A Place Where Young People Are Building Peace  FLOORS     Ground Floor    1st Floor    2nd Floor    3rd Floor    4th Floor    5th Floor   ROOMS         Records Office    Administrative Offices    Corporate Office      1995 WORLD SUMMIT OF CHILDREN   PROPOSAL FOR   A YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY   This Proposal is the result of the two-year 1995 World Summit of Children Project which has reached approximately 20,000 children. Through partnerships of children and adults a 180 page guidebook educating about UN documents and structure was prepared and used at 27 preparatory meetings worldwide at which delegates were selected to attend the International Summit held in Redwood City near San Francisco during the June 1995 UN50 Charter celebration. The International Summit was one of several concurrent Summits interconnecting throughout the world. The Summit delegates wrote,   “Because we, the children of the Earth, are now approximately one third of the world’s population and are quickly approaching one half of the world’s people, we are entitled to a voice in the governance of our world. The destiny of tomorrow lies in what we do today. We sincerely hope that a partnership between children and adults will create a world of mutual understanding and respect.”   Children representing 36 countries coordinated this Proposal for a Young General Assembly to show their readiness and willingness to initiate mutually respectful partnerships with world leaders to share in the responsibility for developing a better future for all.     1995 WORLD SUMMIT OF CHILDREN PROPOSAL FOR A YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY   PREAMBLE   We, representing the young peoples of the world, are determined to end all child abuse and neglect, to reaffirm the faith of young peoples in the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to provide an ongoing voice for the children of the world within the United Nations system.   To attain these goals, we seek to establish a partnership between the young peoples of the world and the United Nations organization by proposing that a Young General Assembly (YGA) be established as a committee of the General Assembly.   ARTICLE I YGA STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION   SECTION 1. YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEADQUARTERS   a. Every attempt should be made to utilize the existing facilities of the United Nations. The Young General Assembly will maintain its headquarters office in the UN building in New York.   b. YGA headquarters will be the central hub of all YGA activities. YGA headquarters will receive, compile and distribute reports and information.   c. Headquarters shall be supplied with adequate and efficient telecommunications facilities.   SECTION 2. ANNUAL YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSIONS   a. YGA sessions will be held annually in New York. One representative (a third year ambassador) from each YGA National Council will attend. The Young General Assembly will be comprised of these ambassadors.   b. The annual YGA session is a three-part process commencing on the first Tuesday of every September (this is two weeks prior to the commencement of the United Nations General Assembly).   FIRST WEEK: YGA ambassadors shall meet in Regional Assemblies to consolidate proposals involving common issues and to identify those nations requiring immediate attention. A chairperson will be elected as head of each Regional Assembly. The eleven YGA regions are defined as follows:   (Asia) -Middle East Australasia -Central Asia -South Asia Eastern Europe -South East Asia and Far East Latin America (Africa) -North and West Africa Western Europe and Others -East Africa -Central and South Africa     SECOND WEEK: There will be an International Assembly of all ambassadors without regional segregation. In this week-long session all issues common to different regions shall be discussed and consolidated collectively, while those requiring further attention shall be discussed at a later time.   THIRD WEEK: During the first week of the United Nations General Assembly (GA) session, the proposals created by the YGA will be presented to the GA. There will be a Joint Assembly held with both the YGA and the GA where issues pertaining to the welfare of children will be discussed.   SECTION 3. YGA ADULT FACILITATOR   A qualified adult (who has expertise in the knowledge of all aspects of the functioning of the United Nations) will be selected as an Adult Facilitator. His or her role will be that of advisor to the ambassadors of the Young General Assembly, as well as that of (adult) communicator between the YGA and the General Assembly.   SECTION 4. YGA SUB-COMMITTEES AND SPECIALIZED AGENCIES   a. Specialized agencies and sub-committees are those created by the YGA as separate entities which deal with specific issues pertaining to children.   b. The YGA will consider, approve and examine the power and budget of specialized agencies and sub-committees.   