Carol Bellamy
Carol Bellamy
Carol Bellamyis presently the Chair of the Board of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fundand has been Director of the Peace Corps, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund, and President and CEO of World Learning. In April 2009, Bellamy was appointed as Chair of the International BaccalaureateBoard of Governors. Between 2010 and 2013, Carol Bellamy was the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education. Bellamy is a member of the Board of...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEducator
Date of Birth14 January 1942
CountryUnited States of America
The Convention is not only a visionary document. We are reminded daily that it is an agreement that works - and its utility can be seen in the everyday use to which I have seen it increasingly being put by country after country, in policy, in practice and in law.
What is needed now are increased efforts to promote youth participation and commitment; more services aimed at youth; more parental involvement; more education and information, using schools and other sites; more protection for girls, orphaned children and young women;and more partnerships with people with HIV and AIDS.
Northern Uganda presents a situation of extraordinary violation of the rights of children.
And each of us can practice rights ourselves, treating each other without discrimination, respecting each other's dignity and rights.
It's estimated that there may be two hundred and fifty million children in the world engaged in some form of exploitative child labour.
By ratifying the Convention, governments become legally bound to implement the rights therein.
We must ensure that while eliminating child labor in the export industry, we are also eliminating their labour from the informal sector, which is more invisible to public scrutiny - and thus leaves the children more open to abuse and exploitation.
While the technology revolution has yet to reach far into the households of those in developing countries, this is certainly another area where more developed countries can assist those in the less developed world.
UNICEF has repeatedly called on governments to ensure basic services for children and this includes providing food where the need exists.
Girls Scouts taught me to succeed (cookie selling) and to fail (knot tying) and to learn and benefit from both.
For example, UNICEF works with governments to change legislation such as in India where a law was passed raising the age of compulsory school completion to keep children in school and away from the workplace for longer.
Sport can be used for messaging, for example, making the connections between shin guards or a helmet that protects you, and protection in terms of HIV and AIDS. There has also been a very active program in Africa called 'Kick Polio out of Africa,' where soccer players have spoken out in terms of polio. There is also going to be a swim for malaria.
Instant telecommunication allows better and updated information, lessons learnt and problems encountered to be exchanged and debated, it alerts us more quickly to problems and brings to many households around the world visions and information which hopefully spur us to action.
Children have in the past and continue to influence policy makers.