's welfare.
©iStockphoto.com/shironosov
What do people
do?
Many schools and other educational institutions make a
special effort to inform children of their rights according to the Declaration
of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Teachers
stimulate their pupils to think about the differences between themselves and
others and explain the idea of “rights”. In countries where the rights of
children are generally well-respected, teachers may draw attention to
situations in countries where this is not the case.
In some areas UNICEF holds events to draw particular
attention to children's rights. These may be to stimulate interest in the media
around the world or to start nationwide campaigns, for instance on the
importance of immunizations or breastfeeding.
Many countries, including Canada ,
New Zealand and the United Kingdom ,
hold Universal Children's Day events on November 20 to mark the anniversaries
of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
However, other countries hold events on different dates, such as the fourth
Wednesday in October (Australia )
and November 14 (India ).
Universal Children's Day is not observed
in the United States ,
although a similar observance, National Child's Day, is held on the first
Sunday in June. [Why is this? Deliberate dismissal of UN, like Pres. Bush
appointing Bolton as our Ambassador to the
UN? US concern for children stops at
our borders, is not universal? --Dick]
Public life
Universal Children's Day is a global observance and
not a public holiday.
Background
On December 14, 1954, the UN General Assembly
recommended that all countries should introduce an annual event from 1956 known
as Universal Children's Day to encourage fraternity and understanding between
children all over the world and promoting the welfare of children. It was
recommended that individual countries should choose an appropriate date for
this occasion.
At the time, the UN General Assembly recommended that
all countries should establish a Children's Day on an “appropriate” date. Many
of the countries respected this recommendation and the Universal Children's Day
has since been annually observed on November 20. There are however, some
countries, such as Australia
and India ,
which still chose various different dates during the year to celebrate this
day.
On November 20, 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted
the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and on November 20, 1989, it adopted
the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, Universal Children's Day
also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted
both the declaration and the convention on children's rights.
Symbols
Universal Children's Day is part of the work carried
out by UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. UNICEF's logo consists of an
image of a mother and child, a globe, olive branches and the word “UNICEF”. All
parts of the logo are in UN's blue color, although it may be presented in white
on a blue background.
DONATE Monthly Giving
o
Benefits
[The mainstream media have reported almost exclusively
US
support to the Philippine people. But we
should all be aware that US
help is transmitted through the military—an aircraft carrier, the marines. Our nation is so militarized that our
national structures for responding to international catastrophes seem to have shriveled
up. Let’s watch how this develops and
how our response compares to that of other nations. –Dick]
PHILIPPINES TYPHOON HAIYAN
Help children affected by the disaster.
UNICEF makes the world better for kids.
The United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and
territories to save and improve children's lives, providing
health care and immunizations, clean
water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.
The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports
UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States . We're working toward
the day when ZERO children die from preventable causes and every child has a
safe and healthy childhood.
How You Can
Help Children Now
Syrian Refugee Crisis
Help Syria 's
children this winter.
Equal Lives
Help end
discrimination against children with disabilities.
50¢ a Day Helps a Child
See how a
small gift can make a big difference.
·
Who We Are
More than 500,000 American individuals and organizations
united to make a better world for children.
VOLUNTEERS
Thousands of Americans who donate time to help save children's
lives
CELEBRITY
AMBASSADORS
Leaders in entertainment, from the worlds of film, music, sports
and beyond
TEACHERS
Educators across the country helping students learn the value of
global citizenship
·
More Ways to Help
MAKE A PLEDGE
A way to
make your gift work harder
ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN
Support
legislative action for children
GIVE WITH
CONFIDENCE
90¢ of
every $1 spent goes to help kids
·
FieldNotes Blog
o
World Toilet Day: Toilets to TaclobanNovember 19, 2013
Before Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban, UNICEF had stocked
supplies of a critical emergency item inside the Philippine city — portable
toilets. In the aftermath of a natural disaster, toilets are true lifesaver.
