Civil society organizations in Peru send List Of Issues Prior to Reporting – LOIPR report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Children and adolescents are born with inherent rights and freedoms which protect them from threats, exclusion, and discrimination. Their rights have been incorporated into international law mainly through the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of the United Nations (UN) and its optional protocols.

Within the UN, specialised bodies supervise, monitor, and guide the implementation of human rights treaties. From time to time, state parties must report to these UN treaty bodies on how the implementation of the treaties is progressing. The body in charge of the CRC is called the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

In this context, the Committee on the Rights of the Child made an open call to civil society organisations in Peru to participate in a consultation process called “List of Issues Prior to Reporting” (LOIPR). This is a public list of specific issues the treaty body adopts based on a review of documents including reports prepared by UNICEF and United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other interested stakeholders.

The participation of civil society organisations in these instances is vital. It is a strategy which allows civil society to play an active role in demanding that States assume responsibility for the legal obligations they have assumed under ratified conventions and treaties. In addition, it offers a space and process for civil society groups to carry out joint actions on human rights issues, collect relevant and updated data, establish shared priorities, and develop collective advocacy strategies.

This year, various civil society organizations joined forces and wrote a LOIPR report for the Committee. As a result, we identified emerging trends and issues of concern related to the rights of children and adolescents in Peru, and better understood the levels of vulnerability that affect them in the 25 regions of the country. The main observation guide to detecting changes in this matter was observations and recommendations the Committee made to the Peruvian state five years ago.

Among the organisations that participated in writing the report are institutions which are part of the alliance for children’s rights Child Right Now, which includes SOS Children’s Villages, Plan International, Save the Children, Terre des Hommes Suisse, and World Vision. Additionally, specialists from the international organisation No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ), the National Association of Centres (ANC), the Peruvian Campaign for the Right to Education (CPDE), and the National Initiative Group for the Rights of the Child (GIN), participated in writing the report, the latter organisation overseeing the technical direction of the initiative. The LOIPR Report was submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on 29 June 2021, and it will be reviewed and considered at its 90th pre-session.

Today more than ever, it is essential to bring visibility to and take action for the rights of children and adolescents, as the Covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated their vulnerability. We call for unity and collective work to promote the well-being and fulfilment of human rights of all children and adolescents, as well as all the people who constitute our society.