At a glance: Uruguay

The big picture

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This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

Uruguay is going through a profound economic crisis ranked by analysts as one of the most serious in the country's history. Uruguay's economic and social situation has absorbed the bulk of the government's and the population's attention, with a view to finding solutions for the pressing circumstances. Efforts were immediately geared to dealing with a social emergency, made more acute by winter weather, through solitary actions addressed, almost exclusively, to offer meals at grassroots, governmental, non-governmental and community kitchens, which have multiplied exponentially.

UNICEF was able to position itself as a relevant actor and promoted citizen mobilization to cope with the situation and ensure that children's and adolescents' rights would not be sacrificed.

Uruguay has had universal coverage of primary education for decades. The challenge is the universalization of intermediary education, starting with an initial cycle in which repetition and dropout levels are high. While the gross schooling rate for the basic cycle is high around 85 per cent - some 40 per cent of students entering the first year of public high school in 1996 were out of the education system in 1999. For the second cycle of intermediary education the estimated completion rate is 35 per cent for each class year. The overall dropout rate among youths aged 15 to 19 years from households in the poorest income quartile is 48 per cent, while in the richest quartile it is only nine per cent. Adolescent work is heavily associated with school desertion. At the end of 1999 approximately 50,000 children (between five and 17 years of age) worked and approximately 77 per cent were between 14 and 17 years of age.

The percentage of women with secondary and tertiary levels of education is higher than for men. Nevertheless, the jobs women perform are worse paid than those done by men. A legislative discussion on a bill for a new Children's Code, has been underway for eight years; the bill is still far from the postulates of the International Children's Rights Convention

Although incidence of HIV among women (20 per cent) has increased in the country, there is a clear predominance of men (80 per cent). The epidemic strikes increasingly younger people, with peak incidence among those aged 15 to 24 years.

UNICEF priorities

UNICEF’s work includes two programmes designed to address the most important social disparities and cultural obstacles that have a negative effect on children's rights.

The Universal and equitable rights for children and adolescents programme, is implemented through two projects. The first, on public policies in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It provides technical assistance and promotes public debate, bringing together different sectors of society with the objective of obtaining approval by the Parliament of the new Code for Children and Adolescents, and of furthering subsequent institutional transformations in the juvenile justice and protection systems.

The second project, on knowledge generation and situation analysis, analyzes the impact and processes of policies and programmes based on children's and women's rights, and assists the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in following-up on commitments made at various global summits.

The empowerment for rights programme, is implemented through two projects. The raising awareness project promotes broad understanding and practice of children's and adolescents' rights, focusing on such specific issues addressed as integrated health, child labour, quality education, gender equity, and child and adolescent participation.

Through the second project on participation and active citizenship, UNICEF and the Central Board of Public Education promotes inclusion of child rights in school curricula, the creation of spaces and mechanisms in high schools for adolescents to practice civic and political rights, and the strengthening of parents' participation in local school boards. Extracurricular opportunities, including sports, cultural and social activities, are developed and supported at the community level to promote the participation of children and adolescents.

One of UNICEF’s success stories has been Participation of Adolescents. The main project activities involved convening two national meetings of adolescents. A pilot project carried out training seminars for teachers, directors, inspectors and regional representatives. This training is expected to continue during to consolidate awareness-building and execute participatory projects at eight high schools. The education system was used as a basic platform for awareness-building, training on rights for adults and adolescents and electing departmental delegates.