AMERICA/BRAZIL - World Cup: everything ready, but who has thought about the safety of children?

Fortaleza (Agenzia Fides) - A few days before the start of the World Cup, to be held from 12 June to 13 July in 12 Brazilian cities, a group of institutions have raised the alarm about the safety of children and adolescents. The main purpose is to ensure their protection in case of violation of the rights of children. The note sent to Fides by Adital reports that, according to these institutions, children have been neglected, because the priority was to meet the urgent demands of infrastructure.
The note reports that on June 7 officials of the Ministry of Public Works and the Regional Controller identified five children (10 and 11 years of age) and eight adolescents (12 to 16) who, at the corners of four major streets of the city of Fortaleza, were engaged in selling products related to the World Cup. Fortaleza, one of the cities hosting the World Cup, does not have a support network for children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence.
When managing investments "public resources were allocated to the works, according to the agreement with FIFA, rather than allowing these resources to the policies of basic assistance such as housing, health and education", says a report by the Child Protection and Adolescents Center (Cedeca).
According to the ECPAT Brazil network (a coalition of civil society organizations working to eliminate sexual exploitation of children and adolescents), of the 275 638 complaints of violations of the rights of children and adolescents recorded between May 2003 and March 2011, in the 12 cities that will host the football World Cup, 27 664are those related to sexual exploitation, one of the most serious violations of human rights. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 10/06/2014)