UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S EMERGENCY FUND
Topic
Topic 1: Protecting children born by medically assisted reproductive technology
Topic 2: Combating against child marriage
Committee Introduction
UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, is one of the most well-known charitable organizations under the United Nations. Established in 1946 to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated in World War II, it has evolved to become a permanent part of the United Nations that stands for the needs, rights, and protections of children worldwide.
Working in over 190 countries and territories, UNICEF’s mandate is simple yet influential: to ensure that the voices of children - regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or disability- are heard without fail. In other words, every child should be entitled to uninhibited opportunities and should have the right to develop to the fullest of their potential. To achieve such a difficult yet noble task, UNICEF does not work alone. Collaborating with intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, academia, other UN agencies, and international financial institutions and the private sector, the Fund is able to expand its outreach to children in need in many different fields.
Having ratified and passed many conventions and resolutions, UNICEF is steadfast in ensuring that children’s rights are kept a constant priority in such turbulent times. Among these, most notably, is the Convention on the Rights of Children(CRC), ratified in 1989, and it is (as of current) the only legally-binding convention produced by UNICEF. The Convention itself establishes the core values of the Fund, as well as sets the precedent for any actions done by it or any of its collaborators.
As mentioned above, children are made even more of a vulnerable group in such turbulent times, and it is the imperative duty of UNICEF to ensure that it upholds its core values. Protecting the rights and aiding those in peril is a duty that remains constant for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, regardless of whether or not there is an “emergency”. As members of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, delegates at IVMUN 2024 will understand the immense responsibility of the committee’s member states, and they will stand at the forefront of protecting the rights of the next generation.
