More than 2,000 representatives from nations and non-government organizations around the world met at the United Nations headquarters in New York January 29 to 31 to put children on top of the international agenda, reports Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations liaison director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Harry Holkeri of Finland, outlined the importance of this preparatory meeting in his opening address.

“Too many children are without access to basic social services,” said Holkeri. “There are numbers of girls and boys working in hazardous occupations instead of attending school. Children are being exploited, abused and trafficked. Girls and women often suffer especially from conflicts and violence. Young people still fight adult wars and die adult deaths.”

According to Gallagher, the meeting provided a valuable forum, not only for discussion, but also for action. “As a church with strong family principles, we take very seriously our commitment to the world’s children and their needs,” says Gallagher. “So we identify with this preparatory meeting for the U.N. Special Assembly on children that takes place later this year. The areas of concern identified in the U.N. meetings parallel our own: the need for more and better education; improved health provisions; and freedom from violence, hunger, poverty, oppression and injustice.”

Gallagher points out that the Adventist Church, a “twenty-plus million community,” is all too aware of the damage done to children—the innocent victims of war, famine, AIDS, abuse, and exploitation. “We are committed to do our part and to work with other organizations to help children around the world,” he says.