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Dr. Jorge Freyre Scafati, 44, of Uruguay, is a medical doctor and passionate advocate for children’s rights. Among his positions of responsibility, he is General Coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for the Defense of Child and Adolescent Rights (www.redlamyc.info) and Regional Rights of the Child Advisor of the NGO Gurises Unidos (www.gurisesunidos.org.uy). REDLAMYC is a network of national and regional NGOs in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean which work on child rights. Jorge’s involvement in child rights began when volunteering in his local community while still practicing medicine. He gave up his clinical practice two years ago because of his commitments to work in child rights. Of course, medicine is very important for the realisation of child rights. It is important there is not a division between, for example, medical doctors and human rights workers. They both complement each other, and there must be integration. Human rights need to be part of the curriculum for all careers. A crucial part of human rights is that it does not distinguish between different areas of life, for example the social and the medical. Professionals must be instructed in and sensitised to human rights. There has to be basic training – I focus on children’s rights, and people need to focus on specific groups, but there must be a general knowledge of human rights for everyone. After the children’s rights convention, the spirit of work with children changed for everyone. It demanded that not just lawyers think in terms of child rights, but that all professions do – economists, doctors, social workers, psychologists… What are the challenges in this region? The region is like a coin with two faces – it depends which face you look at. Fifty per cent of children are born under the poverty line, while children are also the most vulnerable to the impact of bad government policy. At the same time, you have other parts of the same countries which are very affluent. A study was done a few years ago on inequity in countries, and eight out of the 15 most inequitable countries were in Latin America and the Caribbean. In one part of the country, child mortality might be like in a developing country, while in another part of the same country it will be very low. Such gaps generate massive problems, and this is often seen in violence. Violence is one of the most important areas affecting children. Most countries have signed the child rights convention, but implementation is still a long way off, despite the commitments. As well as poverty, inequity and violence, implementation of children’s rights is another major challenge. There are a number of responsibilities in my job. I pass the concerns voiced by both local and national NGOs, and international and regional actors, on to each other so we can identify gaps and see which organisations can help. We also try to spread information, so that it is available to all and not just those with technology. We believe that information empowers, and will use mail, the Web and fax for example. Another important factor in the region is language. Most of the information internationally comes in English, but this is not spoken by that many. People sometimes complain that international organisations simply tell them which policies they have decided to pursue. We try to find a way to mobilise all actors so that they can work together. And we must not only inform but encourage and empower. It is important that people who are working with children and on child rights at the community level also write papers so that other people can learn from their experience. This is so that all children can benefit – not just one. One thing we can be proud of here is child participation. They can speak as well as we can. I must confess, I am often even surprised by the honesty and quality of their arguments. The best part of my job is that I can be in contact with both adults and children, local NGOs and people and international ones. I get to be involved with policy at a regional and international level as well as seeing the realities of what happens on the ground. It means I can understand where both sets of people are coming from, and help to create bridges. The worst is that it can be very frustrating, particularly seeing how politicians and others make decisions without considering all of the factors. In human rights work, I see many positive attitudes, but we still often come up against a wall. It is our job to find a door through that wall. I admire the power of the people involved in the day-to-day NGO work. It is a fight, day in day out, to further these principles. What I admire especially in the Latin America and Caribbean region is that despite the obstacles, like technology and language, people don’t give up - even though it would be easy to do so. If I had to sum up child rights? A fair life for all.