By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The three-day General Assembly Special Session on Children ended May 10 with a plan of action to make "a world fit for children" by setting goals and strategies to promote health, provide education, protect against abuse and violence, and combat HIV/AIDS.

The first General Assembly special session ever devoted to children was held May 8 to 10 to give governments an opportunity to take stock of what has been accomplished since the 1990 World Summit for Children and to refocus their energies to put children in the forefront of activities in the 21st century.

In adopting the plan of action, governments agreed by consensus to 21 goals that include continuing efforts to reduce infant and maternal mortality; providing access to quality schooling, health care, sanitation facilities, and safe drinking water; and protecting children from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.

Governments agreed to work to reduce the prevalence of HIV among young men and women by 25 percent globally by 2010 and reduce the proportion of infants infected with HIV by 20 percent by 2005. They also agreed to challenge gender stereotypes, attitudes and inequalities in relation to HIV/AIDS, encouraging the active involvement of men and boys.

During the conference, heads of state and senior officials of the U.N.'s 189 members met with NGOs, religious and business leaders, and more than 500 children who came as delegates from around the world. For the first time in U.N. history, children addressed the General Assembly in a Children's Forum which preceded the special session. Two girls, chosen by their peers as representatives, opened the plenary with a message that outlined what they believe makes a world fit for children.

"We are the world's children. We are the victims of exploitation and abuse. We are street children...we are children whose voices are not being heard: it is time we are taken into account, " said 13-year old Gabriela Azurduy Arrieta of Bolivia.

"We are not expenses; we are investments. We are not just young people; we are people and citizens of this world. Until others accept their responsibility to us, we will fight for our rights," said 17-year-old Audrey Chenynut of Monaco.

The plan of action was adopted by consensus just before midnight May 10 after intense negotiations over a few points in the document, especially those dealing with abstinence as the preferred approach to sex education, abortion, and capital punishment for juveniles. Nevertheless, the negotiations did not alter proposals for basic, effective programs for immunization, nutrition, sanitation and good quality education for every child.

The special session was much more than the plan of action, said Carol Bellamy, executive director of the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"This meeting is neither a success nor a failure based on whether it has an outcome document. It is a success or failure based on what happens after this meeting" when the delegates return to their own countries, Bellamy said.

The record since the 1990 summit "basically reflects less action than should have occurred over these ten years. There were a lot of commitments back in the 1990s, more promises than action," she said. "If we learn anything from this, there has got to be more follow-up."

Bellamy, whose agency has been a leading advocate for children and the organizer of the special session, said that the session had "accomplished a great deal," especially in giving the children a platform to interact with government leaders. In just about every venue during the special session, children participated alongside diplomats, government officials, and experts. One meeting, for example, was a dialogue between heads of delegations and children from Africa.

At the end of the special session, Wilmot Wungko, a 16-year-old delegate from Liberia, said, "I'm going to tell people back home about the outcome and new resolution and that there is hope. Words are easier said than done, but I think we have taken a step by listening to kids talk about their own feelings in their own words."

The report "We the Children" compiled for the special session provided a detailed look at the progress made on behalf of children since the 1990 summit and showed where nations have fallen short of their pledges and goals.

"Clearly, the world's children have not had the promised 'first call' on resources -- despite the extraordinary growth of the global economy," the report said. "Consequently much more needs to be done now, and with the greatest urgency. National leaders must act on the past decade's most important lesson: that investing in children from the earliest years is neither a charitable gesture nor an extravagance, but is rather the best way to ensure long-term development."

In developing countries, 28 million fewer children under five suffer the debilitating effects of malnutrition since 1990, and more than 175 countries are polio-free. On the other hand, the report found that more than 10 million children still die from mostly preventable diseases and more than 100 million children -- the majority of them girls -- are not in school.

The report also said no evidence reveals that maternal death rates have declined significantly over the last decade. The impact of HIV/AIDS -- which was not a major issue for children in 1990 -- is crippling attempts of countries all over the world to improve the health and well-being of children.

The special session was postponed from last September after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.