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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC |
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Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/65/Add.13 25 June 2001 ENGLISH Original : SPANISH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES
PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Periodic reports of
States parties due in 1997
CHILE*
[10 October 1999]
________________
* For the initial report submitted by Chile, see document CRC/C/3/Add.18.
For its consideration by the Committee, see documents
CRC/C/SR.146, 147 and 148
and CRC/C/15/Add.22.
GE.01-42913 (EXT)
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 3
I. GENERAL MEASURES
OF IMPLEMENTATION 5
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 29
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 35
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND
FREEDOMS 47
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE
CARE 66
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 90
VII. EDUCATION,
LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 121
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION
MEASURES 170
Annex Projects concerning children and young persons
period 1993-1997 206
INTRODUCTION
1. This document is the second report of the State of Chile on the
degree of advancement and the implementation at the national level
of the rights
established in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to be submitted to the
United Nations Committee on the Rights
of the Child under article 44 of the
Convention.
2. The report takes into account the legislative,
administrative and programmatic measures taken by Chile in order to deliver the
rights recognised in the Convention between 1993 and October 1998.
3. It
was drafted in accordance with the "General guidelines regarding the form and
contents of periodic reports to be submitted by
States parties" formulated by
the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
4. The Ministry of Planning and
Cooperation (MIDEPLAN) was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating the
drafting of the report;
for this purpose it had the invaluable assistance of the
Ministries of Justice, Education, and Health and of the Secretariat-General
of
the Presidency and the National Service for Women.
º
5. By studying
in the report the various legislative, administrative and programmatic measures
taken by the State it is possible to
discern a series of advances,
including:
(a) In legislative matters:
(i) Promulgation of a set of laws seeking to amend internal legislation
to take account of the rights recognised in the Convention,
including: the
Filiation Act, which eliminates all forms of discrimination against children
resulting from their parentage; legal
measures to punish the abduction of
children and their illicit removal abroad; and laws to punish all forms of child
abuse and family
violence;
(ii) Promulgation of the Social Integration of Disabled Persons Act and
of the Indigenous Peoples Act, both of which are designed
to eliminate
discrimination against these specific groups;
(iii) Adoption of a series of laws concerning respect for and full
recognition of the fundamental freedoms and concerning safeguards
for children
deprived of their liberty. This legislation includes an act prohibiting the
holding of minors in prisons and a decree
of the Ministry of Justice approving
the regulations on children's homes and care institutions, which states the
determination of
the present Government to bring the legislation into line with
the precepts of the Convention in order to ensure that these homes
and
institutions duly respect the rights of the children and young people whom they
assist.
(b) In administrative and programmatic matters:
(i) As mentioned in the first report, in 1990 Chile produced the National
Plan for Children (PNI)[*]. During
the period covered by this second report the PNI has been implemented under the
auspices of MIDEPLAN. Regional children's
plans have also been established in
the country's 13 regions pursuant to the commitment to decentralize the
PNI;
(ii) An intersectoral working group has been set up to take charge of
coordination at the central level; its task is to produce
a national policy for
children. A number of intersectoral committees have also been established in
order to carry out specific measures
in certain areas: child labour, preschool
education, and prevention of drug addiction;
(iii) At the local level, the creation of the Network of Municipalities
for Children marked an important step forward, for this
Network brings together
and coordinates the various municipalities which are carrying out measures for
children in their respective
communes. Again at the local level, attention is
drawn to the start-up of the programme for consolidation of local action for
children,
coordinated by the Solidarity and Social Investment Fund
(FOSIS);
(iv) Where health is concerned, mention may be made of the significant
decline in infant mortality and malnutrition and in maternal
mortality, the high
rate of cover of professional attendance at childbirth, the considerable
increase in maternal breastfeeding,
and an extensive immunization
programme;
(v) The reform of Chile's education system has made good progress. It
addresses the forms of teaching and learning, the duration
of schooling,
curriculum content, and the gradual but sustained improvement of teachers'
skills and working conditions. This process
of qualitative change in education
is one of the big reforms introduced by the second Government of the
Concertación de Partidos
para la Democracia (Coalition of Parties for
Democracy) and it will bring about a substantial improvement in the education
provided
for Chile's children.
6. Despite the progress made, however,
major shortcomings and challenges remain:
(a) The fact that a large
number of children live in poverty, most of them members of low-income groups;
priority action must be
taken for these children;
(b) The lack of a
national policy for children accepted and supported by all the actors in the
various public and private projects
to assist children;
(c) The lack of
a system for monitoring the programmatic, legislative and administrative
measures with a view to ensuring the effective
application of the
Convention.
7. These and other challenges mean that Chile must undertake
to continue its efforts to provide its children with a better quality
of life,
both now and in the future.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(Articles
4, 42 and 44, paragraph
6)[**]
8. Chile has not made any reservations to the
Convention.
- Any new laws or codes adopted, as well as amendments introduced into domestic legislation to ensure implementation of the Convention.
9. Chile has not to date enacted a children's code incorporating the
rules established in the Convention, but see below for changes
or amendments to
domestic legislation to ensure the Convention's implementation .
10. Chile's ratification of the Convention invests it with constitutional status in the juridical system by virtue of the provisions of article 5.2 of the Political Constitution of the Republic, which makes an explicit reference to the international human rights treaties ratified by Chile.
With respect to recognition in the Constitution or other national
legislation of the rights set forth in the Convention;
11. The past
five years have seen the enactment of a number of laws relating to children
which demonstrate the progress made in adapting
Chile's legal order to the
Convention; they deal with the following topics:
Modification of the
legal capacity of persons
12. In accordance with the provisions of
article 1 of the Convention, Act n°19,221 of June 1993 establishes rules on
the age
of majority for persons who have reached the age of 18 years and amends
the indicated legislation.
Act establishing and regulating the
property rights and duties of parents and establishing family
property
13. Act n°19,335 of 23 September 1994 established a system for sharing of financial gains, amending the Civil Code, the Civil Matrimony Act, the Code of Civil Procedure and the other indicated legislation. The Act also contains rules on the determination and calculation of such gains, on loans and on the scope of the system.
14. The Act created the concept of
family property in order to safeguard the rights of the family, and especially
the best interests
of the child.
15. Family property consists of the
immovable property of the two spouses or of one of them which is used as the
family's principal
residence and of the furnishings of the home which have been
declared as such by the spouses.
16. The property in question may not be
alienated or encumbered or committed to be alienated or encumbered without the
agreement of
both spouses. The same applies to the conclusion of contracts
granting personal rights to the use or enjoyment of family
property.
17. With a view to protecting any children the Act empowers the
courts, during the marriage or on its dissolution, to establish as
a
precautionary measure rights of usufruct, use or habitation with respect to
family property.
18. The courts are required to take particular account
of the best interests of the child when establishing such rights and their
time
limits.
Adoption of legal measures to punish the abduction of children
and their illegal transfer abroad
19. Act n°19,241 of 28 August 1993 amends article 141 of the Criminal Code by augmenting the penalties for the abduction of children. It also incorporates the concept of homosexual rape and replaces the text of article 142 of the Criminal Code on the abduction or kidnapping of persons.
Elimination of all forms of discrimination
against children resulting from their filiation
(Act n°19,581 of 26 October 1998)
20. This Act's
basic purpose is to replace the existing filiation regime with new rules putting
an end to the differential treatment
of legitimate and illegitimate children and
establishing equal treatment for all children regardless of the legal status of
their
parents at the moment of the children's conception or
birth.
21. The Act's central idea is equality; hence the elimination of
the differential treatment of children born in and out of wedlock
and
recognition of extramatrimonial filiation. The Act also establishes the
principle of unrestricted investigation of paternity
and maternity by
establishing the possibility of recourse to any kind of proof.
22. In
addition, the Act makes important changes with respect to parental authority,
establishing a more consistent system for relations
between children and parents
and allowing the mother to exercise parental authority in conjunction with the
father.
23. Parental authority is exercised with respect to all the
non-emancipated minor children regardless of whether the filiation originates
in
a marriage, for it is exercised for the benefit of the children and not of the
parents.
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction
24. On 17 June 1994 the Diario Oficial published the
Convention on the Civil Aspects of the International Child Abduction. This
instrument was adopted at the 14th session
of The Hague Conference on
International Private Law and is designed to ensure the immediate return of
children unlawfully removed
or held and respect for custody and visiting
rights.
Measures to protect children against all forms of physical or
mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment
and sexual exploitation
25. A series of laws designed to punish all forms of child abuse and family violence has been enacted over the past five years:
26. Act
n°19,304 of 24 April 1994, which amends article 66 of Act n°16,618;
Act n°19,324 of 26 August 1994, which amends
the Juvenile Act; Act
n°19,325 of 27 August 1994; and Act n°19,409 of 7 September 1995,
which introduces a new article
367 bis providing punishment for any
person who promotes or facilitates the entry or exit of persons for the purposes
of prostitution, with
heavier penalties when the victim is a
minor.
Recognition of the need to ensure the full exercise of the
rights of disabled persons
27. Act n°19,284 of January 1994 establishes rules on the full social integration of disabled persons: diagnosis and classification of disabilities; prevention and rehabilitation and equality of opportunities; the National Disability Register and its procedures and sanctions; creation of the National Disability Fund and State agencies to provide full or partial funding for plans, programmes and projects for disabled persons.
Recognition
by the State of the existence of indigenous races and of their right to apply
their own laws, follow their own cultural
life and religion, and use their own
language
28. Act n°19,253 of 5 October 1993 (the Indigenous Peoples Act) recognizes for the first time in Chile the existence of indigenous races inhabiting the national territory and obliges the State in particular and society in general to respect, promote and protect indigenous cultures and facilitate their development and advancement.
29. This recognition will make
it possible to initiate a process of increasing respect for the rights of
children to lead their own
cultural life, profess and practice their own
religion, and use their own language.
Measures to protect children
against the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and to
prevent the use of children
in the illicit production and trafficking of such
substances
30. Act n°19,366 of 30 January 1995 and Decree n°565 of 26 January 1996 punish illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and amend various relevant legal provisions.
31. This Act
establishes among the procedural rules special provisions on persons aged under
18. It provides that children aged under
18 but over 16 must be brought before
the corresponding juvenile judge; dispensing with the declaration of the child's
having acted
with or without due discernment, the judge may impose in his
decision compulsory attendance at prevention programmes and/or performance
of
community service. For this purpose the judge may request the medical
examination referred to in the Act and, in the expressly
indicated cases, order
the child to undergo the recommended treatment, establishing at the same time
the necessary enforcement measures.
State policy on respect for and
unrestricted recognition of the fundamental freedoms and on the safeguards for
children deprived of
their liberty
32. One of the Government's primary commitments is the comprehensive reform of juvenile criminal legislation. It has fulfilled this commitment by issuing a series of laws and decrees gradually giving effect to the international rules. The main legislation in this area includes:
Exempt
Resolution n°1,820 of 6 August 1993
33. In August 1993 an Exempt Resolution of the Justice Department created the central and regional working groups on the removal of children from adult prisons.
Decree n°509 of 21 March 1994, creating teams for the removal of
children from adult prisons
34. The purpose of this Decree was to form the various agencies working in the justice system with children and young people, especially with juvenile offenders, into teams to ensure that children are removed from adult prisons.
35. These permanent intersectoral teams seek to
carry out satisfactorily the mandate contained in article 5 of Act n°18,575
(the
Organic Act on the General Bases of the Administration of the State) by
working in a coordinated manner for the attainment of the
Act's objectives with
respect to "preventing the confinement of minors in adult penitentiary
facilities through the formulation of
concrete recommendations to the
authorities having competence for children in irregular situations who have been
deprived of their
liberty".
Decree n°778 of 18 May 1994, removing the option of imprisoning
children below the age of criminal responsibility
36. In order to prevent the imprisonment of children below the age of criminal responsibility, this Decree revoked article 12 of Decree n°2,531 of 24 December 1928, which approved the regulations for the Protection of Minors Act and its amendments. This article 12 had provided that "when no children's home is available, a special section shall be established, completely separate from the adult sections, in the available prison or detention facility; the operation of this section shall be governed by the legislation on children's homes".
Decree n°1,103 of 28 July 1994 on subsidies for the care of children
of the age of criminal responsibility
37. This Decree empowers the National Service for Minors (SENAME) to provide subsidies to the Gendarmería de Chile (prison warders) for all children aged under 18 who are deprived of their liberty as a result either of behavioural problems or of violations of the law. This allows them to be given more effective care and puts an end to an arbitrary discrimination against children under 18 who are declared to be liable to prosecution.
Act n°19,343 of October 1994 on the removal of children from adult
prisons
38. This Act amended Act n°16,618, which establishes the definitive text of the Juvenile Act and other legislation.
39. It prohibits the
confinement of children aged under 16 in adult prisons and restricts the
detention of children subject to examination
as to their due discernment to
confinement in an establishment determined by the President of the Republic in
accordance with the
requirements of the Act.
40. It also creates
children's homes, which will operate under the auspices of two kinds of centre
which are independent of each other:
(a) The centres for children
requiring diagnosis, care and protection pending the issue of an order on their
disposition;
(b) The observation and diagnosis centres, which take in
children who have committed criminal acts or ordinary offences and hold
them
until the judge takes a decision on them or rules that they acted with
discernment.
41. This Act authorizes the President of the Republic, by
means of a supreme decree issued through the Ministry of Justice, to designate
for places lacking an observation and diagnosis centre the facilities to which
children may be admitted.
Decree n°1,698 of 27 December 1994, Decree n°80 of 20 January
1995, and Decree n°1,091 of 22 January 1996
42. These Decrees establish the transit and distribution centres and the observation and diagnosis centres, as well as the care establishments in which minors may undergo discernment examination (solely for places lacking an observation and diagnosis centre).
Ministry of Justice Decree n°730 of 19 July 1996
43. This
Decree was published in the Diario Oficial on 3 December 1996; it
approves the regulations for the implementation of Title IV of Act n°16,618
on children's homes and care
institutions. The preamble states the
determination of the present Government to bring domestic legislation properly
into line with
the precepts of the Convention and the treaties, recommendations
and guidelines adopted by international bodies to which Chile
belongs.
44. Article 2 provides that the children's homes and care
institutions in question shall take all measures to ensure that
children:
- Are treated humanely and with the respect due to their personal dignity
and in conformity with all the relevant rights contained
in the domestic and
international legislation in force in Chile;
- Are encouraged to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
third persons and to respect the natural environment;
- Are provided with an adequate standard of living and suitable conditions
for their physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social
development;
- Do not suffer discrimination by reason of their race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic
or social
origin, economic status, physical disability, birth, or any other circumstance
of their own or of their parents or legal
representatives;
- Regularly exercise their right to education;
- Develop their personalities, aptitudes and physical and mental abilities
to the fullest possible extent;
- Are protected against any form of physical or mental abuse, negligence or
negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including
sexual
abuse;
- Carry out progressively and continuously, on the basis of equality of
opportunities, the obligations contained in current legislation,
in these
regulations, and in the internal regulations of the centre to which they have
been admitted;
- Accept orders and decisions lawfully issued by the competent authorities
in accordance with the established procedures;
- Are provided with health facilities, treatment for their illnesses, and
physical and psychological rehabilitation;
- Lead responsible lives in a spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance,
gender equality, and friendship among peoples and ethnic,
national and religious
groups;
- Enjoy rest and leisure, play and recreational activities suited to their
age;
- Maintain their nationality, name, family and personal relationships, as
well as direct contact with both their parents on a regular
basis by means of
correspondence and visits;
- May freely express their opinions and have them taken into account,
depending on their age and maturity;
- Enjoy freedom of thought and conscience;
- Are free to profess their own religion or belief and to express themselves
in their own language;
- Are not subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference in their private
lives or their correspondence or to unlawful attacks on
their honour or
reputation;
- Have access to information, especially information intended to promote
their social, spiritual and moral well-being and their physical
and mental
health. The language needs of children belonging to minority groups must be
taken into account;
- Are provided with special care if they have a mental or physical
disability;
- May take part in cultural and artistic life;
- Are protected against trafficking in children, economic exploitation and
the performance of any kind of work which may be hazardous
or impede their
education or harm their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development;
- Are protected against the illicit use of narcotic drugs or psychotropic
substances;
- Are not subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment;
- Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily;
- Have prompt and timely access to legal assistance;
- Are kept in the centre for the shortest time possible;
- Enjoy the right to privacy;
- Are protected by a ban on the dissemination of any information about them,
regardless of its form;
- May submit their petitions or complaints to the centre's director and to
the supervisory committee and are informed of the replies;
- Are informed of the reason for their placement and retention in the centre
and their procedural situation.
Act n°19,257, which amends the
Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code with respect to arrest and
detention and sets
out rules on the protection of civil rights
45. This Act establishes the circumstances in which the police are obliged to make arrests and the duty of public officials responsible for arrest or detention procedures to make an oral statement to the person concerned of the reason for his arrest or detention and of the rights established by this Act.
46. It establishes inter alia the right of a
detainee or prisoner, even if held incommunicado, to have his family, lawyer or
another person indicated by him informed
in his presence, as early as possible
and by the most expedite means, of the facts and the reason for his detention or
imprisonment.
Draft legislation sponsored by the Ministry of
Justice
47. The redrafting of Chile's legislation and its adaptation to the rules set out in the Convention is a priority goal of the work of the Ministry of Justice.
48. This challenge was taken up in the policy for
the modernization of the Judiciary in the six-year period 1994-2000, which sets
as one of its priority goals "the reform of juvenile law in order to harmonize
it with the safeguards inherent in a democratic State
and with Chile's
international commitments".
49. This reform will address three basic
areas:
(a) Principles: close attention will be given to the safeguards
and legitimacy inherent in a democratic system, especially with
respect to
"equality of opportunities";
(b) Intersectoral approach: this means
that judicial policy will be consistent with the policies of the other sectors;
and
(c) Technical matters: the reform will have to keep in mind
empirically valid diagnoses and the experience of other
legislations.
50. The considerations taken into account in the
formulation of this reform include the need to adapt Chile's legislation to the
international
legal instruments, in particular the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules
for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), the United Nations
Guidelines for the Administration of Juvenile
Justice, the United Nations Rules
for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, and the Convention on
the Rights of
the Child.
51. This work of harmonization will bring an end
to the contradictions between the benchmark rules and Chile's juvenile law,
which
is extremely dispersed and contains rules which continue to discriminate
against children.
52. In the light of these considerations the Ministry
of Justice is sponsoring the following draft legislation:
Draft reform
of juvenile law
53. In the light of article 4 of the Convention and the objectives of the justice sector for the six-year period, in 1994 the Ministry set up a working committee to prepare a draft reform of juvenile law.
54. The
comprehensive reform of juvenile law envisages two bills, the first to regulate
the guardianship aspects and the second to
deal with infringements of the
criminal law by juveniles, including the establishment of courts, procedures and
measures in each
case.
55. Each bill will address inter
alia:
(a) The fundamental principles of the legislation which must
be respected by the family, society and the State;
(b) The fundamental
rights to be accorded to children;
(c) The establishment of mechanisms
to safeguard the rights of the child;
(d) The jurisdictional protection
of these rights.
56. Where guardianship is concerned, the bill which is
finally coming into being will have to address the protection measures for
children whose rights are threatened or vulnerable, as well as the establishment
of a national system for the care of children.
57. In conformity with the
Convention these bills will recognize children as "subjects of special rights"
invested with limited but
increasing personal independence and the possessors of
rights with respect to their parents and the State, which must ensure their
comprehensive development so that they may play their part in social life and in
legal matters fully and independently.
58. Unlike the current Juvenile
Act (n°16,618), the guardianship bill will state clearly the principles of
the legislation and
spell out the rights accorded to children, abandoning the
doctrine of "irregular situation" and replacing it with the principle of
the
comprehensive development of the child.
Guiding
principles
59. It is regarded as fundamental that the bill should contain a set of principles to underpin the juvenile law. These principles include:
(a) Recognition of the child as "human person"
having rights and obligations: this implies the right of children to state their
opinions and to be heard on all matters affecting them. If this right is be
fully exercised and effective, children must be given
adequate information and
advice and legal protection;
(b) The best interests of the child: in
accordance with article 3 of the Convention the bill will oblige public and
private agencies,
social welfare institutions, the courts, administrative
authorities and legislative organs to regard the best interest of the child
as a
primordial consideration in all the measures which they adopt. This principle
will serve as the basis for preventing injury
to children's rights in matters
connected with their personal integrity, freedom and
independence;
(c) Non-discrimination: full respect for and recognition
of this principle entails respect for and recognition and guarantee of
the
principles of the child's equality of opportunity, equality before the law, and
equality of constitutional rights;
(d) Protection of comprehensive
development: this principle entails the duty of promoting and safeguarding
children's rights and
the gradual recognition of their independent development.
It is a fundamental principle of the regulation of juvenile offences in
criminal
legislation, where the available measures will have to be expressly stated in a
law and promote personal dignity, respect
for human rights, and the effective
integration of children in the national community;
(e) Effectiveness of
rights: this principle involves the establishment of mechanisms and safeguards
to ensure the effective exercise
of rights by means of administrative
arrangements for supervision and prompt access to the administration of justice.
The application
of this principle imposes on the State a duty to promote and
observe the rights of the child, facilitate the development of the family,
and
formulate policies and programmes for children whose rights have been
threatened, impaired or infringed;
(f) Special legal protection:
pursuant to this principle children are entitled to special legal protection
embodied in specific
legislation on the protection and promotion of their
rights, a specialized system of justice, and care services and
institutions.
Criminal offences committed by
juveniles
60. One of the bill's guiding principles is the recognition
of a child's status of "person" and of children's special needs. In conformity
with this principle the bill recognizes children, to an appropriate extent, as
subjects of law responsible for any offences that
they commit.
61. This
will enhance the dignity and value and consolidate the observance of the human
rights and fundamental liberties of others
while still keeping in mind the age
of the child concerned and the importance of facilitating his reintegration in
society.
62. In addition, the bill excludes any covert form of the use of
deprivation of liberty for acts not subject to punishment when committed
by
adults; it also contains a list of alternatives to deprivation of liberty, which
shall be the measure of last resort.
63. In this latter connection the
bill establishes a guarantee of the proportionality of the measure to the
gravity of the act, which
will have to involve a serious attack on a person
before the judge, if he deems fit, may order deprivation of liberty. This
measure
may be applied solely in the cases specified in the
legislation.
64. Following lengthy discussion and working sessions it was
agreed that the reformulated legislation should exclude the ordinary
criminal
responsibility of children aged under 18 and establish a special system of
responsibility for children aged over 14 but
under 18.
Reform of the
guardianship legislation
65. One requirement is for public policy to
differentiate between children in a state of need and children in conflict with
the law.
66. Three types of procedure are being studied:
(a) A
procedure of amparo designed to make good any violation of a child's
rights. This is an action of broad scope which may be brought before a family
judge
by a child, by his parents or other persons legally responsible for him,
or by any person having knowledge of the violation;
(b) A procedure
establishing liability for failure to fulfil obligations by the family, society
or the State;
(c) A procedure for the application of protection
measures against a threat to or violation of a child's rights resulting from an
act or omission by society, the State, parents or legally responsible persons,
or from the child's own conduct.
67. The authorities will be responsible
for safeguarding children's rights. Jurisdictional protection will be provided
by the family
judges, who will also be responsible for the general protection of
the rights contained in the juvenile legislation and international
legal
instruments.
68. The protection measures available to the authorities
will be expressly stated in the bill, together with the grounds and procedures
for their application.
69. The bill will address the organizational and
institutional aspects and indicate the authorities or agencies empowered to
intervene
in the cognizance, ordering and enforcement of the
measures.
70. The bill's guardianship provisions will have to cover the
protection measures applicable to children whose rights are threatened
or
infringed and the establishment of a national system of services to care for
such children.
Family courts
71. The creation of family
courts is a need accepted and endorsed by all sectors in Chile.
72. The
gradual establishment of such courts is an important factor in bringing Chile's
legislation into line with the international
rules, with the Convention in
particular.
73. What is being proposed is the gradual transformation of
the existing juvenile courts, currently totalling 49 with three still
to be
established.
74. In a second stage the necessary measures will be taken
to enable the court of jurisdiction to apply the procedures envisaged in
the
family courts legislation (mediation, hearings, etc.).
75. The creation
of these courts necessarily depends on the adoption of two bills: (i) the
constitutional organization bill, concerning
the organization and powers of the
family courts, where the proceedings will be oral and concise and preceded by a
mediation stage;
and (ii) the bill on the status of children (root and branch
reform of Chile's juvenile law).
Bill amending Chile's adoption
law
76. This bill is designed to counteract criminal practices - trafficking in children for instance - and to establish more efficient adoption arrangements by introducing an independent, flexible and expeditious procedure for declaration of a state of abandonment and a subsequent non-litigated procedure for granting adoption. The central aim is for the child to join his new family as quickly as possible.
77. This legal initiative establishes a preference
for national adoption and allows international adoption only by citizens of
countries
with which Chile has signed a bilateral or multilateral agreement
regulating such adoption. This will facilitate subsequent control
by means of
proper monitoring of the adopted children. Internationally adopted children
will leave Chile with the civil status of
legitimate child of the adoptive
parents.
Sexual offences bill
78. This bill amends the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and other legislation in matters connected with the crime of rape, thus making good the lack of effective law in this area.
79. In order to
ensure a comprehensive treatment of this topic the bill's drafting committee had
the active collaboration of the relevant
institutions, including the Commission
for Study of the Criminal Code set up by the National Service for Women, which
had requested
from the Research Department of the Catholic University of Chile a
study on "Sexual violence in Chile: social, cultural and political
dimensions".
The conclusions were to be used as the basis for the drafting of the bill's
text.
80. The bill's principal rules address the following
topics:
(a) Innovations in the system of sanctions, with the
incorporation of prevention and rehabilitation;
(b) Inclusion of rules
to safeguard the right to privacy and the secrecy of the pre-trial
proceedings;
(c) Expansion of the arrangements for reporting of
offences to the persons who take cognizance of them by reason of their
professional
work;
(d) Recognition of the validity of the evidence of
persons close to the victim or of his or her family
members;
(e) Avoidance of inflicting serious disturbances or greater
mental suffering on the victim when the evidence is
produced;
(f) Introduction of a number of changes in the Courts
Organization Code and the Civil Code in order to invest the criminal courts
with
competence to rule on divorce actions brought against a spouse convicted of the
crime of rape, incest or indecent abuse of the
person of the other spouse or any
of the children.
Visiting arrangements
81. Attention is being given to amendment of the juvenile legislation concerning visiting rights, for such rights are not established in positive provisions but derive from the removal of custody rights from the father or mother.
82. The problems encountered in connection with
visiting arrangements, together with the need to safeguard the right of children
to
maintain links with their family and the right of a father or mother deprived
of custody to maintain affective links with his or
her child prompted the
Ministry of Justice to propose changes in the section of the Civil Code on
"Rights and obligations concerning
relations between parents and their
legitimate children".
System of subsidies
83. For the short term the comprehensive reform of juvenile law is concerned with improving the management work of the institutions collaborating with the National Service for Minors (SENAME). A bill to replace Decree-Law n°1,385 has been drafted for this purpose and is currently being processed in the National Congress. This bill establishes a system of subsidies provided by the State through SENAME to institutions collaborating in the care of children subject to the attentions of the justice sector.
84. This
bill seeks to establish a system which will provide personalized attention,
encourage and facilitate children's contacts
with their families, and create
incentives for non-institutional care of children.
85. However, it must
be pointed out that drafting work is also proceeding on a legal initiative for
the comprehensive amendment of
the bill currently before the Congress.
- Possibility of invoking the provisions of the Convention directly
before the courts and of their direct implementation by the national
authorities
86. Since the Convention is a law of the Republic of Chile and enjoys constitutional status, as pointed out above, it may be invoked before the courts, which must give effect to its provisions.
87. The
national authorities have been implementing the Convention directly ever since
its ratification.
- Conflicts with domestic
legislation[1]
88. No such information is
available.
89. Remedies against violation of the rights recognized in the Convention have been established in all the legislation incorporating principles of the Convention. This is necessary because there is no single legal instrument or code dealing with juvenile matters.
90. As stated in the initial report, the
National Plan for Children (PNI) was produced in 1992; this commitment was
assumed by the
Government of the time in the context of the Plan of Action for
Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development
of Children adopted at the World Summit for Children in New York in September
1990.
91. The PNI establishes targets and policies for the decade which
will help to improve the quality of life and the living conditions
of Chile's
children.
92. These are the Plan's four basic goals:
(a) To
attain the targets set for children in the various areas of activity during the
decade both at the national and at the regional
and local
levels;
(b) To move forward the process of making the public social
programmes for children up to age 18 more consistent and comprehensive,
in an
effort to coordinate and complement the functions and activities which make the
attainment of the national and regional targets
for children
possible;
(c) To intensify the quest to secure concerted actions by the
public and private sectors as the strategy and purpose of a social
policy
designed to enhance the sense of responsibility and the capacities of society
itself, with a view to progress towards the
attainment of the desired
quality-of-life targets for children;
(d) To contribute to the process
of decentralization by means of the first-ever comprehensive initiative for a
target group in the
Government's social policy.
93. The PNI lays down
targets for: child development and initial education; basic education; maternal
and child health; nutrition;
problems connected with the use of alcohol, drugs
and tobacco; maltreatment, abandonment and sexual abuse of children; disabled
children;
children in conflict with the justice system; water and basic
sanitation; and Chile's environmental problems and their effect on
children and
health.
94. The PNI has provided a means of boosting the intersectoral
efforts and making optimum use of the available resources in the period
1992-1997. It has become a primary source of guidance for the policies for
children as well as transforming itself into a strategic
framework accepted by
the institutions which are formulating and implementing regional and local
programmes for children.
95. The Ministry of Planning and Coordination
(MIDEPLAN) is the State agency responsible for coordinating and supporting the
PNI activities
in four areas: decentralization, monitoring, publicity, and
pursuit of the targets.
96. Monitoring the attainment of the PNI targets
constitutes a permanent activity and it has resulted in two publications:
"Chile's
commitment to children", which gives a detailed implementation report
for the period 1990-1994; and "Progress towards attainment
of the PNI targets
1990-1995".
97. A third publication is being prepared; it will include an
account of the progress towards the targets up to 1997 and a full compilation
of
statistics on children.
- The governmental departments competent in the areas covered by the
Convention, the steps taken to ensure the effective coordination
of their
activities, as well as to monitor the progress made by them;
98. No
specific agency for coordinating all the policies on children came into
operation during the period covered by the report.
This lack is underlined by
the fact that most ministries and other public agencies provide services or care
for children and work
on the same target population and often on the same
problems but without coordinating their activities properly.
99. However,
an interministerial working group on children was established in 1997, on the
instructions of the Social Ministers' Committee,
in order to make some progress
towards securing such coordination among the various governmental agencies
carrying out measures and
programmes in this area.
100. This working
group is made up of representatives of the Ministries of Health, Education,
Labour and Social Security, and Justice,
the Secretariat-General of the
Presidency, the National Service for Women, the Directorate-General for the
Budget, and MIDEPLAN,
which acts as convenor. Its general aim is to formulate a
comprehensive policy proposal for children.
