Madam, - On the Day of the Rights of the Child, may I take stock of the manner in which the world's children are being treated?
There has been much progress in this vital field in the past half-century, but it has been patchy and there are great disparities in the level of care that children receive. In Western countries children are literally dying of over-consumption while their brothers and sisters in less wealthy parts of the world die from lack of life's basics.
The lottery that is life begins when a child draws his or her first breath. Just being born in the "wrong" country condemns many millions of children to short, miserable lives of hardship, hunger, neglect, poverty and sickness. These are often compounded by abuses of all kinds.
Each year 11 million children under the age of five die - that's about 30,000 a day - because they have not received the care that should be theirs as of right.
Sheer neglect kills more children than terrorism or any weapon of mass destruction but, for a tiny fraction of the amount spent on arms and military manoeuvring, much of this suffering could be avoided.
This slaughter of the innocents is a consequence of the dereliction of duty by world leaders and the solution is in their hands. Aid agencies and NGOs are fighting a brave fight but ultimately the fate of the world's children rests with those who have the power and the money.
The care, protection and well-being of children are enshrined in the Irish Constitution and many other countries have made similar provision. The time has surely come for world leaders to pay more than lip service to end this rolling holocaust.
Christian Children's Fund International, with the enthusiastic support of caring people throughout the world, is assisting more than 900,000 children in 34 countries, but there are many more children in need of help. - Yours etc.
MICHAEL KIELY, Chief Executive, Christian Children's Fund of Ireland, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.