Decalogue on the Defense of Children and Youth in Times of Crisis

Undoubtedly, today the international financial crisis focuses the attention of world leaders. In the middle of economies and financial system reordering and the efficient and effective use of resources that the nations allocate for their sustainable development, arises a valuable opportunity for those who work for the promotion and protection of particularly vulnerable sectors, such as children and adolescents. We consider that it is a propitious time to “make their voices be heard”.

The Inter-American Children’s Institute, Specialized Organization of the Organization of American States, has considered pertinent to develop a Decalogue on the defense of children and youth, which constitutes an appeal to governments to ensure their commitment and decision making in favor of children and adolescents, and combat those causes that systematically, and especially in times of crisis, violate their rights.

1. Ensure the best interests of the child under any condition.
 
States must ensure that decisions taken by administrative, judicial or legislative authorities have to consider the principle of best interests of the Convention. This means and rebounds both in the allocation and in the use of resources in the context of public social policies, as in the decisions that affect their lives, their families and their communities.
 
2. Ensure the realization of all rights for all children and ensure the maximum allocation of available resources.

Effectiveness implies that in all administrative, legislative and other measures, the full realization of all children’s rights is assured. To invest steadily in childhood is the best bet for preventing social problems that are more difficult to combat in medium and long term.

3. Avoid all forms of discrimination in the access to the benefits of sustainable development.

It is essential to understand the importance of the universality of social policies and ensure the access for all children and adolescents. In times of crisis, the tendency to solve the immediate problems concentrated mainly in the most vulnerable strata must not neglect those universal medium and long term policies.

4. Fight hunger. Establish the best strategies and methods to ensure adequate nutrition, especially for early childhood.
 
No budget allocated for basic welfare social programs for children should be affected by adjustments in times of crisis. Support families and provide that no school, child center or protection area where children today receive their meals, are suppressed or restricted. Efforts should be directed to sustain services and determine effective conditions that ensure the development of children. 

5. Ensure the sustainability of progress made in relation to the right to universal access to education. Prevent absenteeism and school dropouts.

School is the epicenter of knowledge universalization and the development of skills for life. School shows once again, that is the training space for new generations,  supplementing the family and that generates unique capabilities of the human being with the support from the state.
 
6. Increase investment to ensure the coverage to access to universal health care and especially to prevention programs and specialized care.

There is a need for the expansion and qualification of national health systems, and particularly, the operation of specialized services for the care of children and adolescents. It is unacceptable that any immunization or child health program is excluded in any country budget adjustment.
 
7. Ensure that those programs that promote play, entertainment, recreation and access to knowledge and culture in children and adolescents, are not affected in decreasing their budgets for considering them of lowest priority.

The play and the constructive use of leisure time is a social factor that helps to build skills and positive peer relations, also with teachers and the adult world. In the present context, an appeal is made not to overlook or neglect the access to recreational experiences that are essential in the learning process of every child.

8.  Protect all children against all forms of violence, exploitation or degrading treatment.

Nonviolence is also a right; witnessing a greater visualization of this right violation within the family, through physical violence, being a propitious scenario for abuse, physical abuse and psychological violence, the latter in a subtle manner. It is important to ensure that the various manifestations of violence against children and adolescents (street children, child labor, homelessness, school disengagement, commercial sexual exploitation, abuse, economic exploitation, etc.) are enhanced or reinforced by situations as the current crisis.

9. Promote the right to participation of children and adolescents as a condition of democratization  to allow the formation of full citizens.

The participation of children and adolescents is considered as one of the four guiding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and is therefore a responsibility and obligation for all States, and its fulfillment contributes to ensure the exercise of all the other rights.  Considering this right has led to the initiation of a process of change that recognizes children and adolescents as active subjects with rights, with ability to express their views on all matters affecting them.

10. Social cohesion as a suitable environment for the comprehensive development of children.

Social cohesion allows the participation of all sectors in achieving common objectives, means the pride of the purpose itself, the aim of contributing to the development of social justice and equity to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents. In short, investing in children is strategic and allows to break intergenerational cycles of exclusion and of social dynamics of inequality.

The best investment is the one made in the new generations, which concentrates in transmitting to children the best of our history, our culture and knowledge. Ensuring this, humanity goes forward, our nations make progress and the future looks hopeful.