Welcome to the United Nations
Theme: “Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty"
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on 20 November 1989. This landmark human rights treaty sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities.
In particular, the Convention recognizes the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Poverty hurts children’s development and, in turn, leads to lower income and health in adulthood. When child poverty is recognized as a denial of children’s human rights then people in positions of responsibility and power are legally bound to promote, protect and fulfil children’s rights. Above all, it is imperative to recognize and address the specific discriminations experienced by the girl child.
It is crucial that children's participation be recognized as a process and not a one-off event. Too often consultation is mistaken for participation. Whereas the process of consultation gathers children's views on a particular issue or question, participation means that children actually join in in decision- making.
The commemoration of October 17 each year demonstrates how we can achieve greater participation by enabling people from all walks of life to come together to respect the human rights and dignity of people living in poverty. The participation of children and young people has always been encouraged and supported as an integral part of October 17 observances at the United Nations and around the world. This recognizes the important roles children can play by sharing and applying the valuable knowledge they have acquired from their personal daily struggle to overcome poverty.
Concept Note
Programme
View the programme of the day in New York
Message from H.E. Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
Video Message from H.E. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly
Video of the Event
Photos
View the photos of the commemoration event in New York
For the first time in 20 years, UNICEF’s flagship report examines the issue of children, food and nutrition, providing a fresh perspective on a rapidly evolving challenge.
The 2019 edition of The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) examines the issue of children, food and nutrition, providing a fresh perspective on a rapidly evolving challenge. Despite progress in the past two decades, one third of children under age 5 are malnourished – stunted, wasted or overweight – while two thirds are at risk of malnutrition and hidden hunger because of the poor quality of their diets. At the center of this challenge is a broken food system that fails to provide children with the diets they need to grow healthy. This report also provides new data and analyses of malnutrition in the 21st century and outlines recommendations to put children’s rights at the heart of food systems.
In the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, the 17on17 Summit on 17 October 2019 will bring together a range of stakeholders spanning non-profits, foundations, advocates, youth leaders and businesses. This gathering of leaders and innovators will create a space for learning, inspiration and momentum; highlight the power of partnership to accelerate change; and build cross-sector partnerships towards a shared goal: ending child poverty.
The Summit is co-hosted by Comic Relief USA and Laureus Sport for Good with the support of UN DESA.
Invitation
Join us on 17 October for the Commemoration of the International Day at UN Headquarters in New York. Please register here by October 11, 2019.
Join the #EndPoverty global campaign
Everyone can join the campaign on social media by using hashtag #EndPoverty and promoting the call to action to connect with people from around the world who have joined the fight to overcome poverty.
In addition to the commemorative event to be held in New York on 17 October, commemorations of the international day are being organized worldwide. The online community is asked to use #EndPoverty to share messages about the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty via social media.
Related organizations and information
- UNICEF - The State of the World’s Children 2019: Children, food and nutrition: Growing well in a changing world
- International Movement ATD Fourth World
- Stop-Poverty global campaign
- International Committee for October 17
- Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty
- United Nations Department of Global Communications