United Nations Children's Fund

XVI. RESOLUTION ADOPTED ON THE REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
1678. United Nations Children's Fund

The General Assembly, Recognizing the basic importance of child welfare programmes, not only to the future well-being of children but also to the role they will play as useful and productive members of society, Noting the report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund entitled "Survey of the needs of children",[1] the decisions of the Executive Board of the Fund following from his report, and Economic and Social Council resolution 827 (XXXII) of 28 July 1961 by which the Council endorsed those decisions, Expressing its satisfaction that the Fund has thus taken steps to translate still more effectively the provisions of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child[2] into improved programmes of welfare for children,

1. Endorses the new emphasis and approach represented by those decisions, in particular those aspects which will assist developing countries desiring to:

(a) Make intensive and integrated surveys of child needs for the purpose of identifying those priority needs which might most effectively be met by national and international action;

(b) Draw up long-term plans and programmes for child welfare on the basis of such surveys;

(c) Formulate projects which offer additional opportunities for the increasingly effective integration in such national programmes of external assistance;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to support the United Nations Children's Fund in this policy, especially by making available adequate and appropriate technical services, including in particular those relating to social services for children and to training programmes;

3. Commends the report entitled "Survey of the needs of children" to Governments for study and for distribution to their national agencies which have responsibilities in the field of child welfare;

4. Commends the Secretary-General and the specialized agencies for their continued collaboration with the Fund in programmes for the promotion of child welfare;

5. Expresses the hope that those agencies will co-operate fully with the implementation of the new emphasis and approach of the programmes of the Fund, particularly by assisting countries wishing to draw up and implement longer-term programmes for child welfare within the framework of their economic and social development plans;

6. Requests the resident representatives of the Technical Assistance Board, in promoting the co-ordination of these efforts, to continue to offer every possible assistance to the Governments and agencies concerned;

7. Expresses its conviction that the progressive outlook of the Fund, the new emphasis and approach in its policy and its capacity to adapt programmes to the evolving needs of the developing countries will be recognized by a continuation and strengthening of the financial support necessary to sustain both its traditional and its extended activities;

8. Expresses its appreciation of, and encourages, the participation of the non-governmental organizations both in efforts to promote the work of the Fund in developing countries and in the task of increasing the resources available to the Fund.

1081st plenary meeting,
18 December 1961.

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[1] Report by the Executive Director (E/ICEF/410 and Add.1) and supplementary reports by the Bureau of Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, the International Labour Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (E/ICEF/411-415 and 415/Add.1.). [2] Resolution 1386 (XIV) of 20 November 1959.