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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
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LATIN AMERICA
NEWS
| Sunday 07 November 2010 |
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Latin
America
Lacks
Policies
To
Protect
Migrant
Children:
ECLAC
SANTIAGO
- Latin
American
and the
Caribbean
nations
do not
have
migratory
policies
to
protect
migrant
children's
rights,
the
Economic
Commission
for
Latin
America
and the
Caribbean
(ECLAC)
said on
Friday.
According
to a
report
published
by the
ECLAC
and the
United
Nations
Children's
Fund
(UNICEF),
about 6
million
people
have
emigrated
to
another
country
in the
region,
and 25
million
have
gone to
the
United
States
or
Europe.
Among
these
people,
one of
five is
a child
or an
adolescent.
UNICEF
experts
said
migration
brings
benefits
to some
people,
however,
many
children
are
being
exposed
to
risks,
such as
abuses,
exploitation
and
violation
of their
human
rights.
Experts
Rut Feuk,
Nadine
Perrault
and
Enrique
Delamonica
said
millions
of the
minors
are
suffering
from
severe
restrictions
to their
human
rights,
and
migration
has
affected
them no
matter
whether
they
have
migrated
together
with
their
parents,
by
themselves
or are
left
behind
by one
or both
of their
parents.
Migration's
impact
on
minors
must be
analyzed
in the
most
extended
context
of
poverty
and
inequality,
the
experts
said.
The
report
said
that
migratory
restrictive
policies,
xenophobia,
discrimination
and
human
traffic
are some
of the
main
risks
faced by
the
immigrants,
mainly
the
undocumented.
Children
who
migrate
to other
countries
with
their
parents,
or those
who
receive
economic
aid by
remittances
sent by
their
parents,
could
have
better
development
opportunities
regarding
health,
education
and
psycho-social
adaptation.
Governments
should
provide
children
with
identity
at the
moment
of their
birth
and
avoid
detaining
children
and
adolescents
who
illegally
enter
other
countries,
the
ECLAC
and the
UNICEF
suggested.
Governments
should
also
boost
the
positive
effects
of
migration
by
avoiding
taxing
remittances,
adopting
measures
to ease
remittance
transactions,
and
exploring
international
cooperation
to
fulfill
the
economic
obligation
of
parents
with
children
living
in other
countries.
National
laws
should
be
enacted
to
include
measures
and
policies
for
protecting
the
social,
economic
and
cultural
rights
of the
migrant
children,
the
ECLAC
and the
UNICEF
said
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