UNICEF UK
Encyclopedia
UNICEF UK, also known as the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF National Committees based in industrialised countries. The National Committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development
work. In 2007, UNICEF UK raised £41.3 million for UNICEF’s work with children worldwide.
UNICEF UK also advocates for lasting change for children. For example, it works to change government policies and practices that are detrimental to children’s rights in the UK and internationally.
Internationally, UNICEF is the leading children’s organisation, reaching children in more than 150 less-developed countries around the world. It works with local communities, organisations and governments to make a lasting difference to children’s lives.
The organisation's global reach allows it to share knowledge across borders, while its local presence – over 85 per cent of UNICEF staff work in developing countries - means it can deliver assistance where it is needed most. With its worldwide presence, UNICEF can respond rapidly wherever disaster strikes, delivering life-saving help for children.
UNICEF believes that every child should have clean water, food
, health care
, education
, and a safe environment in which to grow up. The organisation upholds the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and works to hold the international community
responsible for their promises to children.
UNICEF is not funded by the UN. Instead, it relies on voluntary donations to fund its work for children worldwide. UNICEF UK raises funds for these programmes through donations, the sale of cards and gifts, partnerships with companies and special events. UNICEF UK is a registered charity.
UNICEF UK has a long history of support from its Ambassadors and high profile supporters, who play a vital role in promoting UNICEF and advocating and fundraising
on its behalf. Ambassadors help the organisation reach a wider audience, enabling it to highlight work undertaken to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children around the world.
All UNICEF Ambassadors have been appointed because they have already demonstrated a commitment to the organisation’s work. They dedicate time and energy in a variety of ways: visiting projects in the field and emergency situations, speaking to the media about what they have seen, or lobbying
and raising money.
Current UNICEF UK Ambassadors and high profile supporters include David Beckham
, Martin Bell OBE
, Orlando Bloom
, Charley Boorman
, Sir Alex Ferguson
, Ralph Fiennes
, Ryan Giggs
, Ewan McGregor
, Jemima Khan
, Sir Roger Moore, James Nesbitt
, Vanessa Redgrave
and Robbie Williams
.
, Kodak, Manchester United
, Orange, Pampers
and Vodafone
.
The very first UNICEF card was a Christmas card created in 1949. The card was a reproduction of a painting, sent as a thank you to UNICEF in 1947, by seven-year-old Jitka Samkova. Jitka’s village in Czechoslovakia had received UNICEF emergency assistance after the Second World War.
Since 1949, UNICEF has continued to sell cards and gifts in order to raise money for children living in poverty around the world.
The choice of Inspired Gifts is wide; however the selection changes periodically, depending on where the need is greatest. A typical range could vary from a cold-box vaccine carrier which helps to ensure that vaccines for children reach their destination in perfect condition, to a midwife kit which helps to safely deliver over 50 babies.
treaty which enshrines specific children’s rights in international law
. These rights define universal principles and standards for the status and treatment of children worldwide.
The Convention spells out a specific role for UNICEF, in its capacity as the UN body responsible for the rights of children
. UNICEF is required to promote the effective implementation of the Convention and to encourage international cooperation for the benefit of children. UNICEF is also entitled to be represented when each country’s implementation of the Convention is considered by the Committee
every five years.
initiative. UNICEF UK is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS).
for all, child survival
, HIV and AIDS and child protection.
, UNICEF is committed to giving girls and boys equal learning opportunities. It works to remove barriers that keep girls from attending school and to ensure that, once enrolled, they go on to graduate. UNICEF also supplies educational materials, mobilises teachers, registers children, prepares school facilities and develops curricula in countries affected by conflict and other emergencies.
, UNICEF is seeking to completely eradicate polio, to increase the percentage of children protected against malaria
by mosquito nets, to protect children in the early years of life by promoting exclusive breastfeeding and to reduce the risk of children dying from diarrhoeal diseases by improving access to water and sanitation
facilities.
