[Suva, Fiji – 18 January 2010] – The Governments of Tonga and Tuvalu have collected recent information on the social impacts of the global economic crisis. The surveys reveal that more than 80% of families in the most vulnerable communities do not have enough money for food. If compared to this time last year, some have sought more help from family and friends while others have started to plant more food or go fishing more often.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Social Policy Specialist, Ms Reiko Yoshihara-Miskelly said: “The surveys also suggest that since the crisis, more household heads have lost their jobs while issues of child labour and neglect have become prominent.”
“Children, youth and women are among those who are bearing the biggest burden from the crisis. But given the opportunity, they could also be the ones who can find positive solutions to the challenges they face,” she added.
It is possible that the crisis will affect the Pacific region even more this year and that more children will be at greater risk of hardship. One of the main purposes of the Pacific Conference on the Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis is to focus on the most vulnerable people, not just as passive receivers of assistance but as active agents of change.
In the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 12, the Conference will ensure that child and youth perspectives will be reflected. As part of this effort, UNICEF is holding a two day pre-conference with children and youth from Vanuatu and other Pacific Island Countries between 8-9 February, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Youth delegates from each participating country at the pre-conference will discuss how the crisis is affecting their lives and how they can contribute to the conference’s final outcome document. They will also discuss ways in which they can participate meaningfully during the main conference with high-level delegates.
Ms Yoshihara-Miskelly said: “This pre-conference is part of our efforts to ensure that children and youth from the Pacific are given opportunities to voice their opinions on decisions that affect their lives. Vanuatu’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Management has generously offered their Ex-Parliamentary Chamber as a venue for this pre-conference. Alongside this pre-conference, we have launched a Human Face Story Competition and an on-line discussion with youth across the Pacific using the social networking site Facebook. We are also organizing a video-production workshop by young people including out-of-school children in Fiji. At this workshop, twenty young people will produce videos to capture how they believe the global economic crisis has affected the lives of vulnerable groups of people in the Pacific. We will be uploading some of them on Facebook. We would like to encourage Pacific Youth to replicate the effort where possible,” she said.
The UN Resident Coordinator based in Suva, Mr Knut Ostby said: “We must find the best solution to mitigate the impact of the current crisis on the most vulnerable - including children and youth. Now is the time for Pacific leaders to act together with children and young people. Decisions made now will affect our common future.”
[Ends]
Background Information:
The Pacific conference on The Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis will be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu from February 10-12, 2010. More than 200 people including government ministers, parliamentarians, development partners, UN agencies, youth and women’s groups and civil society organizations are expected to attend.
The conference is organized by the Government of Vanuatu with support from the United Nations, Asian Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the University of the South Pacific.
Download the report “Protecting Pacific Island children and women during economic and food crises: Working Edition one for Advocacy, Debate and Guidance".
The Pacific Youth Human Interest Story competition for the Pacific Conference has Deadline on 25nd Jan. For more detail, please visit http://vanuatu2010.un.org.fj/pages.cfm/youth-side-event/story-of-human-face-competition.html
For more information, please contact:
Jean Sese, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs on (678) 27045 or jsese@vanuatu.gov.vu; or
Donna Hoerder, UNICEF Pacific Communications Specialist on (679) 3300439 or dhoerder@unicef.org ; or
Reama Biumaiono, UNDP Communications Associate on (679) 3227704 or reama.biumaiono@undp.org
Visit the conference website: http://vanuatu2010.un.org.fj/
Follow us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Human-Face/177913977803?v=info&ref=search/
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