AMERICA/ARGENTINA - “The application of the Convention of Rights of the Child, a utopia that is possible”

Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) - “The application of the Convention of Rights of the Child, a utopia that is possible” will be the theme of the 10th Archdiocesan Encounter for Youth and Children, to be held October 27 in the Santa Cecilia Auditorium of the Catholic University of Argentina in Puerto Madero. The initiative has been organized by the Commission for Youth and Children for the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and is aimed at discussing the International Convention for the Rights of the Child, 20 years after its ratification, and its application in Argentina. As the Archdiocesan Commission informs, there will also be an occasion for “verifying the use of public policies aimed at guaranteeing children's rights.”
The encounter, which will be attended by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, will have two sessions. The first will include the participation of students from various schools who have carried out several projects organized by the Commission, which will express their opinions and questions on the Convention. Organizers say “we wanted to do this because the school is an important environment for helping adolescents to become aware of their rights.” The second session calls for a discussion on the theme: “Public Policies and Demanding Rights,” which will be led by Bernardo Kliksberg, Consul for the Regional Direction of Latin America and the Caribbean in Development Programs for the United Nations (PNUD), and Dr. Mary Beloff, Attorney General for Criminal Policy, Human Rights, and Community Services, of the National Attorney General's Office. (GT) (Agenzia Fides 14/10/2009)