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Summary: Recommendations of the Consultation
Buenos Aires Declaration on Violence against Children and Young People
We, Ministers and Senior National and International Authorities on Human
Rights, have gathered in Buenos Aires for the Latin American Consultation
within the framework of the United Nations General Secretary’s Study on
Violence against Children and Adolescents, taking into consideration the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights
instruments, as well as the principles that guide them, to proclaim the
present Declaration:
1. Latin America is one of the most violent regions in the world,
with children and women the main victims. Millions of children on our
continent live in fear of being victims of violence at home, in schools and on
the streets. Physical and psychological violence aimed at children include
extrajudicial executions, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, corporal punishment even within the family, sexual abuse and
exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
2. A worrying social tolerance towards violence against children
exists, often compounded by the inadequate way in which the media and
political actors handle the problem. This results in impunity for the
perpetrators, silence about sexual abuse, a tacit acceptance of the
inhuman and degrading conditions suffered by many children and
adolescents deprived of their liberty; in the repeated proposals to reduce
the age of criminal responsibility; and in sentencing to life imprisonment or
the death penalty for crimes committed by people under the age of 18.
In relation to these serious problems, we consider of paramount concern
the following:
3. Emphasize that there is a growing will among the States of the
region to change the economic patterns that generate poverty, to which
violence against children is closely linked.
4. To radically change social, cultural, political and legal parameters
for children and adolescents, who must not be targets of stigmatization or
discrimination. Public policies for children must not be approached
exclusively taking only into account considerations of public safety.
Proposals such as reducing the age of criminal responsibility and increasing
penalties are not adequate solutions to violence related to children.
5. Parents, teachers and other people interacting with children
must refrain from using physical or psychological punishment as a
disciplinary method or for any other purpose. This type of punishment must
be banned by law and an end to these practices must be promoted.
6. All public policies on children and adolescents, as well as any
interactions by State agents with all people under the age of 18, must be
based on the premise that all children are human rights holders. Children
have the right to receive protection, care and special support from the
State, which must provide them fully, respecting the general principles of
the “best interest” and the “integral protection of children”. Children must
have a voice on issues related to them.
7. State policies on the human rights of children must focus on
meeting their basic needs and provide opportunities for a decent life. For
this purpose, efforts must concentrate on eliminating violence through
public policies on the human rights of children and provide education,
health, protection, nutrition and welfare programmes and services both
within the family and the community.
8. Education is key to preventing violence. To this end, quality
education that is free of charge and equitable must be ensured. In any
case, it is necessary to eliminate any fees, such as parents’ and
representatives’ contributions, the obligatory purchase of books or
materials, and the mandatory use of uniform or shoes to attend school,
since in practice these requirements deny children their right to an
education. Equally important is that States provide poor children with
nutritional supplements, including at least one meal per day. We also
emphasize the specific importance of sexual education to prevent violence.
9. Also key is respect for the life and the physical, psychological and
mental integrity of children and adolescents, and their right to judicial
guarantees and the presumption of innocence. Nobody can be deprived of
liberty without a warrant, or under the excuse of such concepts as social
danger. When in special circumstances it is imperative to take these kind of
measures, children and adolescents should be treated humanely, with
respect and guaranteeing their basic rights, especially to life, personal
integrity, health, education and the preservation of their family ties. All
professionals offering services in social networks who encounter any case
of violence against children and adolescents in the course of their work
must report such cases to the competent authorities for the investigation
and sanctioning of perpetrators.
10. We recognize and encourage the role of organizations such as
UNICEF, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health
Organization, the Office of the Rapporteur on Children of the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights, as well as the civil society
organizations working on human rights, especially those that promote
children’s rights.
Buenos Aires, 1º de junio de 2005
The Buenos Aires Declaration has been signed by:
Daniel Filmus, Minister of Education, Science and Technology; Nilmario
Miranda, Minister of State and Special Secretary for Human Rights of Brazil;
Leonardo Franco, Undersecretary for Latin American Policy of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina; Rodolfo
Mattarollo, Undersecretary of Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice of
Argentina; Juan Faroppa, Vice-Minister of Interior of Uruguay; Elizabeth
Patiño, Vice-Minister of Yourh, Childhood and Third Age of Bolivia; Nils
Kastberg, UNICEF Regional Director for The Americas & Caribbean; Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro, Independent Expert named by the UN Secretary General;
Jorge Rivera, UNICEF Representative of Argentina; María Jesús Conde
Zabala, Regional Advisor on Child Protection for The Americas & Caribbean;
Roberto Garretón, Regional Delegation of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights in Latin America; Susana Villarán, Member
of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Santiago Cantón,
Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Ignacio
Álvarez, Office of the Rapporteur on Children of the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights; Norberto Liwski, Vice-President of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child; Victoria Martinez, National Director of
Direct Assistance to Vulnerable Groups of the Human Rights Secretariat of
the Ministry of Justice in Argentina.
Owner: UNICEFAssociation: UNICEF