ARGENTINA: Children's Rights in the UN Special Procedures' Reports

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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports.

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

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Visits requested

(R in Feb 2010) SR on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
(Follow-up visit R in 2008) WG on arbitrary detention
(R in 2008) SR on the right to food
(R in 2008) IE on water and sanitation
(R in 2008) IE on foreign debt and human rights
(R 2008) IE on human rights and extreme poverty
 

Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya

(A/HRC/21/47/Add.2)

Country visit: 27 November to 7 December 2011
Report published: 4 July 2012

  • Effects of extractive industries on indigenous peoples: The Pan de Azúcar community in the province of Jujuy continues to suffer from the effects of pollution left behind by a lead, silver and zinc mine that ceased operation in 1989. The provincial government has taken some measures, such as repairing part of the tailings dam that failed in 2011 and closing a school located inside the contaminated area in 2008 (although a new school has yet to be built). (para 43(b)) The problems in the village of Abra Pampa in Jujuy province began with the toxic waste created and the lead contamination caused by the Metal Huasi plant between 1955 and 1987. In 2009 and 2011, the provincial government took action to remove the waste and clean up the area around the defunct plant [...] but there are still concerns that proper measures have not been taken to address the health problems suffered by the inhabitants, especially children. (para 43(c)) Generally speaking, indigenous peoples do not directly share in the economic benefits of these projects. In some cases, however, the affected communities have managed to negotiate with the companies involved to obtain benefits such as [...] the building of schools. In any case, the Special Rapporteur points out that it is the responsibility of the State to provide these types of benefits. (para 47)
  • Consultations should be carried out, in accordance with the relevant international standards, with the communities that might be adversely affected by development projects and the exploitation of natural resources, with the aim of obtaining their free, prior and informed consent on any aspects of these projects that infringe their human rights. (para 91) Appropriate measures should also be taken to minimize these impacts and to provide reparation and fair compensation to indigenous communities that suffer from the harmful effects on the environment or their health caused by projects currently or formerly operating in or near lands inhabited by indigenous peoples. (para 93)
  • Education: Indigenous people continue to face serious obstacles to their access to education, including a lack of schools, especially secondary schools, in many of the rural communities where they live. They also face particular barriers because of their poverty, which often forces them to choose between education and work. The increasing numbers of grants awarded by INAI to indigenous students represent an important step towards remedying this problem [...] However, this number is still not enough to meet the needs of indigenous communities, and in addition there are significant delays in the payment of the grants. (para 60 (a)) (A)ccording to data reported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which in turn is based on official data, the vast majority (94.6 percent) of indigenous children between 5 and 14 years of age attend school. However, school attendance for this age group is much lower among certain indigenous groups [...] and generally speaking indigenous people tend not to complete their mandatory schooling (up to high school), let alone attend university. (para 61) The Special Rapporteur urges the federal and provincial governments to take steps to eliminate the barriers to access to education for indigenous peoples, especially at the higher levels, by, inter alia, building more secondary schools in rural areas and awarding more grants to indigenous students. The Government should pay particular attention to indigenous peoples with lower school attendance rates, especially the Mbyá Guaraní, Pilagá, Toba, Mocoví and Wichí peoples. (para 106)
