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Michel Forst United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders visited Peru to meet with high-level representatives from various ministries, several vice-governors, state institutions and organizations to assess whether human rights defenders feel safe and empowered throughout the country.
During this mission, the young people had the opportunity to take part in a discussion in which representatives of the Network of School Municipalities of South Lima gave their contributions.
Fabricio, 15 years old, mentioned: During our work as activists for our rights we have encountered different problems such as:
The little importance given to us by the authorities and that is linked to the adult-centric culture, in which they believe that just because we are minors we are not able to express our voice and opinion, thus violating our right to express our opinion on issues that affect us and that are established in Article 13 of the CRC.
Mayra, a 15-year-old adolescent member of the network, said: “Girls and adolescent women defenders of our rights may run specific risks due to their gender and require special attention because they receive a lot of exclusion and aggression”. The girls see their dreams shattered because they live in a society that considers them useless, although they are precisely the opposite. They are full of value.
