President Ion Iliescu speaks of renewed commitments on children

Romanian President Ion Iliescu co-chaired with Mongolian Premier Nambar Enkbayar in New York the No 1 round table debates on 'Renewed commitments and actions in favor of children in the future decade' organized at the Special Session of the United Nations' General Assembly on child issues. Iliescu told a news conference on Thursday that most participants in the talks had stressed that child issues cannot be separated from the general problems of society - i.e. political, economic and social problems - both at a local and national, regional and international levels. ''Poverty and major gaps between the rich and the poor inside countries and between states are the major problems of contemporary society and the main roots of instability and conflicts around the world and they affect the children's day-to-day life,'' he said. 

The Romanian head of state added that curbing poverty and narrowing the gaps had become a crucial target of the world community and international bodies. ''Education is one of the basic human rights and one of the keys to solving the poverty issue,'' he said. Iliescu stressed that participants in discussions shared the opinion that quality education should be provided and that it should take place in properly equipped institutions and with well trained personnel. The Romanian head of state explained that another topic at the round table debates was infection with HIV/AIDS that continues to pose a major threat to humanity. Many governments have mapped out programs meant to educate and raise the younger generation's awareness for fighting against this disease and prevent infection from mother to baby, he said. Iliescu deplored the fate of hundreds of thousands of children who had never known peace, never been to school and never had medical care because wars or conflicts.