On May 8-10, 2002, the United Nations General Assembly convened its first-ever Special Session on Children at the UN headquarters in New York City. Planned as the ten-year follow-up to the 1990 World Summit for Children, this unprecedented event brought together heads of state, government officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and child advocates to assess the state of the world's children, renew their commitments, and agree to specific goals for improving children's lives during the first decade of the new millennium.

The UN Special Session on Children represented a tremendous opportunity for governments, organizations, and citizens of the world to come together to improve the status of children worldwide and redefine their respective roles in protecting and serving them. It was an opportunity to put the interests of children above all others, and to make the survival and healthy development of children an urgent global priority.

For more information, visit the United Nations Special Session on Children website at www.unicef.org/specialsession

Read the Official Outcome Document of the UN Special Session on Children, May 2002