Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 20/11/2007
On the occasion of the Universal Children’s Day, I wish extend my heartiest greetings and good wishes to the children of the world. This day brings together the entire international community to renew their commitment to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child. Children are our greatest asset. They are our future and therefore, the most precious in society. They are also the most vulnerable in society and require tender care and protection. It is the sacred duty of the present generation to try and ensure that all children can grow up as worthy citizens in a world of equal opportunities. Unfortunately a great majority of the children, especially those in the developing and least developed countries suffer deprivation, abuse and social injustice. The greatest threat to the development of children is poverty. We can do a lot to minimize this threat if we dedicate ourselves fully towards fulfilling the 2000UN MDGs adopted by world leaders towards halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education to all by 2015. We have an obligation to ensure that children are not abused, that they are not forced into early labor or recruited as child soldiers, that they are protected against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, that they have a proper education and access to games and constructive activities to help develop their mental and physical faculties. Children’s issues are major components of the activities of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The OIC Ten Year Plan of Action has targeted poverty alleviation, capacity building, elimination of illiteracy, and eradication of epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Polio that affect thousands of children. The OIC is committed to providing free and quality basic education for all children and strengthen laws aimed at preserving the rights of children, ensuring for them the highest possible health levels and protecting them against all forms of violence and exploitation. I take this opportunity to renew my call to all the OIC member states who have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the OIC Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its annexed Optional Protocols and the Convention of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol with regard to the Rights of the Girl Child. Our children have entrusted in us their future. Let us not let them down.
