African children raise blunt questions with their leaders

UNITED NATIONS -- No adult has ever spoken to King Letsie III of Lesotho quite so bluntly, nor to the leaders of Mozambique and Mauritania -- let alone a child.

But at a rare dialogue between African leaders and African children on the second day of the U.N. children's summit Thursday, the words from the youngsters were sharp and implacable.

"We must put an end to this demagoguery," 15-year-old Adam Maiga from Mali told the presidents and prime ministers. "You have parliaments, but they are used as democratic decorations," she accused.

For Joseph Tamale from Uganda, the big issue was the huge debts owed by many African countries.

"You get loans that will be paid in 20 to 30 years. It will be up to us to pay for them. And we have nothing to pay them with, because when you get the money, you embezzle it, you eat it," said the 12-year-old, his message greeted by a round of applause from all -- leaders included.

Children from across the world's poorest continent relentlessly challenged their leaders, demanding better health care, education, government, and respect for children's rights.

It was an unusual session for all, including Prime Minister Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna, who was dubbed "the one from Mauritania" by the teen-age moderator, Fatoumatta Ndure, of Gambia.

Asked after the grilling whether he'd ever been addressed in such harsh, direct terms, the king of Lesotho said with a chuckle: "It's the first time."

Future is bright

President Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique and the Mauritanian premier both said they, too, were unaccustomed to such frank speech. But Chissano said he was heartened by the intelligence and knowledge the children had shown. "It proves that the future will be bright."

Lipsy Ndwandwe, a 17-year-old from Swaziland, had just one thing to say.

"We as children of Africa came together and agreed on things, but you leaders that we are supposed to look up to are not able to do that," she said.

Top officials from the 189 U.N. member states stepped to the podium of the General Assembly hall, one by one, to speak about their programs for children.

The United States remained at odds with other nations over language on family planning, children's rights, and "reproductive health," which some conservatives interpret as advocating abortion.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said all delegates have agreed privately that "health services" doesn't mean abortion, but the United States wants this said in a footnote to the document.

In a new controversy, some Arab and Islamic nations were pressing for a special reference to Palestinian children in the document -- over Israel's objection.

At one roundtable, government leaders, U.N. officials and the two children present emphasized the importance of education. Mongolia's Prime Minister Nambar Enkhbayar, a co-chair of the roundtable, challenged world leaders to find money to put every child in school as readily as they spend funds to buy arms.

Romanian President Ion Iliescu, the other co-chair, said participants recognized that education is a basic human right and one of the keys to eradicating poverty, and spoke about laws making primary education free and compulsory -- a key U.N. goal for 2015.