A Critical Appraisal of the Child and Adolescent Statute – ECA (1990) and the Brazilian System and Policies Toward the Protection of Children’s Rights

Part XIII – United Nations Report About Brazil (CRC): what is necessary to do?

José Anastácio de Sousa Aguiar

The United Nation Committee on the Rights of the Child did its considerations about the Brazilian report in November 2004, in a document called: Concluding Observations – Brazil, with 76 paragraphs. The Committee welcomed the adoption of 1988 Constitution of Brazil, which has included human rights principles and has given absolute priority to children rights in article 227, and the adoption of ECA, which included the rights provided in CRC.

Despite that, the Committee has noted with concern the dramatic inequality based on race and social class. It has also noted the multitude of actors involved in the implementation of the Convention, but is concerned with the lack of coordination between them, at municipal, state and federal level in order to ensure full implementation of the domestic law and the CRC. Another point highlighted is the absence of an independent and effective mechanism in compliance with the Paris Principles to monitor and evaluate the progress in the implementation of the Convention.

Related to budget allocation, it was said that the Committee is concerned that budgetary allocations were distributed without duly taking into account the regional disparities and the need of the most vulnerable groups. The Committee also recommends that the State party pay particular attention to the full implementation of article 4 of the Convention by prioritizing and, given recent positive economic developments, by increasing budgetary allocations to ensure at all levels the implementation of the rights of children, in particular those belonging to marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups, including children of African descent and indigenous children “to the maximum extent of … available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation.”[1] The Committee also welcomed the efforts of Brazil to implement the right to health of adolescent and to promote respect to UNCRC principle, as: respect for the view of the child, best interest of the child and birth registration.

It seems that what most concern the Committee were subjects related to the situations of abuse, violence and exploitation of child that still remains. The Committee expressed its grave concern at the significant number of street children and the vulnerability of these children to extrajudicial killings, various forms of violence, including torture, sexual abuse and exploitation, and at the lack of a systematic and comprehensive strategy to address the situation and protect these children, and the very poor registration of missing children by the police. [2]

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[1] Convention on the Rights of the Child – Committee on the Rights of the Child – Considerations of Reports Submitted by States Parties – Concluding Observations: Brazil, p. 04.

[2] Ibid., p. 13.