Addis Ababa — Four U.N. agencies are to hold a one-week Experts Group Meeting on Adolescent Girls and their Rights here, to prepare a substantive input to a report to be submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its 42nd Session in March 1998.
The meeting, from 13-17 October at the UN Conference Centre - Addis Ababa, is organized jointly by the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund.
The adolescent girl child is defined as a girl between the ages of 10 and 15, and is one of the 12 critical areas of concern in the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women (4-15 September 1995).
The Platform underlines that "discrimination and neglect in childhood can initiate a life-long downward spiral of deprivation and exclusion from the social mainstream". It recommends that "initiatives be taken to prepare girls to participate actively, effectively and equally with boys at all levels of social, economic, political and cultural leadership."
On the basis of experience and best practices, and drawing upon available knowledge, the expert group meeting will examine various aspects of the situation of adolescent girls and their rights. They will make action recommendations for accelerating the implementation of the Platform of Action in three crucial areas:
* Adolescent girls in extreme circumstances including
- harmful and disabling child labour
- warfare and other forms of organized and large-scale violence
- sexual abuse and exploitation
- childhood disabilities
- temporary or permanent loss of family and/or primary care givers
- deficient laws and abusive legal and judicial practices
* Health, including reproductive and sexual health and nutrition * Enabling environment for empowering adolescent girls.
Some 40 experts -- from governmental as well as non-governmental organs, academia and research institutions -- are scheduled to attend the meeting.
For further information please contact Peter da Costa, Cabinet Office of the Executive Secretary, UN ECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-51-58-26 (direct) or 251-1-51-72-00 (main switchboard), Ext. 354866 Fax: +251-1-51-22-33 E-Mail: ecainfo@un.org
