United

Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF)
Antje von Ungern-Sternberg

Content Product: Max Planck

type: Encyclopedia entries Encyclopedia of Public
Article last International Law [MPEPIL]
updated: August 2009

Subject(s):
Economic, social, and cultural rights — Children, rights
Published under the auspices of the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law
under the direction of Rüdiger Wolfrum.

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
Symbiosis Law School; date: 15 March 2018
 A. Introduction
1 UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly
entrusted with the protection of the child (→ Children, International Protection). In 1946, the
General Assembly established the ‘United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’
designed to help children in post-war Europe suffering from famine and disease. In 1953, the fund
was assigned its permanent mandate and its current name. UNICEF, whose annual resources
amount to US$3 billion, is based in New York. It is endowed with partial legal personality as it can
hold property and ‘take any other legal action necessary or useful in the performance of its objects
and purposes’ (UNGA Res 57 [I] Section 2 (a)).

B. Historical Background
2 UNICEF was set up after World War II as a temporary programme designed for emergency relief.
Since 1944, the → United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) provided help
for the countries devastated by the war. Its neutral work in aid of western and communist countries
alike came to a close during the Cold War in 1946. It was agreed upon, however, that the growing
East-West divide should not affect emergency relief in favour of children. Thus, the residual assets
of UNRRA were transferred to UNICEF by General Assembly Resolution 57 (I) of 11 December 1946.
The newly established fund, which also consisted of voluntary contributions made by governments
and individuals, was mandated to utilize its resources for the benefit of children then receiving
assistance from the UNRRA, for the benefit of children of countries which were victims of
aggression, and for ‘child health purposes generally’ (UNGA Res 57 [I] Section 1 (c)).

3 In the 1950s, UNICEF changed to a permanent programme and shifted its focus from emergency
first aid to long term development. The new focus is expressed in General Assembly Resolution 417
(V) of 1 December 1950 which renewed UNICEF’s mandate by three years and extended its field of
activity to permanent child health and child welfare with particular regard to under-developed
countries (UNGA Res 417 [V] Section 6 (b)). General Assembly Resolution 802 [VIII] of 6 October
1953 eventually conferred the permanent mandate. UNICEF had been established against the
wishes of the major specialized UN agencies which worried about competition and duplication. As a
consequence, the General Assembly resolutions highlighted the need for a close co-operation
between UNICEF and the specialized agencies. Subsequently, UNICEF effectively co-operated with
the → World Health Organization (WHO), the → Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), and the → United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in the fight for development.

4 During the 1980s, UNICEF began to recognize children’s rights as a second focus of its work. In
the beginning, UNICEF did not actively support the movement for the rights of the child which was
particularly driven by → non-governmental organizations and resulted in the General Assembly
Declaration on the Rights of the Child (UNGA Res 1386 [XIV]) and in the International Year of the
Child, proclaimed by the UN in 1979 (UNGA Res 31/169 ‘International Year of the Child’ [21
December 1976] GAOR 31st Session Supp 39, 74). Instead of getting embroiled in controversial
human rights issues, UNICEF wished to continue the successful co-operation with national
governments in child-centred programmes and only eventually realized the chance of combining
the fight against child underdevelopment and the campaign for children’s rights. The Convention on
the Rights of the Child (‘CRC’), adopted by General Assembly Resolution 25/44 of 20 November
1989, already owes some of its enormous success—the swift ratification by nearly all existing
States—to UNICEF’s support. Furthermore, UNICEF is expressly mandated to give advice on, and to
monitor the process of, treaty implementation according to Art. 45 CRC.

5 International public awareness for children’s issues was effectively raised by the World Summit
for Children on 29–30 September 1990, initiated by UNICEF’s Executive Director James P Grant, and
attended by the Heads of State or Government of 71 States. The summit issued a declaration

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
Symbiosis Law School; date: 15 March 2018
 expressing specific commitments to the survival, the protection, and the development of children
as well as to children’s rights, the implementation of which is closely monitored by UNICEF.