- The steps taken to ensure effective coordination of activities between
central, regional and local authorities, and where relevant
between federal and
provincial authorities
At the regional level
101. Chile
has been implementing a policy of gradual decentralization since 1989. The PNI
is part of this process and has operated
within this context from the
outset.
102. Thus, 1993 saw the initiation of the formulation of regional
plans for children (PRIAs), which are regional versions of the
PNI.
103. In general terms these PRIAS contain "a statement of the
situation of children in each region in the areas covered by the PNI,
final
targets for the decade in each of these areas, a definition of the areas and an
indication of the priority targets, and a description
of the strategies for
their attainment".[3]
104. To
date, 11 of the country's 13 regions have prepared their PRIAs, and 10 of them
have been published. The plans take into account
the region's specific
characteristics, organize the information on children available in the region,
and give attention to intersectoral
work.
105. One of the pending
challenges is the decentralization of the PRIAs to the local level. Big efforts
are being made in this area,
and attention is drawn in this connection to the
work of the Network of Municipalities for Children, the National Council on the
Elimination of Poverty, the Children's Networks project, SENAME, and the
Foundation for the Rights of the Child, as well as to the
activities carried on
by various municipalities.
At the local level
106. Local
and grass-roots work for the benefit of children has been going on for many
years in Chile but usually as part of a broader
range of care activities for the
residents of each commune. There are, for example, sports clubs, cultural
centres, Boy Scout troops,
etc. However, the present decade, following Chile's
signature of the Convention, has seen the emergence of a more concerted concern
to respond and to cater to children's various development needs in the context
of the commune.
107. This was the setting for the creation in 1994 of the
Network of Mayors for Children, now known as the Network of Municipalities
for
Children, an organization which counts a large number of municipalities among
its members and operates through a technical secretariat
and whose main purpose
is to promote, in all the country's communes, initiatives for Chile's children
which will help to improve
their quality of life and the living conditions in
the places where they live.
108. In 1995 this Network produced a working
paper entitled "General guidelines and action policies for children". The aim
was to
encourage and support municipalities beginning to undertake specific
measures or programmes for children and to consolidate the work
of
municipalities which already have such measures and programmes.
109. One
of the Network's most effective activities is concerned with children's
participation in the life of the commune. It consists
basically of devising
methods of incorporating the wishes and proposals of children themselves in the
efforts to improve their living
conditions. The central focus of the work with
children is on the rights of the child and their observance by adults and the
community,
as well as on concrete means of making progress at the local level in
promoting and securing respect for these rights.
110. In August 1996, on
the initiative of the Network of Mayors for Children, the first national
encounter on "Children for their
rights" was held in Santiago under the slogan
"We children are speaking out in our communes". The conclusions of this
encounter
provided an important input from the children's standpoint for the
analysis of local policies for children and for their
improvement.
111. In view of the importance of local action for children,
in 1995 MIDEPLAN, in agreement with the Subsecretariat for Regional and
Administrative Development, carried out an analytical study which provided
various kinds of information about the care furnished
by the municipalities at
the commune level. This study concluded that there existed a variety of
initiatives designed to tackle
the topic of children and cater better to
children's needs. The commonest initiatives were "children's offices" and
"communal councils
and committees for the rights of the child".
112. The
study also concluded that the municipalities recognized as one of the biggest
deficits the lack of services or programmes
for children vulnerable in some way
or subject to some kind of social risk who ended up placed in one of the SENAME
facilities; the
result in many cases was the "judicialization of poverty" since
social problems were thus supposed to be solved by the juvenile
courts.
113. It was also found that only a small proportion of
municipalities (17 %) had a communal plan for children setting out
activities
and targets consistent with the principles of the PNI. An even
smaller number of these municipalities requested the participation
of outside
agencies in the formulation of the plan, with the result that the plans are more
"municipal" than "communal", as they
should ideally be.
114. Attention is
drawn in this connection to the concrete contributions of a number of NGOs to
the municipalities' work for children.
Under agreements with NGOs the
municipalities receive technical and professional support while undertaking in
return to continue
the activities once the NGOs have withdrawn, leaving in place
a technical capacity for dealing with children's problems (production
of
analyses, use of statistics, formulation of projects for children and the
family, etc.).
115. A working group was set up in 1996 as a tool for
preventing duplication, sharing the work and involving more people in it. The
group is coordinated by MIDEPLAN and is made up of representatives of civil
society, the public sector and the Network of Mayors
for Children; its basic aim
is to improve the coordination between the public and private bodies supporting
the municipalities and
communes in their work for children. One of the
participating bodies, the Foundation for the Rights of the Child, designed a
methodological
model for producing communal studies on children; this model is
regarded as extremely useful in establishing the extent to which
children's
needs are being satisfied.
116. In 1997 the Government established a
programme for strengthening local initiatives with children because it was aware
that by
themselves alone the sectoral measures, or the measures carried out by
civil society in support of communal activities, were insufficient
to ensure
that the provisions of the Convention are translated into concrete action to
guarantee children's rights, benefits and
opportunities for comprehensive
development.
117. Since their are no specific State agencies for
children, this programme is being implemented by means of the programme for
regional
investment and local allocation of funds through the Solidarity and
Social Investment Fund (FOSIS), a public body connected with
MIDEPLAN. This
programme is expected to be only temporary, for it is regarded as only one link
in the chain leading to the establishment
of more integrated and permanent
institutions. The idea is that this programme will attend to situations not
covered by the sectoral
measures which require flexible and participatory modes
of intervention.
- Any governmental institutions created to promote the rights of the
child and monitor implementation, and how they relate to non-governmental
organizations;
118. No governmental institution has been created
specifically to promote the rights of the child and supervise their exercise,
but
the various ministries and public services are concerned, from their own
sectoral standpoints, with the promotion and monitoring
of specific
rights.
- Any independent body established to promote and protect the rights of
the child, such as an Ombudsperson or a Commissioner;
119. Chile has
no agency of this kind.
- The measures taken to ensure the systematic gathering of data on
children and their fundamental rights and to assess existing trends
at the
national, regional and local levels, and where appropriate at the federal and
provincial levels, as well as the steps taken
to develop mechanisms for the
identification and gathering of appropriate indicators, statistics, relevant
research and other relevant
information as a basis for policy-making in the
field of children's rights;
120. Such systematic data on children is
gathered basically by the sectors providing care or other services for children.
For example,
the Ministry of Education publishes an annual compendium of
statistical information on the development of the education situation
in Chile.
This compendium contains full information on enrolment, promotion and
graduation, and repeated years and drop-outs in
the preschool, basic and
secondary education systems, as well as on the existing curricula, results of
performance tests, etc.
121. In the same way the Ministry of Health
produces qualitative and quantitative data on such matters as antenatal checks,
maternal
and child checks, fertility, morbidity, mortality, monitoring of
healthy children, vaccination programmes, early detection of disabling
illnesses, etc.
122. More comprehensive information is provided by the
statistics of the National Population Census, conducted in Chile every 10 years,
and the data obtained from the National Social and Economic Survey (CASEN
survey).
123. The CASEN survey was initiated in 1987 and has been
conducted every two years since 1990. Its purposes include making periodic
assessments of the situation and the socio-economic evolution of households and
the population, contributing to the formulation,
monitoring and evaluation of
the global and sectoral social policies and programmes which constitute social
expenditure, and supporting
the decentralization of the public administration in
the areas of situation analysis and decision-making.
124. The CASEN
survey is a valuable tool for MIDEPLAN and an important source of data on the
country's socio-economic structure.
The surveys are conducted on the basis of a
representative sample of all the country's households at the national and
regional levels.
125. In particular, this survey provides a picture of
the situation of children aged under 18 which is presented in a document for
the
year in question entitled "Situation of children in Chile". This document
contains information on incomes, incidence of poverty,
coverage of preschool,
basic and secondary education, position of children with regard to health
insurance schemes, etc.
126. In view of the importance of gathering as
much information as possible in order finally to design social policies which
cater
more comprehensively to the needs of people in general and children in
particular, since 1996 the CASEN survey has been using a new
model for emerging
issues such as violence (maltreatment, sexual abuse, robbery), child labour,
etc., which records the types of
paid activity carried out by children aged six
to 14. It also includes information on the presence of disabled persons in the
family
group and on membership of one of the eight original ethnic groups or
communities identified in Chile.
- The steps taken to ensure a periodic evaluation of progress in the
implementation of the Convention at the national, regional and
local levels, and
where appropriate at the federal and provincial levels, including through the
preparation of any periodic report
by the Government to the
Parliament.
127. Pursuant to the commitments entered into by Chile at
the World Summit for Children and under the Convention itself, in 1992 the
Government produced the National Plan for Children (PNI), which is an
intersectoral instrument for orienting and coordinating the
efforts of
governmental and private bodies to improve the conditions of children's
lives.
128. The PNI has proved itself as a mechanism for boosting the
intersectoral efforts and optimizing the available resources. Since
1993 it has
been transformed into a vital means of orienting the policies for children and
has moreover established itself as a strategic
framework recognized by the
institutions which formulate and implement regional and local programmes for
children.
129. The monitoring and evaluation of the PNI targets has so
far resulted essentially in the publication of the following books and
documents: "Chile's commitment to children", which describes in detail the
progress towards attainment of the targets in the period
1990-1994; "Progress
towards attainment of the PNI targets", which offers an evaluation up to 1995;
and "Evaluation of the situation
of education in Chile", which covers the period
1990-1996.
130. In recognition
of the fact that children constitute one of the most important subjects of
social policy and that improvement
of their quality of life is a fundamental
factor in the fight against poverty and for greater equity, attention has been
given over
the past six years to the vital need for a new approach which will
both incorporate civil society, thus transforming children's issues
into
national issues, and lead to decentralization and emphasis on the
comprehensiveness of the programmes and policies.
131. This new approach
also addressed the need for flexible programmes capable of responding to the
most recent problems for social
policy, such as adolescent pregnancy, child
abuse, etc.
132. The National Anti-Poverty Programme was created in 1994
in order to strengthen the measures taken. Since poverty has its most
severe
effects on children, this Programme incorporates children as a target group for
the activities. According to the CASEN survey,
in 1994 11.9 % of the
under-15 population were in the extreme-poverty category and 27.1 % in the
poverty category; this means that
39 % of this group were living in
poverty. The survey also shows that in 1996 8.9 % of all under-15s were
extremely poor and 24.5
% were poor, making a total of 33.4 % living
in poverty. In 1994 the figures for the whole country were 7.6 % extremely
poor and
20 % poor. In 1996 they had fallen to 5.7 and 17.5 %
respectively. (Source: MIDEPLAN, CASEN surveys for 1994 and
1996.)
133. The joint working initiatives taken by certain public
services in conjunction with organizations of civil society included the
establishment in 1996 of a working group to support the activities for children
carried out by these services and NGOs at the local
level. A mechanism was
created for the gathering of information to facilitate an analysis of the
situation of children. The National
Council on the Elimination of Poverty,
SENAME, MIDEPLAN, the Network of Municipalities for Children, Vicaría
Pastoral Social,
and the Foundation for the Rights of the Child all participate
in this working group.
134. Chile does not keep records which would give an
accurate indication of State investment in social and economic policies for
children.
However, this investment may be inferred from the general evolution
of social spending, which increased from 59 % of the total budget
in 1989
to 71 % in 1996 while at the same time adding a number of new social and
economic programmes and instruments which tend to
benefit the social sectors and
groups with the biggest deficits and the fewest opportunities.
135. Chile
has been exhibiting greater solidity in its economic planning which is
manifested not only in macroeconomic successes in
terms of growth, savings and
investment rates but also in the minor and major processes which accompany such
successes. In 1994
Chile diversified its markets significantly by joining APEC;
it has bilateral free-trade agreements with big countries in the region;
it is a
member of MERCOSUR and also hopes to join NAFTA. This means that today's Chile
has more development opportunities than at
the end of the 1980s.
136. In
1990-1996 the annual economic growth rate was 7.8 %, with a total increase
of 68.9 % between 1989 and 1996.
137. Since 1990 social policy has
been focused on improving the coverage, quality and equity of the basic social
services while at
the same time giving priority attention to social-development
investment programmes in addition to assistance programmes as such.
For
example, between 1989 and 1996 the social expenditure of the central Government
increased by 64.6 % while Treasury expenditure
rose by
93.8 %.
138. In 1996 public spending totalled $US 9,800 million and
tax expenditures $US 8,100 million.
139. In 1996 the shares of public
social spending in total public spending and of social expenditures in total tax
expenditures were
66 and 64.1 % respectively, significantly higher than the
1989 figures of 58.2 and 55.3 %.
140. This means that Chile has more
resources for conducting an active social policy: more resources as a result of
its global economic
growth; more resources from the increased share of social
spending in total public spending; more resources from the channelling
of
traditionally non-social expenditure to social ends; more resources from
increased efficiency in the management of resources;
and, what is significant in
terms of quality, more resources as a result of the increasing grass-roots
participation in social action.
All this has produced a substantial reduction
in poverty and extreme poverty and an improvement in the quality of life of all
Chileans.
The poverty level stood at 32.6 % in 1992 but had fallen to
23.2 % by 1996. And the extreme-poverty level fell from 8.8 % in 1992
to 5.7 % in 1996.
141. One of the pillars of social policy has been
the rationalization of public measures and their targeting not only on sectors
but
also on people. In this context children have been identified as one of the
priority target groups of the Government's social policy,
and various measures
have been introduced to improve the services for children, while the creation of
new economic and social programmes
benefits children directly or
indirectly.
142. For example, the priority given to education was
reflected in an increase of 91.4 % in tax expenditures on education between
1989 and 1996, and this led to an 84 % rise in public spending in that
period.
143. In 1996 public expenditure on education amounted to $US
2,200 million (3.1 % of GDP).
144. In 1997 the public sector's
education budget totalled about $US 2,300 million.
145. Furthermore, in
response to a serious deterioration in the health sector between 1989 and 1996,
tax expenditures on health increased
by 83.8 % in that
period.
146. In 1996 public spending on health totalled $US 1,739 million
(2.4 % of GDP) and tax expenditures to $US 813 million (1.1 % of
GDP).
147. The share of tax expenditures in public spending on health
rose from 33.3 % in 1989 to 46.7 % in 1996.
148. In 1997 the
public sector's health budget amounted to about $US 2,000
million.
149. In addition, the decision to make a substantial increase in
the level of investment in housing meant that tax expenditures on
housing rose
by 176.5 % between 1989 and 1996 and public spending on housing by
75.4 % in the same period.
150. In 1996 public expenditure on
housing totalled $US 840 million (1.2 % of GDP) and tax expenditures to $US
690 million (1 % of
GDP).
151. The contribution of tax expenditures
to public spending on housing rose from 52.4 % in 1989 to 82.6 % in
1996.
152. In 1997 the public sector's housing budget amounted to about
$US 870 million.
153. Where assistance programmes are concerned, the
State allocates roughly seven % of its social expenditure to cash
subsidies: family
benefits and subsidies for housing, water supply and pensions.
In order to gain some idea of the scale of this effort it should be
noted that
for 1996 this meant the allocation of some $US 700 million for such subsidies.
("Balance of six years of social policies
1990-1996", MIDEPLAN,
1996.)
154. The average monthly value of pension benefits rose by
43 % between 1989 and 1996.
155. An average of 326,000 monthly
pensions was paid in 1996.
156. The average monthly value of family
benefits increased by 25.9 % between 1989 and 1996.
157. A monthly
average of 3,244,000 family benefit payments was made in 1996.
158. The
average monthly value of family benefits increased by 29.6 % between 1989
and 1996.
159. A monthly average of 766,000 family benefit payments was
made in 1996.
160. An analysis of the distribution of expenditure among
households under the main health, education and subsidy programmes demonstrates
the high degree of progressiveness and the powerful impact of these programmes.
In 1996 74.8 % of the total net subsidy in the health
sector was paid to
low-income households. This was due to the heavy concentration on the poorest
households of the subsidies for
health care and under the National Food
Supplement Programme.
161. In 1996 60.1 % of total spending on
education went to the poorest 40 % of households. In basic education
64.5 % of the expenditure
went to the poorest 40 % of households - a
result of the intense targeting of the pupil assistance
programmes.
162. Similarly, 64.8 % of expenditure in the form of
cash benefits went to the poorest 40 % of households. These households
also
received 85.7 % of Single Family Benefit expenditure and 64.7 %
of spending under the Pension Benefits Programme.
- The steps undertaken to ensure coordination between economic and social
policies;
- The proportion of the budget devoted to social expenditures for
children, including health, welfare and education, at the central,
regional and
local levels, and where appropriate at the federal and provincial
levels;
- The budget trends over the period covered by the report;
- Arrangements for budgetary analysis enabling the amount and proportion
spent on children to be clearly identified;
- The steps taken to ensure that all competent national, regional and
local authorities are guided by the best interests of the child
in their
budgetary decisions and evaluate the priority given to children in their
policy-making;
- The measures taken to ensure that disparities between different regions
and groups of children are bridged in relation to the provision
of social
services;
- The measures taken to ensure that children, particularly those
belonging to the most disadvantaged groups, are protected against
the adverse
effects of economic policies, including the reduction of budgetary allocations
in the social sector.
163. The Government is working on the creation
of an agency for coordinating and monitoring the policies for children, which
are currently
being carried out by a large number of public
institutions.
164. Four priority action areas have been
identified:
(a) Child abuse: an intersectoral proposal and short- and
medium-term measures are currently under discussion;
(b) Care of
children in irregular situations: progress has been made on the reform of the
system of subsidies and the modernization
and restructuring of
SENAME;
(c) Child labour: a start has been made on the implementation
of the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour
and
Protection of Child Workers (IPEC), and a National Advisory Committee on IPEC
has been established; it brings together representatives
from various ministries
and public services, the Legislature, small, medium and large business
organizations, trade-union organizations,
churches, NGOs, the police, etc. This
Committee is being coordinated by the Labour Ministry and
ILO;
(d) Child care: measures for the expansion of the coverage of the
systems of child-care support for families in which both parents
work are under
study. The Ministry of Justice is sponsoring a set of legal initiatives such as
the reform of the legislation on
guardianship, juvenile responsibility,
filiation, family courts, adoption, and visiting rights.
165. The aim of
the work being done under the social investment programmes of the various
ministries and the National Anti-Poverty
Programme is to introduce innovative
and modern management methods and practices; to this end an effort is being made
to create intersectoral
bodies for setting targets, coordinating the activities,
and evaluating the results and progress.
166. Between 1993 and 1997 approval was given to
48 international cooperation projects having a direct impact on the exercise of
one
or more of the rights of the child set out in the
Convention.[5]
167. Most of
these projects were funded by UNICEF, which insists on an explicit and specific
linkage to the objectives and provisions
of the Convention as a condition for
project approval.
168. Primary education has been the sector receiving
most attention from international cooperation, and in this sector one
hundred
% of that attention is focused on the age group corresponding to
what UNICEF defines as "children".
169. The contributions made
specifically to the education sector were an outstanding feature of
international cooperation between
1990 and 1997. Attention is drawn in this
connection to four projects which make a contribution to the 900 Schools
programme, seeking
a significant improvement in basic education in the 900
schools covered by the programme. Denmark contributed $ 4,716,858 in
addition
to the $ 2,184,735 for school extensions. Sweden made similar
contributions of $ 5,545,072 and $1,805,044.
170. This shows how
international cooperation has joined in the efforts being made by Chile to
fulfil the commitment undertaken with
respect to children's right to
education.
171. Significant contributions have also been made in the
justice sector, especially to SENAME. One example is a contribution of
$US
641,184 from Norway to help young people at risk.
172. With regard to the
right of children to grow up in an environment free from violence, a valuable
contribution of $272,177 was
made by the Government of Norway to the National
Service for Women to support the programme on prevention of family
violence.
173. Where contributions to infrastructure and equipment are
concerned, mention may be made of Germany's contribution to the health
sector
for the repair of hospitals, $49 million of which has already been delivered.
Although it is not possible to break this amount
down in terms of assistance to
age groups, this contribution must be regarded as important for children because
the health benefits
provided by the public sector include services for pregnant
women, attendance at delivery, neonatal care, monitoring of healthy children,
care for breastfeeding mothers, vaccinations, treatment of illnesses and
accidents, etc.
174. Japan has also made a contribution of $1,645,000 to
a health sector equipment project; there will be a further amount, as yet
unspecified, for assistance and training at the Pedro Aguirre Cerda Hospital for
the treatment of children with deformities.
175. Lastly, it must be
emphasized that 38 % of the international cooperation projects approved in
the period 1990-1996 were social
projects; although they are not described in
terms of age ranges it may be inferred that they are of great benefit to
children.
- The extent to which the Convention has been translated into the
national, local, minority or indigenous languages. In this connection,
an
indication should be given of the number of languages into which the Convention
has been translated and the number of copies translated
into the minority
languages during the reporting period;
176. The text of the
Convention has not been translated into or published in the languages of Chile's
indigenous ethnic minorities.
- Whether the Convention has been translated and has been made available
in the languages spoken by the larger refugee and immigrant
groups in the
country concerned;
177. The text of the Convention has not been
translated into the mother tongue of any of Chile's most numerous immigrant
groups.
- The measures adopted to publicize the Convention and create widespread
awareness of its principles and provisions. In this connection,
an indication
should be given of the number of meetings (such as parliamentary or governmental
conferences, workshops, seminars)
held, the number of programmes broadcast on
radio or television and the number of publications issued explaining the
Convention on
the Rights of the Child;
178. The PNI formulated and
published in 1992 establishes targets and action policies for the decade which
will facilitate a substantial
improvement in the quality of life and living
conditions of Chile's
children.[6]
179. Since 1993
the main focus has been on the decentralization of the PNI by means of the
formulation and subsequent implementation
of the regional plans for children
(PRIAs). The initiation of the constitution of the regional governments in that
same year offered
a favourable opportunity for implementing the decentralization
and for establishing systems of dissemination, follow-up and monitoring
at the
national and regional levels.
180. Much of the work of publicizing the
principles and provisions of the Convention is done during the formulation of
the regional
plans, a process involving the broad participation of
representatives of the public sector and civil society.
181. Eleven
regional plans have been produced so far, and 10 of them have already been
published; the country's other two regions
are in the final stages of the
formulation of their plans.
182. To date no agency has been created to
coordinate, integrate, orientate and supervise the social policies for
children.
183. Nevertheless, several public bodies have been carrying
out measures in conjunction with NGOs to promote and publicize the rights
of the
child. These measures include the ones taken by a significant number of
municipalities: with the support of the Network of
Municipalities for Children
they have gradually been incorporating the measures set out in the Convention
into their activities.
- The specific steps taken to make the Convention widely known to
children and the extent to which it has been reflected in the school
curricula
and considered in parents' education campaigns. An indication should be given
of the number of copies of the Convention
distributed in the educational system
and to the public at large during the reporting period;
184. No
information.
- The measures adopted to provide education on the Convention to public
officials, as well as to train professional groups working
with and for
children, such as teachers, law enforcement officials, health workers and social
workers;
185. All the social ministries and their related services
have assumed responsibility for informing their personnel about children's
rights and in specific cases they provide training in this subject. And with
the support of a number of State services and of NGOs
such as the Foundation for
the Rights of the Child many municipalities have been scheduling information
events or days on children's
rights.
- The extent to which the principles and provisions of the Convention
have been incorporated in professional training curricula and
codes of conduct
or regulations;
186. There is no general provision for the
incorporation of the principles of the Convention in professional training
plans, but some
of the social professions are gradually beginning to introduce
topics connected with children's rights in their courses.
- The steps taken to promote understanding of the principles and
provisions of the Convention by the mass media and by information
and publishing
agencies;
187. There are no provisions on this subject.
- The involvement of non-governmental organizations in awareness and
advocacy campaigns on the Convention, as well as any support
provided to them.
In this connection, an indication should be given of the number of
non-governmental organizations who participated
in such
events;
188. No information.
- The participation of children in any of these
activities.
189. No information.
- The process of preparation of the present report, in particular the
extent to which governmental departments, at the central, regional,
provincial
and local levels participated, and non-governmental organizations were
involved;
190. A technical working group coordinated by MIDEPLAN was
created for the preparation of this report; its membership consisted of
representatives of the Ministries of Education, Health, Justice, Labour and
Social Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the
National Service for
Women, SENAME, and the INTEGRA Foundation. Representatives of the Network of
Municipalities for Children and
of three NGO federations - Asong, Feniprom and
Acción - were also invited to participate.
191. The NGOs working
in Chile prepare their own reports.
192. All public institutions were
requested to respond on matters relevant to their work. All the country's
regions were also requested
through the regional planning secretariats to submit
a progress report on the application of the Convention.
193. A high level
of participation was secured in the formulation of the report: centrally,
through the ministries and services; regionally,
through the regional planning
secretariats; and locally, through the meetings with the technical secretariat
of the Network of Municipalities
for Children.
- The steps taken to publicize the report, to translate and disseminate
it in the national, local, minority or indigenous languages.
An indication
should be given of the number of meetings (such as parliamentary and
governmental conferences, workshops, seminars)
held, the number of programmes
broadcast on radio or television, the number of publications issued explaining
the report and the
number of non-governmental organizations which participated
in such events;
- The measures adopted or foreseen to ensure wide dissemination and
consideration of the summary records and the concluding observations
adopted by
the Committee in relation to the State party's report, including any
parliamentary hearing or media coverage. Please
indicate the events undertaken
to publicize the concluding observations and summary records of the previous
report, including the
number of meetings held, the number of programmes
broadcast on radio or television, the number of publications issued explaining
the concluding observations and summary records, and the number of
non-governmental organizations which participated in such
events.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
(Article
1)[7]
- Any differences between national legislation and the Convention on the
definition of the child;
194. As pointed out in the initial report,
Chile's legislation does not contain a definition of what is understood by
"child". But
it does establish clearly that the age of majority and with it the
full capacity to perform civil acts is reached at 18
years.
195. According to article 1 of the Convention, a child means every
human being below the age of 18 years; this is not consistent with
article 26 of
Chile's Civil Code, which states:
"Anyone who has not reached the age of seven shall be considered an infant
or child; a male below the age of 14 and a female below
the age of 12 shall be
considered below the age of puberty; anyone over the age of puberty shall be
considered an adult; a person
who has reached the age of 21 shall be considered
of age, or simply a major, and anyone who has not reached that age shall be
considered
below legal age, or simply a minor".
196. Act n°19,221,
approved and promulgated on 1 June 1993, sets the age of majority at 18 years
and defines "minor" from the
opposite angle from article 1 of the Convention: "A
person reaches the age of majority at the age of 18 years". A minor is
therefore
any person who has not reached the age of 18.
197. This
definition of minors and majors is of general application, subject to the
exceptions established by the law in certain matters.
198. The term
"adult", which sometimes used, although incorrectly, as the opposite of "minor",
has a different meaning in Chilean
legislation: an adult is a person who has
passed the age of puberty, i.e. males over the age of 14 and females over the
age of 12.
Accordingly, a person may be both a minor and an adult (art. 26 of
the Civil Code).
- The minimum legal age defined by the national legislation for the
following:
. Legal and medical counselling without parental
consent;
199. Chile has no specific legislation on medical
counselling. However, in practice anyone may be given such counselling without
the consent of parents or legal representatives being
mandatory.
200. Full legal capacity is required for the issue of
instructions to a lawyer to act in civil cases, so that minors cannot legally
take such action. In criminal and juvenile cases the judicial practice allows
minors (under 18) to issue such instructions.
. Medical treatment or surgery without parental consent;
201. The person concerned must have reached the age of majority (18
years).
. End of compulsory education;
202. Since the adoption of the
Primary Education Act in 1928 primary education has been compulsory for a period
of eight years.
. Admission to employment or work, including hazardous work, part-time
and full-time work;
203. Chapter 2 of Book 1, Title 1, of the Labour
Code, contained in Decree-Law n°1 of 1994, deals with "the capacity to
conclude
contracts and other labour relations concerning women and children".
Chapter 1 of Book 1, Title 2, regulates the employment of
under-18s as
apprentices.
204. The following are some of the other regulations
contained in the Labour Code:
(a) For the purposes of the labour laws
persons aged 18 or over are regarded as having reached the age of majority and
may freely
enter into contracts for the provision of their
services;
(b) Persons aged under 18 but over 15 may conclude labour
contracts with the express authorization of their father or mother or
of an
ascendant relation or a guardian. However, they may not work underground or at
work which requires excessive strength or may
prove dangerous to their health,
safety or morals. Since in no case may under-18s work for more that eight hours
a day, they may
not work overtime;
(c) Children aged under 15 but over
14 (i.e. who have reached their fourteenth birthday) may conclude labour
contracts provided
that the authorization mentioned above is obtained, that they
have completed their compulsory education, and that they perform only
light work
which does not harm their health or development, does not impede their
attendance at school or their participation in
education or training programmes.
Like the age group mentioned above, in no case may they work more than eight
hours a day (arts.
13 and 14 of the Labour Code).
205. In practice,
however, many children do informal own-account work not regulated by the Labour
Code: for example, street vendors,
cartoneros (collectors of waste
cardboard for sale), etc., who have no legal
protection.
. Marriage;
206. In order to marry, persons
aged under 18 but over 14 in the case of boys or over 12 in the case of girls
require the express
consent of their father or, in his absence, of their mother
or of a legitimate ascendant of a close degree of affinity or, failing
that, of
a guardian or Civil Registry official (arts. 106 and 107 of the Civil
Code).
. Sexual consent;
207. Except for the provisions
on the marriage of minors described above, Chile's legislation does not contain
any specific rules
on this subject. However, article 361 of the Criminal Code
treats sexual relations with a girl aged under 12 as the crime of rape;
it may
thus be inferred that 12 is the minimum legal age for girls to have voluntary
sexual relations.
208. There is no rule of this kind for
boys.
. Voluntary enlistment in the armed
forces;
209. Males aged 18 or over have to perform compulsory
military service without the option of conscientious
objection.
. Conscription into the armed forces;
210. A
bill amending the conscription legislation is being processed; it creates the
possibility of civilian service as an alternative
to compulsory military
service; young persons of either sex may opt freely to perform civilian
service.
. Participation in hostilities;
211. Persons
must have reached the age of 18 in order to participate in
hostilities.
. Criminal responsibility;
212. The
following persons are exempt from criminal responsibility:
(a) Children
aged under 16 years;
(b) Children aged over 16 but under 18 who are not
deemed to possess "discernment".
213. In the latter case, a determination
as to whether a child acted with or without discernment requires a prior
statement issued
by a juvenile judge in accordance with the procedure
established by law. This statement is based on a technical and legal assessment
of the capacity of the person concerned to understand the criminal nature of his
act.
214. Children aged under 18 but over 16 who are declared to have
acted with discernment are dealt with in the ordinary criminal courts.
If they
are found guilty, they receive the minimum sentence for the offence reduced by
one degree.
. Deprivation of liberty, including by arrest, detention and
imprisonment, inter alia in the areas of administration of justice,
asylum-seeking and placement of children in welfare and health
institutions;
215. There are various situations in which children may
be deprived of their liberty or have it restricted. It must be remembered
that
there is no separation of proceedings (i.e. separation of offences from
protection matters) in the juvenile law, so that the
courts are legally
empowered to apply the measures of article 29 in both situations. Nevertheless,
the situations described below
may be distinguished.
