SUDAN: Government, UNICEF sign agreement on child rights

NAIROBI, 21 January (IRIN) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
on Thursday, 17 January agreed to provide US $100 million in funding to
help improve the lives of Sudanese children over the next four years, the
Sudanese Ministry of International Cooperation and UNICEF said in a joint
statement.

"The 'Programme [of Cooperation]' aims to assist the GoS [government of
Sudan] in its obligation, as set out in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, to protect and promote the rights of children to survival,
development, protection and participation," the statement said.

The agreement between the government of Sudan and UNICEF, covering the
period 2002-2006, was signed in Khartoum on Thursday by Sudanese Minister
of International Cooperation Karam al-Din Salih and UNICEF Country
Representative Thomas Ekval.

An additional US $32 million would be provided by the Sudanese government
and other national partners, the statement said.

The new programme of cooperation would include six major areas of
intervention: health and nutrition; water and environmental sanitation;
basic education; rights, protection and peace building; planning,
monitoring and evaluation; and communication and advocacy.

Child rights, gender equality and HIV/AIDS issues would cut across all
interventions, UNICEF and the government of Sudan stated on 17 January.

To reduce geographical disparities, the programme would focus on the nine
most disadvantaged states of the country. The selected "focus states" were
Northern Darfur, Western Darfur, Southern Darfur, Northern Kordofan,
Western Kordofan, Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, Kassala, and El-Gadaref
(Al-Qadarif).

The programme would allow work to continue in Juba, Wau, Malakal and other
"accessible locations" in the government-controlled areas of southern
Sudan.

The programme would also provide a framework for humanitarian emergencies
arising from conflict and natural disasters such as drought and floods,
and would help "communities prepare for emergencies and develop
appropriate coping mechanisms", UNICEF and the Sudanese Ministry of
International Cooperation stated.
[ENDS]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: Materials by sources other than Derechos distributed in this
mailing list do not necessarily imply the endorsement of Derechos
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
If you need help, e-mail: [email protected]