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UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean is considered the most unequal region in the world.

While there have been notable development leaps that have improved the lives of some children, there remain staggering gaps that continue to leave millions of other children and their families at risk.

UNICEF’s mission and mandate is of particular importance here, since more than 40% of the total population (510-million people) is under 18 years of age, and more than half of the region’s children and adolescents live in conditions of poverty.

Although all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a great majority of them have adjusted, or are working to bring national legislation in line with the Convention, much remains to be done to implement these rights and achieve the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals.

Since the rights of children are not yet an integral part of the development agenda, and investment in children is still not usually a priority, a fundamental part of UNICEF work in Latin America and the Caribbean includes policy advocacy and partnerships to protect and promote children’s rights, and to put children at the center of public policy, laws and budgets.

UNICEF, the Telefonica Foundation, ILO, and the SONICO Social Network Announce the Second Season of the LACVOX Research Contest for Adolescent Communicators
Panama, Madrid, Lima, August 9, 2010 – The LACVOX Regional Network of Adolescent Communicators launches the second season of the LACVOX Research Contest. This years’ theme is the rights of children to an education and a healthy development without child l

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Videos

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27 February 2012 - UNICEF correspondent Chris Niles reports on this year's 'State of the World's Children' report. This year's report focuses attention on the needs of children in urban areas.