C. Structure
6 UNICEF is a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly and reports to the Economic and Social
Council (→ United Nations, Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC]). It is managed by an
Executive Director and an Executive Board. The Executive Director is appointed by the Secretary-
General of the UN in consultation with the Executive Board. Out of respect for the biggest donor of
the fund, the US, all Executive Directors have been US citizens until now. The Executive Board is
composed of government representatives from 36 UN Member States elected by the ECOSOC for
three years. The seats in the Executive Board are attributed regionally, eight seats being reserved
for African States, seven for Asian States, four for Eastern European States, five for Latin American
and Caribbean States, and 12 for Western European and other western States (UNGA Res 48/162,
Annex I Section 25). Each year, one third of the board members are elected, which allows for
continuity. The Executive Board is led by a president and four vice-presidents reflecting the
Board’s regional composition.

7 The Executive Board convenes three times a year and also holds an annual joint meeting with
the Executive Boards of the → United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the → United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the → World Food Programme (WFP). The main tasks of the
Board are to initiate and to approve UNICEF programmes, to decide on administrative and financial
plans and budgets, and to guide and to monitor the work of UNICEF, thereby substantiating the
policies formulated by the General Assembly and ECOSOC (UNGA Res 48/162 Annex I Section 22).
Decisions by the Executive Board are taken by a majority of the members present and voting
(→ International Organizations or Institutions, Decision-Making Process). The Executive Director
is responsible for drafting and implementing the above-mentioned programmes, plans, and budgets
and for submitting an annual report to the ECOSOC. UNICEF’s financial statements are audited
biannually by the United Nations Board of Auditors.

8 In addition to its headquarters in New York and its regional offices in Geneva, Brussels, and
Tokyo, UNICEF also runs a supply division in Copenhagen, the Innocenti Research Centre in
Florence, and smaller regional and national offices amounting to a presence in 190 States. UNICEF
further relies on the work of 36 national committees based in industrialized countries who are
established as non-governmental organizations under national law. The national committees
promote UNICEF’s work and raise funds, most prominently through the sale of greeting cards,
thereby providing one third of the fund’s annual income.

9 From the beginning, the fund was financed by voluntary contributions which completed the
remaining assets of UNRRA (UNGA Res 57 [I] Section 2 (a)). UNICEF’s annual income, amounting to
US$3 billion in 2007 (1997: US$902 million), is made up, for the biggest part, of government
contributions and of donations by private individuals, enterprises, and non-governmental
organizations, but also of contributions by international organizations (→ International
Organizations or Institutions, Financing of). The largest part of the contributions is earmarked for
specific country programmes. Management and administration costs currently account for about
5% of the total expenditure.

D. Activities
10 Since the General Assembly has singled out specific Millennium Development Goals for the
year 2015 (UNGA Res 55/2 ‘United Nations Millennium Declaration’ [8 September 2000]; → United
Nations, Millennium Declaration), notably to halve poverty, to ensure primary education, to
reduce maternal and under-five child mortality, and to halt the spread of AIDS/HIV, most of UNICEF’s
work relates to the implementation of these goals. Furthermore, UNICEF’s activities are guided by

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
Symbiosis Law School; date: 15 March 2018
 the more detailed goals set out in UNGA Resolution S-27/2 ‘A World Fit for Children’ of 10 May 2002
which, in addition to the Millennium Development Goals, covers aspects of child protection against
abuse, exploitation, and violence.

11 From the beginning, the main focus of UNICEF’s work has been child survival and child health,
in particular the fight against under-five child mortality. The agency’s corresponding activities
include the procurement of medical supplies and equipment, and the development and
implementation of health-related strategies at the community level in co-operation with national and
local partners. UNICEF’s immunization campaigns are a success story, attributing to a steady
increase in global basic immunization coverage. The related costs today still take up a large part of
the fund’s expenditure. Further strategies are the distribution of simple, but effective devices of
health care such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets as a means of malaria prevention, or
rehydration sachets for the treatment of diarrhoeal diseases. In addition, UNICEF trains local health
workers in primary health care and runs health education programmes designed for parents and
children. Recently, UNICEF activities also cover HIV/AIDS issues. As a partner in the joint UN
programme UNAIDS, UNICEF tries to ensure that children and adolescents are included in
prevention and treatment strategies, focusing on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission,
paediatric treatment, the prevention of infection among adolescents and young adults, and on
supporting children orphaned by AIDS. Apart from tackling diseases, UNICEF’s programmes fight
malnutrition, eg, by promoting breast-feeding, distributing food supplements containing nutrients
such as iron, iodine, or vitamin A, and by campaigning for industrial food fortification. Furthermore,
UNICEF runs water and sanitation programmes, supporting the construction and the use of wells
and latrines. Out of UNICEF’s total expenditure, spending on young child survival and development
(including emergency assistance) largely exceeds 50% (→ Public Health, International Co-
operation).

