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On May 12, the 39th Meeting of High Authorities on Human Rights (RAADH), Permanent Commission Niñ@Sur, was held virtually, with the participation of 78 representatives from MERCOSUR member and associate countries. The meeting was held within the framework of Paraguay’s pro tempore presidency of MERCOSUR.
Global Infancia accompanied the participation of children and adolescents in this activity. The countries with representation of children and adolescents on this occasion were: Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
During the meeting, proposals were presented on these four thematic blocks: strengthening the protection capacities of families; children without parental care; socio-educational strategies for adolescent care and post-pandemic protection.
After some regional representatives made presentations on the progress and challenges of the projects implemented in each thematic block, the children and adolescents of RedSurca were able to express their recommendations, which were heard by the authorities in attendance and will then be analyzed by the technical teams of each governing institution in order to respond to them.
Some of the most important recommendations regarding the strengthening of the protection capacities of families were: to offer spaces to help mental health, so affected during the pandemic and by intra-family pressure; to develop plans to build the future of children and adolescents, and to create programs with access to the whole territory; to decentralize aid to families and involve them in training for respectful upbringing.
With respect to children without parental care, the recommendations were: to work properly to ensure that the rights of children and adolescents are fulfilled and guaranteed; to allocate the necessary resources to government agencies in order to guarantee their rights; to ensure that children and adolescents participate in the design of programs; to provide greater follow-up to institutions that receive children and adolescents; to ensure that children and adolescents participate in the design of programs; and to provide greater follow-up to institutions that receive children and adolescents. NNA without families.
The third thematic block also proposed: improving the educational, health and working conditions of families in vulnerable conditions, especially black, indigenous and migrant families, which reduce the risk of contexts that could lead to adolescents entering the socio-educational system; that the States promote and guarantee the right to education and the effective participation of adolescents in socio-educational environments; informing schools about the problems of adolescent pregnancy and prostitution.
Finally, in the fourth block, they recommended: holding debate and discussion meetings with adolescents on mental health, giving priority to adolescents who acquired some type of emotional disorder during the pandemic; the creation of a police station specializing in cybercrimes against children and adolescents, to ensure the safety of the NNA internet users, as a source of study and knowledge; expansion and effectiveness in the dissemination of channels for reporting violence against children and adolescents, among others.