, to raise awareness about how HIV and AIDS are destroying the lives of children. The campaign aims to achieve four goals by 2010: to prevent new infections among young people by 25 per cent; to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in 80 per cent of cases; to provide treatment for 80 per cent of HIV-positive children; and to protect, care for and support 80 per cent of children affected by HIV and AIDS, including those who have lost their parents to the disease.
, as laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and UNICEF places a high priority on protecting children from all forms of violence and abuse. For example, in Sierra Leone
, UNICEF helped more than 3,600 child soldiers leave army life, while in Burkina Faso
, UNICEF’s support helped secure passage of legislation that made female genital mutilation a punishable offence.
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
work. In 2007, UNICEF UK raised £41.3 million for UNICEF’s work with children worldwide.
Internationally, UNICEF is the leading children’s organisation, reaching children in more than 150 less-developed countries around the world. It works with local communities, organisations and governments to make a lasting difference to children’s lives.
The organisation's global reach allows it to share knowledge across borders, while its local presence – over 85 per cent of UNICEF staff work in developing countries - means it can deliver assistance where it is needed most. With its worldwide presence, UNICEF can respond rapidly wherever disaster strikes, delivering life-saving help for children.
UNICEF believes that every child should have clean water, food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, education
Right to education
The right to education is a universal entitlement to education, a right that is recognized as a human right. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to...
, and a safe environment in which to grow up. The organisation upholds the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and works to hold the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
responsible for their promises to children.
UNICEF is not funded by the UN. Instead, it relies on voluntary donations to fund its work for children worldwide. UNICEF UK raises funds for these programmes through donations, the sale of cards and gifts, partnerships with companies and special events. UNICEF UK is a registered charity.
UNICEF Ambassadors
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
on its behalf. Ambassadors help the organisation reach a wider audience, enabling it to highlight work undertaken to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children around the world.
All UNICEF Ambassadors have been appointed because they have already demonstrated a commitment to the organisation’s work. They dedicate time and energy in a variety of ways: visiting projects in the field and emergency situations, speaking to the media about what they have seen, or lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
and raising money.
Current UNICEF UK Ambassadors and high profile supporters include David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, Martin Bell OBE
Martin Bell
Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
, Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
, Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is an English TV adventurer, travel writer and actor. He is well known for his association with motorcycles and enthusiasm for biking.-Education:...
, Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
, Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
, Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
, Jemima Khan
Jemima Khan
Jemima Marcelle Khan is a British writer and campaigner. She is associate editor of the New Statesman and European editor-at-large for Vanity Fair. She has worked as a charity fundraiser, human rights campaigner and contributing writer for British newspapers and magazines...
, Sir Roger Moore, James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
, Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
and Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
.
Corporate partners
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary contributions and the support from corporate partners makes a significant contribution to its work. Companies that currently have a corporate partnership with UNICEF UK include Barclays, BT, IKEAIKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
, Kodak, Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, Orange, Pampers
Pampers
Pampers is a brand of baby products marketed by Procter & Gamble. Pampers was at one time only used as a name for a disposable diaper.-Products:...
and Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
.
Cards and gifts
UNICEF was the first charity to produce and sell cards for the purpose of raising funds.The very first UNICEF card was a Christmas card created in 1949. The card was a reproduction of a painting, sent as a thank you to UNICEF in 1947, by seven-year-old Jitka Samkova. Jitka’s village in Czechoslovakia had received UNICEF emergency assistance after the Second World War.
Since 1949, UNICEF has continued to sell cards and gifts in order to raise money for children living in poverty around the world.
Inspired Gifts
In 2004 UNICEF UK expanded its range of cards and gifts to include a selection of ‘Inspired Gifts’. These offer an opportunity to give a present which makes a real difference to the lives of children.The choice of Inspired Gifts is wide; however the selection changes periodically, depending on where the need is greatest. A typical range could vary from a cold-box vaccine carrier which helps to ensure that vaccines for children reach their destination in perfect condition, to a midwife kit which helps to safely deliver over 50 babies.
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a comprehensive human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
treaty which enshrines specific children’s rights in international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. These rights define universal principles and standards for the status and treatment of children worldwide.
