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Beijing Declaration: A Foundation for Children's Development in New Century
East Asian and Pacific countries Wednesday showed their determination to improve the well-being of children with the adoption of a regional joint development program for children, the Beijing Declaration.
The Declaration, adopted here at the closing meeting of the Fifth Ministerial Consultation in East Asia and the Pacific on Shaping the Future for Children, will serve as a guideline for children's development in the region over the next 10 years.
Delegates believe that the declaration will have a profound impact on the development of children not just within the region, but of the entire world.
Speaking highly of the declaration, Executive Director Carol Bellamy of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) pointed out that as a major achievement of the current consultation, the declaration not only sets the development agenda for children of the region but will also become part of the world's overall action guideline.
The UNICEF, sponsor of the current consultation, stressed that the significance of the declaration lies in an unprecedented consensus among participating countries that children's well-being should be put at the center of the national agenda and considered as the most important indicator of national economic and social progress.
To better reflect the ideas of the some 600 million children in the region, a group of young people were invited to participate in the drafting and revising of the declaration, which was also unprecedented at ministerial consultations.
The declaration, in response to challenges of the new century, calls for the establishment of sustainable solutions and systems for improving the situation of children.
Governments of participating countries also made clear commitments to the new development goals and pledged more funds as substantial support.
Delegates believe that under the guidance of the declaration, children's development in east Asia and the Pacific will undoubtedly ascend to a new level.
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