Human Trafficking in [Venezuela] [other countries]Street Children in [Venezuela] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Venezuela] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela is located in N South America [map]. It has a coastline
1,750 mi (2,816 km) long on the Caribbean Sea (N) and is bordered by Brazil
(S), by Colombia (W & SW), and by Guyana (E). Its capital and largest city is
Caracas. To alleviate the burden of
the economic crisis, the government has strengthened the Food Program,
particularly the popular markets. The
Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports launched a campaign emphasizing the
value of education. The coverage of
the "Bolivarian Schools", where all-day-long educational,
recreational activities and meals are offered, has increased. Integrated Early Child Development is
considered a priority. |
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CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in Venezuela. Some of these links may
lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even
false. No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to
verify their content. UNICEF - The Big Picture U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - UNICEF estimated that 9.9 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in
Venezuela were working in 2000.
Children work in agriculture, street vending, artisanry, office work,
and services. Children are
also involved in begging, petty theft on the streets, prostitution, and drug
trafficking. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - CECODAP estimated that
approximately 15 thousand children lived on the street. Authorities in
Caracas and several other jurisdictions imposed curfews on unsupervised
minors to cope with the phenomenon of street children. Because reform
institutions were filled to capacity, hundreds of children accused of
infractions, such as curfew violations, were confined in inadequate juvenile
detention centers. SECTION 6
WORKER RIGHTS – [d]
The law protects children from exploitation in the workplace. The Ministry of
Labor and the National Institute for Minors enforced child labor policies
effectively in the formal sector of the economy but less so in the informal
sector. The Foundation for Training in the Investigation of Human Resources
estimated in 2004 that there were 1.6 million children working in various
sectors of the labor market, including 206 thousand involved in prostitution,
panhandling, or drug trafficking. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights [16] The Committee is alarmed
about the high rate of domestic violence and the extent of child prostitution
and trafficking in children, and regrets the lack of available statistics on
the number of street children. The Committee is deeply concerned about the
extent of the sex trade involving children and the inability of the State
party to address these issues. Concluding
Observations of the Human Rights Committee 24. The Committee deplores the
continually worsening situation of street children. Those children are at
high risk of sexual violence and are vulnerable to sexual trafficking. The State party should take
effective measures for the protection and rehabilitation of street children,
pursuant to article 24 of the Covenant, including measures to end sexual
exploitation and child pornography. Music
saved the street children of Venezuela – could it work for Scotland too? In the violent slums of Venezuela,
free classical music lessons have transformed the lives of hundreds of
thousands of children and created an unlikely production line of
virtuosos. For 32 years El Sistema (the System) has tackled the “spiritual poverty”
among some of South America’s poorest street children by teaching them to
play Bach, Beethoven and Mahler in orchestras. Now El Sistema is
coming to Britain, where project organisers hope
that it will rescue a generation of children on one of Scotland’s most
notorious housing estates. Chavez Frias defends his record in protecting street children and excluded sectors The mission aims to provide integral
attention and protection to children and adolescents living on the streets,
old people abandoned and living in extreme poverty and pregnant
teenagers. The program also seeks to
help persons with physical disabilities, tramps, and all those who are living
conditions of social exclude exclusion.
The President is committed to getting rid of misery in all
communities. Reason
Over Might: View From Venezuela Our own institutions dealing with
children (INAM) report more than 200,000 Venezuelan street children engaged
in thievery and prostitution and more than one million children as street
peddlers. The Economic Commission for Latin America, ECLAC, reports that
Venezuela was the only Latin American country in which hunger increased. Reports to Treaty Bodies - Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The Committee also expressed
concern about the following: … the extent of child prostitution and of
trafficking in children, the lack of available statistics on the number of
street children, the extent of the sex trade involving children and the
government's inability to address these issues; the alarmingly high level of
poverty, especially among the indigenous peoples; the failure to integrate
economic, social and cultural rights into the government's anti-poverty
program. President Hugo Chavez Of Venezuela The First Lady, Marisabel
Rodríguez de Chávez, who has played an active role on behalf of children
rights in general, and street children in particular, was elected to the
Constituent Assembly with the second largest vote in 2000. She proposed the
creation of an institution called The Defender of the Rights of Children that
would encourage children to come forward and denounce abuses. Economic & Community Development - Reaching Out to Our Communities SUPPORTING EDUCATION AND TRAINING - Communities prosper when people
have the ability to help themselves and they are supported by an environment
that enables them to pursue their ambitions. Education and training are central
to building this capacity and sustaining long-term economic development. We
focus our investments on school- and work-based vocational and technical
programs. As part of our efforts, we sponsor reading, science and math
classes, and we help train teachers. Street
Children Used As Political Tool In War On Government1 President Hugo Chavez Frias is
said to be annoyed by the success of the Cisneros Organization's telethon for
street children last weekend, which netted $4.37 million in two days. According to the organizers, the funds will
be used to construct a site that will harbor 600 children in need. The Process and the 'Strike' - Justin Podur interviews Diana Valentine THE OPPOSITION SHOWS ADS SAYING THAT CHAVEZ HASN'T SOLVED THE PROBLEM OF STREET-CHILDREN. WHAT DO THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SAY ABOUT THIS? - UNICEF estimates there are 7,000 street children here, but the community organizations think it's closer to double that. I met with two women who have been doing community work in the barrios for over 20 years with street children. They don't blame Chavez for it and they don't think Chavez made any false promises. They quoted him as saying that the plan was to 'dignify the street children', and they use that to guide them in their work. Venezuela: The silent cry: gross human rights violations against children CASES STUDIES INVOLVING THE
EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLING OF MINORS: Members of the Venezuelan security forces conducting
anti-crime operations sometimes act with complete disregard for the right to
life of children. Frequently, their attitude and actions are characteristic
of a "social cleansing" policy, in which perceived criminal
suspects, a category in which they include street children, are singled out
for elimination. 1. The linked article has been
taken down, moved or restricted All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC §
107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Venezuela] [other countries]Street Children in [Venezuela] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Venezuela] [other countries]