UNITED NATIONS: Senior United Nations officials on Thursday stressed that much more needed to be done to create a better world for girls and boys, especially with the fast-approaching 2015 deadline for realising the Millennium Development Goals.

“We are making good headway, but we still have a long way to go,” said General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim during a press conference at United Nations Headquarters, where senior government officials and civil society actors have gathered for a landmark two-day meeting to review progress towards “A World Fit for Children”, the 2002 Assembly-approved action plan to improve the lives of young people.

Joined by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro and Ann Veneman, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mr. Kerim said that, with some 140 Member States signed up to address the plenary, the commemorative meeting — A World Fit for Children — had drawn a “more than impressive” level of participation. A record for the Assembly this year, it underscored the significance of the issue.

The decisions taken at the Assembly’s 2002 special session to bolster worldwide action to improve children’s lives “cut to the heart” of the Organisation’s work and were closely tied to the priorities set for the 60-second session: responding to climate change, financing for development, and achieving the Millennium Goals.