RIGHTS: Latin American Models for Child Participation – UNICEF

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Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, Dec 11 2002 (IPS) - Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador and Guatemala set an example for the world for promoting children’s participation in society, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report released Wednesday in the Mexican capital.

These standard-setting cases are included in the UNICEF report "State of the World’s Children 2003", dedicated to reminding the world’s governments and all adults that they must take time to listen to children and to encourage their participation in family, school, community and national life.

The UN agency’s report includes a list of 198 countries, ranked according to mortality rates for children under age five, "a critical indicator of the well-being" of their child populations. The best-placed country of Latin America and the Caribbean is Cuba (low child mortality), and the worst, Haiti (high child mortality).

UNICEF notes that Brazil has made notable progress for children’s rights through its National Movement of Street Boys and Girls (MNMMR), founded in the 1980s.

The Movement has allowed hundreds of street children "to become aware of their rights, reorganise their perspective on life and fight for their rights." The MNMMR has played a key role in promoting several legislative reforms, says the report.

It is vital to listen to children, says UNICEF, because they "have proved that when they are involved they can make a difference in the world around them. They have ideas experience and insights that enrich adult understanding and make a positive contribution to adult actions."

Another exemplary Latin American case, according to the report, is Colombia, where rural schools have adopted the goals of the "Escuela Nueva", which seek to inculcate children with awareness of their rights, the importance of democratic participation, and values like cooperation and peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.

A study conducted in 25 rural schools in two of the most violent regions of war-torn Colombia found that in the 15 using the Escuela Nueva approach there was improved democratic behaviour among the students, while awareness of the importance of democratic electoral processes had increased among their parents.

The original Escuela Nueva implemented in Colombia has proved so successful that other Latin American countries, including Honduras and Guatemala, have adopted the model, says UNICEF.

Guatemala, where in 1995 the project was launched with just 12 schools, today has 210 schools and 23,000 students following the Escuela Nueva programme in indigenous languages and in Spanish.

"One of the cornerstones of the approach in Guatemala is responding to the rights of children from the indigenous Mayan community which, despite forming half the population, suffers from significant discrimination and marginalization," says "State of the World’s Children".

El Salvador sets its own example for the world in encouraging adults to listen to children, through its Defensorías de Derechos Humanos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia, founded in 1995.

Thanks to this programme, which promotes the rights of children in the government and family spheres, a youth network drafted a proposal with the Education Ministry for public policies to benefit children and youth. One of the changes achieved was a repeal of the rule that pregnant girls had to quit school.

In Cuba, which has the lowest child mortality rate in the region according to UNICEF, a standout programme is "Educa a tu hijo" (Educate your child), which targets children ages six and younger as well as reaching out to future mothers and fathers.

According to the report, the programme has achieved that Cuban children "score significantly higher in mathematics and Spanish than their counterparts in other Latin American countries."

UNICEF states that adults have the responsibility to "seek out the perspectives and opinions of children and to take them seriously… and to help children and adolescents develop their competencies for authentic and meaningful participation in the world."

With the objective of coordinating policies to defend children’s rights and to contribute to the UNICEF goals throughout the Americas, the Inter-American Institute of the Child presented a new "system for integral protection of children and adolescents" Friday in Uruguay.

"The aim is to articulate and systematise all children’s rights policies through an integral focus, which so far has been done independently by the different countries, meaning there has been a great deal of improvising," Alejandro Bonasso, Institute president, told IPS.

"We believe that the lack of professionalism in these matters has an increasingly negative impact on the situation of the girls and boys in the region," he said.

The system, presented in a gathering of government officials from across the region, includes proposals for legislation to benefit children, specific public policies and monitoring systems for children’s rights.

The goal is that all countries in the western hemisphere will adopt the system and implement the legislation and policies.

Lourdes Barboza, head of the Paraguayan Secretariat for Children and Adolescents, said the initiative "gathers the different initiatives already begin discussed in the various countries and presents a systematic approach for attending to children’s rights and needs."

RIGHTS: Latin American Models for Child Participation – UNICEF

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, Dec 11 2002 (IPS) - Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador and Guatemala set an example for the world for promoting children’s participation in society, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report released Wednesday in the Mexican capital.
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