A better world for children, elders

By Pramod De SILVA

Children and elders. Yin and Yang. Polar opposites. Yes, the world will be a much duller place without children and elders. They make the world a more beautiful, more vibrant place.

We all experience childhood and then become adults. But we can never ever forget the joys of childhood. Once, when a famous personality was asked in a TV interview whether he knew about the problems faced by children, he succinctly replied: “I have been a child”. That sums up a period in our lives that would never come back. It is carefree, joyous and utterly unforgettable.

It can only be a happy coincidence that the Universal Children’s Day and Elders Day are observed on the same day, October 1, by most countries. Government authorities and several organisations in Sri Lanka too have organised several events to mark this twin event.

This occasion is an ideal opportunity to take stock of the state of the world’s children and elders. Most of us remember a fun-filled childhood, but that is unfortunately not the case for most children in today’s world. They are subjected to untold hardships from birth and millions of children in the Third World do not even live until they are five years old. On the other hand, children in the developed world have the best of everything - obesity has become a major problem in those countries. It is this inequality that the world should address without delay. The World Leaders Summit on the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) held on the sidelines of the 65th UN General Assembly Sessions addressed most of these concerns.

With the 2015 deadline for achieving the eight MDGs only five years away, it is imperative that the nations of the world should come together to create a better tomorrow for the children. The time to act is now.

Nearly all of the MDGs impact on children - addressing poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and global partnerships. The statistics with regard to MDGs make grim reading.

One billion children especially in developing countries do not have proper access to food, shelter and clean water. More than 24,000 aged five and under die daily due to preventable conditions such as malnutrition and pneumonia. Infant and child mortality rates are alarmingly high in the poorest countries, despite the advances in medicine and healthcare.

More than 100 million children, mostly girls, have been deprived of the right to primary education. Millions of female children are discriminated against in many societies. Many of them are subject to genital mutilation and other such cruelties. HIV/AIDS claim around 400,000 children worldwide per year. Environmental problems and climate change also adversely affect children the world over. It is clear that the MDGs are inter-related and children have been at the receiving end of all these adverse factors. Countries such as Sri Lanka have made remarkable progress on all these fronts and are well on track to achieve the MDGs. But the picture is not so clear for most countries.

Exploitation

This is not the end of problems facing children. The exploitation and trafficking of children for sex, labour and combat is a major issue worldwide. According to UNICEF, an estimated 160 million children aged 5-14 (one in six children) are engaged in child labour. This is a staggering number. Millions of children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery.

Many others are ‘employed’ as domestic servants in homes around the world in appalling conditions. One should also take into account the vast number of children, especially girls, who are forced to do household chores in their own homes day and night. They are deprived by education and other rights by their own parents.

Terrorist and insurgent groups conscript children for combat. An estimated 250,000 children are engaged in combat duties in conflict zones around the world. Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were notorious for their use of children as young as eight in their so-called baby brigades. These children were deprived of parental care, proper food, play and education.

They did not know how to handle a pen, but they could handle a T56 with ease. They did not know how to read, but they could fire indiscriminately at the ‘enemy’. Although the LTTE is no more and the child combatants are being rehabilitated and educated, the picture is still bleak for children conscripted by other terror groups.

As for the child sex industry, the picture is bleaker. Around one million children are trafficked for sex each year around the world. They are sold, almost as slaves, for pitiful sums to international child sex dealers. There are many instances where the parents are aware that their children are sold to prostitution rings, but extreme poverty forces them to take such extreme steps. Child pornography is also rife, despite the best efforts of Governments to crack down on this most horrendous vice. Again, these children are deprived of education and other rights. Children are also used for begging in developing countries, thus keeping them away from school. Drug addiction is another key problem among children in certain countries.

Unacceptable

The bottom line is that millions of children do not have a proper childhood today. This is unacceptable in a world where the majority of countries have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which was introduced more than 20 years ago. These are essentially Human Rights enshrined in the UN Human Rights Charter, but applied in the context of childhood.

The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children’s rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.

By agreeing to undertake the obligations of the Convention (by ratifying or acceding to it), national governments have committed themselves to protecting and ensuring children’s rights and they have agreed to hold themselves accountable for this commitment before the international community. State parties to the Convention are obliged to develop and undertake all actions and policies in the light of the best interests of the child.

These are indeed noble objectives, but the world needs to do more to implement them. Children do deserve a brighter future without the fear of exploitation, disease and discrimination. Then only will they turn into adults who can make a positive contribution to society.

Adults, especially the elderly, have their fair share of problems. Thanks to advances in healthcare, most people can live to a ripe old age, so to speak. Conditions and diseases which once proved to be fatal can be easily treated now. Surgical intervention for heart, eye and other ailments are not too difficult.

Ageing

This has however turned into a problem for most countries i.e. how to care for a graying, non-productive population. Sometimes referred to as ‘population ageing’ this is a problem that many countries are grappling with. There is no universal ‘cut-off’ age to define an elderly person, but 65-70 is the general guideline. The ration of the post-65 population is increasing in many countries, burdening the social security, welfare, healthcare and other systems.

In other words, the productive population is falling while the elderly population is rising. Indeed, the falling share of the population at traditionally productive ages means relatively fewer people will pay taxes and social contributions at a time when the rising share of older persons implies that more people will receive pensions and costly health services. This is an unbearable burden on many economies, especially developing ones.

However, this is a myopic view of the elderly population. Why not recognise the fact that they have given the best years of their lives to their country and society? We all have an obligation to pay back that debt.

At society level, we can take simple steps to honour the elderly for their contribution. For example, there are many who ‘abandon’ their parents at homes for the aged. Instead, why cannot children look after their elderly parents who had done all that is possible to bring them up? These are issues that we have to ponder on. There should also be more programs for the elderly in the spheres of self-employment, adult education and pastimes. There should be greater interaction between the elderly and children, for the former have pearls of wisdom that have to be passed on to the next generation.

Our thoughts and actions on children and elders should not be limited to October 1. There are things we can do at individual level against the exploitation of children and older persons. For example, the National Child Protection Authority has a hotline (1929) to inform them of any act of child exploitation. Such steps make a difference. Parents, teachers and religious leaders must also guide children on the correct path.

Children and elders around the world deserve a better deal. The MDG program should be accelerated to meet the 2015 target. That alone has the potential to change the lives of millions of children and elders around the world.

A world free of strife and poverty is the best gift that we can bestow on the next generation who will inherit the reins of Planet Earth.