Despite its progress in relation to other countries, Brazil still has a long way to go when it comes to the rights of children and adolescents.
This assessment was voiced on Tuesday, November 22, in Rio de Janeiro, by Márcia Oliveira, social program assistant of the Swedish NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), Save the Children.
According to this specialist, one of the advances made by Brazil is the Statute of Children and Adolescents, in response to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, drafted 16 years ago this month by the United Nations (UN) for the countries that are signatories to the agreement.
"Many people are unaware of this international law," Oliveira affirmed. According to her, "the idea is for all countries that are parties to the Convention to adapt their legislation and enact measures on behalf of children and adolescents." She regrets, however, that the Convention is barely known.
In her opinion, it can be said that, "even if the Statute is not being applied, Brazil is moving forward," because an attempt is being made to adapt the legislation to the Convention..
Oliveira informed that Save the Children in Brazil works in conjunction with civil society and the federal government, backing efforts to defend the rights of the child, such as the campaign against sexual exploitation and the abolition of humiliating corporal punishments.
Agência Brasil