ARTICLE II YGA NATIONAL COUNCIL STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION   SECTION 1. YGA NATIONAL COUNCILS   a. There shall be a YGA National Council in each country, whether or not it is a member of the United Nations.   b. The YGA National Councils will be made up of councilors and ambassadors. Councilors will serve as a liaison between the children of their nation, their national governments and the YGA. Ambassadors will serve as leaders of the YGA National Councils and as liaisons between the National Councils and the Young General Assembly.   c. Councilors and ambassadors should be democratically nominated and elected by vote. There should be no political party influence or involvement in the election process as well as in the activities of the Council. A nation may also provide additional non-discriminatory guidelines for the selection of candidates. It is suggested that the elections be held through each nation’s schools.   d. Each YGA National Council will compile an annual report of their activities and proposals and send these to the YGA headquarters in New York.   SECTION 2. YGA NATIONAL COUNCILORS   a. Each Councilor must meet all the qualifications hereby stated.   b. The minimum age of Councilors is left to the discretion of each nation. However, a minimum age of ten years is suggested.   c. Each Councilor must have the ability to read, write and speak fluently in at least one of the United Nations official languages. Fluency in another language is a desirable asset. Councilors are expected to have a basic knowledge of the operations of the United Nations and the General Assembly in particular. They must be familiar with issues facing their country as well as world issues. It is suggested that they be educated about the history of different peoples and their cultures.   d. Community service is highly advised as a prerequisite for election to the YGA National Council.   SECTION 3. YGA AMBASSADORS   a. Three ambassadors will serve as leaders of each YGA National Council and will be elected by the Councilors.   b. Each ambassador will serve a three year term.   c. First and second year ambassadors can work as researchers and advisors to the third year ambassador, who will be the only member of the YGA National Council who will attend annual YGA sessions in New York. The first and second year ambassadors are not permitted to attend the Young General Assembly sessions except when the third year ambassador cannot be present. They will remain in their respective nations and communicate through telecommunications link-ups with the third year ambassador.   d. The second year ambassador will advise the third year ambassador as to the nation’s opinions on the various proposals discussed by the Young General Assembly.   e. Optional regional meetings will be attended by all three ambassadors.   SECTION 4. YGA NATIONAL COUNCIL YOUTH CHAIRPERSONS   a. A third year ambassador, upon completing his/her term, has the option of running for a fourth year term as Youth Chairperson.   b. The duties of the Youth Chairperson entail coordinating the entire YGA session and the organization of all forthcoming meetings.   SECTION 5. YGA NATIONAL COUNCIL COMMITTEES   a. Six committees are to function at the national level under the YGA National Councils in order to implement national and international proposals concerning the welfare of children.   The six recommended committees are: 1. Education 2. Children’s Rights 3. Racial and Ethnic Relations 4. Environment and Development 5. Child Advisory Committee 6. General (i.e. immediate action)   b. A Chairperson and Secretary of Records should be elected by the YGA National Council to head each of these Committees and to record their activities.   c. National Councilors may attend all Committee meetings, but may not hold office in more than one committee at a time.   SECTION 6. SEMI-ANNUAL YGA NATIONAL COUNCIL LINK-UPS   In addition to the annual meeting of the Young General Assembly, there will be a telecommunications link-up conference every six months between all the YGA National Councils. During these conferences, reports and updates on individual situations should be represented and discussed.   SECTION 7. OPTIONAL REGIONAL CONFERENCES   Optional regional conferences can be provided in order to give all the YGA National Councils within one region (as defined above) the opportunity to interact during the period when the YGA is not in session. The purpose of these conferences is to enable nations to resolve regional issues without unnecessarily presenting them at annual YGA sessions.   ARTICLE III POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY   SECTION 1. POWERS   The Young General Assembly shall have proclamation power and the right to be recognized for the creation of bills and international laws concerning children and their rights.   SECTION 2. REPRESENTATION   The Young General Assembly will represent all children of the world and their views.   