DCI-Bolivia

Fields of Intervention

DCI-Bolivia was created in Bolivia in order to promote and defend children’s rights. Therefore, several actions are undertaken in the following priority issues:

• Juvenile Justice
• Child participation and promotion of their standing within the society.
• Child labour
• Children with disabilities
• Sexual abuse of children
• Child Participation
• Social and Political Advocacy against the subordination of child and adolescents rights
• Education, promotion, and defence of human rights, especially children’s rights

 

Current Activities and Projects/Programmes:

In recent years, DCI-Bolivia has carried out inter alia the following projects:

• National Study on Children Deprived of Liberty

DCI-Bolivia was also leading a study on the situation of children in conflict with law, which consisted of a national analysis of all teenagers between 13 and 18 years that are deprived of liberty. This study produced concrete data for policy-makers and contributed to the reinforcement of the Bolivian judiciary.

• Workshops and Meetings of Children for their Inclusion in Decision Processes

Bolivia is experiencing a wave of decentralisation that does not involve children. Therefore, the Brigades and the Students Centres has started a campaign for municipalities and departments not to be left out from these changes. In La Paz, Santa Cruz, Oruro, and Cochabamba, children and adolescents have expressed their views to the authorities and work together in workshops and meetings.

• Project  » Decent Work: A Right of Children and Adolecent Workers of Oruro”

In the field of child labour, DCI-Bolivia focuses its action on the department of Oruro, where 120 adolescents receive technical training in four areas: automotive engineering, gastronomy, and mobile phone and computer repair and assembly. They are also prepared for administrative management to give them competences to elaborate micro-enterprise projects. At the end of the training cycle, they have realised an exhibition to show to local authorities, students, and representatives of public/private institutions what they have learned.

In addition a report “Estudio Socioeconómica de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes Trabajadores de los municipios de Caracollo, Huanuni y Cercado” (“Socio-economical Study of children and adolescents workers of the municipalities of Caracollo, Huanuni and Cercado”) was elaborated, which collects quantitative/qualitative data about the social, educative, labour, and family situation in this sector. It is also an approximation of the reality in daily life lived by hundreds of children and adolescents workers in the department of Oruro.

• Promotion and Advocacy Concerning the Creation of a Juvenile Justice System

In this field, DCI-Bolivia has promoted meetings and the signature of agreements with important national institutions for the establishment of a Juvenile Justice system. Similarly, DCI-Bolivia has promoted a set of seminars and workshops, meeting up with important institutions of the State (the Supreme Court of Justice, the Public Prosecutor, and the Ministry of Justice), government representatives, and municipalities to promote the creation of a Juvenile Justice system for adolescents in each of the Bolivian departments. DCI-Bolivia has elaborated a strategic plan that permits the development of a specialised Juvenile Justice system. The national section also led activities and projects with that goal in mind. For instance, the office in Cochabamba has trained employees of child protection services of 28 municipalities about Juvenile Justice to provide them with better theoretical and practical skills in their daily work. 538 persons, such as lawyers, general attorneys, and representatives of social services, were also trained in this context.

• Currently. DCI-Bolivia is implementing 6 projects in the departments of La Paz, Cochabamba and Oruro, as well as one in the national level. The issues that those projects address are:

• • Prevention from all forms of violence against children, adolescents and young women.
  • Promotion of the socio- political organisation and participation, as well as, public presence of children, adolescents and young women.
  • Politic Advocacy in state entities for promoting the existence of more and better laws, public policies and public budgets addressed to the childhood and adolescence.
  • The establishment of a National system of Juvenile Justice, in compliance with the International standards.
  • Promotion on the use of non-custodial measures when it comes to talk about cases of children and adolescents in conflict with the law.
  • Take part and participate as a member of the Regional Observatory for Juvenile Justice.

• Life skills training sessions to encourage the participation and public presence of children

 

Success Stories/Testimonials

Through DCI-Bolivia’s training initiative encouraging the participation of children, the National Section was able to reach 13,416 children.

For more success stories, kindly refer to DCI-Bolivia’s book, « Sembrado Ciudadanía ».

 

Reports/Publications:

• The 2014 transparency report will be posted on the website in late August.
• Annual reports on the rights of adolescents in conflict with the law are on the project website of the Regional Juvenile Justice.
• The July book, « Sembrado Ciudadanía« .
• Monitoring Report on Juvenile Justice Systems in Latin America