Juvenile
offenders
216. Children aged under 18 but over 16 who have engaged in
conduct constituting an offence may be deprived of their liberty pending
a
determination of discernment.
217. If they are found to have acted
without discernment a protection measure may be ordered in accordance with the
provisions described
below.
218. If they are found to have acted with
discernment they are subject to the general rules of criminal proceedings and
may therefore
be deprived of their liberty by arrest, conviction or
imprisonment.
Protection
219. Any child aged under 18 who
has been neglected or maltreated or is in general terms "in material or moral
danger" may be subjected
to measures of deprivation or restriction of liberty in
the following cases:
220. Initially, pending the determination of the
measure to be ordered for his future care the child may be placed in a transit
and
diagnosis centre or in some cases in an observation and diagnosis centre and
thus deprived of his liberty.
221. Subsequently, the juvenile judge may
decide to order a protection measure involving deprivation of liberty (placement
in a special
education establishment as indicated by the law) or restriction of
liberty (probation). These protection measures are contained
in the Juvenile
Act (n°16,618).
. Capital punishment and life imprisonment;
222. Chile's
legislation provides minors with a number of safeguards in connection with
deprivation of liberty:
(a) The existence of a police unit responsible
for dealing with judicial orders relating to minors;
(b) The existence
of special facilities run by the Juvenile Police, which are the only places
where minors may be detained;
(c) The prohibition of the detention of
minors in any places other than the ones mentioned above, and the existence of
sanctions
applicable to any official disregarding this
prohibition;
(d) Specific procedures for minors deprived of their
liberty either under a protection measure pending a determination of discernment
or following conviction or sentencing; these procedures provide that minors must
be kept in special facilities completely separate
from
adults.
223. Minors subject to protection or rehabilitation orders may
not be imprisoned.
224. Pursuant to the provisions of the Criminal Code,
the death penalty may not be imposed on minors. Article 72 states:
"Persons aged under 18 years but over 16 years who are not exempted from
responsibility by virtue of a declaration by the court that
they acted without
discernment shall be subject to a lesser sentence than the minimum provided by
law for the offence in question".
. Giving testimony in court, in civil and criminal
cases;
225. Persons aged 14 years or older are competent to give
testimony in court; persons aged 15 or older do so without taking the
oath.
. Lodging complaints and seeking redress before a court or other
relevant authority without parental consent;
226. There is no change
in the information given in the initial report.
. Participating in administrative and judicial proceedings affecting the
child;
227. The general rules of the legislation must be applied in
administrative proceedings, i.e. in order to act in this sphere a person
must
have reached the age of majority. In judicial proceedings a distinction -
already mentioned above - must be made between civil
and criminal cases
involving children. In both civil and criminal matters minors must act through
their legal representatives.
228. In labour matters a minor who has
obtained authorization to work in accordance with the law and has signed a
labour contract
is regarded as fully competent for administrative purposes, may
enjoy the goods acquired with the proceeds of his work (his own earnings
from
his employment), and may perform the relevant acts, as is clear from article
13.5 of the Labour Code and article 246 of the
Civil Code. Consequently, a
minor who has signed a labour contract may take part in both judicial and
administrative proceedings
resulting from violation of the labour legislation or
of the obligations set out in the labour contract.
. Giving consent to change of identity, including change of name,
modification of family relations, adoption, guardianship;
229. The
age of majority is required (18 years).
. Having access to information concerning the biological
family;
230. Article 34.2 of the Adoption Act (n°18,703)
provides that a certified copy of the adoption order shall be issued by a
decision
of the court at the request of the adopted person, his legitimate
descendants or the adoptive parents. This means that the adopted
person has the
right to request the court to deliver a copy of the order by which he was
adopted. However, the Act does not establish
the right of adopted persons to be
informed about their origins.
231. In order to request a copy of the
adoption order a person must be aware of the fact of his adoption, and this
knowledge depends
solely on the voluntary disclosure of this fact by the
adoptive parents, for otherwise the adopted person would never be aware of
it,
especially if the adoption was granted when he was a small child.
. Legal capacity to inherit, to conduct property
transactions;
. To create or join
associations;
232. There is no legal impediment to inheritance by
children either under a will or by a judicial procedure. Chile's legislation
even recognizes the inheritance rights of persons yet to be born. The age of
majority is required in the other matters mentioned.
233. When it comes
to forming or joining associations, the law recognizes that a minor who is
subject to a labour contract has the
capacity to participate in the formation of
trade unions and to join or withdraw from such unions, although a minor may not
hold
the post of trade-union leader since here article 236.1 of the Labour Code
stipulates the age of majority (18 years).
. Choosing a religion or attending religious school
teaching;
234. Since there is no specific legislation on this point
the general rules apply: a person must be of age, for otherwise he is subject
to
parental authority.
. Consumption of alcohol and other controlled
substances;
235. The measures for the protection of children against
the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances or involvement
in
the production or illicit trafficking of such drugs and substances
include:
236. Act n°19,366 of 30 January 1995 and Decree n°565
of 26 January 1996, which impose sanctions on illicit trafficking
in narcotic
drugs and psychotropic substances and amend a number of existing legal
provisions. The Act establishes special procedural
rules for minors. One such
rule is that children aged under 18 but over 16 must be brought before a
juvenile judge who, dispensing
with the determination of discernment, may order
either compulsory attendance at a prevention programme or community service. In
all cases the judge must order the prior medical examination provided for in the
Act and in the expressly specified cases he must
order the child to undergo the
recommended treatment and specify measures to ensure compliance.
- How the minimum age for employment relates to the age of completion of compulsory schooling, how it affects the right of the child to education and how relevant international instruments are taken into account;
237. As already explained, children aged under 15 but over 14 (i.e. who
have reached their fourteenth birthday) may conclude contracts
for the provision
of their services provided that they have the required authorization, have
completed the period of compulsory education,
and perform only light work which
does not harm their health or development or impede their attendance at school
or participation
in education or training programmes.
- In cases where there is a difference in the legislation between girls
and boys, including in relation to marriage and sexual consent
(article
2);
238. The situation described in the initial report has not
changed.
- In cases where the criteria of puberty is used under criminal law, the
extent to which this provision is differently applied to
girls and boys, and
whether the principles and provisions of the Convention are taken into
consideration.
239. The situation described in the initial report has
not changed.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A.
Non-discrimination
(Article 2)
240. As stated in the initial report, the
principle of non-discrimination is embodied in the
Constitution.[8]
241. However,
during the period covered by the present report the Government has passed a
number of pieces of legislation on this
subject which establish special rules
for specific groups: for example, it ratified the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women (Act n°19,253 of 5 October
1993) and adopted the Indigenous Peoples Act and the Social Integration
of
Disabled Persons Act (n°19,284 of 14 January 1994).
242. In practice
there exist embryonic instruments, procedures, measures and programmes designed
to give effect to the principles
of non-discrimination and respect for
differences. For example, in the case of the children and young people cared
for by SENAME
one such instrument is Ministry of Justice Decree n°730 of 19
July 1996, which approved the regulations for the implementation
of Title IV of
Act n°16,618 on children's homes and care institutions. In its preamble
this Decree states the determination
of the present Government to bring Chile's
legislation properly into line with the principles of the Convention and the
treaties,
recommendations and guidelines adopted by international bodies of
which Chile is a member. The Decree also provides that the transit
and
distribution centres and the observation and diagnosis centres must fully
observe and respect the rights accorded to children
and young people.
243. The State
has enacted legislation regulating certain specific matters, as indicated in
paragraph 242 above.
244. With regard to the steps taken by the
State to prevent and combat discrimination, both in law and in practice, on the
basis of
birth, in August 1993 the Government sent a filiation bill to the
Congress; on 26 October this bill became a law of the Republic
(Act
n°19,585), due to enter into force on 26 October 1999. The main purpose is
to dispense with the various categories of
filiation contained in civil
legislation. The main changes introduced by this Act are described
below.
245. It eliminates all the discriminatory references in the Civil
Code to the distinction between legitimate children (conceived within
matrimony
or legitimized by the subsequent marriage of the parents), natural children
(recognized by one or both parents without
their being married), and simply
illegitimate children (not recognized in any way).
246. It establishes
the principle of unrestricted investigation of paternity and maternity and
admits all kinds of evidence, including
biological evidence. If the alleged
father or mother refuses to take part in the testing of the evidence before a
court, such refusal
is treated as a serious presumption of its accuracy and,
together with other evidence, it may be used to validate the
filiation.
247. In order to deter unfounded legal actions, the Act
provides that applications to the courts must be accompanied by an outline
of
the evidence supporting the facts.
248. It establishes equal rights with
respect to succession and the basic principle that all the children are equal
heirs of their
parents.
249. It removes the distinction between
"appropriate maintenance" (of broader scope), exclusively for legitimate and
natural children,
and "essential maintenance" (of narrower scope), for simply
illegitimate children.
250. The rules on paternal authority are also
amended: the two parents (if both exist) exercise their authority jointly and
all the
children are subject to it. Consequently, natural and illegitimate
children can rely on legal representation by their parents, whereas
at present
their status does not accord them this benefit, for under a strange provision
the parent who first voluntarily recognizes
the child is responsible for his or
her legal representation, but as a custodian and not as a
parent.
251. The rule is that the custody of children of separated
parents is in principle awarded to the mother, but the grounds for this
are
being changed to the effect that custody may be denied to the mother and awarded
to the father if for justified reasons the judge
so decides. This new provision
revokes the current provision that custody may be awarded to the father only if
the mother exhibits
such a degree of depravity as may cause fear of the
perversion of the child, or if there exists some extreme situation such as
mental
incapacity, chronic alcoholism, neglect of the child's care, upbringing
or education, condonation of his begging or vagrancy, conviction
for vagrancy,
abduction or abandonment of the child, maltreatment or setting a bad example, or
any other situation which places the
child in moral or material danger.
252. Some relevant measures have
already been mentioned under guideline 18.
253. However, attention must
be drawn to the National Anti-Poverty Programme formulated in 1995, the main
aims of which include: a
substantial reduction of extreme poverty and the
improvement of the quality of life and living conditions of the country's
poorest
social groups and localities; the generation of quality jobs in order to
ensure that the resulting higher employment rate also means
higher personal
incomes; the social integration of the sectors and groups of the population
which, as a result of economic exclusion
or marginalization, or of cultural,
ethnic, gender or age discrimination, have greatest difficulty in securing a
share in the benefits
of growth, with particular emphasis on children and
women.
254. One of the 10 commitments made in this Programme is to
deliver equality of opportunities for all children, young people and
women.
255. The Programme entered a new phase in 1997 when the work was
taken over by the Social Ministers' Committee. This Committee sets
the main
directions of the Programme's activities and monitors and evaluates the results
obtained.
256. The concrete
measures to eliminate discrimination against girls focus on matters connected
with education:
(a) The recently adopted document "Fundamental goals
and compulsory minimum curriculum", which governs basic general education in
Chile, includes among its cross-cutting goals the need for pupils at this level
to develop the ability to "recognize, defend and
respect the equality of the
essential rights of all persons, without distinction as to sex, age, physical
condition, race, religion
or economic status";
(b) Within the context
of the adoption of these new fundamental goals and compulsory minimum curriculum
the Ministry of Education
has initiated the formulation of course plans and
syllabuses for this level. The ones for the first and second grades are
currently
being completed. These documents take greater care with the language
used for various subjects such as mathematics, natural sciences,
social studies,
etc., in order to give women and girls a higher profile. Some subjects also
include activities to promote progress
towards this same goal and to enhance the
status of domestic work (for example in the syllabuses for the sub-topic
"Comprehension
of the natural, social and cultural environment" and its
cross-cutting objectives;
(c) With regard to textbooks and teaching
materials, the guidelines for the production of textbooks given to publishers
participating
in the bidding exercise conducted by the Ministry included the
requirement that the texts should not contain any gender discrimination.
In
addition, in order to facilitate compliance with this requirement the National
Service for Women and the Ministry published "Feminine
profile: a guide to the
production of non-sexist textbooks".
257. In parallel with this work,
during the 1998 school year the Ministry distributed to adult-education
institutions two study guides
on "Women and work" produced by the National
Service for Women.
258. Lastly, on the different issue of pregnant
adolescents' access to education, the Ministry has a regulation expressly
prohibiting
schools in receipt of any kind of State funding from cancelling a
girl's enrolment on the grounds of her pregnancy. There remains
the problem of
private schools, for in the absence of any legal regulation of this matter they
can decide at their own discretion
on the future of a student who has become
pregnant.
259. Accordingly, and in view of the ease with which a
regulation can be amended, a matter which depends in fact on the attitude of
the
Government of the day, the Congress currently has before it a bill which seeks
to elevate the ban on expulsion on the grounds
of pregnancy to the status of a
legal regulation and to make it universally applicable.
260. Please refer to paragraphs
120 to 126 above.
261. Please refer to paragraphs 243 to 251
above.
262. It must be borne in mind on this point that
the principles of non-discrimination and equality before the law are clearly
embodied
in Chile's Constitution, as stated in the initial
report.
263. These principles are protected in turn by the constitutional
action of recurso de protección (remedy of protection) available
to all citizens by application to the higher courts of justice (Court of Appeals
in the first instance,
and Supreme Court in the second).
264. In
addition, and as already pointed out, a number of regulations designed to
prevent discrimination have been enacted; these
regulations, which apply to all
citizens and by extension to children, include the Indigenous Peoples Act and
the Social Integration
of Disabled Persons Act.
265. Ever
since the incorporation of the Convention into Chile's judicial system the
question of the best interests of the child has
been a subject of discussion in
the various spheres affecting children's lives. The clear connection between
the lives led by children
and the juvenile law is one of the issues which have
received greater attention, for many of the persisting obstacles are related
to
the current legislation, which does not take account of the best-interests
principle. As one means of securing substantial progress
in this area the
Ministry of Justice carried out a detailed review of the juvenile law and
adopted a set of provisions to this end,
as well as having in the pipeline other
provisions which are expected to be adopted in the near future. For further
information
on this point please refer to the discussion under guideline 13
above.
B. Best interests of the child
(Article 3)
266. As stated in the initial report, although
this principle is not expressly embodied in the domestic legislation in force
before
the arrival of the Convention, it has been incorporated by means of the
Convention.
267. The formulation, proposal and implementation of policies
for children take account of the importance which the State attaches
to
children. This fact is also manifested in the legislative initiatives reported
under guideline 13, which are designed to improve
the juridical position of
children by bringing domestic legislation into line with the
Convention.
268. The bills which are currently being sponsored - on
guardianship, juvenile criminal offences, adoptions, family courts, and visits
and subsidies - contain clear references to the best interests of the child and
they are all designed to bring domestic legislation
into line with the
international legal instruments.
269. It is very important
to keep in mind the existence of a special legal system for minors. The
juvenile courts have special knowledge
of juvenile matters and they must always
take the best material and spiritual interests of the child into consideration
when ruling
in a case.
270. The juvenile courts are always advised by
expert professionals such as social workers, psychologists, doctors, etc., who
take
cognizance of the best interests of the child in question in their reports
to the court.
271. The courts also have the technical support of SENAME,
a public agency working for children with the assistance of trained
professionals,
who ensure respect for the rights of the child.
272. Thus,
in judicial matters the juvenile courts always take a child's best interests
into account when ordering any measure affecting
him.
273. Attention must again be drawn to the work of
SENAME, whose purpose is the social integration of children and young people who
have suffered serious infringement of their rights or have broken the law. In
conjunction with other public and private bodies SENAME
runs a number of social
programmes based on the promotion of and respect for children's
rights.
274. For example, in the case of the children assisted by the
SENAME adoptions unit, constant encouragement has been given to the
improvement
of professional standards in the adoption process, including the proper
counselling and support of the families of children
who may eventually be
adopted. When it is necessary to seek adoptive parents the selection procedures
used in order to find potentially
suitable families take account of the needs of
each child, always keeping in mind the best-interests principle.
275. In
the case of the children helped by the SENAME assistance network, the preferred
social-integration option is to consolidate
the family of origin in which the
child has to grow up; if this not possible, a foster family is sought. This
policy has manifested
itself in the funding of support programmes to consolidate
the families of children whose rights are being infringed.
276. Since the
separation of a child from his family is a measure of last resort, SENAME has
introduced an extensive system of home
visits in order to make it easier for the
child to remain with his family.
277. This system was first introduced in
1992 as a first step in Chile's adaptation to the provisions of the Convention
following
its signature.
278. As mentioned above, SENAME is the
administrative agency responsible for the protection of children who have
suffered serious
infringement of their rights or have broken the law. In fact,
although the protection and care provided for such children does not
depend on
their status, SENAME concentrates on marginalized and disadvantaged children,
trying to make good the defects of the general
system operated under the social
policies.
279. Chile's current system of special assistance and
protection is based on the traditional doctrine, according to which the State
plays the role of protector through a body of regulations.
280. The
protection policies of the system for the care of children whose rights have
been infringed are based on the powers invested
in the State to protect and
ensure the well-being of children in irregular situations, powers exercised
through the juvenile courts,
the police and the administrative bodies
responsible for providing children with assistance and protection in their
private lives
and family relationships.
281. The current legislation on
the personal care, upbringing and education of children in the family (juvenile
legislation) allows
extensive intervention by the State through the specialized
courts, which are empowered to remove a child from his parents' care
and to
protect him on the basis of provisions susceptible of broad
interpretation.
282. It is in accordance with this doctrine that the
State exercises its protection functions with respect to children and young
people
deemed to be in an irregular situation, which
means:
(a) Children who have no one to exercise guardianship over them
(children with parents lacking legal capacity, orphans and abandoned
children);
(b) Children for whom the exercise of guardianship
constitutes a risk or danger (victims of maltreatment and children in physical
or moral danger);
(c) Children exhibiting behavioural disorders which
do not constitute violations of the criminal law and children in situations
of
social risk;
(d) Violators of the criminal law aged under 16 and
children aged 16 to 18 declared to lack discernment and therefore not subject
to
prosecution.
283. Chile's current legal instrument governing the system
for the protection of children is the Juvenile Act (n°16,618); this
system
is based mainly on the juvenile judges who, as already pointed out, take
decisions on the future lives of children deemed
to be "in an irregular
situation"; they have the following options:
(a) To return the child to
his parents or guardians or other persons legally responsible for him, with a
caution;
(b) To order the child to be placed on
probation;
(c) To place the child for as long as deemed necessary in
one of the special education establishments provided for in the
Act;
(d) To entrust the child to the care of a person who will provide
for him in the family, whom the judge regards as capable of supervising
his
upbringing.
284. The Act also establishes a special unit within the
Directorate-General for the Carabineros (the uniformed police) to exercise
protection functions with respect to children and young people whom the Act is
seeking to help. This unit is called the Juvenile
Police.
285. Since the
exercise of these functions involves the restriction of the rights of those who
are "benefited" by such exercise, the
Act imposes limits by means of provisions
regulating the measures which the police may take in this matter: prohibition on
holding
children and young people in facilities not authorized by law;
obligation to bring detainees before a competent court immediately
or, if this
is not possible, within a time-limit of 24 hours; and if a minor is arrested on
a charge of committing an offence and
has a known address, is employed in a
verifiable activity, or produces a guarantee of his appearance at a future court
hearing, the
Juvenile Police must limit itself to ordering such appearance and
then immediately release the minor. In the case of children requiring
protection, the parents or guardians must first be notified and the children
returned to them; only in the absence of any parents
or guardians are the
children brought before a juvenile judge with a view to the ordering of a
protection measure. Lastly, the Juvenile
Police are expressly prohibited from
holding persons under 18 years of age in the same place as older detainees or
convicts.
286. As already pointed out, SENAME is the administrative
agency responsible for taking any measures necessary for helping or protecting
children. It works through public and private bodies for which, in addition to
funding, it has to provide supervision, monitoring,
encouragement, guidance and
technical coordination.
287. SENAME has been doing important work since
1990 to give effect to the provisions of the Convention; it has defined its
mission
on the basis of the principles contained therein and demanded a mandate
to make these principles manifest in Chilean society.
288. The relations
between SENAME and it collaborating organizations are regulated by Decree-Law
n°1,385, which specifies the
assistance systems with which these
organizations must register and the State subsidy receivable for each child
assisted.
289. This arrangement is based on the concept of the subsidiary
role of the State, which does not take direct charge of the care of
the children
in question but instead supports other agencies in the performance of this
function.
290. The 11 assistance systems described in the Decree-Law
perform the function of offering options to the juvenile judges with respect
to
the measures which the law empowers them to order.
291. These 11 systems
for furnishing assistance to children and young people requiring special
protection from the State can be classified
into four areas of activity:
Area of activity
|
Description
|
Assistance systems
|
---|---|---|
Observation/ diagnosis
|
The aim is to evaluate children who require assistance or protection or are
in conflict with the justice system and to support the
juvenile judges in their
decision-taking.
|
- Observation/diagnosis (residential)
- Transit and placement centres
- Transit and placement centres for breastfeeding mothers and mothers with
preschool children (residential)
|
Protection
|
The aim is to alleviate or eliminate faulty or improper care in order to
secure the child's social reintegration as soon as possible.
|
- Simple protection (residential)
- Family placement
- Protection in the case of slight or moderate problems (residential)
- Mental rehabilitation (residential)
|
Rehabilitation
|
For children and young people with behavioural problems and/or who have
broken the law. The aim is rehabilitation with a view to proper
reintegration in
society.
|
- Correction of conduct (residential)
- Probation
- Correction of conduct (day attendance)
|
Prevention
|
The aim is to support the family and children and young people deemed to be
at social risk in order to correct the conditions encouraging
their
vulnerability.
|
- Prevention
- Protection in cases of slight of moderate problems (day attendance)
- Mental rehabilitation (day attendance)
|
Source: SENAME, "Regional map of children in Chile",
Santiago, 1995.
292. As
already mentioned, the Act constituting SENAME establishes its function of
supervising and guiding its collaborating agencies
in order to guarantee the
quality of the care provided for children under the assistance
systems.
293. This function is performed by the SENAME regional offices
and coordination units, which have technical and financial supervisors.
The
supervision is based on field visits and interviews with management,
professional and care staff, as well as with the children
and young people in
question and any outside agents who may be needed; the supervisors also examine
the documents on the care of
the beneficiaries as one of the most important
sources in this work.
294. Supervision guidelines were formulated in 1992
with respect to matters of quality of life and technical intervention; they have
not so far undergone any changes.
295. Work is currently proceeding on
the design of an instrument for measuring the extent to which the rights of
children and young
people are exercised in the assistance network. This
commission was entrusted to the School of Sociology of the University of Chile;
once finalized, the instrument will be introduced in the network's centres,
following training of the regional supervisors. It will
have to be applied on a
regular basis and the results will be used to provide guidance for SENAME in the
promotion, defence and observance
of the rights of the child in the network's
centres.
296. In general terms,
the biggest remaining problem is that this principle is still not taken into
account in all of the activities
of the State, although, as pointed out under
guideline 13, progress is being made, especially with regard to legislation, in
the
adaptation of Chile's laws to the principles of the
Convention.
39. Please indicate in what ways the principle of the
"best interests of the child" is made part of the training of professionals
dealing with children's rights.
297. Where SENAME is concerned,
matters connected with the rights of the child and children's comprehensive
development form a permanent
part, amongst other elements, of the training of
the staff of the collaborating agencies.
298. The following table
describes the situation in this respect:
Training courses for the staff of agencies collaborating with SENAME
Subject/coverage |
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Total
|
Amount
(pesos) |
Rights of the child
|
20
|
170
|
60
|
---
|
250
|
6 956 000
|
Child development
|
100
|
185
|
160
|
158
|
603
|
18 690 000
|
Maltreatment, abuse and sexual abuse
|
20
|
150
|
100
|
95
|
365
|
15 847 000
|
Rehabilitation of offenders
|
120
|
277
|
175
|
185
|
757
|
21 890 000
|
Total
|
260
|
782
|
495
|
438
|
1 975
|
63 383 000
|
Source: SENAME.
299. The courses lasted an
average of 35 hours and were taught by bodies recognized by the State or by
suitable professionals bodies
recruited by invitation to bid.
300. In
1997 the Gendarmería de Chile (prison warders) ran a course on
specialization in children's problems for a group of
50 warders having direct
contact with minors in the special juvenile units. This training was given
under the auspices of the Ministry
of Justice with the assistance of SENAME and
the Gendarmería.
301. The specific topic of childhood is not
included in the standard training curriculum for prison staff, but it has been
decided
that staff training should address this specialized subject. A pilot
training programme will therefore be introduced in 1998 for
officers having
direct contact with minors in the juvenile unit of the Santiago Sur CDP (a
detention centre).
302. In the case of vocational training, Diego
Portales University offers a post-graduate course for professionals specializing
in
this subject; one of the main topics of this course is the Convention and its
incorporation in public policy. The course has been
operating since 1997.
Furthermore, consideration is being given to the inclusion of child development
courses in the framework curricula
of the country's various higher education
institutes for subjects such as nursery education, special education, basic
education,
psychology, and social work.
303. Lastly, ever since its
creation the Academy of the Judiciary, a specialized institution for personnel
training in the justice
system, especially social workers and judges, has been
running special courses on children; these courses include the teaching of
the
Convention among their general aims.
C. The right to life, survival and
development
(Article 6)
304. The Constitution accords to everyone the right
to life and physical and mental integrity. The law protects the lives of
persons yet to be born and
prohibits abortion.
305. The death penalty may
not be imposed on minors.
306. With respect to the right to survival and
development, Chile's social policies aim at the integration of all the most
vulnerable
groups, including children, into the development process. Most of
the social investment under the national budget is allocated to
the battle
against poverty and the effort to secure better living conditions for the people
through improvements in health care,
housing, education, etc., which enhance the
chances of survival and development of all children, especially those living in
extremely
difficult circumstances.
307. In
general terms, any death not from natural causes must be investigated by the
justice system in order to determine whether
any other persons are implicated in
the cause of the death.
308. According to a 1997 Health Ministry study,
between 1986 and 1996 the national suicide rate fluctuated between 4.86 and 6.54
per
100,000 inhabitants. A comparison of the overall suicide rate with the
juvenile rate shows a lower rate for juveniles aged 10 to
19 of between 2.02 and
3.13 per 100,000.
309. SENAME has established administrative instructions
for its regional offices, which in turn instruct the collaborating agencies,
requiring any deaths of children in the care network to be reported to the
central office. The necessary investigations must also
be carried out when the
cause of death is not clear. In addition, the central computerized information
system for tracking the movement
of children around the network, which is
updated every month, includes death among the reasons for quitting the network;
permanently
updated information on this topic is thus available.
D. Respect for the views of the child
(Article
12)
310. As
already explained on pages 19-20 of the 1994 document "Respuesta del Gobierno
de Chile ante el Comité de los Derechos del Niño", the
measures to give effect to the principle of respect for the views of the child
are still at an embryonic stage. However, the
following measures deserve
mention:
(a) Promulgation by the Ministry of Education of a decree
regulating the operation of students' centres, including the democratic
election
of student representatives;
(b) The Filiation Act attaches some weight
to the views of children "who have sufficient discernment" at the time of a
guardianship
decision;
(c) Article 2.14 of Decree n°730 of 19 July
1996, which approves the regulations on children's homes and care institutions,
establishes the right of children in care freely to express their views, which
must be taken duly into consideration, depending on
the age and maturity of the
child in question.
311. Nevertheless, there is a lack of legal
instruments to facilitate and encourage the free expression of children's views
on matters
affecting them.
- The administration of juvenile justice
312. The
administrative judicial proceedings affecting children do indeed envisage
consulting them about their views, but this approach
is optional and not binding
on the authorities. The disregard of the procedural safeguards, in particular
the right to defence counsel
in guardianship or protection proceedings,
demonstrates the precarious status of this principle.
- Placement and life in institutional and other forms of
care
313. There has been no deliberate progress in this direction in
the measures adopted to give effect to this principle in the care
institutions
available as alternatives to a child's family. However, the new policy
introduced by SENAME in 1990 focuses on the
right of the child to the protection
of his comprehensive development, which in this connection is manifested in the
new arrangements
for the supervision of alternative care institutions, including
a more important role for interviews and meetings with the children
concerned.
Problems and complaints raised by children are investigated when some fault
appears to be present, especially with respect
to maltreatment.
314. Please refer to the information given
under guidelines 42 and 43 above.
315. Please refer to the information given under
guidelines 42 and 43 above.
316. There are various initiatives, although they
are fragmented and uncoordinated, including the ones described
below.
317. As already mentioned, a number of training programmes have
been introduced for the personnel of the institutions collaborating
with SENAME
with a view to informing them about the rights of the child and topics connected
with children's psycho-social development.
For more details, see the reply
given under guideline 39.
318. Particular attention must be drawn to the
number of public agencies which took part in the planning, organization and
conduct
of the seminar on the rights of the child held in October 1997 in the
National Congress under the auspices and sponsorship of UNICEF
and with the
participation of a group of "parliamentarians for children". One of the most
striking aspects of this event was the
opportunity given to children to voice
their opinions.
319. One of the most significant publicity activities is
the work done by municipalities through their children's offices, which have
held meetings for children, produced publicity materials, and carried out a
series of measures to garner the opinions of children
at the commune
level.
320. As pointed out in the comments under
guideline 44, the juvenile judges have the option of hearing a child's views,
but as there
is no procedural rule on this point the exercise of this right is
variable in practice. There is no systematic information on this
matter.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
(Articles 7, 8, 13-17, and 37 (a))
A. Name and nationality
(article 7)
321. There are no
changes to the information given in paragraphs 70-71 of the initial
report.
322. The Civil Registry Act
has long been in force in Chile; citizens have thus acquired the habit of
registering new births in the
Civil Register, so that there is no need for any
campaigns to that end. Furthermore, the Civil Registry has offices in most of
the
country's communes.
323. For the
purposes of the identification of a new-born child at the time of registration,
the application must be accompanied by
a birth certificate issued by the doctor
or midwife who attended the birth; this certificate gives all the details of the
birth (date,
place and time) and such details of the baby as weight, sex and
height, as well as the birth method.
324. Once the birth certificate has
been issued, the child is assigned a number which identifies him throughout his
life. This is
the Single National Roll number (RUN number), which later becomes
the child's identity card number.
325. The recently adopted
Filiation Act establishes a set of rules eliminating the categories of child
(legitimate, natural, and simply
illegitimate) officially used in Chile until
very recently. Instead, the Act establishes the full legal equality of the
rights governing
the civil relations of all children with their parents,
regardless of the child's status at birth.
326. The rules on custody
provide that:
(a) The parents jointly, or the surviving father or
mother, are responsible for the personal custody, upbringing and education of
their children;
(b) In the case of a child not conceived or born within
wedlock but acknowledged by one of the parents, the parent who acknowledges
him
bears that responsibility. If neither parent acknowledges the child, custody is
determined by the courts;
(c) If the parents live apart, the mother has
personal custody of the child;
(d) If both parents are physically or
mentally incapacitated, the courts may award custody of the children to another
competent
person or persons. Preference is given to the closest blood
relations, especially to ascendants. In this (summary) procedure the
judge must
hear the children and the parents.
