TIMELINE
UNICEF past, present and future
1946
Food to Europe
After World War II, European children face famine and disease. UNICEF is created in December 1946 by the United Nations to provide food, clothing and health care to them.
1961
Education
Following more than a decade of focus on child health issues, UNICEF expands its interests to address the needs of the whole child. Thus begins an abiding concern with education, starting with support to teacher training and classroom equipment in newly independent countries.
1989
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention is adopted by the UN General Assembly. It enters into force in September 1990. It becomes the most widely- and rapidly-accepted human rights treaty in history.
1996
Children and conflict
War’s effect on children receives serious attention in the Machel Report: The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, a study supported by UNICEF.
1998
United Nations Security Council debates children and conflict
The Council’s first open debate on the subject reflects the strength of international concern over the effects of war on children.
2001
Say Yes for Children campaign launched
The Global Movement for Children begins mobilizing every citizen of every nation to change the world with children. The Say Yes for Children campaign builds on this momentum, with millions of children and adults around the world pledging their support for critical actions to improve children’s lives.
2002
Special Session on Children
A landmark Special Session of the UN General Assembly was convened to review progress since the World Summit for Children in 1990 and re-energize global commitment to children’s rights. It was the first such Session devoted exclusively to children and the first to include them as official delegates.