Today, World Toilet Day, is a good time to focus on that fact. When homes are
destroyed and sanitation systems collapse, sewage and […]
o
Typhoon Haiyan Diary: On the Ground in Tacloban November 19, 2013
Kent Page, Senior Advisor of Strategic Communications for
UNICEF Philippines, has been on the ground in Tacloban following the
devastation from Typhoon Haiyan. It’s great to be part of the UNICEF immediate
response team that were rushed into the Philippines after the devastation of
super typhoon Haiyan. We are a group of emergency professionals specializing
[…]
o
Typhoon Haiyan: A Filipino Community Finds HopeNovember 18, 2013
Anna Butler, a U.S. Fund for UNICEF intern, participated in
a forum and candlelight vigil on Nov. 13 in Woodside , N.Y. ,
in honor of those affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Woodside, a neighborhood in
Queens, has a significant Filipino immigrant population, and Butler reports that she was moved by the
strength and support of the community. […]
·
Partners in Action
Holiday
Offerings
Corporate
partners offer "gifts that give back" this holiday season
Montblanc
Montblanc’s
“Signature for Good” collection benefits UNICEF's education programs
IKEA
Fairy
tale-themed characters join IKEA’s “Soft Toy for Education” Campaign
o
See more about our partners »
·
UNICEF's Work
o
Malaria
o
HIV/AIDS
·
People & Partners
·
About Us
o
FAQ
o
Jobs
·
Donate Now
Volunteer With Us
Shop For Gifts
·
For the Media
Follow UNICEF USA
o
Facebook
o
Twitter
o
Google+
o
YouTube
© 2013
United States Fund for UNICEF. All rights reserved.
(800) 367-5437 125 Maiden Lane, New Y
DECLARATION OF THE
RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 1386 (XIV) of 10 December 1959 |
||
WHEREAS the
peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and
have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
|
||
WHEREAS the
United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed
that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status,
|
||
WHEREAS the
child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special
safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as
after birth,
|
||
WHEREAS the
need for such special safeguards has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of
the Rights of the Child of 1924, and recognized in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and in the statutes of specialized agencies and international
organizations concerned with the welfare of children,
|
||
WHEREAS mankind
owes to the child the best it has to give,
|
||
Now,
therefore, Proclaims
THIS DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD to the end that he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles: |
||
1
|
The child shall
enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any
exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction
or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status, whether of himself or of his family.
|
|
2
|
The child shall
enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by
law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally,
morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in
conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose,
the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.
|
|
3
|
The child shall be
entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality.
|
|
4
|
The child shall
enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and
develop in health; to this end, special care and protection shall be provided
both to him and to his mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal
care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing,
recreation and medical services.
|
|
5
|
The child who is
physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special
treatment, education and care required by his particular condition.
|
|
6
|
The child, for the
full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and
understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the
responsibility of his parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection
and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in
exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother. Society and the
public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children
without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of
State and other assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families
is desirable.
|
|
7
|
The child is
entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in
the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his
general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop
his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social
responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.
The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents. The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right. |
|
8
|
The child shall in
all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief.
|
|
9
|
The child shall be
protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not
be the subject of traffic, in any form.
The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his physical, mental or moral development. |
|
10
|
The child shall be
protected from practices which may foster racial, religious and any other form
of discrimination. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding,
tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in
full consciousness that his energy and talents should be devoted to the
service of his fellow men.
|
CHILDREN
VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE: A FATHER’S COMPASSION
THIS IS WHAT KEEPS ME
FOCUSED WHEN DARKNESS OVERTAKES ME
|
||||
Dedication
To Patrick Murinzi Minega
and all other
children victimized by
genocide, war, and violence.
Dear All,
Invariably, most serious
scholars of genocide studies are ultimately asked: How can you do this work?
What keeps you going in light of the darkness? The horror?
Many have also asked me:
what prompts you to go to such places as the Nuba
Mountains when the area continues to
be bombed on a daily basis or to such all but God forsaken places as Goz Beida,
along the Chad/Darfur, Sudan
border?
My answer is staring at
you in the face: the above photo of a little guy (Patrick) wish I could say I
had met on one of the thousands of hills in Rwanda .
