Children win the vote in Peru's presidential elections
Children and young people in Peru are demanding their rights
30 March 2011: Plan has called it a defining moment for child rights campaigners in Peru as all prominent presidential candidates have signed up to a charter that commits them to improving the lives of millions of Peruvian children and adolescents.
Plan has played a key role in drafting the ‘Agenda for the Rights of the Child’ as part of a coalition of over 40 local and international organisations with active leadership of children and young people. The coalition has run a high-profile ‘Vote for Children’ nationwide campaign canvassing all presidential candidates for the election due on 10 April. The campaign has emphasised that even though children and young people do not have the right to vote, they have the right to have their voice and opinion heard.
Setting clear goals
The Agenda sets clear targets for the next government in areas of child rights including health, education and protection against violence. According to the Agenda, the next government will:
- ensure that every single child and adolescent in Peru has an identity document, thereby protecting them from trafficking and exploitation
- ensure that at least 95% of children under the age of 3 are immunised
- build a national framework for registering cases of violence against children.
“This charter is not a wish-list of promises; it is a commitment for the next government to prioritise lifting millions of Peruvian children and adolescents out of poverty, neglect and abuse, and reduce huge inequality that exists in the country,” said Mariella Greco, Plan’s country director and representative in Peru. “The Agenda reflects the critical rights violations that are impacting the lives of children and adolescents and limiting their chances to develop to their full potential.”
Victims of violence
Children and young people comprise more than one-third of Peru’s population and around 60% of them live in poverty. The country has high levels of chronic malnutrition, low levels of learning achievement and a high incidence of abuse in children and adolescents. According to an estimate by Peru’s Ministry of Women and Social Development, 8 out of 10 Peruvian children have suffered physical and psychological violence, mostly in their homes and a majority of victims being girls.
