COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TAKES UP INITIAL REPORT OF VENEZUELA

HR/CRC/99/39
21 September 1999



The Committee on the Rights of the Child began consideration this morning of an initial report from Venezuela, querying a Government delegation, among other things, about the participation of mothers in promoting and protecting the rights of Venezuelan children.

Introducing his country's report, Victor Rodriguez Cedeno, Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said his country was currently going through an important political process involving fundamental changes aimed at amplifying the process of democratization. The intent was to allow all members of the nation to participate in the State affairs of the new millennium, he said.

As one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Venezuela is required to provide the Committee with periodic reports on efforts to implement the treaty's provisions. The written reports serve as a basis for questioning and discussion between Committee Experts and Government delegations.

In addition to Mr. Rodriguez, the delegation from Venezuela consisted of Alfredo Michelena, Minister-Advisor of the Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Dulce Parra, First Secretary; Ricardo Salas, Second Secretary; Maria Carolina Mendoza Omana de Castillo, Third Secretary; and Maria Esperanza Ruesta, Advisor on Human Rights.

The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of the Venezuelan report.

Initial Report of Venezuela

The initial report of Venezuela (document CRC/C/3/Add.54) reviews implementation of the provisions of the Convention on article-by-article basis. In its introduction, the report says that unrest as a result of the implementation of “adjustment” measures led to a climate of political instability which included two attempted military coups in 1992 and ended with the overthrow of the President in 1993. This political state of affairs had badly affected the continuity of policy directions subsequently undertaken starting in 1998, thus hampering the full implementation of the Convention.

The report says that struggling social-sector institutions are the main obstacle to the implementation of the principles embodied in the Convention at the national level. The inflexibility of the institutions and the resulting difficulty of coordination among the various governmental agencies, as well as the changes needed for greater management efficiency, have been the main stumbling blocks to the achievement of the country's targets based on the guidelines contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, says the report.

The report says that Venezuela ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in August 1990 and immediately adopted measures to publicize the Convention in order to create an atmosphere of motivation and consciousness-raising. A great deal of information was also published in connection with the campaign, including pamphlets and posters informing the public about the rights guaranteed in the Convention.

As result of the serious financial crisis and the crash of the country's foremost banks in 1994, the Government had to focus much of its attention on the recovery of the financial sector, says the report, adding that these factors all led to a gradual deterioration of the social infrastructure, a problem that has beset the country since the debt crisis of the 1980s.

Introduction of Report

VICTOR RODRIGUEZ CEDENO, Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said his country was at present experiencing an important political process in its history. The fundamental change being undertaken by the actual Government was aimed at amplifying the process of democratization in order to allow all members of national sectors to participate in the State affairs of the new millennium.

Mr. Rodriguez said the national Government of President Hugo Chavez Frias had initiated an exemplary electoral system; had stimulated changes in the judiciary which reflected new realities; and had begun review of the national Constitution which was expected to be adopted before the end of the year. The President also had announced that his Government would give priority to children in keeping with his campaign platform, which had emphasized the need for social justice and, in particular, new social policies to meet the needs of children.

Venezuela's foreign and national policies had always been based on the promotion and protection of human rights through the Government's participation in diverse fundamental international instruments relative to human rights and their implementation, Mr. Rodriguez said, adding that the national Government was engaged in creating economic and social conditions which would enable its citizens to have dignified lives.

Discussion

Committee members raised a number of questions. They asked, among other things, if there was active participation and coordination of non-governmental organizations in matters related to child rights; if adequate resources were allocated for children; about the participation of mothers in actions aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of children; about the impact of economic and constitutional review on children; and about aspects of the Constitution dealing with the family, particularly children.

Mr. Rodriguez said, among other things, that the country’s Organic Law on Decentralization was aimed at transferring responsibilities and services from the National Executive to the states and municipalities in areas of child protection. The National Children's Institute, the body responsible for the protection of the family, especially children, envisaged national development of the process as part of a three-year plan, covering all forms of child protection, including education and other social programmes.

The decentralization process was launched in 1993 and decentralization of child-care services, including transfer of staff, financial resources and the various programme methods, had already been completed in some states, Mr. Rodriguez said. There was a country-wide consensus that child-care services should not only be decentralized to the states, but the process should go even further and involve local governments in that activity.

On the question of the implementation of the recently enacted Organic Law for Protection of Children and Adolescents, Mr. Rodriguez said the Government acknowledged that all children and adolescents had rights, among them the right to participate, to voice opinions and to be heard. In addition, the Organic Law aimed at prevention of violence, sexual abuse, incest and the sexual exploitation of children. New legislation would come into force in the year 2000.


Mr. Rodriguez said the National Plan of Action, created by the national conference on the rights of children in August 1991 in Caracas, was aimed at giving continuity to policies designed to improve the situation of children and at establishing broad outlines that would be maintained, regardless of any national or regional governmental changes. He said the Plan diagnosed problems in the areas of survival, development and protection, and suggested strategies for dealing with them.

Mr. Rodriguez said the Government had taken measures to train professionals such as judges, lawyers, law-enforcement and army officials about the Convention. In addition, fora had been created for purposes of dialogue among the various sectors of the population on national, regional and municipal levels concerning child rights. Non-governmental organizations and other civil-society actors directly participated in programmes aimed at promoting the rights of children, he said.

Concerning the definition of the child, Mr. Rodriguez said that under the Venezuelan Civil Code, majority was attained at age 18, and minors under 18 were subject to the authority of their parents. The fact that majority was attained at 18 did not mean that children might not personally exercise rights before that age. Children's views were heard on issues that concerned them and they even were allowed to exercise their rights before administrative and judicial authorities.

Mr. Rodriguez said the Government was doing all it could to avoid any negative impact of the structural-adjustment regime on the rights of children; a series of measures intended to prevent such consequences had been taken. In addition, the Government had taken measures to reduce economic and social disparities and to prevent and combat discrimination against the most disadvantaged groups of children, he said.