327. On visiting rights the Act
provides that:
(a) A father or mother who does not have personal
custody of the child is not denied the right or exempted from the duty to
maintain
a direct and regular relationship with the child; this right is
exercised with the frequency and freedom agreed with the person having
custody,
or failing that with the persons whom the court deems appropriate for the
child;
(b) This right is suspended or restricted when its exercise is
manifestly harmful to the child's well-being, a fact to be determined
fundamentally by the court.
328. Notwithstanding these rules, it is
necessary to amend the Juvenile Act in its treatment of the option available to
the juvenile
courts to regulate the situation of children lacking custody or in
a situation of "disturbed custody" included in the category of
"children in
material or moral danger" in the Juvenile Act, with respect to whom the court
has to order a protection measure which
may consist of the award of custody to
persons other than the parents.
329. Lastly, the Filiation Act
establishes the principle of the unrestricted investigation of paternity and
maternity, which allows
for all kinds of evidence, including biological evidence
produced by the legal medical service or by a medical laboratory designated
by
the court. The inclusion of this principle is of great importance, for at
present the determination of filiation (except in the
case of children born
within wedlock) depends on the mere will of the person against whom the
application is lodged, i.e. on an admission
of paternity or maternity during the
proceedings, on express recognition in a public or private legal instrument, or
on tacit recognition
through the manifest possession of civil status. The
situation is similar for mothers in the absence of a birth certificate verifying
maternity.
330. This possibility of investigating paternity and maternity
is subject to two limitations:
(a) Although an action may be brought at
any time during the life of the alleged father or mother, once he or she has
died the action
may not be brought against his or her heirs except when the
unrecognized child is born posthumously or his father or mother dies
within 180
days of the birth. These are the only two cases in which the right of
investigation does not end at death, although there
is a subsequent period
during which it may be exercised: three years for the child's legal
representative, counted from the date
on which he attained full legal
capacity;
(b) The search for the biological truth is severely impeded
in the event of assisted reproduction, for the new Act provides that
the father
or mother of a child conceived by methods of assisted reproduction is the man or
woman to whom such methods were applied
(i.e. the couple) and that filiation
established in this way cannot be contested or claimed.
331. Nationality is a right established in article
10 of the Constitution for:
(a) Persons born in Chilean territory, with
certain exceptions;
(b) Children born abroad to a Chilean father or
mother when either is in the service of the Republic;
(c) Children born
abroad to a Chilean father or mother, subject to the sole requirement of taking
up residence in Chile for more
than one year;
(d) Foreigners who obtain
a naturalization card in accordance with the law and expressly renounce their
former nationality; and
(e) Persons awarded discretionary
naturalization by law.
B. Preservation of identity
(Article 8)
332. As stated in paragraph 72 of the initial
report, the preservation of identity is protected by, inter alia, article
17 of the Civil Registry Act, which stipulates that entries may be neither
altered nor amended except by virtue of an enforceable
judgement of a court.
The same Act also specifically identifies those persons who may apply for a new
entry or for an amendment
to an entry.
333. Moreover, under Chilean
legislation the usurpation of another person's name is a punishable
offence.
334. In addition, in the particular case of children's homes and
care institutions a decree of the Ministry of Justice provides
that:
(a) Nationality, name, family relations, personal relations, and
direct contacts with both parents must be preserved by regular
correspondence
and visits;
(b) Children must not suffer arbitrary or illegal
interference in their private lives or correspondence or unlawful attacks on
their
honour or reputation.
C. Freedom of expression
(Article 13)
335. Article 19.12 of the Constitution guarantees
all Chileans, including children, the right to free expression of their opinions
without any prior censorship.
336. Moreover, in the particular case of
children's homes and care institutions a decree of the Ministry of Justice
provides that
children:
(a) May freely express their opinions, which
must be taken into account in the light of their age and
maturity;
(b) May have access to information, especially information
designed to enhance their social, spiritual and moral well-being and
their
physical and mental health. Account must be taken of the language needs of
children belonging to minority groups.
337. Attention must be drawn in
connection with this right to the initiative of the Chamber of Deputies in
deciding to convene the
first Youth Parliament as a way of making contact with
young people and providing them with a space for participation and expression,
as well as encouraging them to take an interest in public affairs, especially in
those connected with the Legislature.
338. On 13 August 1997, by a
decision of its Committee on Internal Affairs, Administration and Regulations,
the Chamber of Deputies
agreed to establish links with the chairmen of the
students' centres in secondary schools throughout the country.
339. The
members of the first Youth Parliament were elected on 29, 30 and 31 October
1997. Four representatives (two titular and
two deputy) were chosen from each
of the 60 electoral districts by a secret ballot of their schoolfellows. It was
decided that these
young parliamentarians would serve for a term of one calendar
year.
340. The first of the two sessions scheduled for the year was held
on 7 and 8 January 1998 and the second on 28 and 29 September.
341. The
delegates to the second Youth Parliament were elected on 30 November 1998; its
first session was scheduled for 8 and 9 January
1999 and was attended by 120
young people. The second session was scheduled for July 1999.
342. The
aims of this initiative are to offer young people a space for participation in
and an encounter with the world of politics,
to introduce secondary students to
the legislative work of deputies, to make members of the Youth Parliament more
aware of Chile's
democratic process, and to prevent any widening of the growing
gap between politics and the people, especially young people.
343. The
Youth Parliament has proved a success and has offered young people an
opportunity to debate the various problems with which
they are concerned, such
as the reform of secondary education and the removal of the existing
inequalities in the education system,
and youth participation, including in
matters connected with the rights and duties of students and with the
opportunities available
to graduates from secondary education. The next session
will discuss such topics as young people's values, the new scenarios of
communication, mental health, the fresh inputs and impacts of the technological
world, and sex and education.
344. The resolutions adopted are reviewed
by the Chamber of Deputies and then transmitted to the relevant governmental
authorities,
where they are studied in order to determine their
viability.
345. The officers of the Youth Parliament carry out a number
of activities during the year in order to follow up the resolutions adopted
at
the sessions; they also take part in various discussion forums.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion
(Article 14)
346. Article 19.6 of the Constitution
provides that all persons shall enjoy the freedom of conscience and expression
and the freedom of all beliefs and to profess any
faith which does not impair
morality, good habits or the public order.
347. In the case of children's
homes and care institutions the Ministry of Justice has established by decree
that children:
(a) Possess the freedom of thought and
conscience;
(b) Possess the freedom to profess their own religion or
belief and to express themselves in their own language.
348. Please refer to paragraphs 346 and 347
above.
E. Freedom of association and peaceful
assembly
(Article 15)
349. Article 19.13 of the Constitution establishes
the right of all persons to meet in public assembly. The freedom of association
is established in article 19.15. However,
children suffer a restriction on
their right of lawful association because the law does not accord them the
capacity to perform civil
acts until the age of 18. But in 1990 the Ministry of
Education issued a regulation allowing secondary students to associate freely
in
the students' centres and other student organizations recognized by the
State.
F. Protection of privacy
(Article 16)
350. The Constitution contains various rules
which constitute the fundamental right of children to live in their families and
the right of family members
to privacy and security. It also establishes the
obligation of the State to respect such rights, stipulating that their
restriction
is permissible only in the cases and pursuant to the procedures
previously established by law and subject to the safeguards of due
process, and
that such restriction may not affect the rights in their essence. These rules
include:
(a) Article 1, which recognizes the family as "the fundamental
nucleus of society" and establishes the obligation of the State to
protect the
family and "promote its consolidation";
(b) Article 19.4, which imposes
on the State the obligation to respect and protect the right of the family to
privacy and dignity.
This means that, although the Constitution does not
explicitly recognize a child's right to be cared for by his parents, it does so
implicitly by regarding the family as "the
fundamental nucleus of society",
establishing the right and the duty of parents to raise their children and
imposing on the State
the obligation of protecting the family and guaranteeing
parents the free exercise of this right;
(c) Article 19.7, which
safeguards the right to personal liberty and the individual security of all
persons. Subparagraph (a) states:
"Everyone has the right to reside and stay in
any place in the Republic, to move from one place to another, and to leave and
enter
its territory, provided that the rules established by law are observed and
no harm is done to other persons". Subparagraph (b) goes
on to state that
"nobody may be deprived of his personal liberty or suffer any restriction
thereof except in the cases and in the
manner determined by the Constitution and
the law".
(d) Article 19.3, which accords to all persons "equal
protection in the exercise of their rights", recognizing the right to
professional
legal defence and the safeguards of due process, and affirming the
principle of nullum crimen sine lege.
351. It can be inferred from
a reading of these provisions that, since all protection measures, and
especially those involving an
interruption of family relations, entail a
violation or at least a restriction of these constitutional rights of children
and their
parents, such measures may be taken only in the cases and
circumstances specified by law, in accordance with a previously established
procedure and subject to due safeguards.
352. There follows a description
of the constitutional provisions which constitute and affirm the right and duty
of the State to protect
the individual and the purposes which the State must
pursue in the exercise of this right and duty.
353. Article 1 states:
"The State is in the service of the human person and its purpose is to promote
the common good, to which end
it must help to create the social conditions to
enable each and every one of the members of the national community to achieve
his
or her highest possible level of spiritual and material
development".
354. This provision is particularly relevant to the topic
under discussion. It means that any action taken by the State to "protect"
children must promote the common good and at the same time guarantee to children
the social conditions to enable them to achieve
their maximum spiritual and
material development. This article reinforces the idea of the family as the
means of ensuring children's
development, for it is in the family that children
achieve their maximum level of spiritual and material
development.[9]
355. This
same article obliges the State to "safeguard the right of persons to participate
in the life of the nation on the basis
of equality of
opportunities".
356. This provision is important for the legal definition
of the child because it implies that the legal system must overcome the
differences inherent in children born in reduced circumstances or in children
who, for reasons beyond their control, find themselves
in such
circumstances.[10]
357. The
next two articles impose on the State the obligation to respect and promote the
rights recognized in the Constitution (without affecting their essence) and, as
a part of the Constitution, the rights recognized in other international human
rights texts:
(a) Article 19.26 ensures for all persons that the rules
which regulate or supplement by constitutional mandate the guarantees
established
in the Constitution, or which limit them in the cases authorized by
the Constitution, shall not affect their rights in their essence or impose
conditions, commitments or requirements that impede the free exercise of
these
rights;
(b) Article 5.2 supplements the preceding article and
recognizes as a limit on the exercise of sovereignty "respect for the essential
rights which emanate from human nature", as well as imposing on the State the
obligation "to respect and promote such rights guaranteed
by this Constitution
and by the international treaties ratified by Chile which are in
force".
358. In the case of children housed in institutions, in article 2
of Decree n°730, which regulates the operation of children's
homes and care
institutions, the Ministry of Justice stipulates that such children must not
suffer any arbitrary or illegal interference
in their private lives or
correspondence or unlawful attacks on their honour or reputation.
G. Access to appropriate information
(Article
17)
- The production and dissemination of children's books, and the
dissemination by the mass media of information and material of social
and
cultural benefit to the child, with particular regard to the linguistic needs of
children belonging to a minority group or who
are indigenous;
359. On
10 July 1993 the Ministry of Education created in its Division of Culture a
national fund for the promotion of books and reading.
The fund's purpose is to
make a substantial improvement in the attitude of Chile's population to reading,
facilitate access to books
and develop the nation's literature and its
publishing industry.
360. The actions undertaken by the fund related to
the topic under discussion include: the distribution to public libraries of
25,000
books by Chilean authors between 1994 and 1997; the purchase of 119,539
copies of books (1,899 titles) by Chilean authors; the implementation
of various
programmes to encourage reading, in which writers, librarians and teachers
participated as monitors; and the holding of
a biannual children's writing
competition designed to encourage creativity and the dissemination of literature
for children.
- International cooperation in the production, exchange and dissemination
of such information and material of social and cultural
benefit for the child,
in accordance with the spirit of article 29 of the Convention on the aims of
education, including any international
agreements concluded for that
purpose;
361. No information.
- The development of appropriate guidelines for the protection of the
child from information and material injurious to his or her
well-being, as well
as from harmful exposure in the mass media.
362. In September 1989
the adoption of Act n°18,838 created the National Television Council, whose
purpose is to ensure the correct
functioning of the television services, both
the open-reception channels and those of limited coverage and access. The
Council is
responsible for supervision and control of the content of broadcasts
on these channels.
363. The Act establishing the Council stipulates that
"correct functioning" means "... permanent respect through their programming
for
the moral and cultural values of the nation, personal dignity, protection of the
family, pluralism, democracy, peace, environmental
protection, and the spiritual
and mental development of children and young people within this system of
values".
364. It must be pointed out that this Act has undergone a number
of amendments since the installation of coalition government in
1990.
365. The Council has issued a series of regulations pursuant to its
constituent Act:
(a) The television services are prohibited from
transmitting any kind of programme containing excessive violence, cruelty or
pornography
or portraying children in acts at variance with morals or good
habits;
(b) Films listed as exclusively for over-18s by the
Cinematographic Classification Board may be broadcast by the television services
only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Trailers or synopses of such films, if
broadcast before 10 p.m., may not show pictures or use language
unsuitable for
children. Warnings must also be screened for programmes transmitted after 10
p.m. which are unsuitable for children;
(c) Tobacco and alcoholic
beverages may be advertised on television only between 10 p.m. and 6
a.m.
366. Lastly, the Act establishes a series of sanctions which may be
imposed on television services which infringe the regulations
contained in the
Act or those adopted by the Council. These sanctions range from warnings to
suspension of broadcasting rights.
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment
(Article 37
(a))
367. The organization of Chile's legislation with
respect to the punishment of this kind of conduct is described
below.
368. Criminal sanctions are available when the conduct
constituting the maltreatment falls within one of the categories of crime
established
in the Criminal Code. The characterization of the crime is the same
for all victims, regardless of age.
369. The main categories are homicide
and special types of homicide (aggravated homicide, infanticide and parricide)
covered by article
390 and subsequent articles of the Criminal Code. Attention
is drawn to the category of infanticide, under which punishment is imposed
on a
father, mother or legitimate or illegitimate ascendant who kills a son or
daughter or other descendant within 48 hours of birth.
370. The
punishments range from five years and one day, as the lower limit for
infanticide and ordinary homicide, up to the death
penalty as the upper limit
for parricide.
371. The Code also characterizes the crimes of castration,
mutilation, and bodily harm; the latter offence is committed by "an act
of
striking, beating or maltreating another person";
372. The penalty
depends on the seriousness of the injury and ranges from a lower limit of
61 days' imprisonment or internal exile
for less serious injury to an upper
limit of 15 years' imprisonment for castration.
373. If the conduct
constituting child abuse does not qualify as a crime, the abuse is punished
simply as child abuse; a distinction
is made between abuse in the family and
outside the family.
374. The child abuse punishable under Act
n°19,325 of 1994 (Family Violence Act), which was published in the
Diario Oficial on 27 August 1997, is known as intra-family child
abuse.
375. This Act punishes any maltreatment which affects the physical
or mental health of a person aged under 18 years when the perpetrator
is an
ascendant, spouse, common-law spouse, adoptive parent, guardian, or blood
relation up to the fourth degree inclusive (brothers
and sisters, uncles and
aunts, cousins) who has the child in his custody or maintenance and lives under
the same roof.
376. Clearly, this definition is so broad that it covers
all conduct not constituting a crime but involving physical violence, bodily
punishment, injury and maltreatment.
377. The Act expressly covers
conduct resulting in slight injury to persons aged under 18 years when the
perpetrator is one of the
persons mentioned above.
378. The breadth of
the concept contained in the Act means that it also covers all forms of mental
violence, deliberate humiliation,
neglect or exploitation to the extent that
such conduct affects the mental health of a child
victim.
379. Intra-family child abuse is punishable by one of the
following means:
(a) Compulsory attendance at certain treatment or
family guidance programmes for a period not exceeding six months;
(b) A
fine equivalent to one to 10 times the offender's daily income, which may be
commuted to performance of community service
with his
agreement;
(c) Imprisonment in any of its degrees (from one to 60
days), which may be commuted to performance of community service with the
offender's agreement.
380. Lastly, August 1994 also saw the publication
of Act n°19,324, which amended the Juvenile Act (n°16,618),
establishing
penalties for other forms of child abuse not covered by specific
laws, known as extra-family child abuse.
381. Following these amendments,
the new article 62 of the Juvenile Act punishes abuse resulting from an act or
omission damaging
the physical or mental health of a minor.
382. Once
again, the definition is so broad that it covers all conduct which does not
constitute a crime but involves physical violence,
bodily punishment, injury and
maltreatment not inflicted by persons indicated in Act n°19,325. This
section also punishes minor
injuries caused by persons not members of the family
of the child victim.
383. The breadth of this concept also means that it
covers forms of mental violence, deliberate humiliation, neglect or exploitation
to the extent that such conduct affects the mental health of the child victim
and is caused by persons not members of the child's
family.
384. This
section thus renders such acts punishable when committed in children's homes or
other kinds of public or private institution,
such as prisons and
schools.
385. Extra-family child abuse may be punished by all or some of
the following measures:
(a) Attendance by the perpetrator at
therapeutic or family counselling programmes. The Act does not specify a term
for this measure,
and its duration is determined by the institution which the
court deems most suitable, for example the National Service for Women,
the
National Service for Minors (SENAPE), the diagnosis centres of the Ministry of
Education, or the community centres for family
mental
health;
(b) Performance of work for the community, municipality or
municipal corporations in the commune of residence similar or related
to the
occupation of the offender, at his express request;
(c) A fine
equivalent to one to 10 times the offender's daily income.
Please
also provide information on:
- Awareness campaigns launched to prevent torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment of children;
386. Since the
creation of the Intersectoral Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse in 1996 a
number of measures have been taken
to make public opinion more aware of this
problem.
387. Attention is drawn in this connection to the campaign for
kind treatment of children carried out in May 1997. This campaign
was
implemented at the national level by the regional committees on prevention of
child abuse through the mass communication media
(press, television, radio) and
notices in public places such the metro, hospitals and shopping
centres.
388. This work was supported by the chief representatives of the
three powers of the State: the President of the Republic, the President
of the
Supreme Court, and the Presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
Well-known public figures also supported the
campaign.
389. Handbooks on
raising public awareness and technical publications for professionals in this
area were produced for this same purpose.
390. The national campaign for
kind treatment of children was carried out during the month of October as part
of the Public Communication
Plan 1998-200 devised by the Intersectoral
Committee; the objectives and strategies are described below.
391. The
strategic objective of the Public Communication Plan 1998-2000 is to enhance
awareness of the kind treatment of children
as an attitude favourable to the
development of a culture of respect for the fundamental human
rights.
392. General aims for the period
1998-2000:
(a) Recognition of children's right to protection as an
individual, family and social responsibility;
(b) Promotion of
children's right to participate in the family and society.
393. Specific
aims for the period 1998-2000:
(a) To identify the rights of the child
contained in the Convention;
(b) To deliver the message that individual
behaviour influences and forms part of a system of personal, family and social
relations;
(c) To identify alternative ways of bringing up and caring
for children designed to satisfy their comprehensive development
needs;
(d) To identify everyday attitudes in public life designed to
secure respect for and proper care of children and young people;
(e) To
underline the importance of listening to and taking into account children's
opinions about decisions affecting them;
(f) To promote the creation
and active use of spaces for the participation of children and young people in
the family and in institutions;
(g) To encourage children and young
people to form organizations based on their own interests;
(h) To
develop in the various institutions dealing with children (health, education,
justice, police, etc.) policies which take
account of their peculiar material,
emotional, social and cultural
needs.
394. Strategies:
(a) Design of audiovisual materials
(handbooks, posters, press articles, radio and television
spots);
(b) Distribution of audiovisual materials at exhibitions and
other public events;
(c) Discussion panels for children with adults and
for adults with the communication media in public and private
institutions;
(d) Training in the needs of child development and in
children's rights for the staff of institutions working with
children;
(e) Involvement of public figures in the delivery of messages
on the specific aims of the campaign;
(f) Use of the press for
publicizing opinions and research on relations based on kind
treatment;
(g) Artistic, cultural, leisure and discussion events to
promote the various manifestations of kind treatment.
The 1998
publicity campaign
395. The 1998 kind-treatment campaign was an
element of the country's democratic development and it therefore had to transmit
a positive
message about the importance of caring for children properly, valuing
them as individuals, and avoiding any stigmatizing of children.
In other words,
the campaign was intended to produce a change of attitude in persons responsible
for the everyday care and upbringing
of children in the sense of prompting
thought and questioning about how aware people are of the quality of the
relations that they
establish with the individuals known as
children.
396. It is impossible to design a publicity campaign without
having a goal of bringing about a change in the target public. Any other
approach is tantamount to disregarding the meaning of such campaigns, whatever
their subject. Another point is the potential scale
of the proposed change, for
a true cultural change cannot be achieved by a publicity campaign.
Nevertheless, such a campaign can
contribute to a questioning of our cultural
being.
397. Specific aims for 1998:
(a) To identify the rights
of the child contained in the Convention;
(b) To deliver the message
that individual behaviour influences and forms part of a system of personal,
family and social relations;
(c) To identify alternative ways of caring
for and bringing up children designed to satisfy their comprehensive development
needs;
(d) To identify everyday attitudes in public life designed to
secure respect for and proper care of children and young
people.
398. This campaign was carried out in the country's 13 regions
and was coordinated by the regional committees for prevention of child
abuse.
- Educative and training activities developed, particularly with
personnel in institutions, services and facilities working with
and for
children, aimed at preventing any form of illtreatment;
399. There
have been several training courses for the staff of SENAME and its collaborating
institutions on topics such as the rights
of the child, child development,
maltreatment and sexual abuse, and rehabilitation of offenders. For more
details, see paragraph
297 above.
400. SENAME has also carried out other
measures in this area:
(a) Production of six
texts:
- Analysis of Chile's existing legislation on child
abuse;
- Public and social policies on children and child
abuse;
- Guide to institutional resources for dealing with child
abuse;
- Social networks as an intervention model;
- A
proposal on care in cases of child abuse;
- Experience of care in
cases of child abuse;
(b) Production of four educational
booklets:
- Detection of child abuse;
- Strategies for
dealing with child abuse;
- Detection of child
abuse;
- Strategies for dealing with child abuse.
Each of these booklets was published in 5,000 copies, which were
distributed to adults having direct contact with children: elementary
teachers,
kindergarten staff, and auxiliaries and other front-line personnel of SENAME and
its collaborating institutions.
(c) Holding of a seminar attended by
international experts on this topic.
401. In addition, the violence and
child abuse programme of the Ministry of Justice has a training component for
professionals belonging
to institutions working with children: staff of
educational establishments and parents' centres, municipal employees,
etc.
- Any cases where children have been victims of any such acts; measures
adopted to prevent the impunity of perpetrators, including
by investigating such
cases and punishing those found responsible.
402. The legislation
providing punishment for the physical maltreatment of children has already been
indicated under guideline 61.
However, there is also an array of protection
measures not intended for the punishment of offenders but focused exclusively on
the
protection of the children involved; these measures are described
below.
Protection measures which may be ordered by the juvenile courts in cases
involving offences against children
403. The Juvenile Act stipulates
that juvenile judges are competent to rule on the future life of a child in a
situation of moral
or material danger. As already pointed out, the Act also
provides that one of the tasks of the Juvenile Police is to pick up any
children
in irregular situations who require assistance or protection. It stipulates
that in such cases the Juvenile Police must
notify the reason for their action
to the children's parents or guardians and proceed to return them. But if a
child has no parents
and appears in manifest need of assistance or protection,
he is brought before a juvenile judge for a ruling.
404. Accordingly, the
Juvenile Police have the option of removing a maltreated child from his home and
bringing him before a juvenile
judge. And since such a child will usually be in
a situation of moral or material danger, the judge may rule on his future
life.
405. Pursuant to the Juvenile Act, when a maltreated child appears
before him a juvenile judge may decide:
(a) To return the child to his
parents or guardians or to other persons in whose custody he was, subject to a
warning (art. 29.1);
(b) Place the child on probation (art.
29.2);
(c) Place the child for whatever period is deemed necessary in
one of the special education establishments indicated in the Act
(art.
29.3);
(d) Place the child in the custody of a suitable person whom the
judge regards as capable of attending to his upbringing, where
he will live in
the family (art. 29.4).
406. The Act also provides that these measures
shall be imposed for a period determined by the judge, who may revoke or modify
them
in the light of the circumstances.
407. As may be seen, juvenile
judges have broad powers. Moreover, as a result of the breadth of the terms of
article 26 of Act n°16,618
the judicial practice has created protection
measures not specified in the Act: for example, supervision by the court's
social worker,
a measure very commonly used in cases of child
abuse.
408. The judge conducts oral proceedings for the application of
these measures, without a formal court hearing, but he must be apprized
of the
facts before making his ruling. Accordingly, from the juridical standpoint the
proceedings are neither regulated or discretional.
409. It should be
mentioned here that the Act provides that in all cases a juvenile judge must
assess the evidence according to equity
(ex aequo et bono); if possible,
he must always hear an adolescent child, and he may hear a pre-adolescent child
if he deems it appropriate. In addition
to the reports which he may request
from social workers, the judge may call for reports from doctors, psychologists,
etc. The article
adds that a child does not require a legal representative for
an appearance before a juvenile judge.
410. Measures ordered by a
juvenile judge may be contested only by the parents or guardians or by a person
who actually has the child
in his custody. The child in question may not
contest such measures. Furthermore, article 30 of the Juvenile Act stipulates
that
when a child is brought in by the Police on the basis of facts not
constituting a crime, ordinary offence or minor offence - for
example a victim
of child abuse - the juvenile judge may, without summoning the child to appear
before him, order one of the measures
mentioned in article 29 as best indicated
by the irregularity in question.
411. This means that not only does the
Act not recognize the child as a legitimate party to the proceedings but also
empowers the
judge to impose a protection measure on him without even summoning
him to appear. The judge must hear an adolescent child "if possible"
and a
pre-adolescent child "if he deems it appropriate"; accordingly, if the judge
decides to order a protection measure for a child
"without summoning the child
to appear before him" what he is doing is deciding that "it is not possible" or
that he "does not deem
it appropriate" to hear the child.
412. The second
paragraph of article 31 makes the situation even worse by empowering the judge,
in specified cases, to authorize the
Technical Board of the children's homes to
apply the measure in question. This means that the Act empowers the judge not
only not
to summon the child to appear but also to delegate the application of
the measure to a third party.
413. In according these powers the juvenile
judges no distinction is made as to the age of the child. The judge may
exercise his
powers with respect both to a one-year-old and to a child of 16 or
17, for the Act makes no distinction.
414. When it comes contesting a
decision of a juvenile judge, article 37 provides that in juvenile cases the
only admissible remedies
are appeal and complaint proceedings, without prejudice
to an application for reconsideration where appropriate. In addition, appeals
are admissible only with respect to final decisions and decisions terminating a
case or making it impossible for it to continue.
415. Accordingly, at
first sight there are three remedies against a decision of a juvenile judge:
reconsideration, complaint, and
appeal. Applications for reconsideration are
treated in general terms and according to the basic principles governing the
case;
the review and assessment are entrusted to the same juvenile judge, as is,
consequently, the decision on reconsideration.
416. According to our
interpretation, the admissibility of complaint proceedings is limited by the
amendments to the Courts Organization
Code introduced by Act n°19,374 of 3
February 1995, which was published in the Diario Oficial on 18 February
1995.
417. Although article 37 of the Juvenile Act admits complaint
proceedings "in juvenile cases", article 545 of the Courts Organization
Code, as
amended by Act n°19,374, states: "The sole purpose of complaint
proceedings is to correct serious errors or abuses
committed in the handing down
of jurisdictional decisions. Such proceedings shall be admissible only when the
error or abuse is
committed in an interlocutory judgment terminating the case or
making its continuation impossible or in a final decision not subject
to any
appeal, either ordinary or extraordinary, without prejudice to the power of the
Supreme Court to act of its own motion in
the exercise of its disciplinary
functions".
418. The limitation on the admissibility of complaint
proceedings is reaffirmed in article 549 of the Courts Organization Code, also
amended by Act n°19,374: once an application for such proceedings has been
made, the registry division of the collegiate court
establishes whether the
decision giving rise to the application is subject to any other remedy. If it
is, the application is declared
inadmissible without further
ado.
419. Thus, the admissibility of complaint proceedings in juvenile
cases requires:
(a) That a jurisdictional decision has been made by a
juvenile judge;
(b) That in handing down this decision the juvenile
judge has committed a serious error or abuse;
(c) That the decision in
question is a final decision or an interlocutory decision terminating the case
or making its continuation
impossible;
(d) That this final or
interlocutory decision is not subject to any other remedy, either ordinary or
extraordinary.
420. As a result of these rules, the possibility of
bringing complaint proceedings against a decision of a juvenile judge is
non-existent,
for final or interlocutory decisions terminating a case or making
its continuation impossible handed down by a juvenile judge are
subject to the
remedy of appeal, which is an ordinary remedy.
421. And since the remedy
of complaint proceedings is inadmissible when an ordinary remedy is available
with respect to the same decision
and likewise inadmissible against decisions
other than final or interlocutory decisions terminating the case or making its
continuation
impossible, the only possible conclusion is that the remedy of
complaint proceedings is not admissible in juvenile cases against
any
decision.
422. There remains the remedy of appeal which, as already
pointed out, is admissible only with respect to final or interlocutory decisions
terminating the case or making its continuation impossible.
423. However,
this rule is difficult to apply in practice since some juvenile judges order
interim protection measures, which may
remain in effect for a long time. Thus,
some courts have adopted the interpretation that, since the protection measure
in question
is an interim one, there is no final decision and the case remains
pending: the decision has not terminated the case or made its
continuation
impossible; therefore the decision is not subject to appeal.
424. There
is no question of playing down the importance of ordering interim protection
measures in good time, for such orders by
definition allow the judge, always
mindful of the best interests of the child, to revoke or modify a protection
measure at any time
if the situation affecting the child changes. However, the
indefinite maintenance of interim measures and the interpretation which
some
courts have attached to the juridical nature of such measures limit the
possibility of appeal to a higher court.
425. To sum up, in cases of
child abuse the juvenile courts have broad powers to rule on the abused child's
fate; there are two possibilities
here.
426. The first is to deal with a
juvenile judge who is diligent and concerned, above all, with the rights of the
child. This judge
will adopt the most timely and appropriate measures without
delay, offering the psycho-social teams every opportunity to do their
work,
seeking not to remove the child from his family, and listening to and heeding
the opinions of the child and his family.
427. Since many of the
country's towns do not have specialized juvenile courts and juvenile cases are
heard by the ordinary courts,
the second possibility is that these courts will
try to deal with juvenile matters rapidly and easily by separating the child
from
his family, thus complicating the work of the psycho-social teams and
institutionalizing and inflicting a further stigma on the child
victim.
Precautionary measures under Act n°19,325 (Family
Violence Act)
428. From the very moment of the receipt of a complaint
or application a judge dealing with a case of child abuse in the family under
the provisions of Act n°19,325 may, on application or of his own motion,
order any kind of precautionary measure to ensure the
child's mental or physical
safety, as well as the peaceful coexistence, economic survival and integrity of
the property of the nuclear
family. These measures
include:
(a) Prohibiting, restricting or limiting the presence of the
offender in the common household;
(b) Ordering the return to the
household of anyone who has been obliged to leave it without
justification;
(c) Authorizing the person concerned to leave the common
household and ordering the immediate surrender of his or her personal
effects;
(d) Prohibiting or limiting the offender's attendance at the
victim's place of work, unless both work in the same
establishment;
(e) Setting maintenance on a provisional basis and
ordering arrangements for the personal care, upbringing and education of minor
members of the nuclear family;
(f) Prohibiting the conclusion of
transactions or contracts relating to certain property of the members of the
family nucleus.
