Oral Statement at the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council
Item 3: General Debate
Date: 15 March, 2022
Delivered by: Ms. Paola Miranda
Mr. President,
VIVAT International, Edmund Rice International, and Defensoría Edmundo Rice urgently call attention to the need to guarantee the right to participation of children and adolescents in public affairs in Peru.
Since 2009, the Consultative Councils of Children and Adolescents are the spaces where children and adolescents participate at the national and local levels. However, according to the survey conducted by Young Voice Peru (2017), only 20.5% of the children and adolescents surveyed stated that there are opportunities to approach municipal authorities to offer their opinion. During that year only 8.3% have been able to participate in this space (p.20)[1].
According to the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations, by 2020, a total of 25 regional Consultative Councils had been registered. However, there is still a gap in the creation of these councils at the local level (52.04% at the provincial level and 25.03% at the district level), which means a total of 102 provincial and 469 district Consultative Councils(p. 48)[2].
In addition, the National Multi-sectoral Policy for Children and Adolescents has established a series of indicators and activities to evaluate and monitor the participation of children and adolescents who make up only the regional Consultative Councils. It omits the 571 Councils at the local level and consequently does not guarantee the right to real and effective participation of children and adolescents who participate in the provinces and districts[3].
We recommend that the Peruvian government:
– Promote the creation of Consultative Councils at regional, provincial, and district levels
– Guarantee the right to participation of children and adolescents participating in the 571 local Consultative Councils
– Comply with the recommendations issued by the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding the participation of children and adolescents in public affairs.
Thank you.
[1] Save the Children (2017). Report on the results of the YOUNG VOICE PERU 2017 survey. Retrieved from: https://www.savethechildren.org.pe/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/INFORME-YOUNG-VOICE-PER%C3%9A.pdf, accessed: 01 February 2022.
[2] Presidency of the Council of Ministers (2021). Decreto Supremo N° 008-2021-MIMP, Decreto Supremo que aprueba la Política Nacional Multisectorial para las Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes al 2030. Published on 25 June 2021. Retrieved from: https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/1991214/Politica-Nacional-Multisectorial-para-las-ninas-ninos-y-adolescentes-2030.pdf, accessed: 02 February 2022.
[3] See guidelines 1 and 3 of the National Multisectoral Policy for Children and Adolescents to 2030. Published on 25 June 2021.