12 Nowadays, issues of education and child protection also play an important and ever increasing
role. UNICEF advocates that all children, notably girls, receive primary education and it financially
and conceptually supports corresponding programmes. Child protection efforts, partly in co-
operation with other organizations such as the → International Labour Organization (ILO), include
the fight against child labour, sexual exploitation, child marriage, and female genital mutilation, but
also cover topics such as the discrimination against disabled children or domestic violence. Thus,
UNICEF’s activities in these fields, namely the promotion of adequate legal standards, do not only
affect developing countries, but also the developed world.

13 Within the field of development and children’s rights, emergency assistance remains one of
UNICEF’s crucial tasks. In armed conflict and natural disasters, the agency assumes a co-ordinating
role for public health, nutrition, child protection, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene
(→ Children and Armed Conflict). Last but not least, the compilation of detailed statistical data on
the global situation of children represents an important aspect of UNICEF’s activities, resulting in its
annual flagship publication ‘State of the World’s children’. For research, and for advocacy of
children’s rights, UNICEF can rely on the Innocenti Research Centre in Florence.

E. Assessment
14 UNICEF is one of the best-known and most respected of all United Nations institutions. This is
certainly due to the good results it achieves particularly in the field of child survival and
emergency, to the work of the national committees, and to the commitment of celebrities serving as
goodwill ambassadors. Political support is strong even from countries which take up a critical
stance on the UN in general. In 1965, UNICEF was the first UN institution to be awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize. Critics, however, point at the system of conditional funding, alleging that donor
countries might try to buy political favours off the recipient countries.

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
Symbiosis Law School; date: 15 March 2018
 Select Bibliography
M Black, Children First: The Story of UNICEF, Past and Present (OUP Oxford 1996).
R Rios-Kohn ‘The Impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on
UNICEF’s Mission’ (1996) 6 TransnatlL&ContempProbs 287–307
Y Beigbeder ‘Children’ in TG Weiss and S Daws (eds), The Oxford Handbook on the United
Nations (OUP Oxford 2007) 511–24.

Select Documents
Convention on the Rights of the Child (signed 20 November 1989, entered into force 2
September 1990) 1577 UNTS 3.
UN ECOSOC ‘Annual Report to the Economic and Social Council’ (9 December 2008) UN Doc
E/2009/6–E/ICEF/2009/3.
UNGA ‘Ceremony for the Presentation of the Declaration and Plan of Action Adopted by World
Leaders at the World Summit for Children’ (30 September 1990) UN Doc A/45/625.
UNGA Res 48/162 ‘Further Measures for the Restructuring and Revitalization of the United
Nations in the Economic, Social and Related Fields’ (20 December 1993) GAOR 48th Session
Supp 40 vol 1, 52.
UNGA Res 55/2 ‘United Nations Millennium Declaration’ (8 September 2000) GAOR 55th
Session Supp 49 vol 1, 4.
UNGA Res 57 (I) ‘Establishment of an International Children’s Emergency Fund’ (11 December
1946) GAOR 1st Session 2nd Part, 90.
UNGA Res 417 (V) ‘Continuing Needs of Children: United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund’ (1 December 1950) GAOR 5th Session Supp 20, 40.
UNGA Res 802 (VIII) ‘United Nations Children’s Fund’ (6 October 1953) GAOR 8th Session
Supp 17, 53.
UNGA Res 1386 (XIV) ‘Declaration of the Rights of the Child’ (20 November 1959) GAOR 14th
Session Supp 16, 19.
UNGA Res S-27/2 ‘A World Fit for Children’ (10 May 2002) GAOR 27th Special Session Supp
1, 5.

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
Symbiosis Law School; date: 15 March 2018