Madame Chairperson,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

CELAC countries are strongly committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of children, as a priority for our region.

We are convinced that the enjoyment of these rights and fundamental freedoms, without discrimination of any kind, can become a reality as a result of the adoption of appropriate measures, even with limited resources.

It is important for the actions and policies pursued by those involved in issues related to children to take into account the basic principle of the best interest of the child and a gender perspective, in view of the special situation of our girls.

We thank the Secretary General for his report on the steps taken to achieve “a world fit for children”. According to it, there is much to celebrate for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention, from declining infant mortality to rising school enrolment. Although significant progress was achieved in the last years by the international community, global averages often mask growing inequalities in key indicators and millions of children are also affected by sociopolitical crisis, armed conflict and natural disasters. We are also concern by the global estimates presented showing that 47 per cent of people living in extreme poverty are 18 years old or younger.  

We express our appreciation for the report on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. CELAC considers that signing and ratifying the Convention and its Optional Protocols, and their effective implementation, will significantly help to ensure that all children fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Therefore, we urge States that have not yet done so to become parties of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol thereto on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol thereto on the involvement of children in armed conflict as a matter of priority and to implement them fully.

CELAC also takes note with appreciation of the entry into force, on 14 April 2014, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure and encourages States to consider its signature, ratification and implementation.

In “The future we want”, we agreed on the need to achieve economic stability, sustained economic growth, the promotion of social equity and the protection of the environment, while enhancing the protection, survival and development of children to their full potential, including through education. Consequently CELAC firmly believes that the promotion and protection of the rights and well-being of children should be well reflected in the post-2015 development agenda and welcomes the references on the Report of the Open Working Group on SDGs, in this regard.   

As this report on the status of the Convention clearly highlights, addressing the disproportionate concentration of children living in extreme poverty and reducing the persistent disparities in health, education and other crucial child well-being indicators are developmental challenges that are closely interlinked and we need to ensure that the post 2015 development agenda includes the poorest and most vulnerable children around the world, as children with disabilities, indigenous children, children of African descent and migrant children.

Madame Chairperson,

Children with disabilities belong to one of the most marginalized and excluded groups, experiencing widespread violations of their rights. One in five children in developing countries is a child with some type of disability. This group is disproportionally at risk of violence, neglect and abuse. We must pay due attention to the vulnerability of children with disabilities and the full enjoyment of their rights and meet their basic needs as a matter of priority.

We also must pay due attention to the vulnerability of indigenous children and the full enjoyment of their rights and meet their basic needs as a matter of priority.  The integration and mainstreaming of issues related to indigenous children in national development policies and programmes will allow indigenous children to realize their fullest development. As stated in the Outcome document of the high level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, we commit ourselves to intensifying our efforts, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against indigenous children.

CELAC expresses its total concern at the overall situation of vulnerability to which migrant children and teenagers are exposed. We all committed, in the Declaration of the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development “…to protect the human rights of migrant children, given their vulnerability, particularly unaccompanied migrant children, and to provide for their health, education and psychosocial development, ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in policies of integration, return and family reunification.”

Therefore, CELAC countries, mindful that the causes for migration are multiple, call on countries of transit and destination to effectively promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrant children and teenagers. Likewise, urge to address irregular migration from a humanitarian perspective so that immigration proceedings are implemented with guarantee of the principle of the best interest of children and teenagers, based on the International Law and the international instruments of human rights, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

CELAC Member States are also deeply concerned about the vulnerability of children in situations such as trafficking, smuggling, sale for purposes of sexual exploitation, rape, abuse, sale of organs, sexual tourism, child pornography, and the use of children in pornography and cyber-crime.  Such situations are, in many cases, linked with poverty, social inequality, discrimination, migration, insecurity and organized crime. It is important to tackle the causes of these circumstances in an efficient and coordinated manner. In this connection, we thank the report presented by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

We also acknowledge the Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, as well as the Report of Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, specially its priority attention to vulnerable children.

We thank the Special Representative on Violence against Children for the field missions conducted to some of the countries of our group, which we consider very useful to advance the agenda of children rights and to reflect on persisting challenges that compromise children’s development and well-being, as violence against children.

We also recognize the thoughts presented in the report on the opportunities and risks associates with information and communication technologies. We are concern about the risks that make children vulnerable to harmful information, bullying, abuse and exploitation and appreciate the ideas for a multifaceted agenda for minimizing those risks.

Madame Chairperson,

It is well recognized the leadership of our region in advancing the agenda of the rights of the child. However, as a region composed mostly by middle income countries, we still have important challenges and vulnerabilities to fully protect their rights. Vulnerabilities result from poverty and inequality, but also from cultural and social factors, as discrimination or gender inequalities. Progress achieved is also exposed to different risks, such as national or global crisis in the economic or political arena, natural disasters, and multidimensional challenges such as violence, organize crime and drug trafficking, which mostly affects the vulnerable groups within our population. 

Therefore, we attach great importance to international cooperation, including south-south and triangular cooperation, and to the promotion of the development of all countries and to the support in the designing, implementation and evaluation of national public policies promoting the well-being of children and adolescents.

We acknowledge the efforts made by the United Nations system and its agencies, funds and programmes to pay increasing attention to the well-being and rights of children, as well as to end the violence against children. The responses to phenomena of violence require actions reflecting a gender perspective, in the areas of protection, prevention, social reintegration and efforts to combat impunity, which would require the State, the family and society to all work closely together.

It must also be recognized the contribution of civil society in support of State´s efforts in favor of children. Consideration must also be given to the role of the media, as important instruments for raising social awareness of the situation of children and the challenges they face. We reaffirm the significant role of the media in the dissemination of information on initiatives to promote and protect the rights of children, their ability to contribute to children’s education and the attention which they should pay to their influence on children.

Finally, we would like to highlight that our countries, under the leadership of Uruguay, will continue to participate actively in negotiations on the “omnibus” draft resolution on the rights of the child to be presented this year by GRULAC alongside with the European Union, as main co-sponsors of this initiative.

Thank you