It's also why I firmly
believe that perhaps the most important aspect of my life as far as genocide
studies is concerned, and as far as being a human being is concerned, is my
co-founding The Post Genocide Education Fund with Rafiki Ubaldo, a survivor of
the Rwandan genocide. As many of you know, PGEF provides full scholarships and
living expenses to young survivors of genocide across the globe who wish to
earn a university diploma. (Thus far, we've sponsored students from Rwanda ; Darfur , Sudan ; and the Nuba
Mountains , Sudan .) My point is: it is my one
way to break out of the darkness and gain some sense that I am actually helping
people in desperate need, instead of solely writing about the horrors faced by
innocents either in the aftermath of genocide or during the actual perpetration
of crimes against humanity/genocide.
In closing, I wish to
share an excerpt from the introduction of my new and forthcoming edited
book, The Plight and Fate of Children During and Following Genocide,
in which I speak about gazing at Patrick's countenance for the first
time:
Introduction
Samuel
Totten
Generally, when I make my
way through museums dealing with
genocide I fi nd myself
feeling sad and angry but I forge on and make my
way through the exhibits.
Th is, I have done, time and again, beginning
back in 1978 when I fi
rst visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’
and Heroes’ Remembrance
Authority in Jerusalem , the US Holocaust
genocide located in the
basement of a church in Deir et Zor (Syria ) in
2005. But then, in 2006,
as I made my way through the museum at the
Kigali Genocide Memorial
Centre in Rwanda ,
I entered the “Children’s
Wing,” and within ten
minutes my heart was shattered. I had only managed
to view a tenth of the
photographs and accompanying information
in the room, but I simply
could not go on. I literally wanted to scream
and fl ay away at a world
that would allow such horrifi c injustice and
atrocities to be
perpetrated.
I shall never forget the
last photo and captions that ripped my heart
apart. It was the
sweetest picture of a young man, Patrick, seven years
of age, I’ve ever seen.
His smile and bright sparkling eyes exuded joy.
Th en, I read the
captions:
Name: Patrick Murinzi
Minega
Favorite Sport: Swimming
Favorite Sweets:
Chocolate
Favorite Person: His Mum
Personality: Gregarious
Cause of Death:
Bludgeoned with Club
Over the years (during
which I served as a Fulbright Scholar at the
Centre for Confl ict
Management at the National University of Rwanda,
and on subsequent
research trips when Rafi ki Ubaldo, a survivor of the
1994 genocide, and I
conducted interviews for our book, We
Cannot
Forget: Interviews with
Survivors of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda ),
I returned to the Kigali
Genocide Memorial Centre several times
in order to try to view
all of the photographs and captions in the
“Children’s Wing.” Each
and every time I’d only get so far before I was
overwhelmed with sorrow,
and, yet again, would depart without having
viewed the entire
exhibit. To this day I’ve not viewed the entire
exhibit.
Th e killing of infants,
preschoolers, school-age children, and preadolescents
should be beyond the
pale. Unfortunately, and sadly, it is
not—at least not for
those who are apt to committing crimes against
humanity and genocide.
And it’s not just killing that the latter engage
in, but also the torture
and butchery of babies and young children.
When perpetrators kill
infants and children there is often a sadistic
tone and tenor to their
actions. Th ey seem to enjoy exhibiting their
perverted power over the
victim population. Th ey seem to enjoy crushing
the spirits of those
parents and siblings who are forced to watch
their children and babies
and young brothers and sisters, respectively,
be brutalized in the most
horrifi c ways possible.
THIS, THEN, IS WHY I AM
FIERCELY DEDICATED TO SEEING CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND GENOCIDE STOPPED IN
THEIR DEADLY TRACKS, AND IT IS WHAT DRIVES ME TO DO WHAT I DO.
Am heading back to the Nuba Mountains
right after the new year. Current reports are that Nuba civilians are desperately
trying to make their way out of Sudan
to South Sudan in search of food and many are
literally dropping and dying each and every day. Last week a colleague I am
working with to insert food into the region reported that he witnessed --
IN A SINGLE DAY -- 20 individuals (mainly elderly men
and woman and infants and young children) who had keeled over and perished
along the way. That is obscene. Unconscionable. And it's way I've been
haranguing Members of Congress, The White House and the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, among others, to yank off their purposely placed blinders and
OPEN THEIR EYES to the reality of the world we all live in and do something to
try to ameliorate the horrors -- NOW, not next week, not next month, not next year.
