A new Article by William Hanna: Mankind Owes To The Child The Best That It Has To Give
Hi all,
this new article by William Hanna strongly affirms our obligation to care for our children.
Our children deserve everything. And what this world offers them, is just war and malnutrition. ProMosaik e.V. had already talked about this matter in its article about NOMA in Africa, and many times in the articles about the tragedy of the 50-days-invasion in Gaza.
thanks for reading and sharing this important article.
Dr. phil. Milena Rampoldi
ProMosaik e.V.
.“Mankind
Owes To The Child The Best That It Has To Give”
Owes To The Child The Best That It Has To Give”
Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1924
In 1924, the League of Nations (LON)
adopted the Geneva Declaration, a historic document that recognised and
affirmed for the first time the existence of rights specific to children and
the responsibility of adults towards children. Yet despite this Geneva
declaration; despite the ensuing 1959 adoption of the Declaration of the Rights
of the Child (the first major international consensus on the fundamental
principles of children’s rights) by the United Nations General Assembly; and
despite The International Convention on the Rights of the Child (a treaty
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989), the fundamental rights
of children still hardly ever feature on a list of priorities that need urgent
international attention.
adopted the Geneva Declaration, a historic document that recognised and
affirmed for the first time the existence of rights specific to children and
the responsibility of adults towards children. Yet despite this Geneva
declaration; despite the ensuing 1959 adoption of the Declaration of the Rights
of the Child (the first major international consensus on the fundamental
principles of children’s rights) by the United Nations General Assembly; and
despite The International Convention on the Rights of the Child (a treaty
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989), the fundamental rights
of children still hardly ever feature on a list of priorities that need urgent
international attention.
Children’s rights: rights adapted to children
Children’s rights are human rights specifically adapted to the
child because they take into account his fragility, specificities and
age-appropriate needs.
child because they take into account his fragility, specificities and
age-appropriate needs.
Children’s rights take into account the necessity of development
of the child. The children thus have the right to live and to develop suitably
physically and intellectually.
of the child. The children thus have the right to live and to develop suitably
physically and intellectually.
Children’s rights plan to satisfy the essential needs for a good
development of the child, such as the access to an appropriate alimentation, to
necessary care, to education, etc.
development of the child, such as the access to an appropriate alimentation, to
necessary care, to education, etc.
Children’s rights consider the vulnerable character of the
child. They imply the necessity to protect them. It means to grant a particular
assistance to them, and to give a protection adapted to their age and to their
degree of maturity.
child. They imply the necessity to protect them. It means to grant a particular
assistance to them, and to give a protection adapted to their age and to their
degree of maturity.
So, the children have to be helped and supported and must be
protected against labour exploitation, kidnapping, and ill-treatment, etc.
protected against labour exploitation, kidnapping, and ill-treatment, etc.
While there are many children’s
organisations such as Humanium — an international child sponsorship NGO
dedicated to stopping violations of children’s rights throughout the world —
child poverty, suffering, and mortality remains at unacceptable levels which
politicians, religious leaders, and the mass media prefer to ignore. According
to Humanium, though some progress has been achieved, the fact remains that
“Almost 9 million of under-5 children die each year, which means that a child
dies every 4 seconds (22,000 per day) in the world.” Just try omparing the lack
of reporting of this fact to the current frenzied hullabaloo over ebola or the
recent killing of a three-month-old Jewish baby in Jerusalem. A Global
Issues report noted that such a child mortality rate was equivalent to
“some 92 million children dying between 2000 and 2010” and that “the silent
killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and
other related causes. Despite the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it
rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.” (http://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-21000-children-died-around-the-world)
organisations such as Humanium — an international child sponsorship NGO
dedicated to stopping violations of children’s rights throughout the world —
child poverty, suffering, and mortality remains at unacceptable levels which
politicians, religious leaders, and the mass media prefer to ignore. According
to Humanium, though some progress has been achieved, the fact remains that
“Almost 9 million of under-5 children die each year, which means that a child
dies every 4 seconds (22,000 per day) in the world.” Just try omparing the lack
of reporting of this fact to the current frenzied hullabaloo over ebola or the
recent killing of a three-month-old Jewish baby in Jerusalem. A Global
Issues report noted that such a child mortality rate was equivalent to
“some 92 million children dying between 2000 and 2010” and that “the silent
killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and
other related causes. Despite the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it
rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.” (http://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-21000-children-died-around-the-world)
Year Annual number of deaths among children
1960
18’900’000
18’900’000
1970
17’400’000 (-8%)
17’400’000 (-8%)
1980
14’700’000 (-15%)
14’700’000 (-15%)
1990 12’700’000
(-14%)
(-14%)
2000
12’400’000 (-2%)
12’400’000 (-2%)
2010
8’100’000 (-35%)
8’100’000 (-35%)
In 1960 alone (in just one year), the number of child
deaths exceeded the Jewish Holocaust death toll by more than three times. Yet
because there is no “child mortality industry” similar to the “Holocaust
industry,” awareness of and concern for the plight of children receives
relatively little if any attention. As part of the constant, well-financed, and
meticulously organised reminders of the Holocaust, the BBC’s director of
television, Mr. Danny Cohen, recently announced plans to air a series of
special programs next year that will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz. The programs are to be broadcast around Holocaust
industry Memorial Day on January 27, 2015 and will range from interviews with
survivors of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau camp to a new drama about the 1961
trial in Israel of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann who was seized in
Argentina by Israeli agents and smuggled back to Israel on an El Al airliner.
