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Press Release

Latin American and Caribbean children speak out

Monday, 12 June 2000: More than half of some 12,000 Latin American and Caribbean children interviewed in a recent survey said they were not heard, at home or school, and a third of them thought their countries would fare worse in the future, but more than three quarters of them, nevertheless, were hopeful their lives would be better than their parents' lives.

The survey, released today in Panama City by Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso and UNICEF regional director Per Engebak, was conducted among children and adolescents between nine and 18 years old, divided equally between boys and girls and chosen from a corresponding population of 103 million in the region and from Spain and Portugal.

Several countries in the region presented the adaptation of the report to the specific country situation, in the framework of which the participation of prominent social and political personalities is being considered.

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy pointed out that "the undertaking of this regional survey is a very exciting example of how important it is to allow children and adolescents to voice their opinions on the very issues which affect them -- such as the quality of their education, their physical safety and their access to information on their rights".

"Children are not only our future, they are our present and we need to start taking their voices very seriously", Ms. Bellamy added. "In September of 2001, the UN will be reviewing the commitments which governments have made at the World Summit for Children. This survey is just one more step towards allowing youth to be active participants in the process."

The Panamanian President is host of the 10^th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State, taking place on 16 November 2000 and focusing on children and adolescents as the main issue under the slogan "United for children and adolescents: Basis of justice and equity in the new millenium".

Other main findings of the survey:

• One in four children reports the absence of a father. A change is confirmed in the traditional structure of the family and a more direct responsibility of mothers in taking care of their children. One in five children lives only with his or her mother.
• 27 per cent of respondents report a high level of aggression at home. This corresponds to 28 million children and adolescents in the region. In addition, 16 per cent say that they are maltreated at home when they do something wrong.
• One in three respondents feel that they are not well-informed about sex education, AIDS and drug abuse prevention.

Spain and Portugal

Children and adolescents surveyed in Spain and Portugal have similar concerns as those expressed by their counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean. To cite an example, more than half of the children and adolescents interviewed in Spain reveal distrust of the government. Similarly, children and adolescents in Spain coincide in their feeling of pessimism (65 per cent) on the immediate future of their country. Children and adolescents in Portugal manifest a negative attitude towards the future of their county. However, young people in Spain and Portugal have high expectations of the quality of life in the future.