translated from Spanish: Unicef rejected preventive identity control of minors: “It is a setback in children’s rights”

“A rollback in children’s rights.” Unicef considered the approval in the Committee on Citizen Security of the Chamber of Deputies of the indication that will allow for preventive identity control for minors between the ages of 16 and 18.
“Within 29 years of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the State of Chile, the country should promote in its legislation and public policies the principles and rights contained in the Convention. This means ensuring all children and adolescents exercise their rights in accordance with their stage of development,” the agency said in a statement. The statement further contends that the measure “constitutes a setback in children’s rights that is not consistent with the progress the country has made in this area. This initiative is not moving towards measures to protect children and adolescents from threats of discrimination (Article 2 of the CDN), and arbitrary interference and attacks on their honour and reputation (Article 16 of the CDN)”.
They also argue that the evidence has demonstrated this measure has failed to be an effective tool in crime prevention. “Adolescents who commit crimes must be held accountable for their actions and punished according to their age and the seriousness of their actions; along with receiving tools for their rehabilitation and social reintegration.”
Finally, Unicef reiterated that “the implementation of Preventive Identity Control for Adolescents from the age of 14 contravenes the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties signed by Chile, such as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights.”

Original source in Spanish