deaths exceeded the Jewish Holocaust death toll by more than three times. Yet
because there is no “child mortality industry” similar to the “Holocaust
industry,” awareness of and concern for the plight of children receives
relatively little if any attention. As part of the constant, well-financed, and
meticulously organised reminders of the Holocaust, the BBC’s director of
television, Mr. Danny Cohen, recently announced plans to air a series of
special programs next year that will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz. The programs are to be broadcast around Holocaust
industry Memorial Day on January 27, 2015 and will range from interviews with
survivors of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau camp to a new drama about the 1961
trial in Israel of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann who was seized in
Argentina by Israeli agents and smuggled back to Israel on an El Al airliner.
It is very unlikely that Mr. Danny Cohen
will be announcing any BBC plans that may include highlighting the annual
genocide by neglect of young children or in-depth interviews with the mothers
who held them in their arms as they slowly died of the malnutrition that also made them more
vulnerable to severe diseases. Nor will Mr. Cohen be announcing any time soon —
as part of the BBC’s kosher balanced reporting — programmes that address the
rights of children including the fact that a large number of the Palestinian
children held in Israeli prisons are being subjected to torture and abuse; that
many of those children are in need of medical and psychological attention as
they are being kept in bad conditions and are being abused and tortured by the
Israeli guards; that those imprisoned children are even denied their basic
rights, including education, proper treatment and medical care; and that those
imprisoned children were tried in military courts just like adult detainees in
contravention of international law. Mr. Cohen’s failure in this regard may be
due to his concurrence with the Israeli view that “Palestinians are beasts
unworthy of life.”
will be announcing any BBC plans that may include highlighting the annual
genocide by neglect of young children or in-depth interviews with the mothers
who held them in their arms as they slowly died of the malnutrition that also made them more
vulnerable to severe diseases. Nor will Mr. Cohen be announcing any time soon —
as part of the BBC’s kosher balanced reporting — programmes that address the
rights of children including the fact that a large number of the Palestinian
children held in Israeli prisons are being subjected to torture and abuse; that
many of those children are in need of medical and psychological attention as
they are being kept in bad conditions and are being abused and tortured by the
Israeli guards; that those imprisoned children are even denied their basic
rights, including education, proper treatment and medical care; and that those
imprisoned children were tried in military courts just like adult detainees in
contravention of international law. Mr. Cohen’s failure in this regard may be
due to his concurrence with the Israeli view that “Palestinians are beasts
unworthy of life.”
Though we like to periodically reaffirm to ourselves
our own notion of humanity by commemorating those who died for their country,
we feel no such obligation for the hundreds of millions of children who have
died due to our indifference, neglect, hypocrisy, and double standards.
Humanium for example also points out that “to compare, the bloodiest war in the
History of Humanity, World War II, reported a death toll of more than 60
million dead which, spread over 6 years, represents more than 10 million deaths
per year. At that time, more than 20 million children died each year. So, the
child mortality has been comparatively more deadly than the most terrible war
of Humanity.”
our own notion of humanity by commemorating those who died for their country,
we feel no such obligation for the hundreds of millions of children who have
died due to our indifference, neglect, hypocrisy, and double standards.
Humanium for example also points out that “to compare, the bloodiest war in the
History of Humanity, World War II, reported a death toll of more than 60
million dead which, spread over 6 years, represents more than 10 million deaths
per year. At that time, more than 20 million children died each year. So, the
child mortality has been comparatively more deadly than the most terrible war
of Humanity.”
“Let us be the ones who say we do not accept that a child dies
every three seconds simply because he does not have the drugs you and I have.
Let us be the ones to say we are not satisfied that your place of birth
determines your right for life. Let us be outraged, let us be loud, let us be
bold.”
every three seconds simply because he does not have the drugs you and I have.
Let us be the ones to say we are not satisfied that your place of birth
determines your right for life. Let us be outraged, let us be loud, let us be
bold.”
“Don’t turn your face away.
Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know.
Open your eyes to the truth. It’s all around you.
Don’t deny what the eyes to your soul have revealed to you.
Now that you know, you cannot feign ignorance.
Now that you’re aware of the problem, you cannot pretend you
don’t care.
don’t care.
To be concerned is to be human.
To act is to care.”
Vashti Quiroz-Vega
William Hanna is a freelance writer with a recently published
book the Hiramic Brotherhood of the Third Temple. Sample chapter, other
articles, and contact details at: (http://www.hiramicbrotherhood.com/)
book the Hiramic Brotherhood of the Third Temple. Sample chapter, other
articles, and contact details at: (http://www.hiramicbrotherhood.com/)
