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[LIMA, 7 July 2007] – On a visit to Peru this week, Rosa María Ortiz, a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, expressed her concern for the situation of Peruvian children and young people, saying that the State was not putting into practice recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in January last year. Rosa María Ortiz made the comments following meetings with members of the Congress, representatives of the Ministry for Women and Social Development, the Ministry of Justice, the Ombudsman’s office and the Chancellery. Some of the issues she addressed with the Peruvian authorities included the situation of children who had been victims of commercial sexual exploitation, child labour, and shortcomings in the health and education system, where weak action on the part of government authorities was evident. She also expressed concern over the rate of chronic malnutrition in Peru, which affects more than 25 per cent of children under five. The representatives of the Ministry for Women who spoke with Rosa María Ortiz committed themselves to holding public hearings for children and young people to refine their programmes for children and young people. They also acknowledged that the absence of a strong guiding body had contributed to the problems. The representative of the Grupo Iniciativa Nacional por los Derechos del Niño (the National Initiative Group for Child Rights), Doris Portocarrero, pointed out that the State could not use the excuse that it did not have the money to implement improvements for Peruvian children, because it did have the resources. She said the problem was that existing resources were not distributed properly in a way that could benefit children and young people. On this subject, Congressman Aldo Estrada said that Mercedes Cabanillas, the President of the Congress, had made a commitment to push through the draft decree which would obligate compliance with UN recommendations. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is an international mechanism which monitors how governments in all countries which have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are fulfilling their obligations to improve children’s lives. Rosa María Ortiz’s visit was organised by Save the Children Sweden and la Red Nacional de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes (the National Network for Children and Young People), an NGO which advocates for their rights, and gathered 30 thousand children nationally. More information