Mandela looks to children's future

Nelson Mandela, one of the world's most respected and admired statesmen, has set himself a new challenge.

The former South African president who inspired the world with his struggle for freedom and democracy is attempting to move children to the centre of the international agenda.

Mr Mandela, and his wife Graca Machel are hoping world leaders will make a commitment to shield children from war, disease and poverty at a Unicef summit. Here, BBC News Online brings you a selection of the most pressing issues affecting children around the world.

BBC News Online is holding a forum with Nelson Mandela on Wednesday 29 August, 2001.

Click here to put your question to Mr Mandela.

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7 August 2001

Issa Kamara's badly burned face, before treatment

A boy tortured during Sierra Leone's civil war was finally told that he could come to Britain for treatment. Issa Kamara, 10, needed medical treatment which doctors in his own country could not provide. Issa was abducted and roasted over a fire by rebels, who forced his mother to watch.

 The BBC's Mark Doyle reports.

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10 July 2001

Many of Cambodia's prostitutes are underage

It is estimated that 20,000 children are trapped in Cambodia's sex industry. Prostitution is illegal, but the BBC's correspondant found "some brothels are just a bed next to the pavement". Aid agencies warned that hundreds of 'sex tourists' arrive in the country every year.

 The BBC's Matt Frei reports.

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9 June 2001

Nkosi Johnson, a symbol of South Africa's Aids epidemic

South Africans paid tribute to 12-year-old Nkosi Johnson, the boy who forced his country to recognise the tragedy of Aids among children. Nkosi's funeral attracted more than 1,000 mourners to Johannesburg's central Methodist church, where his body lay in a white coffin.

 The BBC's Alan Little reports.

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12 April 2001

This police chief maintains the records of missing children

The government of Mali appealed to the international confectionary industry to help end child slavery in coffee and cocoa farms. Some 15,000 children are believed to be working in the neighbouring Ivory Coast, imprisoned in appalling conditions on small farms.

 The BBC's Humphrey Hawskley reports.

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16 August 2000

Osamede Iguobaro, lured away from home at the age of 14

A modern slave trade is flourishing in Nigeria, according to police in the UK. Young women and school girls are transported to Europe, and promised good jobs, before being forced into prostitution by criminal gangs. Thousands of girls have been caught up in the trade.

 The BBC's Barnaby Phillips reports.

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25 May 2000

Abu Kamara, 14, a child soldier in Sierra Leone

The UK press carrried a picture of a child soldier in Sierra Leone with what appeared to be a British rifle. As Sierra Leone is told by the British Government that weapons should be used only by regular soldiers, the BBC's correspondant discovered a land where "the children are preparing for battle".

 The BBC's Andrew Gilligan reports.