Childhood, adolescence and youth at the centre of the debate
- Written by Yani Martínez Peña
- Published in Opinion
- Hits: 2545
As a prelude to the popular consultation on the draft Code of Childhood, Adolescence and Youth, which should take place from February to March this year, a meeting was held chaired by Beatriz Roque Morales, national director of Special Education, to discuss the structure and content of the Code, as well as key aspects that should be taken into account during the consultation process.
At the meeting, which was attended by representatives of the different organizations, agencies and institutions involved in both the consultation process and its implementation, Roque Morales gave a detailed explanation of the background and references of the current version of the draft: the Constitution of the Republic, the Family Code, the Comprehensive Policy for the Care of Children, Adolescents and Youth, approved in July 2022 by the National Assembly of People's Power, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Cuba is a member state, and the current legislation on the subject in several nations, especially in Latin America.
This, together with an exhaustive diagnosis of the current situation of these population segments in the country, served as a foundation for the development of a standard that is optimistic, protective and consistent with the humanistic character of our socialist society.
In accordance with the regulations for legislative processes in the country, which provide that laws of the scope of this Code are subject to popular consultation, in addition to professional and specialized consultations, the process will be carried out with unprecedented characteristics.
The main scenarios for the consultations will be educational institutions throughout the country, although exchanges will also be held in workplaces and communities, and will include the active participation of children, adolescents and young people, the main subjects of this law.
To support the process, especially in the case of meetings with the youngest children, a set of audiovisual materials has been prepared to facilitate understanding of the content, insisting on the duties and rights of girls and boys, and will seek to stimulate their effective participation in the formulation of proposals, in line with concepts that the law itself endorses, such as the best interests of the child and progressive autonomy.
On this subject, the National Director of Special Education stressed that "it is important for the world to know that in Cuba a law is written about and for children and that they themselves can have an opinion on it and participate. This code will contribute to the comprehensive development of children, which has always been the aspiration of this Revolution and its founding leaders."