429. These measures are essentially provisional and may
be revoked, expanded, modified or limited at any time.
430. The
provisional nature of precautionary measures is also evident in the limitation
on the competence of the civil courts to rule
on such measures once judicial
proceedings directly connected with the matters covered by the measures have
commenced. This would
happen, for example, in the case of a precautionary
ruling on provisional maintenance by a civil court once maintenance proceedings
had commenced before the competent juvenile court. However, some measures may
coexist with any parallel legal action (for example,
measures limiting the
offender's access to the common household), for although such measures have an
effect on the arrangements for
the child's care the juvenile courts are not
competent to limit an adult's right of free movement in the manner indicated
since their
measures may be applied only to children.
431. The judge may
call upon the assistance of the forces of law and order for the enforcement of
these measures and order powers
of entry and search, as well as imposing fines
not exceeding one monthly tax unit or detention for up to two months, with the
possibility
of reimposing the penalty.
432. The duration of these
measures may not normally exceed 60 working days but they may be extended up to
180 working days on very
serious or urgent grounds.
433. The judge may
order the continuation of the measures for a further period of up to 60 days in
the final decision. However, if
in the meantime an action is begun for child
guardianship or custody, for a final maintenance order, or for divorce or
separation
of property, the court in question has to rule on any precautionary
measures in effect at the time of the commencement of such an
action which are
directly related thereto.
434. Failure to comply with a precautionary
measure is punishable by medium-term ordinary imprisonment in its medium to
maximum degrees,
i.e. from 541 days' to five years'
imprisonment.
Measures which may be ordered by the criminal
courts
435. Two types of measure may be ordered by the criminal
courts in order to protect a child victim of a crime.
436. Firstly, the
court may order any protection measure pursuant to the powers conferred by
article 7 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
which states that the court shall
consider preliminary steps, including "the protection of the injured parties".
Given these broad
powers, the criminal courts have virtually unrestricted means
of protecting a victim.
437. In addition, article 7 of Act n°19,325
states explicitly that the criminal courts may order the same precautionary
measures,
for the same periods and in the same form, as the civil courts,
provided that the offence in question satisfies the requirements
for being
treated as an act of intra-family violence.
438. It is understood that
the criminal courts may order precautionary measures on the same terms as in
cases of intra-family violence,
i.e. measures of an essentially temporary nature
with a maximum duration of 180 working days, subject to the court's lack of
competence
to rule on such measures once an action directly connected with the
same case is commenced.
439. However, in the case of offences
constituting extra-family abuse (for example, a child seriously injured by a
neighbour) the
criminal courts are not competent to order precautionary measures
under Act n°19,325.
- Measures adopted to ensure the physical and psychological recovery and
reintegration of children who have been tortured or otherwise
illtreated;
440. SENAME has established a procedure for specialist
intervention in cases of child abuse and sexual abuse.
441. This work is
done at its National Office under the programme for care and intervention in
cases of child abuse, which has been
in operation since 1993. From that year
until August 1995 the programme was concerned basically with providing legal
services and
socio-therapeutic care for victims of child abuse, which meant
expanding the professional staff of SENAME.
442. Since August 1995 SENAME
has channelled its work in cases of child abuse through its collaborating
institutions since it lacks
the power to create and administer protection
establishments directly, a matter requiring the express authorization of the
Ministry
of Justice; this legal impediment prevents SENAME from implementing its
own projects in the area of child abuse.
443. Given this situation, the
programme for care and intervention in cases of child abuse made an analysis of
its experience, completing
this work in January 1996. In the light of this
analysis it sought to define the bases for passing its accumulated experience on
to the collaborating institutions; this resulted in June 1996 in a first
document entitled "The National Service for Minors and child
abuse: a proposal
for action".
444. It also called in consultants to determine the
potential country-wide demand for the implementation of projects for
intervention
in cases of child abuse.
445. In addition, the programme
developed four specific SENAME-funded projects for specialized intervention in
cases of child abuse
and sexual abuse in the cities of Santiago, Viña de
Mar and Concepción.
446. It is thus apparent that SENAME has given
priority to the implementation of projects to make good the damage suffered by
victims
of child abuse and/or serious sexual abuse; these are open projects,
i.e. they do not link the care for the child victim to placement
in a shelter or
a specialized institution. The specialized institutions carry out
interdisciplinary and integrated activities designed
to cope in one and the same
place with most of the problems affecting the child by means of treatment by
professional care workers
and psychologists and the services of lawyers.
However, emphasis is given to therapeutic care of the child, with both the child
and his family regarded as beneficiaries.
447. It is hoped that the
coverage of this kind of project will be increased over the next few years, but
this will depend on the
resources allocated to SENAME each year in the national
budget.
448. At present SENAME and its collaborating institutions are
implementing a set of psycho-social projects for the prevention and
treatment of
serious and minor child abuse:
(a) Five regional outpatient projects:
three in the metropolitan region, one in region V, and one in region
VIII;
(b) Four projects for support in child-abuse cases in 1998: three
in the metropolitan region and one in region III;
(c) Four projects for
treatment of serious child abuse in 1997: two in the metropolitan region and the
others in regions II and
XI;
(d) Four projects for the treatment of
serious child abuse in 1998: metropolitan region and regions V, IX and
X.
449. Where legal assistance is concerned, SENAME has lawyers in each
of its regional offices to undertake the legal representation
of children and
young people in criminal and protection matters. These professionals also
monitor the criminal actions originally
brought under the SENAME pilot
project.
450. Apart from the objectives already mentioned, the work in
this area is also intended to correct the psychological and social effects
on
children and young people victims of serious or minor child abuse, to provide
legal representation for victims of criminal abuse,
and to strengthen the family
in the protection, care and upbringing of its children.
451. In the
period 1998-2000 SENAME was to have carried out the following
measures:
(a) To produce by the end of 1998 general guidelines on
intervention in cases of serious and minor child abuse;
(b) To
establish by the end of 1999 a project for the treatment of serious child abuse
in every region of the country;
(c) To establish by the end of 1999 a
system for the treatment of child abuse, including projects on serious and minor
abuse;
(d) To produce by the end of 1999 a framework of technical
guidelines on prevention of and intervention in cases of child
abuse;
(e) To provide training in 1998 for the lawyers of the regional
SENAME offices recruited to work on child-abuse cases;
(f) To provide
training in 1999 for the professionals of the directly administered
intra-institutional SENAME centres for abuse
prevention.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE
CARE
(articles. 5; 18,paras. 1-2; 9-11; 19-21; 25; 27, para. 4; and
39)
A. Parental guidance (article 5)
452. "The 1992 population
census counted 3,293,779 individual
households,[11] 2,819,606 of which
consisted of groups containing a primary family
nucleus.[12] This means that 85.6%
of the households recorded consisted of a
family[13] of some kind. The rest
were single-person households (8.3% of the total) and `households without a
family nucleus'. The latter
do not include a primary family nucleus (father
and/or mother, children) but they may contain persons with some other family
relationship
and/or persons without a family relationship with the head of the
household".[14]
453. These
results point to the conclusion that 91.6% of the persons counted in the census
for the whole country were living in families
containing a primary nucleus; it
may therefore be asserted that most members of the country's population live in
a family group.
The remainder live in collective
households.[15]
454. This
heterogeneity of family types is a characteristic of Chilean society (see table
1), but the predominant type is the two-parent
family nucleus with inactive
children and wife (33.2%). This type is followed by the extended two-parent
family, where again the
wife is inactive. Third place, for the whole country,
is occupied by three types of household with virtually the same percentage
weight: the single-parent family nucleus (mostly headed by women); the
two-parent family nucleus with inactive wife; and the single-person
household,
which increased rapidly in number in the period 1982-1992.
455. In all
the regions of the country the commonest type of household is the two-parent
family nucleus with inactive wife.
Table 1
Types of household and family (% of total
households)
Type of household and family
|
%
|
Single-person household
|
8.1
|
Nuclear family with children and active wife
|
8.4
|
Nuclear family with children and inactive wife
|
33.2
|
Nuclear family without children (childless couple)
|
7.7
|
Single-parent nuclear family (single father or mother with children)
|
8.8
|
Extended two-parent family with active wife
|
2.9
|
Extended two-parent family with inactive wife
|
13.5
|
Extended single-parent family
|
7.2
|
Composite family*
|
4.1
|
Household without a family nucleus
|
6.1
|
Total households (3,293,779)
|
100.00
|
Source: "Characteristics and analysis of Chilean families on
the basis of the data of the latest Population and Housing Census 1992", SERNAM,
1995.
* Consisting of a nuclear family or an extended family plus
one non-relative.
456. Attention may be drawn to the following measures
designed to ensure respect for the responsibilities, rights and duties of
parents
or, where applicable, of the members of the extended family or of the
community:
(a) Approval of the Filiation Act by the Congress in
September 1998;
(b) Enactment of the Family Violence Act
(nº 19,325), which was published on 27 August
1995;
(c) Adoption of Act nº19,250 amending the regulations on
individual labour contracts. This Act was published on 30 September
1993. It
provides inter alia for authorization of postnatal leave for working
fathers and mothers, at the mother's choice, in the event of the serious illness
of a child aged under one year. This authorization includes permission not to
go to work and the payment of a benefit equivalent
to full wages with some
deductions. If the mother dies, the authorization passes in full to the father.
It is also granted on these
same terms to a working man or woman, or to his or
her spouse, who has been legally awarded the guardianship or personal custody
of
a child aged under one;
(d) Adoption of the Sunday Holiday Act
(nº 19,482). This Act, published on 3 December 1996, provides
that workers in commerce
or services who cater directly to the public and were
excluded from the scope of the Sunday holiday provisions of the Labour Code
are
entitled to at least one rest day on a Sunday per calendar month, in order to
facilitate the development of family life among
this class of
worker;
(e) Adoption of Act nº 19,505 granting special leave
of absence for workers in the event of the serious illness of their children.
This Act, published on 25 July 1997, provides for absence from work for up to 10
days per calendar year by a working mother (or
the father if both parents work
and the mother elects that he is to exercise this right or if she is absent for
some reason) in the
event that the health of a child aged under 18 years
requires the personal attention of the parents as a result of a serious
accident,
a terminal illness in its final stage, or a serious illness involving
the probable risk of death. The same benefit is accorded to
persons having
custody of a child aged under 18 who is in one of these situations. The Act
envisages various forms of compensation
for the unworked days, which must be
established by common accord between the worker and the employer.
457. Attention is
drawn on this point to the work of the Family Foundation, a private non-profit
institution operating country-wide,
which was established in 1990; its president
is the First Lady of the Republic.
458. The Family Foundation functions
through a network of 13 family centres operating as community homes in seven of
the country's
regions; they have a basic infrastructure for carrying out
individual, group and mass activities. Ever since their creation they
have been
implementing a number of programmes and other measures aimed at the family. In
1997, for example, the following programmes
were in
operation:
(a) Family information and counselling: the general
objective is to provide information and counselling for poor families concerning
their needs and problems and any benefits which they may claim; the centres
provide referrals and introductions to other institutions
if
necessary;
(b) Family training: the general objective is to offer the
families in the centres' target population instruction that will enhance
family
life by facilitating and promoting personal and collective development and
integration;
(c) Family leisure and integration: the purpose is to
create spaces for meeting and participation which facilitate the integration
of
the members of the family with each other and with the community. Leisure
opportunities are also provided for poor families in
the shape of recreational,
sporting and cultural activities. This programme has three subprogrammes:
family leisure, family sports,
and summer in the family.
459. As pointed
out under guideline 36, the collaborating institutions of the National Service
for Minors (SENAME) must concern themselves
with the social integration of
children and young people; particular attention is given to work with the family
in the form of programmes
to improve the performance of the parental role.
SENAME contributes to these activities as far as it can by furnishing
project-support
funds to back up the professional teams of the collaborating
institutions.
460. The effectiveness of this work has been measured up
till now by the indicator of successful separation from the network, which
has
shown a positive trend over recent years. However, it must be stressed that
more systematic action will have to be sustained
over time and provided with
adequate resources and monitoring arrangements if the effectiveness of the work
is to be evaluated more
reliably.
461. As mentioned under guideline 39,
the personnel of the institutions collaborating with SENAME receive training in
various subjects.
In addition, professionals working with or providing services
for children, such as teachers, psychologists, social workers, doctors,
etc.,
take child-development courses as part of their vocational
training.
462. It must also be pointed out that the school system
attaches importance to schools for parents, designed to provide theoretical
instruction in child development.
463. A picture is offered throughout
this report of the various measures adopted by the State in order to ensure
respect for the principles
of the Convention (see chapter III).
464. As
can be seen from previous sections, progress has been achieved in the
implementation of article 5. Most of this progress
has taken the form of the
enactment of legislation, such as the adoption of the Filiation Act, the
amendment of the Individual
Labour Contracts Act, and the adoption of the Act
granting special leave to workers in the event of the serious illness of their
children.
B. Parental responsibilities
(article 18, paras.
1-2)
465. In the case of a
couple married under the joint property regime, both spouses are responsible, in
the language of article 1,740,
paragraph 5, of the Civil Code, for the
"maintenance, upbringing and development of their common
descendants".
466. In the case of a couple married under the separation
of property regime, article 16 of the Civil Code states that "both spouses
must
provide for the needs of their common family to the extent of their capacity";
it is for the courts to set the contributions
if necessary.
467. But
article 228 of the Code states that "if the wife is subject to separation of
property, such expenditure shall be the responsibility
of the husband, with the
wife contributing in the proportion set by the court".
468. The economic
contribution aspects (art. 160) of the principle of joint parental
responsibility for the upbringing and development
of the children are qualified
by the provisions of article 228 and article 1,740, paragraph 5, which tend to
place a heavier burden
on the father than on the mother. In the first instance
this is stated explicitly, and the mother's contribution is apparently relegated
to second place. In the second instance the responsibility rests with the
couple, but the proceeds of employment exercised by the
wife separately from her
husband do not form part of the joint property of the marriage until its
eventual dissolution and provided
that the wife does not renounce her share of
the gains of the marriage.
469. These arguments are somewhat theoretical
in most cases. But the problem does not arise in these terms in the case of
women who
do not work. And for women who do work, whether or not subject to
separation of property, Chile's social and cultural reality shows
that the lack
of an economic contribution by the mother is not a genuine problem. Lastly, the
provision of article 228 is justified
by the fact that a woman's employment is
usually less well remunerated than that of her husband, not to mention the
contribution
- impossible to evaluate but without doubt having an economic
impact - of the wife in the performance of domestic tasks, mostly the
work of
women in Chilean culture.
470. In fact, the principle of the joint
responsibility of the parents for the upbringing and development of their
children is under
greater threat in the event of the parents' de facto
separation, when usually, and in accordance with the legislation, the children
are placed in the mother's custody.
471. The substantive and procedural
regulations on maintenance, in particular Act nº 14,908 establishing
the definitive text
of the Act on abandonment of the family and payment of
maintenance, contain important provisions which, in general terms, have an
impact on the effectiveness of the system for collection of maintenance
payments. These provisions cover interim maintenance orders,
the special
jurisdiction of the juvenile courts, the relative brevity of the proceedings,
the presumption of the economic capacity
of the father or mother to provide the
necessary maintenance for their children, the withholding by court order of a
percentage or
amount of the remuneration of the party paying the maintenance,
the possibility of imposition of enforcement orders, etc. Natural
children are
entitled to contributions by their father and mother to the costs of their
upbringing and education in the same way
as in the case of legitimate but
separated or divorced parents or parents whose marriage has been annulled.
However, it is necessary
in such cases for the natural filiation to be legally
established, and this, as already pointed out, is extremely difficult to achieve
against the will of the parents.
472. Even when the filiation of a simply
illegitimate child is legally established, the law stipulates only a right to
necessary maintenance,
i.e. the essential elements of subsistence. But the
whole situation described here will be changed following the entry into force
of
the Filiation Act in October 1999.
473. Chile has various
public institutions and services providing care for children, including: the
National Kindergarten Board and
the INTEGRA Foundation, both of which run
pre-school care and education programmes; the National School Support and
Scholarships
Board, which provides assistance with maintenance, accommodation
and health care for poor children to enable them to attend school;
and SENAME,
which works with children whose rights have been
infringed.[16]
Information should also be provided on specific measures adopted for children from singleparent families and belonging to the most disadvantaged groups, including those living in extreme poverty.
474. Since 1991 the National Service for Women (SERNAM) has been
operating a programme of support for women heads of poor single-parent
households. The second phase of this programme's implementation began in 1998.
The main aim is to "boost the economic capacity
of women heads of household,
improve the quality of life of the members of the household, and make progress
towards overcoming the
discrimination to which they are subjected". To this
end, emphasis has been given to encouraging the employment and enhancing the
working conditions of the participants by upgrading their skills through
education for work and vocational training. In addition,
a number of measures
have been adopted to tackle the main barriers to the employment of these people
by establishing networks of
child-care institutions and promoting access to
health services and other benefits in the areas of housing, legal assistance,
and
education.[17]
475. Help
was given to 18,000 women between 1991 and 1998. It is hoped that the
programme's second phase will benefit 50,000 women
living below the poverty line
in the period 1998-2001.
476. The Government also provides a number of
cash subsidies, i.e. cash transfers to extremely poor groups:
(a) The
single benefit for children, which consists of economic assistance from the
State for poor mothers, fathers or guardians
having custody of children aged up
to 18 years;
(b) The single benefit for mothers, a cash subsidy from
the State for poor pregnant women;
(c) The single benefit for new-born
children, a cash subsidy from the State for recipients of the mother's benefit
following the
birth of a child.
477. In 1997 851,854 persons
received one of the three forms of the single benefit; the total budgetary
expenditure was 29,697,990
pesos.[18]
478. See also
paragraphs 465 to 476 above.
C. Separation from parents
(article 9)
479. As noted earlier, for
SENAME the separation of a child from his parents by placement in an institution
is a measure of last resort
used only when there is no other care option.
SENAME has therefore tried to give preference to non-institutional care
arrangements.
480. It must be pointed out that the only authority having
competence to order a measure separating a child from his parents is the
courts,
acting in accordance with the procedure established in the Juvenile Act.
481. The earlier legislation remains in force without
amendment. See the initial report.
482. If a child is separated from his parents and if
there is a disagreement between the parents, it is for a juvenile judge to
regulate
the visiting rights of the parent who does not have
custody.
483. The collaborating institutions of SENAME are required to
allow and facilitate contacts between children and their parents unless
there is
a judicial order to the contrary. This led to changes in the existing rules
governing the payment of the SENAME subsidy,
which permitted only four monthly
exeats, usually used by children to visit their families. Children may now
visit their families
as often as necessary and may remain with them for
prolonged periods in order to grow closer to them or in preparation for
permanent
return, without this reducing the subsidy received by the
collaborating institution.
484. Children are also entitled to be visited
by their families in the institution where they are being cared
for.
485. Here again, the aim of the SENAME systems is social
reintegration, with priority given to rejoining the family; the work is proving
successful, for 90% of the children taken into care return to their original
families.
486. The SENAME central information system
provides all necessary information to the parents on the whereabouts of a child
in the
care network once it has been established that there is no objection to
the provision of this information on the part of the relevant
care institution
or regional office.
487. See paragraphs 478 to 486 above.
D. Family reunification
(article 10)
488. There are no specific regulations on this
point. The only relevant regulations refer to the departure of minors from
Chile,
which is subject to the provisions of the Adoptions Act and article 49 of
the Juvenile Act.
489. See paragraph 488 above.
490. This matter is subject to the visiting
arrangements decided by the juvenile judge, who bears in mind the best interests
of the
child in all cases.
491. Before being allowed to leave the country a
minor must have the consent of both parents, if both are alive; if the parents
are
separated for any reason or on any ground, permission to leave must given by
the parent having custody and also requires the consent
of the other parent; if
this latter parent refuses consent without due cause, the permission will be
granted by a juvenile judge.
492. See paragraphs 488 to 491 above.
E. Illicit transfer and non-return
(article 11)
78. Please provide information on:
- The steps taken to prevent and combat the illicit transfer and
non-return of children abroad, including legislative, administrative
or judicial
measures, as well as mechanisms established to monitor such
situations;
- Any bilateral or multilateral agreement on this subject concluded by
the State Party or to which it may have acceded and the impact
they have
had;
493. Detailed replies on these points will be found under
section H below on adoption.
494. Act nº 19,241 of 28 August
1993 amended article 141 of the Criminal Code by increasing the penalties for
the abduction of
children and incorporating the offence of male homosexual rape.
In addition, a new text was substituted for article 142 on kidnapping
or
abduction. Furthermore, on 17 June 1994 the Diario Oficial
published the text of The Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of the International
Abduction of Children. This Convention was adopted
at the fourteenth session of
The Hague Conference on Private International Law and is designed to secure the
immediate return of
children transferred or unlawfully held abroad and the
observance of custody and visiting rights.
- Progress achieved and the difficulties met with in countering such
situations, together with relevant data on the children concerned,
including by
gender, age, national origin, place of residence, family status and relationship
with the perpetrator of the illicit
transfer.
495. There have been
problems with the implementation of The Hague Convention owing to the defective
application by the courts of
the emergency procedures established
therein.
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child
(article
27, para. 4)
- Measures taken to ensure the maintenance of the child in cases where
parents or other persons having financial responsibility for
the child evade the
payment of such maintenance;
- Measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles of the
Convention, namely non-discrimination, the best interests
of the child, respect
for the views of the child and the right to life, survival and development to
the maximum extent;
- The factors and difficulties which may have affected the recovery of
maintenance for the child (for example, lack of birth registration)
or the
enforcement of decisions concerning maintenance obligations;
- The relevant international agreements the State has concluded or to
which it has acceded, as well as any other appropriate arrangement
it has
made;
- Relevant disaggregated data in this area, including by gender, age,
national origin and place of residence of the child and his
or her parents, or
of the persons financially responsible for him or her.
496. The
legislation has not undergone any great change on this point since the initial
report.
497. Chile has not got a centralized and integrated statistical
system in the relevant courts which would permit an analysis by case,
details of
users, etc., for the present report.
G. Children deprived of their family
environment
(article 20)
80. Please indicate the measures adopted to ensure:
- Special protection and assistance to the child who is temporarily or
permanently deprived of his or her family environment or in
whose own best
interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment;
- Alternative care for such a child, specifying the available forms of
such care (inter alia foster placement, kafalah of Islamic law, adoption
or if necessary placement in suitable institutions for the care of the
child);
- That the placement of such a child in suitable institutions will only
be used if really necessary;
- Monitoring of the situation of children placed in alternative
care;
498. These points are dealt with at length throughout the
report, in particular with reference to the work of SENAME, custody, care
and
provision of protection measures. (See paragraphs 277 to 291 above.)
- Respect for the general principles of the Convention, namely
non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect for the
views of
the child and the right to life, survival and development to the maximum
extent.
499. Since 1990 SENAME has been pursuing a new policy based
on the principles of subsidiarity, solidarity and promotion of the rights
of the
child, in accordance with the Convention.
500. See table 2, which shows the
numbers of admissions to the various SENAME systems from 1994 to 1997.
Table 2
Admissions to the care network of the
National Service for Minors
System
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Behaviour correction (day attendance)
|
1,046
|
1,542
|
1,963
|
2,268
|
Foster care
|
708
|
873
|
798
|
889
|
Protection (minor problems - day attendance)
|
106
|
77
|
62
|
55
|
Gendarmería
|
5,396
|
2,625
|
2,787
|
2,977
|
Protection (minor and moderate problems - residential)
|
297
|
206
|
266
|
263
|
Probation
|
1,777
|
1,558
|
1,363
|
1,045
|
Observation/transit/diagnosis
|
11,101
|
5,940
|
3,967
|
4,310
|
Prevention
|
14,184
|
15,715
|
14,764
|
14,267
|
Simple protection
|
7,015
|
6,719
|
7,077
|
7,153
|
Behaviour correction (residential)
|
953
|
1,173
|
1,138
|
1,097
|
Mental treatment (residential)
|
46
|
28
|
77
|
79
|
Mental treatment (day attendance)
|
16
|
31
|
9
|
40
|
Transit/distribution centre
|
-
|
7,440
|
9,901
|
9,919
|
Total
|
42,645
|
43,927
|
44,172
|
44,362
|
Source: SENAME.
(a) Protection
The
following is the distribution by sex in the various modes of protection (simple,
foster care, minor and moderate problems, and
mental treatment):
Distribution by sex in protection systems
Source: SENAME
(b) Behaviour
correction
In the period 1994-1997 admissions for behaviour
correction (residential), probation, and behaviour correction (day) were
distributed
by sex as follows:
Admissions by sex
Source: SENAME.
501. See paragraph 500 above.
H. Adoption
(article 21)
- The authorities which are competent to authorize the adoption of a
child;
- The applicable law and procedures and the pertinent and reliable
information on the basis of which adoption is determined;
- The child's status concerning his or her parents, relatives and legal
guardians necessary for adoption to be considered permissible;
- The involvement of the persons concerned, the circumstances under which
their informed consent is required and necessary counselling
provided, including
to allow for the consideration of the alternatives to and consequences of
adoption, and the extent to which the
participation of the child is ensured and
his or her views are given due weight;
- Existing safeguards to protect the child, including any monitoring
mechanism put in place;
- The effects of adoption on the rights of the child, particularly his or
her civil rights, including the child's identity and the
right of the child to
know his or her biological parents.
502. It will be useful to review
briefly Chile's current adoption legislation:
(a) Act
nº 7,613 of 1943 regulating "contractual" or "traditional" adoption,
which does not entail filiation since only the
status of "adopted child" is
granted; although this type of adoption delivers major benefits, they are not
equivalent to the benefits
enjoyed by a legitimate child, with regard to
inheritance for example;
(b) Act nº 18,703 of 1988, which
addresses three types of adoption:
(i) Full adoption: this is the only means of according the adopted child
the status of legitimate child with all its accompanying
rights; the adoptive
parents must be non-divorced spouses who have been married for a minimum of four
years;
(ii) Simple adoption: this is an assistance measure by means of which
persons, including single persons, undertake to care for
and raise a child only
until the age of majority; its effects are therefore fairly limited;
(iii) Authorization for a child to leave the country for adoption abroad;
the adoption is effected in the applicants' country of
residence in conformity
with the local legislation; its effects are therefore governed by foreign
law.
503. All these types of adoption are effected by judicial order,
except for contractual adoption, which is granted by a public instrument
although it requires the authorization of the competent court. Thus, adoption
is always authorized or granted by a judge, but only
in places having a court
with special jurisdiction over juvenile matters will this judge be a juvenile
judge, and the law states
only that he must verify the benefit which the measure
will bring to the child.
504. However, as explained below, the current
legislation does not provide adequate safeguards of the best interests of a
child requiring
an adoptive family.
505. In fact, the legislation is
limited to regulating the legal procedures for the various types of adoption
without addressing the
preliminary process, which ought to be handled by
specialized teams of psychosocial and legal professionals. These teams should
provide counselling and support for the child's family of origin in order to
ensure that adoption is in fact the correct solution,
as well as making a full
assessment of the applicants in order to ensure that every child goes to a
family which is suitable in terms
of the child's characteristics and
needs.
506. Under Act nº 7,613 the procedure for contractual
adoption requires the agreement of the child and the consent of the parents
or
where appropriate the child's father or mother or legal representative; if such
consent is denied without due cause the competent
court may authorize the
adoption. A further requirement is for the child's ascendant relatives to be
heard, but only the legitimate
ones.
507. For simple adoption the Act
merely requires that the child's parents should be heard, provided that this is
possible.
508. In the case of full adoption and departure from the
country for adoption abroad the Act establishes a procedure under which the
application is notified to the parents, guardians or other persons who can claim
rights with respect to the child, who are given
a time limit for appearing
before the court and stating their views; they may oppose the application. In
any event, it is clear
that the court must verify the facts and circumstances
motivating and justifying the adoption, especially the benefit to the child,
the
details of his state of neglect, and the lack of interest and failure to provide
care on the part of the parents. Unfortunately,
this procedure is carried out
in accordance with the Act only after the presentation of the application for
adoption or for departure
from the country, i.e. when the child is already being
cared for by the applicants in the case of national adoption or his departure
is
already expected if the applicants are foreigners; this may cause conflicts
having serious consequences.
509. Despite the fact that as described
above this procedure would appear to ensure that the adoption is admissible in
the light of
the child's legal situation with respect to his parents and
relations and that the persons who are to surrender him must give their
consent,
this does not always happen in practice, for the failure of the current
legislation to regulate the stage prior to the legal
adoption proceedings has
permitted indiscriminate intervention by individuals in this complicated
procedure, including for purposes
of profit, without adequate preparation. For
example, they frequently provoke the abandonment of the child, even bringing
pressure
to bear for this purpose, or they may simply not give the child up to
the biological mother or where appropriate the father, thus
preventing her or
him from keeping the child. The consequence is that the consent declared before
the court is not the outcome of
the required counselling, during which the
consequences of their decision should have been explained to the
parents.
510. It can also be seen that this situation encourages and
welcomes adoptions in which the applicants, despite satisfying the scant
legal
requirements, do not from the technical standpoint constitute a suitable
alternative family for the child in question, with
the result that his best
interests are damaged.
511. The child's participation in the adoption
proceedings and the consideration of his opinions are not expressly envisaged in
the
adoption legislation, and this point is mentioned only in general terms in
the Juvenile Act (nº 16,618), which is applied as
a residual rule in
adoption proceedings in matters not regulated by specific rules: the Juvenile
Act provides that the judge must
always hear a child aged over 14 and girl aged
over 12, if possible, but should hear younger children only when he deems it
appropriate.
512. With regard to a child's right to his identity, it must
be pointed out that neither in contractual adoption nor in simple adoption
does
the child lose his connection to his family of origin. In fact, in contractual
adoption the child has the option of taking
the name or names of the adoptive
parents, but in simple adoption his name is never changed.
513. In the
case of full adoption, if the connection to the family of origin is broken, the
child's birth certificate is replaced
by a new certificate identifying him as
the legitimate offspring of the adoptive parents. However, the Act provides
that the adopted
person or his legitimate descendants may obtain certified
copies of the adoption papers by judicial order, so that he or they may
discover
the identity of his original relations. The same provision is applicable in
cases of departure from Chile for adoption
abroad.
