Twenty years ago next Friday, 20 November, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child but, despite some progress, there are still hundreds of millions of children who are denied their most basic human rights.

The convention was a noble and well-intentioned document but, as is so often the case with good intentions, it was not followed by sufficiently robust action. As a result the world's children have been failed on a disastrous scale.

Despite recent setbacks, Ireland still has an excellent reputation among the international community for its generosity to the less-well-off countries.

I urge the Taoiseach, his ministers for foreign affairs, finance and overseas development and our representatives in the UN to employ whatever means they can to generate enthusiasm among the international community for a new deal for the world's children. It would be a great feather in this nation's cap if they could get the solemn promises that have been made to the world's children back to the top of the international agenda.

David Dalton,

Plan Ireland,

126 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.