The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Thursday in Geneva with the release of a new report.

The State of the World's Children is a special edition of UNICEF's flagship report showcasing progress made since the Convention entered into force in September 1990.

"Twenty years ago, we made a commitment to children," said Philip O'Brien, UNICEF director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships, "and since then everyone bar two has ratified it and agreed to put children at the core when looking at legislation."

The convention is based on four core principles -- non- discrimination, best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, and respect for the views of children. It has been ratified by 193 countries excluding Sudan and the United States.

"For me, one of the greatest successes is that children are no longer objects of charity," said Daniel Toole, UNICEF regional director for South Asia. "Children are legal subjects with rights, which means we can go to governments and say, 'Here is what you've signed as rights of the child, what are you doing in your legislation to address that?'"

Since the convention went into force, the annual number of deaths of children under five has fallen from 12.5 million in 1990 to an estimated 8.8 million in 2008, a 28 percent decline. Likewise, in 2002, 115 million children were out of school, but by 2007 that number dropped to less than 100 million.

Highlighting the legislative work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the donations and support from the IKEA Social Initiative, O'Brien said "This is not just UNICEF. This is about partnerships and how partnerships work." Still, there is more to be done.

"There has been some progress, but we're starting to worry about backtracking on that progress," Toole said. "Governments need to move from policies to action. They need to implement those laws to invest in children. In countries in conflict, they need to protect children."

Toole was referring to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where security is a major concern. In the past year, there have been 317 attacks on schools in Afghanistan, most of them for girls. Enrollment, which had been increasing since 2001, has begun to drop. Further, the attack on UN employees last month in Kabul means humanitarian agencies might relocate.

The purpose of the convention, Toole said, "is to provide all rights to all children everywhere. We're not there yet but we still hope to get there and we will continue to work for them and realize the rights of children."

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2009)