Each day that goes by another human
being, like you and I, like your children and grandchildren, will perish in
that desert wondering why no one but no one has reached out to them as those
with the means would surely wish others would do for them should they find
themselves in such dire straits.
Sorry for the soapboxing.
That was not my intent!
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for what you do to try to make the world a better place.
warmly,
sam
A MOTHER’S COMPASSION
Children and
War By Cindy Sheehan
June 13 2011 "Information
Clearing House" -- Recently, I was listening to
KGO radio and in case you don’t know, KGO is the ABC affiliate super-station
here in San Francisco that can be heard by millions of people with it’s
mega-wattage transmitter.
Gene Burns happened to be the host at that time. The night
that I was listening, Mr. Burns was wondering why the U.S. is bombing Libya,
but not Syria, because Syria is, “torturing and killing children,” and Mr.
Burns didn’t know how the people of the world could stand by and watch this
happen.
I wish I could have gotten through on the call-in line
because I would have asked Mr. Burns how he feels about the
It is my suspicion that even the most hardcore war
supporter knows that women and children are the ones that suffer the most from
war—but as War Madam, Madeline Albright notoriously said in an interview with
Lesley Stahl of CBS: the slaughter of over 500,000 Iraqi children during the
sanctions period during the Clinton regime was “worth it.” Monsters don’t
always have to have long claws, bloody fangs, or inhabit our nightmares—they
can look like somebody’s Grammy—and that’s what I call a waking terror.
As a mother of a victim of US
Imperialism, my well of
empathy is bottomless, but I am not like Gene
Burns—I don’t think we should just be upset when “rogue” regimes kill or
torture children—because the
Because of the definition of “collateral damage” (“We
don’t do body counts,” General Tommy Franks), it is hard to pin down the exact
number of children that have been killed by the US’s War OF Terror since
2001—in fact, it’s almost impossible, but a safe guesstimate is hundreds of
thousands. However, one was exactly one too many.
What I can do for you is tell you
some statistics on how children are treated here in the
|
|
Arkansas congressional
delegation contact information
SENATORS
Sen. John
Boozman
Republican, first term 320 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-4843 Fax: (202) 228-1371 Arkansas offices: FORT SMITH: (479) 573-0189 JONESBORO: (870) 268-6925 LITTLE ROCK: (501) 372-7153 LOWELL: (479) 725-0400 MOUNTAIN HOME: (870) 424-0129 STUTTGART: (870) 672-6941 EL DORADO: (870) 863-4641 Website: www.boozman.senate.gov
Sen. Mark
Pryor
Democrat, second term 255 Dirksen Office Building Constitution Avenue and First Street NE Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-2353 Fax: (202) 228-0908 Little Rock office: (501) 324-6336 Website: www.pryor.senate.gov |
REPRESENTATIVES
Rep. Rick
Crawford
1ST DISTRICT Republican, second term 1771 Independence Avenues SE Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4076 Fax: (202) 225-5602 CABOT: (501) 843-3043 MOUNTAIN HOME: (870) 424-2075 Website: www.crawford.house.gov
Rep. Tim
Griffin
2ND DISTRICT Republican, second term 1232 Independence Avenues SE Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2506 Fax: (202) 225-5903 LITTLE ROCK: (501) 324-5491 Website: www.griffin.house.gov
Rep. Steve
Womack
3RD DISTRICT Republican, second term 1119 Longworth Office Building New Jersey and Independence Avenues SE Washington 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4301 Fax: (202) 225-5713 Arkansas offices: ROGERS: (479) 464-0446 HARRISON: (870) 741-7741 FORT SMITH: (479) 424-1146 Website: www.womack.house.gov
Rep. Tom Cotton
4TH DISTRICT Republican, first term 415 Phone: (202) 225-43772 HOT SPRINGS: (501) 520-5892 PINE BLUFF: (870) 536-3376 Website: www.cotton.house.gov |
END UN UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY 2013
1 comment:
good site.............
Post a Comment