514. The following
measures have been taken in order to give effect to the adoption provisions
contained in the Convention:
(a) Legislative: the Government has
submitted to the Legislature a bill containing comprehensive amendments to the
current adoption
legislation; it is designed precisely to bring the specific
adoption rules into line with the Convention. This bill, which refers
expressly
to the best interests of the child and seeks to solve the problems described
above and others that come up in practice,
is undergoing the final
constitutional procedure in the Senate of the Republic, although it has not been
handled with the urgency
that it warrants;
(b) Administrative: in view
of the difficulties involved in the application of the existing adoption
legislation SENAME, which is
a public agency reporting to the Ministry of
Justice, has constantly advocated the professionalization of the adoption
process in
order to ensure due counselling and support for the families of
origin of children who may be adopted. SENAME takes charge of the
care of such
children pending the decision on their future and it has developed programmes
for the selection of adoptive parents,
so that suitable alternatives are
available in each case for proposal to the court responsible for the final
decision. There are
also private institutions recognized as collaborators of
SENAME which run adoption programmes in compliance with all the requirements
mentioned above. Regrettably, operating in parallel with these institutions
there are the private individuals referred to earlier,
whose activities severely
distort the system;
(c) Judicial: many of the country's courts,
recognizing the importance and complexity of the adoption process, which
determines
the future of children requiring adoption, accept the collaboration
of formal institutions, such as the ones mentioned above, both
in verifying the
child's situation with regard to his family of origin and in proposing families
which have been previously assessed
as suitable on the basis of technical
criteria and principles. However, sheltered by the gaps and defects in the
current legislation,
other courts do not accept such collaboration and do not
apply adequate safeguards of the child's best interests. It is also worth
drawing attention here to rules emanating from Chile's higher courts instructing
the juvenile courts in connection with the procedure
for departure from the
country; although these rules delay cases unnecessarily, they do constitute
progress when they stipulate that
in considering applications for overseas
adoption the juvenile courts must duly pursue and protect the interests of the
child.
515. SENAME has also created special adoption units in its
regional offices.
- Such a solution is only considered as an alternative means of care for
the child if he or she cannot be placed in a foster or an
adoptive family or
cannot in any suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of
origin;
- The child involved in intercountry adoption enjoys safeguards and
standards equivalent to those existing in the case of national
adoption;
- Placement by intercountry adoption does not result in improper
financial gain for those involved in it;
- Appropriate mechanisms have been established to monitor the situation
of the child, including following his or her placement through
intercountry
adoption, and to ensure that his or her best interests prevail as a paramount
consideration.
516. The current adoption legislation does not address
the right of a child requiring an adoptive family to find it by preference
in
his country of origin, even though this right is established in the Convention
and included in the instructions issued by the
higher courts. The right is
still being infringed today, for the departure abroad of children who could be
adopted in Chile is still
being authorized.
517. Furthermore, since the
adoption of children who leave Chile is effected in the applicants' country of
residence in accordance
with local law, it is not possible under the current
legislation to require that such children enjoy the protection of the same
adoption
safeguards and standards as are in force in Chile. In fact, Chilean
legislation requires only that the applicants certify, by means
of a certificate
issued by the corresponding Chilean consul, that they satisfy the requirements
of their own adoption law, but there
is no indication as to what those
requirements are, and in practice they may be more permissive than the
requirements of Chilean
legislation. As for the child, the only necessity is a
certificate that he satisfies the conditions of the immigration authorities
of
the applicants' country of residence for entry to that country; there is no
stipulation of certification that he meets the requirements
for adoption in that
country.
518. Chilean legislation does not characterize as crimes
trafficking in children or improper financial gain from participation in
proceedings for adoption or departure from the country, with the result that
there are in fact individuals who intermediate in these
procedures, as already
explained, and obtain substantial financial gain.
519. When it comes to
monitoring adopted children, Act nº 18,703 establishes merely that,
once authorization to leave the country
has been granted, it is for the Chilean
consul to see that the adoption is effected in accordance with the procedure
specified in
the local legislation.
520. The measures taken to give
effect to the right of a child requiring an adoptive family to find it by
preference in his country
of origin include:
(a) Legislative: the bill
discussed in paragraphs 502 to 515 above envisages "full intercountry adoption"
effected in Chile and
admissible only when there are no Chilean couples or
foreign couples permanently resident in Chile interested in adopting the child
in question and when the applicants reside in a country with which Chile has
concluded a bilateral or multilateral agreement regulating
such adoption. These
agreements also regulate the monitoring of the child, which is a responsibility
of the Chilean consul, who
may request information on the child's situation from
the local authorities and may even visit him in his home; the foreign
governmental
agency sponsoring the intercountry adoption also has an obligation
to monitor the child for two years. The Chilean bill also characterizes
as a
crime improper financial gain from the delivery of a child for adoption, a
practice which will in any event be eliminated, for
the bill puts an end to the
intermediation of private individuals in the process by stipulating that only
SENAME or private bodies
accredited to SENAME, and therefore subject to
controls, may act in adoption programmes;
(b) Administrative: as
already pointed out, SENAME and its private collaborating institutions have in
fact established programmes
to encourage national adoption in order to meet the
big demand from couples resident in Chile who wish to adopt. In addition,
SENAME
considers intercountry adoption for children who have no possibility of
national adoption owing to their age and/or other characteristics;
for this
purpose it engages in de facto coordination with countries having official
agencies which can guarantee the suitability
of the applicants and the
monitoring of the adopted children;
(c) Judicial: it must be mentioned
here that the instructions referred to above, issued by a resolution of Chile's
higher courts,
expressly specify as one of the grounds for approval in cases of
departure from the country the fact that the child cannot be placed
in a foster
or adoptive family in Chile and cannot be cared for adequately in accordance
with the Convention. Furthermore, the courts
are instructed that they may
authorize a departure for adoption abroad only after they have concluded that it
is impossible to provide
the child with a normal family environment in Chile.
As already mentioned, many courts comply with these instructions by first
exhausting
the possibilities of placing children with families resident in Chile
and then accepting applications from abroad only when national
placement is
impossible. However, other courts, taking advantage of the gaps and defects in
the current legislation, continue to
authorize the departure of children who
could be taken in by Chilean families.
85. Reports should also
indicate:
- Any bilateral or multilateral arrangements or agreements concluded by
the State to promote the objectives of article 21 (for example,
the Hague
Convention of May 1993 on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of
Intercountry Adoption);
521. In 1996 The Hague Convention on
Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption,
signed in 1993, was
submitted to the national Congress for
approval.
522. Furthermore, in 1997 the Inter-American Convention on
Conflict of Laws in Child Adoption, signed at La Paz in 1984, was submitted
to
the Congress for approval.
523. It is thought that neither of these two
Conventions will be approved until the new adoption act is in force. However,
since
the bill in question is fully in conformity with both international
instruments it is expected that, following their promulgation
or approval, the
bill and the conventions will constitute an adequate regulatory framework for
both national and international adoption
and will respect and safeguard the best
interests of the child.
- Within this framework, the measures adopted to ensure that the
placement of a child in another country is carried out by competent
authorities
or organs;
524. As stated above, a child's departure for adoption
abroad must always be authorized by the competent court, which has the support
of SENAME as a supplementary authority; under the current legislation SENAME
must issue a technical report on the appropriateness
or otherwise of the child's
departure from Chile with the applicants. This report takes into account the
likelihood of the child's
adoption in Chile; if that seems impossible and the
child has to be sent abroad, a technical assessment is made of whether the
applicants
constitute the best family option for the child in the light of his
needs and special characteristics. However, this opinion is
not binding on the
court, which has the sovereign right to make the decision. In fact, as
explained, there are some courts which
authorize departure despite information
that Chilean couples with suitable backgrounds are interested in adopting the
child and despite
disqualifying counter-indications about the applicants with
respect to the child.
525. Quite apart from that, the most worrying
aspect is the way in which various intermediaries locate children and offer them
to
foreign couples, even prompting their abandonment, and all of this taking
place before the case is brought before the competent court.
526. The
adoption bill limits intervention in adoption programmes exclusively to SENAME
or other accredited bodies, where there will
be the additional safeguard of the
participation, as representative of the applicant couple, of an official or duly
authorized organ
of their country of residence in accordance with the adoption
agreement concluded with that country. In other words, the whole process
will
be carried through by competent authorities or organs.
527. At present SENAME
deals in fact only with countries which have official authorities or organs,
with the result that the courts
entrust to them the selection of families
resident abroad for children whose future the courts have to decide and who have
no possibility
of being adopted in Chile.
- Relevant disaggregated data on the children involved in intercountry
adoption, including by age, gender, status of the child, situation
of the
child's family of origin and of adoption, as well as country of origin and of
adoption;
528. As already pointed out, under the current legislation
intercountry adoptions are effected abroad without any adequate system
of
monitoring. Furthermore, since many of the applications result from the
intermediation of private individuals, reliable information
about the situation
of the child's family of origin is not always made available.
529. For
this reason the statistics produced by SENAME in the exercise of the functions
entrusted to it under the Act record only
the applications for departure
received (see table 3), which are transmitted to the competent court with the
technical report referred
to earlier; these figures do not match the number of
children whose departure is actually authorized by the various courts.
Table 3
Reports issued for international
adoptions 1988-1997*
Year
|
Number of reports |
1988 (June-Dec.)
|
467
|
1989
|
1,020
|
1990
|
884
|
1991
|
720
|
1992
|
417
|
1993
|
238
|
1994
|
241
|
1995
|
238
|
1996
|
195
|
1997**
|
141
|
* Under Act nº 18,703 (10 May
1998)
** Information up to October 1997
530. An analysis of the
reports issued over the last four years in connection with applications for
departure shows the following
numbers of cases in which SENAME recommended
against the application, for the main countries of destination:
Year
|
Reports issued
|
Unfavourable
|
Main countries of destination
|
1994
|
241
|
116
|
USA, Italy, France
|
1995
|
238
|
111
|
USA, Italy, France
|
1996
|
195
|
80
|
USA, Italy, Spain
|
1997*
|
141
|
31
|
Switzerland, Italy, France
|
* Information up to October 1997
531. Information supplied by
the National Office of Overseas Affairs and International Police, which under
Chilean law must record
the departure from the country of all minors and submit
the list to SENAME, reveals the following picture:
Year
|
Number of children
|
1991
|
514
|
1992
|
360
|
1993
|
174
|
1994
|
202
|
1995
|
193
|
1996
|
165
|
1997
|
106
|
532. The difference between the number of reports issued and the number
of children who actually left the country is due to the fact
that many
departures occur despite a recommendation to the contrary.
- Progress achieved in the implementation of article 21, difficulties
encountered and targets set for the future.
533. It may be asserted
by way of conclusion that an awareness has been created of the importance of
adoption as the best option for
a child who has been abandoned or whose parents
are incapable of attending to his upbringing. In addition, encouragement has
been
given to intervention by professionals specializing in this area, who can
provide all the actors in the process with the necessary
counselling and care
with a view to putting all the background information before the court which
will decide the case. National
adoption has also been encouraged in order to
give effect to the right of a child requiring a family to find it in his country
of
origin, with recourse to intercountry adoption only when unavoidable and
subject to the necessary safeguards of the child's best
interests.
534. All of this was made possible by the programmes of SENAME
and its collaborating private institutions and by the publicity given
to the
subject.
535. The biggest obstacle in the process is the defective
legislation governing adoptions in Chile, legislation which continues to
provide
a shelter for infringement of the rights established in article 21 of the
Convention despite the fact that the Convention
has been promulgated as a law of
the Republic having, moreover, constitutional status.
536. For these
reasons the main objectives will remain, firstly, to secure the early enactment
of the adoptions bill, which will bring
the legislation up to date and into line
with the principles and safeguards contained in the Convention, and then to
secure approval
of other international instruments such as The Hague Convention,
in order to equip Chile with legislation providing comprehensive
protection for
children requiring adoption and ensuring that their best interests are indeed
the paramount consideration for the
authorities and organs involved in the
adoption process.
I. Periodic review of placement
(article 25)
537. The current juvenile legislation does not
establish the obligation to review the measures ordered by the courts, so that
in most
cases once a measure has been ordered it is not subject to court review.
Nevertheless, since 1990 one of the SENAME care policies
has been to advocate
most strongly that care orders should be only temporary, especially in the case
of placement in an institution,
and should be backed up by work with the
families concerned.
538. This policy has compelled the institutions to
incorporate the review of placements and monitoring of their duration in the
routine
procedures; this approach has been reinforced by the encouragement given
by SENAME to the periodic examination of children in institutions,
a matter
receiving direct attention from the technical supervisors in each
region.
539. This work has the concrete and indispensable support of the
SENAME data base, which provides information about length of stay
in
institutions and identifies those institutions in critical situations requiring
the attention of the regional offices and technical
supervisors.
540. But
even this is not enough, for the current legal regulations on subsidies contain
no provisions as to suitable lengths of stay
in connection with the disbursement
of funds, nor do they address the possibility of sanctioning an institution
which does not release
a child when it can or does not work with early release
in mind.
87. Information should be provided inter alia
on:
- The authorities considered competent for such purposes, including any
appropriate independent mechanism established;
541. The competent
authorities are the juvenile courts in judicial matters, SENAME in
administrative matters, and the institutions
collaborating with SENAME in the
work described above. (For more details see paragraphs 277 to 191.)
- The circumstances taken into account in deciding on the placement of
the child for his or her care, protection and treatment;
542. The
circumstances determining placement are regulated by the Juvenile Act. This Act
permits the application of a placement order
when the child is in a situation of
moral or material danger or in other undesirable situations resulting from the
incapacity of
the parents or the commission of a crime.
543. The
regulations are stricter in administrative matters, establishing admission
requirements for the assistance systems and definitions
of the subject of care,
but these requirements are not based on the current Juvenile Act.
- The frequency of review of the placement and treatment
provided;
544. As mentioned above, there are no legal regulations on
review; all that exists at present is the SENAME technical policies regarding
the temporary nature of placement measures and the need to work for early
release.
- The respect ensured to the provisions and principles of the Convention,
including non-discrimination, the best interests of the
child and respect for
the views of the child;
545. As already pointed out, these principles
were introduced by Justice Ministry Decree nº 730 of 1996, which
regulates children's
homes and care institutions. (See chapter III of this
report.)
- Relevant data on the children concerned, including in situations of
abandonment, disability and asylum seeking and refugees, including
unaccompanied
children, and in situations of conflict with the law, disaggregated inter
alia by age, gender, national, ethnic and social origin, family situation
and place of residence, as well as by duration of placement
and frequency of its
review;
546. See paragraph 500 above.
J. Abuse and neglect (article 19), including physical and
psychological recovery
and social reintegration (article 39)
- Whether legislation (criminal and/or family law) includes a prohibition of all forms of physical and mental violence, including corporal punishment, deliberate humiliation, injury, abuse, neglect or exploitation, inter alia within the family, in foster and other forms of care, and in public or private institutions, such as penal institutions and schools;
547. See paragraphs 367 to 451 above.
- Other existing legal safeguards relevant to the protection of the child
as required by article 19;
548. See paragraphs 367 to 451
above.
- Whether complaint procedures have been foreseen and the child can lodge
complaints, either directly or through a representative,
as well as remedies
available (for example, compensation);
549. There are no provisions
on special procedures but only the general procedures applicable to children
victims of maltreatment.
550. Since in Chile the concept of complaint
implies the reporting to the police or the courts of the occurrence or
commission of
an act, in this case an act constituting maltreatment, the
following distinctions must be made:
(a) In criminal cases, although
they are few in number, there is no conceptual or material impediment preventing
a child from reporting
an offence of which he is the victim. Since all members
of the police have a duty to report to the courts any offences brought to
their
attention in their official capacity, it is sufficient for the child to approach
any police officer for action to be taken
on the complaint;
(b) Again
in criminal cases, rape gives rise to the most unsatisfactory situation in that
article 19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
provides that no official
proceedings may be brought in cases of rape unless a complaint has been lodged
by the victim, her parents,
grandparents or guardians or other persons
responsible for her care or maintenance. The result is that unless a complaint
is lodged
in this way no judicial action for rape may be brought against the
perpetrator, even when the facts of his act and his responsibility
for it are
public knowledge;
(c) Similarly, in cases of intra-family violence
there is no impediment preventing a child victim from making a complaint, since
the police have a duty to report to the competent court any complaints of
intra-family violence received and since proceedings in
such cases may be
initiated by "complaint or application";
(d) The situation is the same
in cases of extra-family maltreatment of children; the rule punishing such
maltreatment is contained
in the Juvenile Act, article 31 of which states that
"a court may exercise the powers conferred by this Act at the request of the
Juvenile Police, of a body or organ providing care for children, of any person,
or even of its own motion". Thus "any person", including
a child, may request a
juvenile court to exercise its powers;
(e) The same rule applies to the
initiation of protection procedures, which are also regulated by the Juvenile
Act and likewise
subject to article 31 thereof.
- The procedures developed for intervention by the authorities in cases
where the child requires protection from any form of violence,
abuse or
negligence, as required by article 19;
551. See paragraphs 367 to 451
above.
- The educational and other measures adopted to promote positive and
non-violent forms of discipline, care and treatment of the
child;
552. See paragraphs 367 to 451 above.
- Any information and awareness-raising campaigns to prevent situations
of violence, abuse or negligence and to strengthen the system
for the child's
protection;
553. See paragraphs 367 to 451 above.
Any mechanisms established to monitor the extent of the forms of
violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation
considered by
article 19, including within the family, in institutional or other care, of a
welfare, educational or penal nature,
and the social and other factors
contributing thereto, as well as any evaluation made of the effectiveness of the
measures adopted;
in this regard Disaggregated data should be provided on the
children concerned, including by age, gender, family situation, rural/urban,
social and ethnic origin.
554. See paragraphs 367 to 451
above.
- Effective procedures developed for the establishment of social
programmes to provide necessary support for the child and those
who have the
care of the child, including rehabilitation mechanisms;
555. See
paragraphs 367 to 451 above.
- Any other forms of prevention;
556. See paragraphs 367 to
451 above.
- Effective measures adopted for the identification, reporting, referral,
investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of
maltreatment covered by
article 19, as well as for judicial involvement;
557. The question of
the effectiveness of the measures adopted for identification, referral,
investigation and judicial action falls
rather within the scope of the
discussion of Acts Nos. 19,324 and 19,325, promulgated in 1994.
558. It
is still too early for any evaluation of the effectiveness of the measures
adopted for treatment and follow-up of cases in
the projects implemented by
SENAME, for the special projects based on the model developed under the
programme for care and intervention
in cases of maltreatment of children came
into operation as recently as November 1997.
- The existence of any system of mandatory reporting for professional
groups working with and for children (for example teachers,
medical
doctors);
559. With regard to the mandatory requirement for various
groups of professionals or other persons to report certain facts to the
police
or the courts (complaints procedure), all public officials have an obligation to
report acts constituting offences which come
to their notice in the exercise of
their functions.
560. The personnel of the health systems (doctors,
nurses, midwives, etc.) also have a duty to report any signs of injury found on
persons attending any hospital facility in the country. All members of the
police have the same duty.
561. Pursuant to article 66.1 of Act
nº 16,618, the same persons who have a duty to report maltreatment
offences are likewise
obliged to report cases of maltreatment which do not
constitute offences.
562. This obligation also extends to teachers and
other persons responsible for the education of children.
- The existence of confidential help lines, advice or counselling for child victims of violence, abuse or neglect or any other form considered by article 19;
563. There is currently a telephone line known as "Fono al habla"
operated by the non-governmental organization ACHNU; the purpose is to counsel,
reassure and refer callers. This line is intended
especially for
children.
564. There is also the programme on intra-family violence and
child abuse of the Ministry of Justice which, in conjunction with the
Carabineros, the criminal investigation police, the regional governments and the
Telecommunications Corporation of Chile, introduced
in 1995 in the Metropolitan
region, under this programme, a help line (800 220040) to inform the public
about Act nº 19,325
on intra-family violence and Act
nº 19,324 on child abuse. With the support of the institutions
mentioned above, this service
has been available seven days a week and 24 hours
a day.
565. The 800-line programme has been expanding ever since its
creation to cover almost all the regions of the country; it has also
increased
the scope of its objectives.
566. The programme is currently operating in
regions I to IX and XI, as well as in the Metropolitan region.
567. The
following are the programme's objectives:
(a) To disseminate
information about Acts 19,325 and 19,324;
(b) To receive complaints of
intra-family violence and child abuse and to refer them to the organs and
institutions constituting
the support network (NGOs, State agencies, voluntary
organizations);
(c) To augment the impact of measures to prevent child
abuse by creating community monitors.
- The special training provided for relevant professionals. (See also
paragraphs 268 to 271 above.)
568. As pointed out earlier,
SENAME has established training courses on this subject for members of its
collaborating institutions.
The SENAME child abuse programme has produced
general technical guidelines for the operation of programmes for dealing with
child
abuse, which must be observed in the projects funded by SENAME. For
further details see paragraphs 367 to 451 above.
569. See
paragraphs 367 to 451 above.
570. See paragraphs 501 to 569 above.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
(articles 6;
18, para. 3; 23; 24; 26; 27, paras. 1-3)
A. Disabled
children
(article 23)
- The situation of the mentally or physically disabled child and the
measures taken to ensure:
. The child's enjoyment of his or her rights without discrimination of
any kind and the prevention and elimination of discriminatory
attitudes against
him or her;
. The promotion of the child's active participation in the community;
. The child's effective access to education, training, health care and
rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation
opportunities
in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social
integration and individual development,
including his or her cultural and
spiritual development;
. The consideration given to the inclusion of disabled children together
with children without disabilities in institutions, services
and facilities,
including within the education system;
. The child's right to special care and the steps taken to ensure the
extension, subject to available resources, to the eligible
child and those
responsible for his or her care, of assistance appropriate to the child's
condition and to the circumstances of the
parents or others caring for the
child;
. That, whenever possible, assistance is provided free of charge, taking
into account the financial resources of the parents or
others caring for the
child;
- The measures taken to ensure an effective evaluation of the situation
of disabled children, including the development of a system
of
identification and tracking of disabled children, the establishment of any
appropriate monitoring mechanism, the assessment of
progress and of
difficulties encountered, as well as any targets set for the future;
- The measures taken to ensure adequate training, including specialized
training, for those responsible for the care of disabled
children, including at
the family and community levels and within relevant institutions;
- The measures taken to promote, in the spirit of international
cooperation, the exchange of appropriate information in the field
of preventive
health care and of the medical, psychological and functional treatment of
disabled children, including dissemination
of and access to information
concerning methods of rehabilitation, education and vocational services. An
indication should be given
of the measures taken with the aim of enabling States
Parties to the Convention to improve their capabilities and skills and to widen
their experience in these areas, and the consideration given to the particular
needs of developing countries;
- The children concerned, including by type of disability, the coverage of the assistance provided, programmes and services made available, including in the fields of education, training, care, rehabilitation, employment and recreation, the financial and other resources allocated, and other relevant information, disaggregated inter alia by gender, age, rural/urban area, and social and ethnic origin.
571. Since 1990 social integration has been the central concept of the
organization of the work done by Chile's Governments to help
the disabled. This
is a complex process to which contributions must be made by all the organs of
the State, all the institutions
of civil society, and each and every
citizen.
572. There are three big tasks from which stems a vast range of
targets and commitments requiring support from all sides: prevention
of
disabilities, rehabilitation of disabled persons, and delivery of equal
opportunities.
573. In the light of these tasks, on 14 January 1994 the
Government promulgated Act nº 19,284 on the full social integration
of
persons with disabilities; this Act was an extremely important milestone in the
history of social policy in Chile, not only because
of its content but also
because it created the National Disability Fund, a juridical person in public
law enjoying autonomy and full
capacity for procurement, exercising rights and
contracting obligations for the benefit of disabled persons. The Fund is linked
to the State through MIDEPLAN.
574. Article 1 of Act nº 19,284
states: "The provisions of the present Act are intended to establish the form
and conditions
for the full integration of persons with disabilities in society
and to ensure the full exercise of the rights accorded to all persons
by the
Constitution and the law".
575. According to the latest socio-economic
survey in 1996, which included for the first time a module designed to collect
information
about persons affected by a disability, Chile has 130,980 disabled
children. The distribution by type of disability is shown in
table 4.
Table 4
Disabled population aged 18 years and
under
Disability |
Number
|
Percentage
|
Hearing
|
24,905
|
19.0
|
Speech
|
19,825
|
15.1
|
Sight
|
27,921
|
21.3
|
Mental
|
30,234
|
23.1
|
Physical
|
15,478
|
11.8
|
Psychic causes
|
9,891
|
7.6
|
No information
|
2,726
|
2.1
|
Total
|
130,980
|
100.0
|
Source: MIDEPLAN, Department of Social Information,
CASEN survey 1996.
576. While it is true that Act nº 19,284
addresses the disabled in general, many of its provisions relate to matters
directly
connected with disabled children and their
rights.
577. Attention is drawn in this context to the programmes
described below concerned with prevention, rehabilitation and provision
of equal
opportunities, which the various public-sector services are carrying
out.
578. Where health is concerned, the Ministry of Health has been
playing a permanent role in the design and management of health policies
for the
disabled, for in addition to diagnosing and evaluating disabilities it is
responsible for programming, evaluating and implementing
measures to prevent the
causes of the deficiencies which give rise to disabilities as well as measures
to prevent the worsening of
disabilities or their development into other
problems.
579. The prevention work is done through the basic programmes
and units by promoting health and preventing and diagnosing incapacitating
diseases at the primary-care level. The following are some examples of these
programmes:
- Monitoring of healthy
children
- Immunizations
- Detection of metabolic defects in
new-born babies
- Stimulation of psychomotor development
(children)
- Monitoring of nutrition (mothers and
children)
- Special monitoring of groups at high medical, social and
environmental risk
- Monitoring of pregnancies
- Professional
attendance at childbirth
- Responsible parenthood
- Genetic
counselling
- Promotion of mental health
- Prevention of
alcoholism and drug addiction
- Special training in mental health for
primary-health teams
580. Where rehabilitation is concerned, attention is
drawn to the programmes of the rehabilitation and mental health units and to
the
activities carried out under the basic health programmes and the grass-roots
rehabilitation strategy. The following are the
existing programmes for
children:
- Improvement of the physical medicine and rehabilitation
services
- Agreement with Pro-Ayuda al Niño Limitado (for
under-18s)
- Physical rehabilitation and social
reintegration
- Fund for agreements with residential
institutions
- Community mental health centres
581. The education
services, like the health services, have been addressing the topic of disability
throughout the last eight decades.
However, it was not until 1976 that they
established for the first time in Chile, for pupils with mental or learning
disabilities,
a standard curriculum for special education schools in which a
multi-occupation workshop was included as the last course.
582. Since
1980 the Ministry has been approving curricula and programmes of special studies
for any school requesting them.
583. In 1990 it issued new decrees on the
curricula and programmes for the various disabilities, some of which include
work training
within a school's general activities. One particularly important
move was the issue in 1990 of Decree nº 490 on the integration
in the
education system of children affected by any type of disability. The most
pertinent point in this Decree is that schools
which decide formally to address
the question of integration must sign an agreement with the Ministry
establishing clearly how the
school is going to proceed in this matter, what
adjustments will have to be made in its curricula, and the forms of assessment
to
which the pupils will be subjected.
584. Schools accept the
integration approach voluntarily, and those which do so receive a special grant
from the Ministry.
585. The following are some of the integration
measures and programmes:
(a) Establishment of a schools security unit
in the Ministry;
(b) Agreement with Pro-Ayuda al Niño Limitado
on the transfer of special funds to this institution;
(c) Grants
programme for special-education schools;
(d) Support for groups of
disabled pupils to contribute to the funding of their general basic education
(integrated disabled children
and children with specific learning
disabilities);
(e) School health programme for the identification of
children with disabilities, assessment of the disabilities, and provision
of
technical assistance if necessary;
(f) The MECE programme on
improvement of the quality and equity of education in general. The basic
education component includes
the creation of integrated-education workshops and
financing for projects to improve the education provided in special
schools;
(g) The INTEGRA Foundation has a care centre for disabled
children;
(h) The National Kindergarten Board is carrying out an
integrated-education programme in kindergartens.
586. Where employment is
concerned, up the beginning of the present decade the most significant efforts
made for disabled persons
by the Ministry of Labour were centred on the
Insurance Standards Institute and the payment of subsidies and pensions.
However,
new measures for the disabled were adopted in 1990, when the topic of
disability was incorporated in Chile's social policies and
a multisectoral
approach was introduced. One such measure was the payment by the Institute of
subsidies and pensions under Decree
Law nº 869 of 1979. It pays
monthly pensions to disabled persons aged over 18 years and to persons with
physical or mental
disabilities from poor families regardless of their
age.
587. The Department of Sports and Recreation has two programmes for
the disabled:
(a) "Sports track for the disabled": a national programme
implemented at the regional level;
(b) Subprogramme of support for
special education: approval of projects submitted by special
schools.
588. Furthermore, even when MIDEPLAN does not participate as
executing agency for programmes for the disabled it still plays a role
through
the provision of financial support for specific measures or through agreements
with other institutions and agencies. These
include:
(a) An awareness
campaign on the topic of disability and the publicising of Act
nº 19,284 and its regulations;
(b) The FONADIS
programme:
(i) Technical support
programme;
(ii) Scholarships for study in vocational-education
technical schools;
(iii) Workshop projects;
(iv) Special
projects.
589. The Ministry of Justice acts mainly through two
programmes/agencies:
(a) Subsidies for disabled children housed in
SENAME institutions;
(b) Establishment and maintenance of the National
Disability Register created by Act nº 19,284 in 1994.
590. Four
systems of assistance are available for children with mental defects receiving
care in the SENAME network for reasons of
social risk or problems with the
exercise of guardianship: residential care for slight and moderate disabilities;
psychiatric rehabilitation
for severe and profound disabilities; day care for
slight and moderate disabilities; and day care for psychiatric rehabilitation.
These systems provide comprehensive care exclusively for children with these
disabilities, who often suffer the double discrimination
of mental disability
and social risk - a big obstacle to the social integration which must be the aim
of any programme of this kind.
591. In view of the harmful consequences
of these problems, the subsidies bill, which is intended to replace the current
Decree-law
nº 1,385 on the transfer of funds to collaborating
institutions, incorporates the principles of integration and normal treatment,
especially for children and young people with the disabilities mentioned above.
The plan is to place these mentally disabled persons
together with normal
children (except in the case of profound mental deficiency) when they require
technical treatment to overcome
social and family problems resulting from their
condition, always bearing in mind their particular needs but without subjecting
them
to any restrictive measures.
592. This treatment is of course
provided free of charge since this is a social programme for children with
special needs.
593. With regard to the measures taken to ensure an
effective evaluation of the situation of mentally disabled children, including
a
system of identification and tracking, SENAME has both residential and
out-patient diagnosis centres which make the necessary evaluations
for referral
to specialized facilities. Attention may be drawn here to the establishment in
the Metropolitan region of an out-patient
diagnosis unit specializing in mental
disability, which is funded by SENAME and run by the COANIL collaborating
institution. However,
there are no regular arrangements for the systematic
assessment of the application of this measure.
594. Where the
identification and tracking system is concerned, all the children in the
network, including the disabled children,
have an admission card showing their
general and specific history, which is entered in the SENAME data base, thus
facilitating the
identification of the children concerned, the tracking of their
progress in the system, and the retrieval of information about their
condition
on release, the place of release and the persons taking over responsibility for
them.
595. All the care establishments are supervised by the SENAME
regional offices, which are also responsible for evaluation and monitoring
of
the collaborating institutions managing the establishments in
question.
596. Training in the care of mentally disabled children is
provided under the regional programmes funded by SENAME, which are attended
by
personnel from all the collaborating institutions, depending on the needs of the
assistance network. The institutions also run
their own training
programmes.
