The Girl Child, G.A. res. 50/154, U.N. Doc. A/RES/50/154 (1995)
The General Assembly, Recalling the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights, Agenda 21 adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the Plan of Action for Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s of the World Summit for Children, the World Declaration on Education for All and the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs adopted at the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Recalling also that discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child was identified as a critical area of concern in the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women in the achievement of equality, development and peace for women, and that the advancement and empowerment of women throughout their life-cycle must begin with the girl child, Noting with appreciation that the World Summit for Children sensitized the entire world to the plight of children, Reaffirming the equal rights of women and men as enshrined in the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, and recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1. Urges all States to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child and to eliminate the violation of the human rights of all children, paying particular attention to the obstacles faced by the girl child; 2. Also urges all States, international organizations as well as non-governmental organizations, individually and collectively to set goals and to develop and implement gender-sensitive strategies to address the needs of children, in particular those of girls, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the goals, strategic objectives and actions contained in the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women; 3. Requests all States, international organizations as well as non-governmental organizations to increase awareness of the potential of the girl child and to promote the participation of girls and young women, on an equal basis and as partners with boys and young men, in social, economic and political life and in the development of strategies and in the implementation of actions aimed at achieving gender equality, development and peace; 4. Calls upon Member States and organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, in particular, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, to take into account the rights and the particular needs of the girl child, especially in education, health and nutrition, and to eliminate negative cultural attitudes and practices against the girl child; 5. Urges all States to eliminate all forms of violence against children, in particular the girl child; 6. Calls upon States, international organizations as well as non-governmental organizations to help mobilize the necessary financial resources and political support to achieve goals, strategies and actions relating to the survival, development and protection of the girl child in all programmes for children; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the goals and actions relating to the girl child receive full attention in the implementation of the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women through the work of all organizations and bodies of the United Nations system; 8. Also requests the Secretary-General, as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, to urge all the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system focusing on the advancement of women to make commitments to goals and actions relating to the girl child in the revision and implementation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001, as well as in the medium-term plan for the period 1998-2002. |