Scholarlink

On December 11, 1946, the First Session of the UN General Assembly established UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) as a temporary relief agency for children affected by World War II. UNICEF’s concern for children across Asia stemmed from its broader mandate to support all war-affected children. While Japan dominated much of Southeast Asia during the Pacific War, the postwar challenges were anything but uniform. During the late 1940s—from the plains of the Punjab to the streets of Saigon—Asia was in a state of political and social flux. While the US conceded independence to the Philippines in 1946, the British extracted themselves from the South Asian subcontinent in 1947. The following year, Burma and Ceylon became independent. Fighting broke out in Indochina in 1946 after the French tried to reassert their control. Between 1945 and 1949, Indonesia was enmeshed in revolutionary struggle against the Dutch. Administering emergency relief across a politically fragmented region with over 450 million children posed a formidable challenge for the nascent UNICEF amid the transition from colonial rule to independence.

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

“Half of the World’s Children”: History of the UNICEF Regional Office for Asia (ARO), 1948–1961

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

查看全文
  • Vivek Neelakantan

摘要

On December 11, 1946, the First Session of the UN General Assembly established UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) as a temporary relief agency for children affected by World War II. UNICEF’s concern for children across Asia stemmed from its broader mandate to support all war-affected children. While Japan dominated much of Southeast Asia during the Pacific War, the postwar challenges were anything but uniform. During the late 1940s—from the plains of the Punjab to the streets of Saigon—Asia was in a state of political and social flux. While the US conceded independence to the Philippines in 1946, the British extracted themselves from the South Asian subcontinent in 1947. The following year, Burma and Ceylon became independent. Fighting broke out in Indochina in 1946 after the French tried to reassert their control. Between 1945 and 1949, Indonesia was enmeshed in revolutionary struggle against the Dutch. Administering emergency relief across a politically fragmented region with over 450 million children posed a formidable challenge for the nascent UNICEF amid the transition from colonial rule to independence.