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Summary: This morning at the Congress, Jorge Freyre from Gurises Unidos, Redlamyc spoke about civil society's role in holding States to account in fulfilling their agreements on children's rights and the progresses and obstacles to children's rights in Latin America.
[LIMA, 23 November 2005] – This morning, at the Second World Congress on Children and Young People's Rights, which is being held in Lima, Peru, Jorge Freyre from Gurises Unidos, Redlamyc (The Latin American and Caribbean Network for Children and Young People's Rights) spoke about civil society's role in holding States to account in fulfilling their agreements on children's rights and the progresses and obstacles to children's rights in Latin America. He began with a brief history of the milestones marking the development of international standrads for children's rights up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and explained the recent change in paradigm, in which children are now seen as rights-holders, i.e. as subjects rather than objects of rights. He spoke about three stages since the drafting of the CRC in 1989: He said that Latin America has been a leader in implementing the CRC, highlighting the example of Brazil's Code for Children and Adolescents passed as early as 1990. He went on to talk about the importance of civil society in pressuring states to implement the necessary reforms, eg. NGO Group, alternative reports, quoting the Brazilian pedagogue Antonio Carolos Gomez da Costa saying that projects of law can transform into projects of society. Freyre commented on the progress made since the CRC: there has been a dramatic reduction in infant mortality, 19 out of 20 children can now expect to celebrate their 5th birthday. Primary education has expanded and enrolment rates are up to 90 per cent in most countries. He said that today states are measured by how well they guarantee their citizens' rights. This is a good way of measuring the democratic levels of government. Commenting on the challenges to children's rights, he said that Chile and Mexico still do not have an adequate code for children which follows the principles of the CRC. Central America has passed laws that are contrary to the spirit of the CRC, for example the Anti-Gang laws which criminalise poverty. In El Salvador, 70 per cent, Honduras and Guatemala 85 per cent of adolescents are outside of the education system. Young people in these countries are the principal victims of murder. Freyre emphasised that there is no evidence whatsoever that these laws have led to a reduction in young people breaking the law. Freyre ended by saying that there have been some good moves recently eg the Millenium Development Goals in 2000, A World Fit for Children in 2002. There is a need to keep pressuring states to fulfill commitments and demand that these are reflected in national budgets to guarantee rights. For more information, contact:
Jorge Freyre,
Red latino americana y caribeña por la defensa de los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes REDLAMYC
Rivera 2057 esquina Pablo de María, Montevideo, Uruguay, CP 11200
Tel: + 598 2 4088572 - 2 4003081; Fax: + 598 2 4003081
Email: gurises@chasque.apc.org
Website: www.redlamyc.info