“전세계 아동 10억 물질적 결핍 시달려”

연합뉴스 | 입력 2009.11.20 10:23 | 수정 2009.11.20 10:33

(유엔본부 AP=연합뉴스) 유엔아동권리협약 채택 후 20년 간 아동 사망률과 교육 여건 등이 개선됐지만, 약 10억 명의 아이들이 여전히 생존과 성장에 필수적인 혜택을 받지 못하고 있다고 유니세프(UNICEF.유엔아동기금)가 19일 지적했다.

유니세프는 이날 아동권리협약 20주년을 하루 앞두고 ‘세계아동현황’에 관한 연례보고서 특별판을 발간했다.

보고서는 지난 20년 간 70개국 이상이 아동권리협약을 이용해 아동을 보호하고 그들의 권리를 보장하는 규약을 국내법으로 편입시켰으며, 어린이를 보호하려는 노력이 확대됐다고 밝혔다.

유니세프는 아동 사망률 감소를 가장 눈에 띄는 성과로 꼽았는데 5세 미만 아동 사망이 1990년 1천250만 명에서 2008년 880만 명으로 28% 감소한 것으로 집계됐다.

아울러 학교에 가지 못하는 아동 수도 2002년 1억1천500만 명에서 2007년 1억100만 명으로 줄었으며, 교육받는 아동 수의 성별 격차도 줄었다고 보고서는 밝혔다.

하지만 많은 아이들이 여전히 폐렴, 말라리아, 홍역, 영양실조 등 예방할 수 있는 원인으로 사망하고 있으며, 학교에 가지 못하거나 폭력, 학대, 착취, 차별 등으로부터 보호받지 못하는 아이들도 많다고 앤 베너먼 유니세프 총재는 지적했다.

보고서에 따르면 약 10억 명의 아이들이 아직도 한 가지 이상의 물질적 결핍에 시달리고 있는데 특히 아시아와 아프리카 등지의 아이들 수백 명이 적절한 치료와 영양공급, 교육, 위생시설 및 보호시설 등의 혜택을 받지 못하고 있다.

또 매일 5세 미만 아동 2만4천명 이상이 예방할 수 있는 원인으로 목숨을 잃고 있으며, 매년 약 5억-15억 명의 아이들이 폭력 행위에 시달리고 있다고 보고서는 지적했다.

1989년 유엔총회에서 채택된 유엔아동권리협약은 국제 규약 중 가장 많은 193개국이 비준했는데, 비준 의향을 밝힌 국가 중 미국과 소말리아는 아직 비준하지 않았다.

hisunny@yna.co.kr
(끝)

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UNICEF says more children in school and fewer dying – but 1 billion still struggle to survive

Thu Nov 19, 5:02 PM

By Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press

Twenty years after the U.N. adopted a treaty guaranteeing children’s rights, 1 billion children are still deprived of food, shelter or clean water, and nearly 200 million are chronically malnourished, UNICEF said Thursday.

There are some bright spots – fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school, the U.N. children’s agency said in a report issued on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said the convention “has transformed the way children are viewed and treated throughout the world.”

“As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, the convention stands at a pivotal moment,” she told a news conference.

“Its relevance remains timeless. The challenge for the next 20 years is to build on the progress achieved, working together to reach those children who are still being denied their rights to survival, development, protection and participation.”

The convention has the widest support of any human rights treaty, with ratifications legally binding 193 countries to its provisions. But not all countries are implementing its requirements, Veneman said.

Only two countries – the United States and Somalia – have not ratified it. The Clinton administration in the 1990s signed the convention but never submitted it to the Senate for ratification because a number of groups argued it infringed on the rights of parents and was inconsistent with state and local laws.

Asked about the U.S. failure to ratify, Veneman said “it is frustrating,” but she noted that President Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice “have expressed a strong desire to move the U.S. in the direction of approving the convention.”

Over the past 20 years, she said, more than 70 countries have used the convention to incorporate codes protecting children and ensuring their rights into national legislation.

The convention has also brought measures “to ensure that children are safeguarded from violence, abuse, discrimination and exploitation,” Veneman said.

Still, the report said that between 500 million and 1.5 billion children are estimated to experience violence annually. Among those attending the news conference was a former child soldier from Uganda, 29-year-old Grace Akallo.

The report noted one of the convention’s most outstanding achievements was the improvement in child survival. The number of deaths of children under 5 decreased from around 12.5 million in 1990 to an estimated 8.8 million in 2008 – a 28 per cent decline, it said.

Other pluses were an increase in HIV prevention and treatment for children, and an increase in primary school education.

In 2002, some 115 million children weren’t going to school, while in 2007 the number dropped to 101 million, the report said. However, while the gender gap has narrowed, girls are still losing out, it said.

Nevertheless, UNICEF said children’s rights are far from assured.

“It is unacceptable that children are still dying from preventable causes, like pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition,” Veneman said in a statement. “Many of the world’s children will never see the inside of a school room, and millions lack protection against violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and neglect.”

An estimated 1 billion children lack access to good health care, adequate nutrition, education, clean water, sanitation facilities or adequate shelter.

Children in Africa and Asia suffer the worst deprivation, Veneman said. “More than nine out of 10 children who are not attending school, who are malnourished, and who die before the age of 5 live in these two continents.”

More than 24,000 children under 5 die every day from largely preventable causes, according to the report. Some 150 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour and more than 140 million children under 5 are underweight for their age, it said.

UNICEF said climate and population shifts threaten recent advances in child rights and the convention’s 20th anniversary year has been marked by the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“There is a real danger that the repercussions of these shocks will have lifelong consequences that span generations, undermining efforts to advance children’s rights for the coming decades,” it warned.