International Year of the Child International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1979 by United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. A follow-up to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the proclamation was intended to draw attention to problems that affected children throughout the world, including malnutrition and lack of access to education. Many of these efforts resulted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. Numerous events took place within the UN and in member countries to mark the event, including the Music for
Chiquitita a direct result of this event, ABBA donated half of all royalties from the song to UNICEF. "Chiquitita" hit #1 in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, South Africa and Rhodesia, and was a Top 5 hit in ABBA's native Sweden, the United Kingdom (peaking at #2 in both countries where Blondie's "Heart of Glass" was occupying the top spot), Australia, Germany and Norway, making it the most successful single from the "Voulez-Vous" album in terms of global charts and one of the most famous charity songs ever. To this day, 50% of the proceeds from