  • Bilingual intercultural education: (T)here is a high level of legal recognition of the right to bilingual and intercultural education in Argentina, under combined federal and provincial jurisdiction. At the national level, INAI has launched the Support Programme for Intercultural Indigenous Education, which includes the following components: grants for indigenous students; intercultural instruction (arranged by the communities themselves); literacy trainig; revival and consolidation of indigenous communities' ancestral knowledge; and support for indigenous students at the higher levels of education. (para 62) Many of the provinces are in the process of developing their own programmes and policies on intercultural bilingual education. (para 63) Despite these important initiatives, in all the places the Special Rapporteur visited he was informed that bilingual intercultural education was not being properly implemented and that sufficient resources had not been allocated to it. There is still a lack of teacher training in this area, especially for teachers from the indigenous communities themselves. In addition, concern was expressed about the lack of curricular guidelines on bilingual intercultural education, and it is reported that teaching materials still do not adequately reflect the realities of indigenous peoples; some materials still include misleading information about them. (para 64) Bilingual education is provided only in language classes; the other core subjects are not taught in indigenous languages. According to UNICEF, this problem is most serious in areas where indigenous peoples still use their own languages and do not speak much Spanish. (para 65)
  • While the Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction the substantial legal recognition of the right to bilingual and intercultural education, he is of the view that efforts should be redoubled to give effect to this right and more resources should be allocated for this purpose. In particular, the Government should take steps to train indigenous teachers in bilingual intercultural education and, in consultation with indigenous peoples, should develop more curricular guidelines and materials for bilingual intercultural education. The Government should also consider providing basic classes taught in indigenous languages, especially in areas where indigenous peoples still use their own languages. (para 107)
  • Education and indigenous girls: Indigenous women  and girls face particular challenges with regard to access to education. Girls are frequently deprived of the opportunity to study, because they often abandon their studies to fulfil family obligations or because indigenous families give priority to boys. The Ministry of Health has concluded that indigenous women have a lower level of education than either indigenous men or non-indigenous women. (para 66) Another specific problem identified was the vulnerability of female students who migrate to towns or cities in order to gain access to education [...] to sexual abuse, and some of them have left the hostels pregnant. In schools without hostels, girls often have to work to pay their basic living expenses, taking jobs as domestic workers or nannies, with meagre wages and very long working hours. (para 67) The Government should make greater efforts to respond to the structural problems limiting access to education for indigenous women and girls. It should also ensure that indigenous girls staying in school hostels in urban areas are not left vulnerable to discrimination and abuse. (para 108)
  • Health: Several sources said that the lack of specific official data on the health of indigenous peoples was one of the main barriers to providing adequate health-care services. [...] A study conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2007 found [...] that 12.65 per cent of the indigenous women interviewed had at least one child who died before his or her first birthday, and that 60 per cent of these deaths were from highly preventable causes. (para 69) Specific situations also testify to the serious health problems facing indigenous communities in Argentina. [...] (A) situation of particular concern is that of the community of Quebrachal Il, inhabited by members of the Wichi people, in Salta province, where it is reported that in recent years several children and other members of the community have died from malnutrition. (para 70)
  • The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the generally high level of access to free State health-care services enjoyed by indigenous people. At the same time, in order to ensure proper access to these services, it is necessary to extend the opening hours of these services and to increase the number of health-care professionals attending to patients and the supply of  medicines in health centres, especially in rural areas. (para 109) The Government should make concerted efforts to address the structural factors contributing to the health problems suffered by indigenous peoples in the country, including poverty and a lack of access to their traditional lands and natural resources. Measures also need to be taken to combat discrimination against indigenous peoples in health centres. (para 110) The Government should take steps to collect more official data on the social and economic situation of indigenous peoples, especially with regard to their health. These statistics are necessary to develop public policies and programmes that respond effectively to the problems still facing indigenous people throughout the country. (para 105)

Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Raquel Rolnik

(A/HRC/19/53/Add.1)

Country visit: 13 to 21 April 2011
Report published: 21 December 2011

 

No mention of children's rights.

Special Rapporteur on enforced disappearances, Santiago Corcuera, President-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and Saied Rajaie Khorasani, member of the Working Group 

(A/HRC/10/9/Add.1)

Country visit: 20-24 July 2008
Report published: 5 January 2009

Mr Corcuera and Mr Khorasani identified the following concerns:

Parent-child reunification: The Working Group reports that the reuniting of disappeared children with their family is a success as many of these children are found alive and as young adults, enjoy the right to their true identity.
 

UN Working Group on arbitrary detention

(E/CN.4/2004/3/Add.3)

Country visit: 22 September - 2 October 2003
Report published: 23 December 2003

The Working Group identified the following concerns:

  • Children not placed in separate detention facilities: The Working Group reports that in some of the police stations visited children were being held with adults (para 54).
  • Street children: The Working Group notes that street children and children who beg were detained in police stations and are not placed in specific institutions for juveniles (para 55).

    The Working Group recommends making a distinction between the various categories of children as children who have broken the law and those that are detained for their own protection are not separated but kept together (para 56).

  • Conditions in youth custody centres: The Working Group notes that conditions in youth custody centres are incompatible with Argentina's international obligations. Children areunder-nourished and suffer from various illnesses. It notes that these conditions do not help rehabilitate the children and instead push them into violence (para 55).
  • Detention in police stations: The Working Group recommends that more effort should be made to avoid holding children or foreigners detained under immigration laws in police stations (para 69).
     
  • Compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child: With regard to the practice of arresting and detaining juveniles, the Working Group strongly recommends that provisions of international instruments regarding the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be observed (para 73).
  • Pre-trial detention: The Working Group recommends that the judiciary council should review the performance of judges who keep children in detention for months without giving them a hearing (para 73).
  • Distinction between categories of children: The Working Group notes that a distinction should be made between the treatment of children in conflict with the law, treatment of children at risk or in irregular situations and treatment of children with special needs. Italso recommends that a review should be made on the as to whether children with special needs should even be placed in detention centres (para 73).

Working Group on the Right to Development

(E/CN.4/2004/WG.18/3)

Report published: 23 January 2004

No mentions of children's rights
 

UN Special Rapporteur on civil and political rights, including the question of religious intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor

(E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.1)

Country visit: 25 June to 2 July 2000
Report published: 17 January 2002

Mr. Amor identified the following concerns:

  • Exemptions on religious grounds: Mr Amor notes that according to Act No. 650/1968 (1968) Jewish pupils are exempted from Saturday examinations (para 33).
  • Religious/faith-based schools: Jewish representatives reported that there is no shortage of Jewish schools which receive State funding (para 87).

    Muslim representatives also reports that there is no shortages of Muslim schools (para 91). However, they noted that public subsidies for Muslim schools still remain inadequate (para 95).

  • Discrimination in education: Jewish representatives complain about the compulsory teaching of Catholic education in public schools to pupils of non-Catholic faith (para 89).

    The absence of any State impediment to Mennonite community life, in particular education of children at home (agreement concluded in October 1998 between the Ministry of Education of Pampa province and a Mennonite colony on the teaching of Spanish to children from the age of six and the joint selection of teaching materials) (para 101).

    In terms of prayer services, Mr Amor notes that pupils who are not of the majority faith are obligated to participate due to psychological pressure (para 106).

    In tackling discrimination within the education system, Mr Amor recommenda a review of school textbooks and curriculum to include a prevention strategy intended to promote and develop a human rights culture founded in particular on the creation of awareness of the values of tolerance and non-discrimination in the field of religion and belief (para 164).

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Abid Hussain

(E/CN.4/2002/75/Add.1)

Country visit: 25 June to 2 July 2000
Report published: 17 January 2002

The National Commission on Disappeared Persons recorded 8,960 cases of disappearances but underlined that the true figure might be much higher. Disappearance cases included those of about 200 children, born in clandestine detention centres during the captivity of their mothers, some of whom are believed to have been taken away and given to childless couples close to the military. These cases were included in the 1984 report of the Commission, Nunca Mas (Never Again). The Commission also found that there were 340 secret detentions centres in Argentina and concluded that the armed forces had violated human rights in an organized manner by making use of the State apparatus. (para. 10)

The case of the mothers of victims needs to be looked into with much greater sympathy and understanding in Argentina. Organizations of mothers are working to locate the killers of their children and would like them to be brought to justice. "Truth trials" could be organised which could become the wellspring of patriotic feelings and provide a framework for preventing such adversity being faced by the community in the future. (paragraph 13)

The Special Rapporteur strongly recommends that more talk shows and debates on rights issues be broadcast on national channels. During his meeting with the management of Canal 7 (the public multimedia holding company), the Special Rapporteur encouraged the involvement of more journalists and academics in the preparation of the content of this type of programme and to include themes such as gender inequality, children's rights and minority rights. (paragraph 180)

Organisation: 
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