The Convention spells out a specific role for UNICEF, in its capacity as the UN body responsible for the rights of children
Children's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
. UNICEF is required to promote the effective implementation of the Convention and to encourage international cooperation for the benefit of children. UNICEF is also entitled to be represented when each country’s implementation of the Convention is considered by the Committee
Committee on the Rights of the Child
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of independent experts that monitors and reports on implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by governments that ratify the Convention...
every five years.
Emergency response
When an emergency strikes, UNICEF staff in the area react rapidly and the first aid usually arrives within 48 hours. Emergency specialists assess the immediate need, focusing on women and children. With permanent offices in the field, UNICEF is well placed to coordinate relief by road and air. Following emergency relief efforts, UNICEF works to promote long-term rehabilitation and improve conditions for children.Programmes in the UK
In the UK, UNICEF seeks to improve baby health and nutrition through its Baby Friendly Initiative in UK health care centres. It also champions child-centred education based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through its Rights Respecting Schools AwardRights Respecting Schools Award
The Rights Respecting School Award is an initiative run by UNICEF UK, which encourages schools to place the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of its ethos and curriculum...
initiative. UNICEF UK is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS).
Other areas of work
UNICEF’s other priorities include educationRight to education
The right to education is a universal entitlement to education, a right that is recognized as a human right. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to...
for all, child survival
Child survival
Child survival is a field of public health concerned with reducing child mortality. Child survival interventions are designed to address the most common causes of child deaths that occur, which includes diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and neonatal conditions...
, HIV and AIDS and child protection.
Education
On educationRight to education
The right to education is a universal entitlement to education, a right that is recognized as a human right. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to...
, UNICEF is committed to giving girls and boys equal learning opportunities. It works to remove barriers that keep girls from attending school and to ensure that, once enrolled, they go on to graduate. UNICEF also supplies educational materials, mobilises teachers, registers children, prepares school facilities and develops curricula in countries affected by conflict and other emergencies.
Child Survival
In terms of child survivalChild survival
Child survival is a field of public health concerned with reducing child mortality. Child survival interventions are designed to address the most common causes of child deaths that occur, which includes diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and neonatal conditions...
, UNICEF is seeking to completely eradicate polio, to increase the percentage of children protected against malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
by mosquito nets, to protect children in the early years of life by promoting exclusive breastfeeding and to reduce the risk of children dying from diarrhoeal diseases by improving access to water and sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
facilities.
HIV and AIDS
In 2005, UNICEF launched a five-year global campaign, Unite for Children, Unite against AIDSUnite for Children, Unite Against AIDS
Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS is a global Campaign launched by UNICEF in 2005 to raise awareness of the plight of children globally in relation to HIV and AIDS, and to spur action....
, to raise awareness about how HIV and AIDS are destroying the lives of children. The campaign aims to achieve four goals by 2010: to prevent new infections among young people by 25 per cent; to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in 80 per cent of cases; to provide treatment for 80 per cent of HIV-positive children; and to protect, care for and support 80 per cent of children affected by HIV and AIDS, including those who have lost their parents to the disease.
Child Protection
Protection from exploitation is a universal right of every childChildren's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
, as laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and UNICEF places a high priority on protecting children from all forms of violence and abuse. For example, in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, UNICEF helped more than 3,600 child soldiers leave army life, while in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, UNICEF’s support helped secure passage of legislation that made female genital mutilation a punishable offence.
See also
- UNICEF International
- Timeline of young people's rights in the UKTimeline of children's rights in the United KingdomThe timeline of children's rights in the United Kingdom includes a variety of events that are both political and grassroots in nature.The UK government maintains a position that UNCRC is not legally enforceable and is hence 'aspirational' only, although a 2003 ECHR ruling states that, "The human...
- List of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors
- UN Convention on the Rights of the ChildConvention on the Rights of the ChildThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
- Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDSUnite for Children, Unite Against AIDSUnite for Children, Unite against AIDS is a global Campaign launched by UNICEF in 2005 to raise awareness of the plight of children globally in relation to HIV and AIDS, and to spur action....