597. With respect to the measures taken by SENAME to promote
the exchange of information on this subject, there is a focal point connected
to
a Latin American information system designed specifically for the exchange of
knowledge about various matters related to children,
including mental
disability. In addition, SENAME regularly organizes meetings for exchanges
among professionals as part of its effort
to improve the conditions of the
release and social integration of the children treated in the
network.
598. The following table shows the coverage of the SENAME
services for mentally disabled children.
System
|
Places
|
Units
|
Slight and moderate disability (residential)
|
1,113
|
22
|
Psychiatric rehabilitation (residential)
|
836
|
7
|
Psychiatric rehabilitation (day)
|
102
|
3
|
Slight and moderate disability (day)
|
135
|
3
|
Total
|
2,186
|
35
|
599. The following table shows the cost in 1996 of the subsidized places
in the various systems treating mental disability.
System
|
Agreed amount 1996 |
Slight and moderate disability (residential)
|
968,281,828
|
Psychiatric rehabilitation (residential)
|
706,319,639
|
Slight and moderate disability (day)
|
33,894,877
|
Psychiatric rehabilitation (day)
|
63,365,388
|
Foster care
|
24,752,736
|
Total
|
1,796,614,468
|
600. To this must be added the contribution of the support programme,
which has helped to finance a number of projects designed to
increase and duly
promote the social integration of these disabled children in the family. Such
projects have been executed in regions
V, VI and VII and in the Metropolitan
region; the emphasis has been on children and young people both in the family
and in the community
environment. In 1996 these projects received an allocation
of 135,942,556 pesos.
B. Health and health services
(article 24)
93. Please indicate the measures adopted pursuant to articles 6 and
24:
- To recognize and ensure the right of the child to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of health and to facilities
for treatment and
rehabilitation;
- To ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to
such health care services;
- To ensure respect for the general principles of the Convention, namely
non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect
for the views of
the child and the right to life, and survival and development to the maximum
extent possible.
601. Chile has a mixed health system, in which the
public sector is responsible for most of the preventive and environmental
measures
and for the medical care of about 70% of the total
population.
602. The year 1952 saw the creation of the National Health
Service by the merger of the medical services provided by social insurance
and
public charities at that date. In 1978 the National Health Service was
decentralized into 27 independent services operating
technically under the
Health Ministry and responsible for providing health care to the people. Two
new such services were recently
created, making a total of 29 for the whole
country.
603. The activities of the National System of Health Services
are grouped into five main programmes by type of recipient: children,
from birth
to age nine; adolescents, from age 10 to 19; women's health, which is concerned
with maternal and reproductive health;
adults and the elderly, covering persons
aged 15 and older; and the dental programme, which covers the whole population.
In 1995
the Health System possessed for the operation of these programmes 189
hospitals of various sizes, 121 specialized consultation units
attached to big
hospitals, 376 general urban and rural consultation units, and 1,822 rural
health posts.
604. Attention must be drawn to one peculiar feature of
Chile's Health System: its emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention
measures, which developed historically around the maternal and child programmes.
Nurses and midwives play a fundamental role in the
implementation of these
measures.
605. Every one of the programme activities is designed for
implementation within the framework of the concept of the health team and
continuous care. For example, the antenatal and puerperal checks, the
monitoring of children's health, the expanded programme on
immunization,
responsible parenthood, cervical cancer screening, and the supplementary food
programme are closely coordinated with
each other. This arrangement encourages
people to request the services available under the programmes, which
consequently produce
the desired effect.
606. It should also be mentioned
that about 20 years ago the concept of allocation of resources according to risk
factors was introduced
into the maternal and child programmes; this facilitated
proper development of the care strategies and delivered a better yield from
the
resources.
607. During the 1980s the public health sector was affected by
severe spending constraints, especially on investment, with a resulting
build-up
of various kinds of problem which threatened to halt the downward trend in the
mortality and morbidity rates. These constraints
had their heaviest impact on
the tertiary level, affecting the quality of the professional care of mothers
and children, especially
in the big urban areas.
608. The child health
programme gives priority to promotional and preventive work, with emphasis on
the monitoring of growth and biological,
psychological and social development
with a view to improving the quality of life of children and their families.
The following
are the basic strategies of this
programme:
(a) Encouragement of the effective participation of the
community in the care of its health, with maximum efforts made to project
the
health services outwards into the community;
(b) Education of the
family and civic organizations, for they are ultimately the only means of
satisfying children's biological
and psychosocial needs.
609. See paragraphs 610 to 716
below.
95. Please also provide information on the measures undertaken
in particular:
- To diminish infant and child mortality, indicating the average rates
and providing relevant disaggregated data, including by gender,
age, region,
rural/urban area, ethnic and social origin.
610. Infant mortality is
one of the most significant indicators of the state of the population's health.
In Chile, this indicator
has shown a constant downtrend over recent decades. In
1950, 136 out of every 1,000 children died before completing the first year
of
life; by 1970 the rate had fallen to 79 per 1,000 live births, by 1990 to
17 per 1,000, and by 1996 to 11.1 per 1,000. This trend
has many different
causes, connected on the one hand with the work of the health sector and on the
other with demographic changes
and the influence of the other social and
economic sectors.
611. Late infant mortality has declined more sharply
than neonatal mortality. The current (1996) rate of 4.9 per 1,000 still shows
a
high proportion of preventible causes such as, for instance, acute respiratory
infections and accidents.
612. Mortality among children aged one to four
years fell sharply in the past decade. In 1989 there were 991 deaths in this
age group,
or a rate of 0,85 per 1,000; the 1996 rate was 0.48 per 1,000, with a
total of 566 deaths. The main cause of death in this age group
was
accidents.
613. Neonatal mortality accounts for 57% of deaths among
children aged under one year. About 80% of deaths among children aged under
28
days occur in the first week of life.
614. The three leading specific
causes of death among new-born babies remain extreme prematurity, hyaline
membrane disease, and perinatal
infections and acute asphyxia at birth; together
they account for 65% of all deaths due to this group of causes. A large
proportion
of these specific causes is associated with low birth-weight. It is
estimated that five% of the babies born in 1996 weighed less
than 2,500 grams
and that 16% were underweight (between 2,500 and 2,999 grams). These figures
have remained fairly stable in recent
years and are lower than those found in
other developing countries.
615. An analysis of the main problems of
child health shows a large variation in the epidemiological profile over the
last 20 years,
with perinatal problems acquiring particular importance and with
congenital disorders and accidents emerging as problems. Acute
respiratory
infections maintain their morbidity rate, being closely linked to levels of
atmospheric pollution.
616. To sum up, the main causes of child mortality
are perinatal problems, congenital abnormalities, diseases of the respiratory
apparatus,
and injuries and poisoning; together they account for about 85% of
total deaths. Each of these causes is discussed below, together
with the
strategies for tackling them.
Perinatal
problems
617. Perinatal problems occupy first place among the groups
of causes of death among children aged under one year, with a rate of
3.6 per
1,000 live births, a third of total deaths. As already mentioned, the main
specific causes in this group in order of importance
are extreme prematurity,
hyaline membrane disease, perinatal infections and acute asphyxia at birth,
which together account for 65%
of all deaths due to this group of
causes.
618. The following measures have been taken to tackle this
situation:
(a) Improvement of the quality of antenatal care to render
it more accessible and efficient and capable of identifying and managing
high-risk pregnancies;
(b) Training health teams in childbirth care and
immediate care of new-born babies;
(c) Provision of sufficient trained
human resources. The action taken in this area included the development of a
national training
plan, during the first stage of which (1992) eight workshops
were held in different parts of the country with the main objective
of improving
the technical and administrative management of neonatal care. Efforts have also
been made to improve the situation
of the human resources available for the
pathological care of new-born babies, in particular by establishing six medical
residences
in the following facilities: La Serena Hospital, Talca Hospital,
Temuco Hospital, Barros Luco Trudeau Hospital, San Borja Arriarán
Hospital and Salvador Hospital. This meant that each of these facilities was
provided with six 28-hour medical posts;
(d) Improvement of the quality
of perinatal medical care. To this end the Ministry of Health introduced in
1992 a neonatal equipment
plan which envisaged the provision of equipment in all
the neonatology units of the country's level-1 and level-2 hospitals. These
units were supplied with intensive-care, standard and transport incubators,
medical-procedure and radiant-heat cots and mechanical
ventilators, thus
satisfying the basic equipment needs in this area;
(e) Development of
the monitoring of high-risk new-born babies in the polyclinics. A national
programme on the use of surfactant
was started up in 1998; the target population
is all babies with very low birth weight (under 1,500 grams). The aim of this
programme
is to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with extreme
prematurity and achieve a better quality of survival of premature
babies;
(f) Education of mothers in feeding habits and proper use of
the resources of the national food supplement plan;
(g) Assignment of
priority to risk groups: adolescents; women with low weight; pregnant women with
medical risks such as infections,
anaemia, etc.; women with a history of
low-weight babies from earlier pregnancies; and women with a history of
excessive smoking,
alcohol consumption or drug use.
Congenital
abnormalities
619. Congenital abnormalities are responsible for 20%
of deaths among children aged under one year; they are the second commonest
cause of child mortality, with a rate of 3.4 per 1,000 live births, which has
remained stable over the past 10 years.
620. Some 70% of these deaths are
due to congenital heart disease, abnormalities of the nervous system, and
malformations of the digestive
apparatus. A large number of these abnormalities
are incompatible with life, mainly the ones affecting the nervous system and the
digestive apparatus.
621. Heart disease is the problem most susceptible
of correction with the knowledge and technology currently available. It
accounts
for more than a third of all congenital abnormalities and when left
untreated has a mortality rate of over 60% in the first year
of life, especially
in the first three months. Diagnosis must therefore be made early and followed
by referral to a specialized
unit in good time and under proper
conditions.
622. The following are some of the strategies developed to
tackle this problem:
(a) Grass-roots education through the provision of
information about risk situations: exposure to viruses and to physical or
chemical
agents; use of drugs or alcohol; and late pregnancy (over age
40);
(b) Development of clinical genetics services at the national
level;
(c) Genetic counselling for the population at
large;
(d) Training of health personnel in this
area;
(e) Detection of genetic risks: family history positive for
congenital defects; late pregnancy; abnormal level of alpha foetoprotein
during
the gestation period;
(f) Optimization and rational use of the existing
resources for the treatment of congenital heart disease. To this end 1992 saw
the completion of the upgrading of the cardiovascular service at Luis Calvo
Mackenna Hospital: remodelling, extension and equipment
of the intensive-care
unit in order to double the number of surgical interventions.
623. In
addition, the following proposal was prepared:
(a) To install equipment
in intermediate-level units in hospitals such as Roberto del Río, Gustavo
Fricke and Guillermo Grant
Benavente in order to increase surgical interventions
in very common but relatively uncomplicated pathologies in cooperation with
the
tertiary hospital;
(b) To establish units for less-complicated surgery
(duct surgery, coarctation of the aorta) in some of the regional health
services;
(c) To start up a national congenital heart disease programme
with an eye to early diagnosis, early and proper referral, and better
monitoring
and post-operative checks;
(d) To introduce a programme for the
treatment of babies born with cleft palate. Congenital abnormalities involving
deformities
of the upper lip and palate are common in Chile. Their incidence is
roughly 1.8 per 1,000 live births; the projection of this rate
onto the annual
total of births gives an estimate of about 500 new cases a year. In order to
address this problem in a comprehensive
manner the Ministry of Health, with the
collaboration of a group of distinguished experts, devised a programme to meet
all the care
needs of such children from birth up to age 15. This year (1998)
it will begin to transfer resources to facilities accredited for
treatment of
children with cleft palate.
Diseases of the respiratory
apparatus
624. Diseases of the respiratory apparatus constitute the
third commonest cause of death among children aged under one year, with
a rate
of 1.4 per 1,000 live births or 18% of total deaths in this age group. The
commonest specific cause is bronchopneumonia (82%
of total deaths from these
diseases). Although the rate of infant mortality from bronchopneumonia has
fallen significantly over
the past decade, the decline has not been sufficient
and many avoidable deaths still result from this cause. Acute respiratory
infections
are the primary reason for visits to the doctor and the second
commonest reason for under-ones to be admitted to hospital.
625. The
action taken to tackle this situation includes:
(a) Grass-roots
education of mothers in the recognition of signs and symptoms of serious
infection and in the need for prompt medical
consultation;
(b) Training
of health teams in early diagnosis, proper treatment, and prompt referral of
cases with complications;
(c) Assignment of priority to treatment of
children exhibiting risk factors: history of low birth-weight, malnutrition,
breastfeeding
for less than six months;
(d) Development of a national
programme for the control of acute respiratory infections among children; the
basic strategy consists
of grass-roots education and training of health teams.
The grass-roots education programme has produced a variety of materials such
as
simple handbooks, posters, videos and slides. A series of training workshops
for health teams has been conducted throughout the
country;
(e) Implementation from 1991 of a programme for the
out-patient treatment of obstructive bronchitis, under which primary-care
facilities
throughout the country were provided with the basic equipment and the
necessary personnel. This programme has made it possible to
deal with this
problem on an out-patient basis and thus reduce the demand for
hospitalization;
(f) Conduct since 1994 of the "Winter Campaign", which
will be carried out 1998 in the health services or regions at greatest
epidemiological
risk.
Accidents, injuries and
poisoning
626. Child mortality due to this group of causes declined
in the period 1990-1995 from 2.36 to 1.33 per 1,000 live births. This
group
constitutes the third commonest cause of child mortality.
627. The
following action has been taken to cope with this problem:
(a) The
Ministry of Health introduced an accidents control programme, initiating a
process of multisectoral training and coordination,
particularly in the health,
police and fire services to deal with traffic accidents and asphyxiation by
drowning;
(b) In the case of traffic accidents, the Ministry has
disseminated to the public specific messages during "accident prevention
weeks"
held in critical periods such as Holy Week and the national and New Year's
holidays. There is also an agency called the National
Traffic Safety
Commission, which draws its membership from nine ministries and the police
force.
- To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care
to all children with emphasis on the development of primary
health care,
including:
. The distribution of both general and primary health care services in
the rural and urban areas of the country and the balance
between preventive and
curative health care;
. The measures adopted to ensure a universal immunization
system.
628. The essential aim of health policies is to improve the
living conditions of Chile's people and especially of its children, it
being
understood that health is one of the main pillars of personal
well-being.
629. The impact of the vaccination programmes on the people's
health is enhanced by the organizational structure of the health system,
which
facilitates standardization of the vaccination rules, monitoring of the
coverage, efficient organization of the cold chain,
and appropriate and timely
delivery of grass-roots care in the event of the outbreak of an
epidemic.
630. Progress in the monitoring and eradication of diseases
requires that the country set ever higher and more difficult targets in
order to
achieve satisfactory vaccination cover and disease
monitoring.
631. Progress in child health now means taking up challenges
such as "eradication of poliomyelitis", "elimination of measles", "elimination
of neonatal tetanus", "elimination of tubercular meningitis", and "elimination
of invasive diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae b (HIb)", as well
as the control of other diseases covered by the Action Plan for Children, in
order to secure a sustained and permanent
reduction of the morbidity and
mortality rates.
632. These achievements have demanded great efforts from
the health personnel of all the country's establishments and big economic
investments by the State.
Table 5
Schedule of vaccinations
|
Doses
|
|
At birth
|
BCG
|
First
|
2, 4 and 6 months
|
DPT-polio-HIB
|
First, second, third
|
12 months
|
Triple vaccine
|
First
|
18 months
|
DPT-polio
|
Booster
|
4 years
|
DPT-polio
|
Booster
|
First basic (6 years)
|
Triple vaccine & BCG
|
Booster
|
Second basic (7 years)
|
Toxoid DT
|
Booster
|
633. Child vaccination is based on the concept of comprehensive care;
this means that every health professional who has contact with
a child's mother
in connection with any health matter must try to persuade her to attend the
vaccination unit and complete the vaccination
schedule for the child's
age.
634. The vaccination requirements apply to the whole population
without exception; people can attend a vaccination unit anywhere in
the national
territory. There are 1,573 such units (128 are run by the private sector in
accordance with the Ministry's regulations)
and they have achieved a coverage of
90% or more (see figure 1). The vaccination of new-born babies is strongly
influenced by the
high rate of professional attendance at childbirth (98% or
more).
Figure 1
635. Since June 1996 the programme has included HIb vaccination for
all children completing the second month of life after that date.
636. In
1992 Chile made a commitment to eliminate measles under the regional strategy of
the Americas. April of that year saw the
first mass measles vaccination
campaign for the whole population aged between nine months and 15 years. A
total of 3,854,504 children
were vaccinated (a coverage of 99.6%). With a view
to attaining the goal of elimination a second campaign targeted on the 1-15 age
group was conducted in 1996. A total of 3,985,019 children were vaccinated
(100% coverage). The result of this strategy was that
Chile had no endogenous
cases of measles between April 1992 and July 1997, the month in which, owing to
a measles epidemic in Brazil,
the disease was transmitted to the susceptible
population aged over 20. This caused an outbreak of 58 cases between July and
October
of that year.
- To combat disease and malnutrition, including in the framework of
primary health care, through inter alia the application of readily
available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and
clean drinking water,
taking into account the risks and dangers of environmental
degradation and pollution; reports should indicate the overall situation,
persisting disparities and difficulties, as well as policies to address them,
including priorities identified for future action,
and information should also
be provided, including by gender, age, region, rural/urban area, and social and
ethnic origin on:
. The proportion of children with low birth weight;
637. See paragraphs 610 to 716.
. The nature and context of the most common diseases and their impact on
children;
Health problems of the under-10 age
group
1. Mental health
(a) Perinatal
period
638. Metabolic disorders, malformations, consequences of
foetal problems: some two% of children suffer from one or more of these
conditions.
639. Disruption of the first bonds: there are no specific
studies but estimates put the figure between five and
six%.
(b) Breastfeeding period
640. Development problems:
16% of children aged under two years present retarded psychomotor
development.
(c) Preschool period
641. Autism and other
psychoses: 15 per 10,000 children.
642. Developmental problems: 40% of
children aged between two and five years from poor backgrounds present some
degree of retarded
psychomotor development.
643. Injuries and poisoning:
43% of deaths among children aged between one and four years are due to these
causes, which are associated
with poor family conditions and inability of
children to care properly for themselves; physical maltreatment may also be
involved
here.
644. Maltreatment: five% of children are subject to some
degree of maltreatment; more than 50% of the most severely maltreated children
are aged under six.
(d) School period
645. Mental health
problems in general: 15% of schoolchildren in the Metropolitan region present
mental health problems.
646. Mental deficiency: 2.5% of
children.
647. Profile of the incidence of mental health problems among
schoolchildren (1993 study on mental health in schools):
- Attention
deficit: 14.6%
- Emotional disturbances: 5.8%
- Behavioural
disturbances: 4.8%
- Non-organic enuresis: 7.9%
648. Profile of
the incidence of psychosocial problems among schoolchildren:
- Abnormal
circumstances or quality of upbringing: 14.3%
- Mental disorders in
parents: 9.5%
- Serious events affecting their lives:
7.9%
- Physical maltreatment: 6.4%, according to the
parents
649. Maltreatment: teachers suspect some kind of maltreatment in
five% of pupils in the first grade.
650. Developmental
problems:
- Learning disabilities: 40%
- Poor language skills:
2%
2. Nutrition
651. The epidemiological profile of
nutritional problems is in a transitional stage. Child malnutrition has shown a
very favourable
trend, but there are still highly vulnerable communes with
above-average malnutrition figures, coinciding with a greater deterioration
in
the economic and environmental conditions which produce lower birth-weight and
increased infant mortality.
652. The overweight and obesity rates for the
whole population have been in an upward trend over recent years.
653. In
addition to malnutrition itself there are other nutritional problems such as
small size and micronutrient deficits: iron,
zinc and copper.
3. Acute
respiratory infections (ARI)
654. Acute respiratory infections are
the principal cause of late infant mortality. They are also the leading reason
for medical
consultations and hospital admissions among children. They are the
second commonest cause of death in the 1-4 age group, being responsible
for 12%
of total deaths.
655. Although a large proportion of cases are
self-controlled infections of viral origin for which there are currently no
preventive
treatments or effective cures, there is group of children at high
risk of serious bacterial infection leading to a rapid aggravation
of an acute
respiratory infection and risk of death. This group includes infants aged under
six months with a history of low birth-weight,
malnutrition or congenital
malformation.
656. Pneumonia is responsible for 90% of total deaths from
acute respiratory infections among children aged under one year, and obstructive
bronchitis syndrome is the principal reason for hospital admissions under this
heading.
4. Accidents and violence
657. Accidents and
violence are the leading cause of death in the 1-9 age group, accounting for 44%
of total deaths.
658. The various kinds of accident occur with varying
frequency depending largely on the sex of the child (boys are notoriously more
accident-prone than girls) and on age. In under-ones the principal cause is
suffocation, followed by falls and poisoning. From
age one to four the
commonest causes of death are traffic accidents as pedestrian or passenger,
scalds and burns, electrification
(via sockets), drowning, falls and poisoning.
Between five and nine years traffic accidents, injuries from falls, and drowning
figure
prominently. Deaths from accidents are significantly under-recorded, and
it is important to improve the reporting system.
659. Accidents to
children have a big impact in the economic sphere and on social development, for
they involve major costs in terms
both of assistance and care and of the number
of years of production lost either through stays in hospital or through
temporary or
permanent incapacity to work.
5. Congenital
abnormalities
660. Congenital abnormalities are responsible for some
28% of deaths among under-ones and constitute the second commonest cause of
child mortality with a rate of 3.35 per 1,000 live births, which has remained
relatively stable over the past 10 years. They are
the third commonest cause in
the 1-4 age group, accounting for about 10% of total deaths.
661. About
70% of deaths among under-ones are caused by congenital heart disease,
abnormalities of the nervous system and malformations
of the digestive
apparatus. A large proportion of these abnormalities are incompatible with
life, mainly the ones affecting the
nervous system and the digestive
apparatus.
662. Heart disease is the problem most susceptible of
correction with the knowledge and technology currently available; it accounts
for more that a third of total congenital abnormalities and left untreated has a
mortality rate of over 60% in the first year of
life, especially in the first
three months; it must therefore be diagnosed early and referred to a specialized
unit promptly and
under proper conditions.
663. Chronic diseases among
children have emerged in the present decade as a major problem for Chile. It
appears imperative to develop
over the coming years healthy lifestyles from
infancy and childhood which will lead in the future to healthy adults and the
consequent
well-being of the whole family. There is abundant evidence that many
of the problems of chronic illness among adults originate in
childhood and
adolescence.
664. The following are the main dental problems affecting
children:
(a) Dental caries: this is the commonest pathology in
dental health. It is an infectious disease which increases progressively with
age and is determined
by dietary and hygiene habits and by the environment.
According to a study on caries and fluorosis carried in the country's 13 regions
in 1996-1997, the incidence of dental caries was 87.79% among children aged six
to eight and 86.06% among 12-year-olds, with an average
of 5.46 affected teeth
in the first group and 3.78 in the second.
(b) Dento-maxillary
abnormalities: these affect a large number of children. A 1981 study of
oral problems and treatment needs among children aged under six found
abnormalities in 32% of cases which could be prevented or checked. A 1995 study
carried out in the southern health service of the
Metropolitan region, among
five-year-olds from the middle and lower-middle socio-economic classes, found
that about 70% of the preschool
children examined presented one or more
dento-maxillary abnormalities. The treatment of these pathologies is deeply
desired and
sought after by the beneficiary population.
(c) Gingival
and periodontal diseases: these affect the supporting and protective tissues
of the teeth and are directly related to cleaning habits. A study carried out
in 1987 in the Metropolitan region among schoolchildren in the 6-8 age group
found a gingivitis rate of over 96%. A national study
in 1992 found gingivitis
in 41.1% of 12-year-olds.
(d) Dento-alveolar damage: there are
no national epidemiological studies, but research in a small district in region
IV in 1994 found that 13.7% of the children
aged 7 to 14 examined had upper
front teeth broken by accidents. The dental statistics of the primary-level
emergency dental services
show that five% of visits to the dentist are due to
dento-alveolar damage.
665. The main public health measures adopted to
check and reverse this serious situation are addressed in the basic dental
health
plan drawn up for the decade in 1990. In step with the implementation of
the plan's seven programmes, the following strategies have
been applied to the
child population:
(a) Promotional programme
666. In
response to the need to take preventive measures in good time and to promote the
formation of healthy dental habits, the periodic
monitoring of dental health has
been incorporated in the monitoring of healthy children conducted in the
establishments of the National
System of Health Services.
667. The
professionals of the children's health teams are trained in how to encourage
mothers to attend to the dental health of their
small children and to refer
children at risk promptly to a dentist. The topics covered include restriction
of intake of foods containing
sugar, prevention of dysfunctional sucking habits,
formation of the habit of effective dental hygiene, and proper use of
fluorides.
668. The campaign "Brilliant smiles, brilliant futures" was
carried out in 1996 with the support of private enterprise and reached
5,000
schoolchildren. This coverage was increased to 23,000 children in basic
education in 1997, with the participation of 120 schools
in the Metropolitan
region and regions V and X and 70 national health dentists representing 60
practices in 52 communes. The children
received dental hygiene kits,
educational materials and videos. This campaign forms part of the Commitment of
the Americas signed
by the First Lady in Paraguay in
1995.
(b) Prevention programme
669. The main public
health measure for prevention of dental caries is the fluoridization of drinking
water, the major benefits of
which are seen in children subject to it from
birth. It is hoped that this measure will reduce the incidence of dental caries
among
children by between 40 and 60%. Region V has had this national programme
since 1985 and the city of Chuquicamata since 1990; it
was implemented in 25
communes of the Metropolitan region in 1996. The Teno district was brought into
the programme in 1997. The
current year has seen the initiation of the
fluoridization of drinking water in the city of Valdivia in region X and in
three small
districts in region VII. Some 40% of the population is now
protected by this practice, and the goal is to cover 50% by
2000.
670. Since 1992 a national weekly fluoride mouthwash programme has
been operating for children in grades one to eight in municipal
and
grant-supported private schools in all areas lacking natural or artificial
fluoridization of drinking water. In 1997 the coverage
of mass programmes of
topical anti-caries measures was 84.6%, representing a total of 797,938
schoolchildren. It is expected that
this specific prevention measure will
reduce the damage caused by caries in schoolchildren by 30 to
35%.
(c) Education programme
671. Three% of the hours
spent on dental care in the National System are dedicated to educating the
population, especially preschool
and older children, in the formation of healthy
habits of dental self-care.
(d) Health services
programme
672. Since 1990 the National System's dental programme has
given programme priority to the child population, allocating 60% of available
resources to this age group.
673. In 1994 an implementation commitment
was signed by the Ministry of Health and the health services for an increase in
specific
individual prevention measures in the dental care of children in order
to signal a positive attitude to the preventive approach to
dental care. An
implementation rate of 47.8% of total dental work was achieved in 1997, at all
levels of care, for specific prevention
measures in the 0-9 age
group.
(e) Human resources programme
674. In order to
provide a better response to problems of dento-maxillary abnormalities in
children, training courses in the prevention
of these abnormalities have been
run since 1994 for primary-care dentists with the collaboration of the dental
faculty of the University
of Chile. This training will help to augment the
capacity of children's dentists to solve dental problems by intercepting and
preventing
these pathologies affecting children's functioning and
appearance.
(f) Research programme
675. Two national
studies were conducted in 1996 and 1977: "Caries and fluorosis in children aged
six to eight and 12 years" commissioned
by the Ministry from teachers at the
dental faculty of the University of Chile; and "Fluoride excretion in urine and
use of tooth
paste and other sources of fluoride in preschool children" carried
out by teachers at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology
and teachers
at the dental faculty.
. The proportion of the child population affected by malnutrition,
including of a chronic or severe nature, and lack of clean drinking
water;
676. It must be pointed out that 84.3% of the country's
population lives in urban communities of more than 5,000 inhabitants, 95.3%
of
which have naturally safe or treated drinking water and a satisfactory
human-waste disposal system. Furthermore, 90% of urban
housing has piped
drinking water in the home, a factor which has produced a big reduction in the
problem of diarrhoea. Despite the
progress made, an analysis of the national
rates shows marked differences throughout the country and that child mortality
tends to
be two or three times higher in poorer communes.
677. The
Government has set the following targets with respect to child
malnutrition:
(a) To reduce the number of pregnant women presenting a
nutritional deficit by 20%;
(b) To reduce child malnutrition in
communes with rates higher than the average;
(c) To promote a normal
nutritional state in order to prevent overweight and obesity;
(d) To
reduce the incidence of low birth-weight by at least 20%;
(e) To
increase the proportion of children receiving natural food at age six months
to 60%;
(f) To cut by 50% the incidence of iron-deficiency anaemia
in breastfeeding mothers;
(g) To cut by 50% the incidence of
iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnant women;
The following strategies have
been proposed for the attainment of these targets:
(h) To modify the
type of food supplied under the national food supplement programme
(PNAC);
(i) To introduce new targeting criteria for the
PNAC;
(j) To reduce the number of high-risk
pregnancies;
(k) To strengthen the programmes on encouragement of
breastfeeding, with special emphasis on the education of
mothers;
(l) To ensure compliance with the international code for the
marketing of mother's milk substitutes;
(m) To strengthen educational
activities in matters connected with diet and nutrition.
678. Child
malnutrition in the population monitored by the National System of Health
Services fell from 15.5% (SEMPE) in 1975 to 8.8%
in 1982, since when it remained
stable up to 1989 before falling again to 6.9% in 1991, when most of the
children affected were suffering
from slight malnutrition. In 1993 the
reference model was switched to the comprehensive NCHS
diagnosis.
679. With regard to the age factor, it is observed that
breastfed babies aged under five months in the monitored population are less
likely to suffer from low weight for age, whereas the incidence is higher in the
12-23 month age group.
680. The 1996 figures showed that malnutrition
affected 0.6%, borderline malnutrition three%, overweight 15.5%, and obesity
6.2% of
the under-sixes.
681. Maternal malnutrition has an overall
average of 25.4% in the population monitored by the health services, with sharp
variations
between regions and communes.
682. The PNAC is designed to
prevent and reduce the nutritional deficit among under-sixes, pregnant women and
nursing mothers; it
also helps to reduce child morbidity and mortality
associated with malnutrition and encourage breastfeeding and compliance with
other
health promotion and protection measures.
683. The provision of
food is the main PNAC activity but this work is determined by the monitoring of
children's health (physical
development, psychomotor stimulation, immunizations,
education for health, etc.). This measure has helped to maintain the incentive
for mothers and children to undergo health checks and has extended the
Programme's scope far beyond the mere supply of food
supplements.
684. The PNAC has two subprogrammes:
(a) The basic
subprogramme supplies food for any child or pregnant woman who undergoes the
Ministry's health checks;
(b) The back-up subprogramme supplies larger
quantities of food to persons identified during these checks to be at risk of
malnutrition
or providing insufficient nutrition for a child. The type and
quantity of the food supplied in each case depends on the child's
age (details
will be found in the table in the annex). The Programme provides basic milk
food for all beneficiaries; pregnant women
and children aged under two years
receive powdered milk (equivalent to 20 litres a month) and children aged two to
six receive a
product containing 45% milk.
