He Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed great concern about the high and growing incidence of violence against girls in Bolivia, which often manifests itself in the form of infanticide and sexual violenceand urged the country’s authorities to take urgent measures to guarantee the rights of this group.
The Committee’s group of experts also called on Bolivia to fully implement the legislation relating to the fight against infanticide, femicide and violence against womengirls and adolescents and sexual violence against children.
In the same way, he ordered him to Thoroughly and promptly investigate all complaints of violence against children.
Rape, child pregnancies and maternity
The UN Committee referred with alarm to the high number of forced rapes, pregnancies and child maternity, and sexual exploitation and prostitution of minors.
According to experts, Bolivia needs to take effective action to combat sexual violence in all provinces, especially in rural areas, and adopt a national plan to address and end the sexual exploitation of childrenespecially in mining and tourist areas.
In their observations on the fifth and sixth reports presented by a South American country, the Committee noted that the legal definition of rape does not refer to lack of consent for sexual intercoursefor which reason he asked the authorities that this definition conform to international standards, that the crime does not prescribe and that power relations be taken into account when evaluating the consent of the relations.
indigenous children
According to the Committee, indigenous and Afro-descendant children are those who suffer major violations of their rights since in addition to exploitation and other abuses, they often find themselves at health risks due to lack of access to basic goods and services such as water, food, health care and sanitation facilities.
To protect these children, he appealed to the Bolivian State to take provisions, including legislative and financial ones, which guarantee the equal rights of indigenous peoples, ensuring their participation in the elaboration and approval of norms and public policies that affect them, as well as to ensure that indigenous children are a priority group in public policies and programs for de facto access to health, education and social protection, without discrimination.
Forced labor
Referring to economic exploitation and forced labor, he reported that 83,000 cases of children between the ages of five and thirteen have been documented work in dangerous conditions more than 40 hours per week and at night. Many of these children are Guarani from the Chaco region.
In this regard, the Committee urged Bolivia to “erradicate the worst forms of child labor and prevent children from becoming victims of debt bondage; to eliminate hazardous work practices in which child workers are exposed to environmental hazards; to promote safer alternatives; to guarantee the follow-up of the affected children; and to update the list of dangerous jobs”.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is in charge of ensuring compliance by the States of the Children’s rights conventiona binding international instrument.
