Children take the lead in El Salvador
This week saw the first meeting of a national assembly for the participation of children and adolescents of El Salvador, organised by Plan, UNICEF and the Technical Unit of the justice system.
At the closing ceremony, a document with ideas and recommendations for a new law for the protection of children and young people was handed to a representative of the justice system by two of the 320 children involved.
Children discussed issues in working groups led by Plan-trained facilitators. They divided the discussion groups based on the four categories of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (Survival, Development, Protection and Participation). The issues covered included:
- Domestic violence
- Child abuse and neglect
- Poverty and lack of opportunities for children to continue their education
- Violence and youth gangs
- Discrimination towards children with disabilities or special needs
- Family disintegration due to migration to other countries
- Adults in community groups not giving opportunities for children to participate
- Lack of participation and negative portrayal of children in the media
- Lack of funding from the government to address these issues
The proposals arising from the discussions were:
- To continue with the consultation process with more children
- To carry out information and awareness activities
- To create a commission of children and adolescents to follow up the process
- To collect signatures from the public in support of the law
- To form local groups of children and adolescents to monitor compliance with the law at community level
The member of the Legislative Assembly’s Commission for the Family, Women and Children, Ms Blanca Flor Bonilla, remarked that, “Children are making history… the proposed law will be the base for national and municipal public policies that will affect their children and their children’s children”.
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| "I came because my opinion is important" - 11-year-old participant in the consultation |
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On behalf of the justice system, Mr Jorge Martinez said, “This is a big step, but let’s not forget that having a law is not enough. We need the involvement of society, adults and children, to make it real and to advance in the defence of children’s rights.”
Erick (16), one of the facilitators, said “We hope that our input is taken into account. Real participation is not only about our voice being heard but actually that what we say really matters.”
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