Summary:

Five years the number of working children and adolesents substantially increased throughout Latin America. Moreover their working conditions have seriously deteriorated. Current tendencies seem to indicate that, at least in the short and mid-term, this trend will continue.

PRESENTATION THE CURRENT DEBATE ON WORKING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES Emilio Garcia Mendez/Hege Araldsen

COMMENTS ON THE SPEECH 'THE CURRENT DEBATE..." BY GARCIA MENDEZ Akjandro Cussianovich

THE CAIN AND ABEL SYNDROME: DIFFERENTIATED LEGAL TREATMENT FOR WORKING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Ana Maria Yafiez

THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS' WORK IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Maria Cristina Salazar

WORKING CHILDREN: FROM PATHOLOGY TO POLITICS Giangi Schibotto

CHILDRENS WORK To be or not to be?

PRESENTATION

five years the number of working children and adolesents substantially increased throughout Latin America. Moreover their working conditions have seriously deteriorated. Current tendencies seem to indicate that, at least in the short and mid-term, this trend will continue.

In the face of what could be considered new expressions of an old phenomena, there is a need to revise both the theory and the practices surrounding the issue. Information much be reconceived and updated, we must propose new methodologies and seek real alternatives. As far as we know, to date there is no universalformula. Against the back drop of structural adjustment applied throughout the region and the fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children's work and its characteristics seem to hover as giant questions marks.

Within this context there is a need to stimulate an open, indepth regional debate, which will enrich and empower contributions made by official organizations, social organizations, intellectuals, and of course, working children themselves.

This issue of APUNTES presents a speech made by Dr. Emilio Garcia Mendez during the 1 Annual Rights of the Child Conference, held last September in Lima. The issue includes an equally interesting response to the speech on the part of the Rev. Alejandro Cussianovich and a diligent analysis of the legal and juridical aspects of children's work by Dr. Ana Maria Yai!ez. APUNTES 5 also includes a presentation made by Dr. Maria Cristina Salazar during the Symposium on Working Children held in Sweden last year at the 480 International Congress of Americanists. We also offer Professor Giangi Schibotto's comments in response to Dr. Garcia Mendez' presentation. A very good selection due to the professionalism of both the authors and their texts.

APUNTES is committed to continuing and developing the debate, leaving its pages open to contributions from these same authors and others who may wish to collaborate in the future.

Previous Paper (general) items

• 10/10/2000: Goiania Declaration
• 01/08/2000: El papel de la Convención en la construcción de la política pública en México
• 01/06/2000: Agenda política sobre legislación de los derechos de niñas, niños y adolescentes
• 01/05/2000: Early Marriage: Whose Right to Choose?
• 01/01/2000: Growing Up Alone: childhood under siege

Organisation Contact Details:

Save the Children Sweden - Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean
Apartado 14-0393
Lima 27
Tel: + 51 1 4229292
Email: postmaster@scslat.org
Website: www.scslat.org

Last updated 22/03/2001 04:21:42

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