Submitted by crinadmin on
Luisa Vicioso Sánchez, 52, from the Dominican Republic, currently serves as an Ambassador for Women, Children and Adolescents' issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has also worked as a National Programme Officer for UNICEF, dealing with issues relating to women and education. Her previous roles have included consultancies with UNIFEM and UNESCO. Clear here to read Luisa's CV in full. Can you tell us about your experience in children's rights? I also worked as a National Programme Officer on Education and Women for UNICEF for seven years. In this role I participated in the process which led to the enactment of our current legislation on children's rights as well as the preparation of our country reports to the UN Committee. I currently carry out the same tasks as an ambassador on women, children and adolescents' issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Why do you want to serve on the Committee?/ What do you think you can contribute to the Committee's work? I think I can bring a dose of realism to the Committee, for example, how is it possible that we are still talking about the rights of boys* when we have been fighting for decades for girls' rights to be recognised, starting from their recognition in our language which, as we know, is the first reflection of reality. We also need to be realistic about legislation which strives to eliminate child labour. What can be done with the estimated 15 million boys and girls who work in Latin America who are lobbying not so that they don't have to work (because they are dying of hunger), but so that we legislate to protect them at work? And what about children who live on the street? Should we keep lobbying for these children to be returned to the hellish home environment from which they have escaped and which some sectors idealise as "the family", or help them to find alternative ways to survive? Which issue in children's rights do you feel needs more attention? What has been the best achievement of your career? What is your vision for the Committee? What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Committee? How do you think the Committee could work more effectively with NGOs? *In Spanish, nouns have a gender. The word "niños", which means children, has a masculine ending and also means boys. The term "niños" when used to describe children in general is therefore seen as discriminatory because it neglects girls. Spanish speaking child rights advocates therefore prefer to say "niñas y niños" when talking about children. If you were not working in children's rights, what would you be doing?
I have always worked with children. As a teenager I was an active member of the Scout movement and I had my own group (Number 53). I was also a national leader of the Christian Student Youth group. In this role, I worked in the slums of Santiago organising workshops with children – I continue to do this now, giving poetry workshops in a children's library.
Institutional violence and trafficking.
The achievement I am most proud of? In 1992, I received the Women's Medal of Merit, awarded by the Ministry of Women's Affairs and voted for by civil society organisations and State institutions. On a more creative note, I am the only woman in Dominican history who received the National Prize for Theatre!
The Committee's reports and country recommendations should be popularised and turned into tools for transformation, education, training and lobbying of government and State organisations. We should also promote successful experiences which can serve as a model at regional level.
The biggest challenge for the Committee? The gradual disappearance of childhood as a protected period in people's lives as a result of increasing poverty, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, the cultural influence of certain media outlets, and violence against young people and their counter-violence as an alternative to desperation.
By maintaining a constant flow of information from civil society to the Committee and from the Committee to civil society, making precise recommendations on new strategies and goals in specific areas of action related to children which need more thought, analysis and conversion into objectives and programme goals.
The ideology and causes to which I dedicate my time are the permanent denominator of everything I do, that does not change when anyone retires. So hopelly I will be able to write, which I do now in stolen time, but my commitments to the wellbeing of children are and will be the same.