Rights of the Child in Bolivia The aim of OMCT country reports are to prevent torture In its reports on children’s rights, OMCT aims to analyse national law in terms of the international commitments that a government has made. For example, in some countries families are not informed when their child is detained and this removes a precious safeguard against abuse. The absence of such safeguards fa- cilitates situations where the torture of children can and does occur. In other words, the reports aim to point out where, often unknowingly, legislation facilitates grave abuses against children. The legal analysis is supported, where possible, by urgent appeals on the torture of children documented by OMCT. These urgent appeals (OMCT intervenes almost daily on such cases) are the foun- dation of all our work. The reports are not legal semantics for their own sake, but represent, in addition to the urgent actions, another side of our strategy to end torture. The reports include meaningful and feasible recommendations for legal reform aimed at reducing the incidence of child torture. The reports are presented to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child who use them to analyse how well a country is fulfilling its international commitments with regards to chil- dren. Their recommendations on the issue of torture, drawing from OMCT’s reports, send a strong message from the international com- munity on the need for action to end the torture of children. ISBN 2-88477-140-9 Table of contents I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 II. International standards ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 III. Definition of the child .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 IV. Discrimination ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.1 Discrimination against girls ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.2 Discrimination against indigenous people ........................................................................................................................ 12 V. Protection from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ........... 13 5.1 Bolivia’s legal framework ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 5.2 Practice ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 VI. Protection from other forms of violence ............................................................................................................................. 16 6.1 Violence in the family .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 6.2 Sexual abuse and exploitation ................................. ............................................................................................................................................... 17 6.3 Child labour and exploitation ............................................................................................................................................................................... 20 6.4 Children living in prisons with their parents .............................................................................................................. 23 6.5 Child soldiers ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 VII. Children in conflict with the law ............................................................................................................................................... 25 7.1 Age of criminal responsibility and jurisdiction ...... ........................................................................................................................... 25 7.2 Grounds of arrest and detention ....................................................................................................................................................................... 26 VIII. Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................... 29 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child .................................................................. 33 OMCT would like to express its gratitude to Defensa de los Niños Internacional Bolivia (DNI - Bolivia) for their help with the research of the present report. COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 38th Session - Geneva, January 2005 Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by Bolivia Researched and written by Nathalie Perroud Co-ordinated and edited by Séverine Jacomy Director of the publicatio1 n- : Eric Sottas I - Introduction The situation of human rights in Bolivia, and living out their childhood in poverty and in particular of children’s rights, must be marginalisation”.5 considered in relation to the political, eco- nomic and social context of the country. In Bolivia, there is an important ethnic and cultural diversity: 37 linguistic groups and Poverty constitutes the biggest problem fac- 10 linguistic families6. According to the ing Bolivia today. It does the greatest dam- 2001 Population and Housing Census, age by disintegrating homes. Children are not 709,817 persons over 15 years of age have acknowledged in the family, they suffer from identified their cultural allegiance and iden- emotional neglect, violence and interfamily tity in the following ways: 195,561 identify sexual abuse.1 A strategy to reduce poverty2 themselves as Quechua; 155,167 as Aymara; has been established by the State with the 9,584 as Guaraní; 16,012 as Chiquitano; participation of the civil society until the year 5,603 as Mojeño; 10,430 as other and 2015. Concerning children and adolescents, 31,7460 do not identify themselves with any the strategy plans to increase the number of of these7. Differences depend on regions, teachers, social workers and health spe- cialists in order to develop projects aimed at 1 - See Bolivia Country Report, p.17 CRC/C/125/Add.2 improving the situation of women and chil- 2 - Estrategia Boliviana de Reducción de la Pobreza (EBRP). dren. Yet, about two-thirds of the population The aim of the strategy is to reduce poverty and promote hu- man development, with particular emphasis on the popu- still live in poverty. The great majority of the lation that can rely on very few means. It includes better poor are under the age of 18. In 2001, the to- access to markets, to basic public services, better social pro- tal population of Bolivia was 8.5 million3. tection and security and the promotion of the participation and integration of the population, in a context of develop- Children under the age of 18 are calculated ment that takes into account the rational use of natural re- at 3.7 million and children under the age of sources. 4 See: http://www.ebrp.gov.bo 5 at 1.2 million . “Of the total population 3 - See Bolivia Data Profile of The World Bank, available at: of the country, it is estimated that about two www.worlbank.org million children and adolescents are at risk, 4 - According to Ecpat’s statistics, avalaible at: www.ecpat.com 5 - See Bolivia Country Report, p.16 CRC/C/125/Add.2 6 - See Programa de la Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, available at: http://www.pnud.bo/Perfil/Index.html 7 7 - See Bolivia Country Report, p.16, CRC/C/125/Add.2 rural and urban areas and ethnic origins. There are also over 2,500 children living on Processes of exclusion are common espe- the street of major cities (Cochabamba, La cially in rural areas and marginal zones and Paz, Santa Cruz, etc.). Domestic violence, es- among indigenous people. In those groups, pecially the abuse and mistreatment of chil- children and young people are particularly dren, is a growing concern10. vulnerable. OMCT welcomes the third report submitted The infant mortality rate has dropped in the by Bolivia to the Committee on the Rights of past years thanks to the government’s policy the Child (thereafter the Committee) in of expanding the Basic Health Insurance to accordance with article 44 (1) b of the provide all services to pregnant women, to Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). new mothers up to six months after childbirth OMCT’s alternative report to the and to children up to five years of age8. Committee covers the provisions of the CRC However, in rural areas it still remains high. which fall under the mandate of OMCT, Malnutrition of children under three years namely the right to life, the right to be pro- of age still persists. According