- They demand that the States guarantee the well-being of children and adolescents by allocating a larger budget to implement health, education and violence prevention programs.
- Girls, boys and adolescents from 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean met to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fulfillment of their rights.
Faced with the human rights crisis that generated the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to make an urgent call to the states to guarantee the fulfillment of the rights of children and adolescents, the initiative Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean, in coordination with the Initiative Group for the Rights of the Child (GIN- Peru), held the Latin American Virtual Meeting: #We are Protagonists ofChange #OurVoiceAccount.
This activity was developed within the framework of the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had the participation of 48 girls, boys and adolescents representing networks of organizations for children and adolescents from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
In this regard, Juan Martín Pérez García, Coordinator of the initiative Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean, he pointed out that these spaces for dialogue make it possible to identify the obstacles that girls and boys face in exercising their right to participation; as well as the importance of taking their opinions into account in the design and implementation of public policies. "Adults must understand that girls, boys and adolescents have human equivalence, we need to understand, respect, listen to their voices and have an intergenerational dialogue with them," he stressed.
During the three days of the virtual meeting, November 20, 21 and 22, the participants reflected, mainly, on eight problems that affect children, such as the lack of spaces for participation, access to education, discrimination and racism, sexual violence, comprehensive sexual education, machismo, child abuse and the incidence of children and adolescents as citizens of rights; They also observed and regretted the absence of plans or concrete actions that guarantee the care and protection of children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In relation to these problems, María Delia, a Venezuelan teenager, spoke about the right to participation and explained that faced with the urgency of containing the spread of the virus, several governments applied sanitary measures without taking into account the voices of girls and boys, violating the right to be heard. "In Venezuela, we are not only going through economic and social problems, they are also forgetting the part of human rights, the rights of girls and boys are being left behind, adults are trying to rebuild a state without the participation of girls and boys" , he expressed.
Likewise, Marcos, a 17-year-old adolescent from Colombia, said: “31 years after the Convention, irregularities continue to be seen; the state does not take into account the voices of girls and boys; For this reason, it is important to participate in these spaces that continue to strengthen us. Much is still needed, but we must not wait a certain time to make our voice heard ”.
Another issue that they emphasized was education, the participants explained that the lack of training for teachers, technological inequality and the absence of a blended educational model are factors that prevent guaranteeing the right to education. "There are countries that do not regulate education as mandatory, teachers do not receive training and that is why many girls and boys are stopping learning, despite attending virtual classes," said Francis, a teenager from Honduras (14 years old).
Regarding this, Brayan, an adolescent from Peru (17 years old), stated that education is an important pillar for the construction of a society that respects human rights, for this reason he stressed: “The only way to change the future is by starting to defend the rights of girls and boys, is to guarantee a quality education for all people, it is to cover all the needs of people and take into account all sectors ".
In plenary sessions, the adolescents placed special emphasis on the increase in violence, the lack of public prevention policies and the difficulties faced by girls and female adolescents, victims of sexual abuse, in accessing justice. Rebeca, a Mexican adolescent, said: “The states parties must comply with each of their obligations, they must create mechanisms for access to justice in accordance with human rights, where there is no re-victimization process and where girls are not blamed. and adolescents for what happened ”.
In this sense, Elian, an adolescent from Ecuador, emphasized that states should not only implement prevention programs, but also guarantee access to justice for victims of violence and punish offenders. “No type of violence is justifiable and all violence is preventable, it is our duty and our right to demand that the states take all the necessary measures to eradicate violence; if we don't, our future will be governed by violence and mistreatment ”, he reflected.
For three days, the participants of the Latin American Encounter also addressed other issues, such as the absence of public policies in favor of girls and boys from indigenous peoples, the disabled population, the homeless population, access to health, lack of decent budgets to implement violence prevention programs, among others.
In this sense, Ana Watson, President of the Initiative Group for the Rights of the Child (GIN-Peru), indicated that this Latin American Meeting allowed to know the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the fulfillment of the rights of girls and boys , in addition to knowing the advances and setbacks in the implementation of public policies in favor of childhood; For this reason, he asked the states, civil society organizations and society in general, to pay more attention to children. “Girls and boys are the protagonists of change, they are the present and the future; hence the importance of these spaces, of listening to their voices and opinions, and that they are incorporated into the measures adopted by public and private institutions ”.
It is worth mentioning that the initiative #Weaving NetworksChildhood In Latin America and the Caribbean, it fostered these spaces for dialogue and reflection since 2017, through national, subregional and regional meetings, which seek to promote genuine spaces for participation for girls, boys and adolescents.
Finally, the participants of the Latin American Virtual Meeting, wrote a document in which they assume the commitment to continue fighting for the fulfillment of the rights of girls, boys, adolescents, women and vulnerable groups in society. Likewise, they demand from the states immediate attention to the problems that affect childhood, through the design and implementation of coherent public policies that are appropriate to the context of each girl and boy.
Watch the broadcast here.
Press contact: Verónica Morales, Regional Communication Officer / [email protected]
#ChildhoodFirst It is a strategy that provides guidance for the care of children and adolescents in emergency situations.
#Weaving NetsChildhood, is a project co-financed by the European Union that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Derechos Infancia México AC / #TejiendoRedesInfancia and in no case should it be considered that it reflects the views of the European Union.