NGOs condemn children’s rights abuse  in shelters

Three   leading Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)have condemned alleged violations of the human rights of children and adolescents in shelters in Tocumen, Panama, and Santiago, Veraguas, revealed this week.

The United Foundation for Children, the  Panama Network for Children and Adolescents and the Panamanian Association for Family Planning (Aplafa) say that  the State is not fulfilling its role as an inspector or guaranteeing that the protocols for the care of this vulnerable population are met,

According to Jennie Barb, president of the United for Children Foundation, the state turned its back on children. In 2012, Barb drew up a protocol for care in shelters that, she says, is not being followed.

Roderick Chaverri, vice president of the Children’s Network, believes that the rules regulating  shelters should be revised

This year, the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents, and the Family (Senniaf) closed three shelters for irregularities, out of a total of 55 that serve children and adolescents at social risk and who are under its supervision.

During the week, alleged apparent physical and emotional abuse of minors. were revealed at the Amor de Damas shelter, in Veraguas, and at the Centro Integral Fundación Chilibre Panamá, in Tocumen.

The three NGOs say  that the State, through the Ministry of Social Development (Mides) and the Senniaf, must reform the regulations that govern the shelters and comply with the protocols established for the care of minors who are there.

Jennie Barb, of the United for Children Foundation, said that in 2012 a protocol for care for children in shelters was drawn up, at the request of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), and was provided to the Senniaf.

The document is a roadmap on how to treat children and adolescents in the reception sites, as Panama is a subscriber to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As part of her fieldwork, Barb visited 11 shelters and found failures in several. “For example, there was a caregiver for 56 children, two children slept in the same bed and some did not have good nutrition,” she said.

Barb said that there was training in the use of the protocol so that the care of infants was standardized – even the cook and the drivers of the shelter had to take courses on children’s rights.

“The protocol also implied supervision and randomly supplying forms to children so that they could make known what the treatment was like within the site,” said the activist, who said she was disappointed by the current reality and invited Senniaf to “dust off” the protocol.

Roderick Chaverri, said that there are shared responsibilities on the issue because the governing body for children is Mides and the coordinating body for the execution of policies is Senniaf.

“In the case of Mides, in addition to providing annual subsidies to shelters, it also approves public policies on childhood, while Senniaf makes sure that these policies are made effective,” he explained.

Chaverri considered that it is necessary to update Decree 26 of April 21, 2009, which regulates shelters. Specifically, he suggested rating the degree of compliance, in order to determine if the shelter can continue to operate.

Rossana Uribe, president of Aplafa, said that the changes should be aimed at increasing the presence of suitable Senniaf personnel in the shelters.