SECTION 3. BILLS AND PROPOSALS   a. Ambassadors can present their national reports and proposals in detail in the regional assembly held during the first week of the annual Young General Assembly session.   b. The Regional Assembly will decide whether or not a bill/proposal should be dealt with on a regional level or whether the proposal and its related issues need to be addressed at the international level. If it is passed, a bill/proposal will then be presented to the YGA International Assembly. If a proposal is not passed, it will be set aside with the option of bringing it back to a regional conference for reconsideration after a period of time to be predetermined by the region involved.   c. All of the ambassadors may vote on Young General Assembly proposals. Once a general consensus has been reached, the proposal can then be presented to the GA.   SECTION 4. CONSULTATION RIGHTS OF THE YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY   Before any United Nations action concerning children is taken, the Young General Assembly should be notified and given an opportunity to debate and respond to that issue.   SECTION 5. FINANCIAL RIGHTS   The Young General Assembly should debate and approve its budget and/or financial actions pertaining to its work.   SECTION 6. INTERNATIONAL KEEPING THE PROMISE REPORT   The Young General Assembly may update the International Keeping the Promise Report and submit it to the General Assembly and the Committee on the Rights of the Child along with recommendations for appropriate actions which need to be implemented.   SECTION 7. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE YGA   a. The Young General Assembly will discuss questions of children’s rights introduced by children all over the world. Issues requiring action will be referred to the United Nations General Assembly after YGA discussion, or in cases requiring immediate attention, before.   b. The YGA will keep abreast of any decisions, proposals, actions or expenditures of its sub-committees and specialized agencies.   c. The YGA will research, discuss and respond to any issues presented to it by any part of the United Nations or any national government as well as the YGA National Councils and regional conferences.   SECTION 8. CONNECTIONS WITH THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY   a. The YGA will alert the General Assembly to situations threatening children and/or the status of children.   b. The YGA will make recommendations to the General Assembly and GA committees to edit or modify proposals under consideration.   c. YGA ambassadors and GA ambassadors will maintain ongoing and frequent communication.   SECTION 9. OUTSIDE COMMUNICATION   a. The Young General Assembly has the right to have open communication links with the United Nations and in particular the General Assembly at any time.   b. Communication will take place through special meetings, committees, and/or individuals, as well as through other means of communication, for direct relations with all appropriate agencies of the UN, especially UNICEF.   ARTICLE IV FINANCE   SECTION 1. YGA AND GFAC ACCOUNTS   a. The Young General Assembly shall be an inseparable part of the UN and as such should be funded by UN member state fees and non-member state contributions. For this purpose it is proposed that a YGA Account be created.   b. Children should take a part in fundraising activities to help carry out YGA related expenses. For this purpose a General Fundraising Account for Children (GFAC) should be created. The GFAC shall be a backlog account for the YGA Account in case of any shortage of funds related to the accrued expenses for the YGA. Donations from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), national governmental agencies and individuals would be included in this account.   SECTION 2. ALLOCATION OF ACCRUED EXPENSES   To support the proposed structure, the various YGA operations should be funded at different levels.   i. National expenses should be directly by national funds.   ii. Regional expenses should be supported by all nations involved upon agreement.   iii. International expenses should be supported by the funds in the YGA and GFAC accounts.   SECTION 3. AUDITS   Financial control and audits should be provided by a financial agent of the General Assembly and/or an independent auditor   CONCLUSION   Having gathered at the 1995 World Summit of Children during the June UN50 celebration in San Francisco, we propose that the Young General Assembly will work for the children of the world and for the advancement of children’s rights. It will prove that children have a voice which needs to be heard and has not been listened to enough.   This Proposal for a Young General Assembly is merely a minimal framework of what we believe needs to be done to assist, protect and develop children around the world so they can offer their unique insights and help to make the world a better place. PEACEWAYS-Young General Assembly Secretariat, 1950 Sunset Drive, Reedsburg, Wisconsin 53959 USA, E-mail: peaceways@igc.org Site Designed and maintained By www.MadatOnLine.com.