685. The National
Breastfeeding Commission was established in 1991 for the main purpose of
promoting, protecting and supporting the
practice of breastfeeding in accordance
with the principles proposed by UNICEF. This Commission is made up of
scientific and voluntary
organizations, NGOs, and representatives of the Health
Ministry and the National Consumers' Service. There was a significant increase
in exclusive breastfeeding from 32.3% in 1993 to 45.3% in 1997.
686. The
breastfeeding policy has also managed to secure the attendance of fathers at the
birth of their children in public maternity
wards. This initiative has been
extended to the primary-care consultation offices, which are subject to system
of accreditation
validated by UNICEF. Efforts are currently being made to
involve nurseries and kindergartens in the support of breastfeeding mothers
who
work outside the home.
687. Another important factor in the advances made
in the health situation has been the increased coverage of basic sanitation
systems
(drinking water and sewerage). Ninety% of urban dwellings have piped
drinking water in the home, and this has led to a significant
reduction in the
problem of diarrhoea. Despite the progress made, an analysis of the national
rates shows sharp differences throughout
the country, with child mortality
tending to be two or three times higher in poor communities.
688. The
PNAC has carried out the following measures:
(a) Modification of the
food-distribution plan;
(b) Revision of the indicators for evaluation
of nutritional status;
(c) Strengthening of educational
activities;
(d) Establishment of the National Breastfeeding Commission,
which has working groups on:
- An information system on the prevalence
of breastfeeding;
- Production of educational materials and revision
of standards;
- Legislation on women's work and code on the marketing of mother's milk
substitutes;
- Child-friendly hospitals.
. The children provided with adequate nutritious food;
. The risks from environmental pollution and the measures adopted to
prevent and combat them.
- To ensure appropriate prenatal and post-natal health care for mothers,
indicating the nature of services provided, including appropriate
information
given, the coverage ensured, the rate of mortality and its main causes (average
and disaggregated, inter alia, by age, gender, region, urban/rural area,
social and ethnic origin), the proportion of pregnant women who have access to
and benefit
from pre and post-natal health care, trained personnel and
hospital care and delivery;
689. There have been important changes in
maternal mortality in Chile over the past 30 years. Deaths have fallen sharply
from a rate
of 30 per 10,000 live births in 1960, which in absolute terms meant
a loss of 938 lives. In 1996, for example, there were 64 maternal
deaths, a
rate of three per 10,000 live births,
690. The structure of maternal
mortality has also changed. Although abortion remains the leading specific
cause of death, its rate
declined significantly from 39 per 10,000 live births
in 1977 to six in 1995.
691. However, the decline in deaths from abortion
is attributable to a combination of a real drop in the number of abortions, use
of family planning services, reduction in the number of undesired pregnancies,
and the reduced risk of death from abortion itself
resulting from an open policy
of early treatment of complications and improved care in the health
services.
692. Abortion is prohibited by law in Chile, so that all
abortions are either secret or disguised as treatment for other ailments
- a
situation which does not always facilitate early attention to
complications.
693. The decline in maternal mortality from other causes
is due to the increase in professional attendance at childbirth from 67%
in 1960
to 99.6% in 1996 and to the antenatal checks carried out under the women's
health programme of the Ministry of Health.
694. The high rate of
professional attendance at childbirth has generated a second source of
information for studies of maternal deaths
in Chile. In addition to the
information provided by death certificates, since 1984 the Ministry has kept an
audit record of deaths
for analysis; this has helped to correct the
under-recording of maternal deaths in the Civil Register. In 1993 it introduced
a computerized
perinatal data system, which has led to significant improvement
in the provision of timely information for the management of the
programme.
695. The second commonest causes of maternal mortality are
hypertension syndrome in pregnancy and toxaemia, which have proved resistant
to
the measures taken for their control.
696. Other still-important causes
of death are puerperal infections and sepsis, which are associated mainly with
complications from
premature membrane rotation and in-hospital infections
resulting from surgery.
697. Other causes such as childbirth haemorrhages
and injuries are now rare, for they are avoided when the birth is attended by
professionals
in appropriate locations.
- To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and
children, are informed, have access to education and are supported
in the use of
basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breast-feeding,
hygiene and environmental sanitation
and the prevention of accidents; in this
regard, information should also be provided on:
. Campaigns, programmes, services and strategies and other relevant
mechanisms developed to provide basic knowledge, information
and support to the
general population, in particular to parents and children;
. The means used, particularly in relation to the areas of child health
and nutrition, the advantages of breast-feeding and the
prevention of
accidents;
. The availability of safe sanitation;
. The measures adopted to improve the system of education and training
of health personnel;
. Disaggregated data, including by age, gender, region, rural/urban
area, social and ethnic origin.
698. The National Breastfeeding
Commission was established in 1991; its main function is to promote, protect and
support the practice
of breastfeeding in accordance with the principles proposed
by UNICEF. The Commission is made up of scientific and voluntary organizations,
NGOs, and representatives of the Ministry of Health and the National Consumers'
Service. There has been a significant increase in
exclusive breastfeeding from
32.3% in 1993 to 45.3% in 1997.
- To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and family
planning education and services; in this regard, reports should
also provide
information on:
. The policies and programmes developed, as well as services
available;
. The population covered, including in rural and urban areas, by age,
gender, social and ethnic origin;
. The measures adopted to prevent early pregnancy and to take into
consideration the specific situation of adolescents, including
provision of
appropriate information and counselling;
. The role played by the education system in this regard, including in
the school curricula;
. Disaggregated data on the incidence of children's pregnancy, including
by age, region, rural/urban area, and social and ethnic
origin.
699. The structure of Chile's population has changed, and the
middle section of the pyramid (the 25-29 age group) has widened. This
change
reduced the proportion of under-15s from over 40% in 1960 to 29.5% in
1995.
700. Family planning was incorporated in the perinatal maternal
health programme in 1967 in order to combat complications arising
from induced
abortion. This work is done mainly by midwives, and 40% of the resources
available for primary care under the programme
are devoted to it. The method
preferred by the public is IUD (Tcu 380), which is used by 80% of the women
monitored. The system
monitors the family planning of 16% of women of
childbearing age who use the National System of Health Services, but it is
estimated
that about 57% of women of childbearing age use some method of
birth-control but they are not all monitored by the Health
System.
701. Good results in increasing the coverage of professional
attendance at childbirth in rural areas have been achieved by the introduction
over the past 10 years or so of a pregnancy hostel to take in women from
isolated rural areas before confinement and then again following
their discharge
from hospital; they receive professional care in the hostels and are more
accessible for educational work.
702. The women's health programme was
updated and republished in 1997, and the approach of the former perinatal
maternal health programme
was expanded to include a gender dimension. The
present programme gives priority to preventive measures and the consolidation of
activities in some still-problematic areas such as teenage pregnancy and induced
abortion. It also introduced some qualitative changes
such as more
person-friendly obstetrical care and the involvement of fathers in the
childbirth process.
703. The illiteracy rate among women of childbearing
age was 4.8% in 1996. Eighty-three% of mothers had completed four or more years
of schooling. This level of schooling, regarded as fairly high, facilitates
education through the written media among the population
at large and mothers in
particular.
Fertility
704. A total of 278,729 children were
born in 1996, representing a gross rate of 19.3 live births per 1,000
inhabitants. This figure
has fallen slightly in recent years from a stable rate
of about 22 per 1,000. The gross fertility rate is 2.5 children per woman.
The specific distribution by age has changed over the past 20 years. Births to
women aged under 20 have undergone a relative increase
to a rate of 14% of total
births registered in 1997.
705. Women's reproductive pattern has also
changed: fertility fell from an average of 4.9 children per woman 1965 to 2.5 in
1995.
The first and second babies are closely spaced in 71% of cases, and most
babies are delivered to young women (women aged 20 to 29
account for 60% of live
births).
706. Changes in the birth rate and in family size are closely
associated with the improved education standards of women and their
more
extensive participation in the labour force.
707. The decline in the
birth rate over the past 25 years is attributable largely to education of the
general population in responsible
parenthood and to the accessibility of the
family planning services included in the Ministry's programme of maternal and
perinatal
health since 1976 and in the present women's health programme since
1995.
708. According to the estimates of the National Institute of
Statistics, by 2000 Chile's population will total 15,272,000. It is
also
estimated that the ratio of urban to rural dwellers will be maintained. In the
light of these estimates the recently revised
family planning policy is to
increase the people's access to the services and work on the assumption of
internal migration to medium-sized
towns.
709. There is no gender
differentiation in preventive health measures. Male and female adolescents may
attend the Ministry's consultation
facilities without any differentiation except
in places where the comprehensive health programme for adolescents is still
being introduced;
this programme was created in 1996 but its establishment is
taking time.
710. The provision of family planning services remains a
controversial issue. All that exists in legal terms is ancient regulations
which have lost all force. These pre-1973 regulations provide that adolescents
are entitled to request means of contraception and
family planning advice
provided that they are accompanied when so doing by their parents. It will be
readily understood that this
does happen in practice because young people
requesting contraceptives do not usually want their parents to know about it.
This
service is currently subject to the discretion of doctors and
midwives.
711. As in the case of adolescents, advice and education for
parents depends on whatever individual schools and colleges do by way
of sex
education.
712. However, since 1995 the Government has been running an
intersectoral programme on prevention of adolescent pregnancies which
conducts
discussion sessions on emotional relations and sexuality (JOCAS) in various of
the country's schools. The subject of planning
the spacing of children usually
comes up during the discussion, and the teachers give the advice requested by
the students. These
sessions are a voluntary option for schools and are held
with the consent of the governors and the parents' centres. They are not
imposed. If a school does not wish to hold them, they are not
held.
713. Nevertheless, one of the consequences of the sessions has been
to raise the profile of these topics in society and increase people's
awareness
of them as matters which must be discussed. There is a perception of initiating
a process - one of the aims of the intersectoral
programme and the Intersectoral
Commission - which will lead eventually to formal public policies on adolescents
and their emotional
and sexual development.
714. At the same time the
Ministry of Education is proposing as a fundamental objective and as a component
of the minimum curriculum
that schools should introduce sex education
programmes.
715. Lastly, with regard to the incidence of adolescent
pregnancy, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, 14.6%
of
live births in 1995 were to women and girls aged under 20.
716. Attention
may be drawn to other interesting
data:[19]
- First sexual
activity: age 15 to 16;
- Knowledge of contraceptives: males 77%,
females 72%;
- Use of contraceptives (percentages):
|
Never |
Sometimes
|
Frequently
|
Males
|
40.3
|
35.7
|
24.0
|
Females
|
35.5
|
26.5
|
38.0
|
- The programmes and strategies developed to prevent HIV;
- The measures adopted to assess the occurrence of HIV infection and
AIDS, among both the general population and children, and its
incidence inter
alia by age, gender, rural/urban area;
- The treatment and management provided in case of HIV infection and AIDS
among children and parents, and the coverage ensured nationwide,
in urban and
rural areas;
- The measures adopted to ensure an effective protection and assistance
to children who are orphans as a result of AIDS;
- The campaigns, programmes, strategies and other relevant measures
adopted to prevent and combat discriminatory attitudes against
children infected
by HIV or with AIDS, or whose parents or family members have been
infected.
717. The most recent study, conducted in 1996-1997 among
pregnant women, found a prevalence of HIV/AIDS of 0.1% in the Metropolitan
area
and zero% in region VIII. These low rates place Chile, according to the
international classification, in the category of countries
with a
low-transmission epidemic.
718. A methodological proposal has been
constructed on the basis of three levels of prevention:
(a) For the
population at large: mass information campaigns which take into account the
epidemiological information and the people's
level of knowledge and its
requirements;
(b) At the grass roots: intersectoral prevention projects
in the three regions with the highest rates, as well as community discussion
sessions on emotional relations and sexuality;
(c) For individuals
whose lifestyle places them at risk: prevention programmes using peer
counselling and pro-active, participatory
and face-to-face
methods.
719. In the case of children, intersectoral action was taken to
formulate the Education Ministry's policy on sex, and sex education
programmes
suited to the characteristics of the various schools were introduced. The
Ministry encourages the holding of the intersectoral
discussion sessions on
emotional relations and sexuality (JOCAS), which encourage debate of this topic
in the school community.
720. Educational materials on emotional
relations, sexuality and HIV/AIDS have been produced specifically for children,
adolescents
and young people; they are tailored to the recipients' age and urban
or rural location.
721. With regard to information, the survey to
evaluate the impact of HIV/AIDS prevention work in five countries of Latin
America
(PAHO/CONASIDA, 1996) revealed a high level of knowledge among the
public: 98.1% of persons aged 15 to 49 were aware of two or three
effective
methods of preventing transmission.
722. The strategy devised as a
response to the HIV/AIDS problem envisages the creation and operation of a
national commission chaired
by the Health Ministry, which will be responsible
for coordinating the activities of the various State agencies involved, NGOs,
and
other organizations working in this area by means of an intersectoral
approach which will implement the proposals effectively and
make good use of the
available resources. Various kinds of programme are being elaborated; some of
them are described in the preceding
paragraphs.
723. No assessment is
made of the incidence of HIV infection in a country with such a low rate as
Chile.
724. The incidence of AIDS cases is measured by means of
(compulsory) notification in both public and private sectors. Assessments
are
made of awareness (proportion of known cases in total cases) and of time lag
(between diagnosis and notification).
725. The awareness rate was 85.1%
in 1996 (the last for which Civil Registry figures are available) according to
death certificates.
726. The time lag as calculated by means of
statistical correction programmes is minimal. This has been corroborated by
press investigations
in Mexico.
727. The first case of AIDS was notified
in 1984; by June 1998 2,431 cases had been notified in the country's 13 regions.
A total
of 1,558 deaths has been notified. The cumulative incidence of AIDS in
Chile (total cases since the onset of the epidemic) is 18.4
per 100,000
inhabitants.
Geographical distribution
728. Highest
cumulative rates: Metropolitan region (32.8%); region V (26.0); region II
(14.6); and region I (7.8). The cases have
occurred chiefly in urban communes,
but began to appear in rural communes in
1990.
Sex
729. Males account for 90.8 and females for 9.2%
of AIDS cases. But the rate is increasing faster among females for all means of
transmission (sex, blood, intravenous injection of drugs). This is reflected in
the ratio of male to female cases: the gap has narrowed
over time to 7.3:1 in
1996.
Age
730. Most of the cases (84.7%) occur in the 20-49
age group. Persons aged under 20 account for 3.1% and over-50s for
12.2%.
Mother-to-child transmission
731. Such cases account
for 1.8% of the total. The cumulative rate (since the onset of the epidemic) of
HIV transmission from seropositive
mothers to their children is
27%.
Paediatric cases
732. Under-15s account for two% of
total cases, and in 86% of these cases the virus was transmitted from mother to
child.
733. HIV/AIDS victims are treated in the existing public or
private facilities depending on their insurance arrangements. An effort
is made
to provide full coverage for anti-retroviral treatment and for treatment of
opportunistic illnesses affecting children covered
by public-sector insurance.
Drugs to reduce mother-to-child transmission are supplied free of charge
regardless of the pregnant
woman's insurance cover. Sixty% of adult cases in
which anti-retroviral treatment is indicated are treated.
734. The
HIV/AIDS problem is concentrated in urban areas, and this is where the treatment
is provided.
735. There is a policy of permanent training of health
personnel, for the problem is a dynamic one and requires innovative responses
in
both its biomedical and psychosocial aspects.
736. The policy is to
promote protection in the family and to avoid uprooting orphaned children or
encouraging their placement in
institutions. Some few cases involving serious
social problems are referred to homes run by religious
institutions.
737. Prevention goes hand in hand with non-discrimination
at all the levels of intervention described above.
738. Special efforts
have been made with the education sector to ensure that seropositive children
attend school at both pre-basic
and basic levels.
739. These types of practice are not found in
Chile.
740. In the case of the
activities of the health sector itself, some research indicates that more than
half of the decline in infant
and child mortality is associated with the
expansion of and the coverage provided by the health services. Chilean children
are born
in hospital and receive professional care in more that 99% of cases, a
situation which brought mortality in the first 28 days of
life down to
6.3 per 1,000 live births by 1996. Similarly, the coverage achieved by the
expanded programme on immunization has been
a factor in the reduction of
morbidity and mortality due to diseases preventible by immunization: measles,
whooping cough, tuberculosis,
diphtheria, tetanus, and poliomyelitis, which has
been eradicated from Chile.
741. The national supplementary food
programme is designed to prevent and reduce nutritional deficits among
under-sixes and pregnant
and nursing women, and it also helps to reduce child
morbidity and mortality associated with malnutrition and to encourage
breastfeeding
and compliance with other health promotion and protection
measures.
742. Although the provision of food is the programme's main
function, its work is determined by monitoring (physical growth, psychomotor
development, immunizations, education for health, etc.). This approach has
helped to maintain the incentive for mothers and children
to undergo health
checks and to extend the programme's work far beyond the exclusive provision of
food supplements.
C. Social security and child care services and
facilities
(articles. 26 and 18, para. 3)
- The measures adopted to recognize for every child the right to benefit
from social security, including social insurance;
- The necessary measures taken to achieve the full realization of this
right in accordance with the national law;
- The manner in which the benefits granted take into account the
resources and the circumstances of the child and of the persons
having
responsibility for his or her maintenance, as well as any other considerations
relevant to an application for benefits made
by or on behalf of the
child.
743. Chile's social security system provides
the following benefits for children:
(a) Family
allowances
744. Article 3 of Decree-Law nº 150 of 1974
establishes that the following persons, amongst others, give rise to an
entitlement
to family allowances: unmarried children and adopted children aged
up to 18 years who are pursuing regular courses of secondary,
teacher-training,
specialized technical or higher education in State or State-recognized
institutions.
745. This entitlement may also arise in respect of
unmarried grandchildren and great-grandchildren orphaned of their father or
mother
or abandoned by them and unmarried orphans or abandoned children aged up
to 18 years who are pursuing regular courses of secondary,
teacher-training,
specialized technical or higher education in State or State-recognized
institutions, as well as persons incapable
of working who are housed in State
institutions or institutions recognized by the State.
746. The age limits
specified for these persons giving rise to entitlement do not apply to the
disabled.
(b) Educational insurance
747. Persons having the
status of regular pupil or student in State or private institutions at the
transitional level from nursery
education or in basic, secondary,
teacher-training, technical, agricultural, commercial or industrial schools,
vocational institutes,
technical training schools or universities dependent on
the State or recognized by the State are covered against any accidents that
they
may suffer in the course of their education or the exercise of their vocational
skill.
748. The following benefits are provided free of charge until the
condition is completely cured or for as long as symptoms caused
by the accident
persist:
- Medical, surgical and dental treatment in medical facilities
or at home;
- Hospital care, if needed in the opinion of the attending
practitioner;
- Medicines and other pharmaceutical
products;
- Prostheses and orthopaedic appliances and their
repair;
- Physical rehabilitation and vocational
re-education;
- Costs of travel and any other associated
necessity.
749. This educational insurance is established in article 3 of
Act nº 16,744 and regulated by Supreme Decree nº 313 of 1973
of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
(c) Family allowance in
respect of poor persons
750. Act nº 18,020 establishes a
family allowance in respect of poor persons.
751. Entitlement to this
allowance may arise in respect of children aged under 18 and persons of any age
incapable of working but
living at the recipient's expense, who attend, when
appropriate, the children's health programmes established by the Ministry of
Health and who do not have an income equal to or greater than the amount of the
allowance, regardless of the source of such income.
752. This allowance
is doubled when paid in respect of persons incapable of working.
753. Articles 203 to 208 of the Labour Code
(Decree-Law nº 1 of 1994 of the Ministry of Labour and Social
Security) contain the
following provisions:
(a) Establishments
employing more than 20 female workers, regardless of their age or civil status,
must maintain rooms adjoining
but separate from the work areas, where women may
feed their children aged under two years and leave them while they are at work.
Moreover, pursuant to the sole article of Act nº 19,408 a similar
obligation is imposed on shopping or commercial centres or
complexes
administered under a single trade name or juridical personality when the
establishments located there together employ 20
or more female workers. In the
latter case the extra costs entailed by the nursery room are regarded as common
costs to which all
the establishments must contribute in the same proportion as
to other costs of this nature.
(b) The hygiene and safety conditions in
such nursery rooms are regulated by Supreme Decree nº 289 of 1989 of
the Ministry
of Health;
(c) In the case of establishments in the same
geographical area, subject to a favourable prior report by the National
Kindergarten
Board the employers may construct or install and maintain common
nursery services for the children of all their female workers;
(d) An
employer is understood to be in compliance with the obligation to provide
nursery facilities if he pays the costs thereof
directly to the establishment to
which the women workers bring their children aged under two years, which must
have an authorization
from the National Kindergarten Board;
(e) In the
case of the construction or installation of a nursery room the owners of the
establishments concerned must first submit
their plans for approval to the
technical committee of the national school buildings plan of the Ministry of
Education;
(f) The cost of maintaining a nursery room is borne
exclusively by the employer, who must appoint a competent person to look after
the children; such person must preferably hold a nursing auxiliary certificate
issued by the competent authority;
(g) For the purpose of feeding their
children working mothers are entitled to two time slots which together do not
exceed one hour
per day and are regarded as time worked and remunerated
accordingly. This right may not be waived;
(h) It is the
responsibility of the National Kindergarten Board and the Labour Department to
regulate and supervise compliance with
the rules on the protection of child
labour. Any one may report to these bodies any infringements of these rules
which come to their
notice;
(i) Such infringements are punished by a
fine of 14 to 60 monthly tax units; the fine is doubled if the offence is
repeated.
D. Standard of living
(article 27, paras.
1-3)
103. Please provide information on:
- The measures adopted to recognize and ensure the right of every child
to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical,
mental, spiritual,
moral and social development;
754. See chapter I, guidelines 20, 22,
23 and 27.
- The relevant indicators used to assess such an adequate standard of
living, and its incidence among the child population, including
by gender, age,
region, rural/urban area, social and ethnic origin, and family
situation;
755. Most of the indicators used by the various social
sectors to evaluate individual standards of living are the ones traditionally
used for the quantitative measurement of the extent or incidence of phenomena:
child mortality, malnutrition, coverage of elementary
education, rates for
repeated years and drop-outs, etc.
756. In 1996 Chile hosted the third
American Ministerial Meeting on Children and Social Policy, which concluded with
the adoption
of the "Santiago Agreement", a document which sets targets for
children and social development to be attained by 2000. It requires
States, in
addition to producing quantitative analyses of the targets, to devise more
sophisticated indicators for assessing progress
towards their
attainment.
757. In order to verify compliance with these targets the
Government of Chile produced a detailed report, requested by the ad interim
Executive Secretary; this document will be submitted to the sixth Ibero-American
Summit of Heads of State and Government.
758. Some of the indicators
included in this report relate to such matters as health and nutrition,
reduction of child mortality,
vaccination programmes, promotion of
children-friendly hospitals and doctor's offices, universal access to education
without discrimination
of any kind, reduction of illiteracy and of repeated-year
rates in the first few school grades, etc.
759. With regard to gender
equity, the approach now is to disaggregate data by sex, a change which can
clearly help to identify problems
and needs during the elaboration and targeting
of social policies.
760. More recently, since mid-1998 in fact, work has
been proceeding under a UNICEF-MIDEPLAN agreement on the production of a
bulletin
of indicators specific to children. This work has been based on the
technical input of professionals from MIDEPLAN, UNICEF and the
National
Institute of Statistics. When the analysis so requires, contributions are
sought from expert professionals in the various
social sectors.
761. In
its preliminary analysis the bulletin deals with the situation of children with
respect to the rights set out in the Convention
rather than with the various
services to which they have access.
- The criteria established to assess the ability and financial capacity
of parents or others responsible for the child to secure
the living conditions
necessary for the child's development, as well as to identify those
conditions;
762. Chile has not laid down formal criteria for
assessing the ability and financial capacity of parents to secure the living
conditions
necessary for their children's development.
- All the measures taken, in accordance with national conditions and
within the State party's means, to assist parents and others
responsible for the
child to implement this right, including the nature of the assistance made
available, its budget implications,
its relation to the cost of living and its
impact on the population; where relevant, the information provided should be
disaggregated,
inter alia by region, rural/urban area, age, gender and
social and ethnic origin;
763. See paragraphs 743 to 752
above.
- The measures adopted to provide, in case of need, material assistance
and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition,
clothing and
housing, indicating, inter alia, the nature of such assistance and
programmes, the population addressed by them, including by gender, age,
rural/urban area, social
and ethnic origin, the proportion of budget allocated,
the coverage ensured, the priorities and targets identified.
764. See
paragraphs 740 to 752 above.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(articles 28, 29 and 31)
A. Education, including vocational training and
guidance
(article 28)
765. With regard to ensuring the right of
children to education, we may consider the basic principles of the Chilean
education system,
mostly enshrined in the Political Constitution of the Republic
approved in 1980 and in Act nº 18.962, the Constitutional Organization
Act on Education (LOCE), approved in
1990.
766. Both the Constitution and
the Organization Act establish the following principles:
(a) The right
to education.
(b) Freedom of education.
(c) The permanent
nature of education.
(d) The right of parents to educate their children
and to choose their children’s schools.
(e) The duty of parents
to educate their children.
(f) The compulsory nature of primary
education.
(g) The non-party nature of officially recognized
education.
767. At the beginning of the current administration in 1994,
five major strands of educational policy were defined, several of which
followed
up the objectives of the first Coalition Government. They give expression to a
broad national consensus reflected in the
proposals of the National Commission
for the Modernization of Education convened by the President of the Republic
with a view to
launching a State policy for the sector.
(a) Maximum
priority: To provide general education of a high standard for all and to
ensure equitable access to education.
(b) Unpostponable task:
To reform and diversify secondary education.
(c) Necessary
condition: To strengthen the teaching profession and improve the statutory
framework on working
conditions.[20]
(d) Basic
requirement: To allow greater independence and flexibility in the running of
schools and provide more public information on results in order
to improve
efficiency.
(e) National commitment: To increase investment in
education, both public and private, and to foster modernization in the
sector.
106. In this regard, reports should indicate, inter
alia:
- The measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles of the Convention, namely the best interests of the child, respect for the views of the child, the right to life, survival and development to the maximum extent possible, and non-discrimination, including with a view to reducing existing disparities;
768. In Chile, ever since the beginning of the Government of democratic
transition in 1990, the authorities have taken unprecedentedly
sweeping action
in the area of education in an effort to improve and transform the education
system, within a framework of broad
consensus regarding the strategic character
of the sector for the country’s overall economic and democratic
development.
769. Since 1990, education policies have followed two major
guiding principles: improving the quality of education and ensuring more
equitable distribution of its benefits. The effort to implement these principles
in practice is reflected in the priority assigned
by the present Government to
education and in the set of initiatives taken in the last two years as a
follow-up to the measures and
programmes developed by the administration of
President Aylwin since the beginning of the decade.
770. The guiding aim
of the overall effort is the provision of high quality education for all. The
new policy of equity, however,
is based on the principle of affirmative action,
that is to say that any real attempt to introduce equal educational
opportunities
for heterogeneous groups must mean allocating more resources and
paying special attention to groups at greater socio-educational
risk in the
country. Thus special attention has been given to lower income groups and
children in rural areas, where the greatest
inequalities occur.
771. In
order to avoid discriminatory situations, the Ministry of Education prepared a
document containing guidelines for a policy
against discrimination in the
education sector and a draft decree on discriminatory situations affecting
schoolchildren in the educational
system. Both documents are currently being
studied by the highest ministerial authorities. The objectives which are being
aimed for
and which are related to discriminatory situations between
schoolchildren are:
(a) To give effect to the right to education
enshrined in Chile’s Constitution.
(b) To introduce legal
mechanisms ensuring the right to education for all, especially children and
young people.
(c) To be coherent in practice with the principles that
guide current educational policies, by implementing measures to improve
the
quality of education on an equal basis for all, in compliance with the
constitutional principle of equal rights for all.
(d) To try to
establish a culture that is opposed to discrimination.
(e) To provide
the different departments of the Ministry with legal instruments aimed at
safeguarding the principle of equality
in education.
772. In practical
terms, for instance, the Ministry of Education’s Programme for Women,
developed jointly with SERNAM, has introduced
awarenesscreation and training
measures for the benefit of teachers with a view to promoting equal
opportunities for boys and girls
in the 7th and
8th primary grades and the first four years of secondary
education. An effort has been made, furthermore, to eliminate sexism in the
curriculum guidelines for primary education and secondary education and in
complementary plans and programmes for primary education.
773. An effort
has also been made to eliminate discrimination against pregnant girls and/or
mothers in the school system[21], by
quantifying and studying the problem and helping the young women concerned to
stay longer in school. There has also been a drive
to eliminate sexism in the
school curriculum, which has meant eliminating any gender slant in school
textbooks and in teaching practices,
as well as promoting plans and programmes
favouring the use of materials that encourage prominent action by women among
students.
- The proportion of the overall budget (at the central, regional and
local, and where appropriate at the federal and provincial levels)
devoted to
children and allocated to the various levels of education;
774. In
1994, the Ministry of Finance gave concrete form to the priority assigned by the
Government to education, by aiming to raise
the country’s investment in
education from 4.9% of GDP to 7% of GDP within not more than eight years,
splitting the expansion
equally between the public and private sectors. As far
as the public sector is concerned, this means raising its expenditure on
education
from 2.8% of GDP in 1994 to 4% of GDP at the latest by 2002. So far
the progress achieved by the public sector towards reaching this
target has been
significant. Thus expenditure on education channelled through the Ministry of
Education amounted to over Ch$ 877,000
million in 1996. If the expenditure
made by municipalities and the investment in education by the Ministry of the
Interior through
the National Fund for Regional Development are added in, public
expenditure on education totalled approximately Ch$ 928,000 million,
or 3.1% of
GDP.
775. Of the funds spent by the Ministry, 75% went on the school
system (preschool, primary and secondary education) and 17% on higher
education.
Assistance funds channelled through JUNAEB accounted for 7% of the
Ministry’s total expenditure.
776. In the period 19931996, there
was a sustained increase in the Ministry of Education’s total expenditure,
which rose from
USD 1,158 million to 2,235 million in constant value, a
trend which had been maintained since 1990, as shown in the following
table:
Table 6
Ministry of Education expenditure
Year
|
Ministry of Education expenditure
(million USD) |
Public expenditure on education (%)
|
Education expenditure as% of GDP
|
1990
|
1,158
|
13.1
|
2.5
|
1991
|
1,296
|
13.4
|
2.6
|
1992
|
1,489
|
13.6
|
2.7
|
1993
|
1,621
|
13.8
|
2.8
|
1994
|
1,767
|
14.2
|
2.8
|
1995
|
1,974
|
14.9
|
2.9
|
1996
|
2,235
|
15.6
|
3.1
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
777. Public
expenditure on education in 1996 came to Ch$ 875,952,066, distributed as shown
in the following table:
Table 7
Distribution of public expenditure
according to level – 1996
Level*
|
Amount (Ch$)
|
Per cent
|
Preschool
|
65,509,621
|
37.48
|
Primary
|
458,409,853
|
52.33
|
Special
|
17,630,034
|
2.01
|
Secondary (humanities)
|
80,782,496
|
9.22
|
Secondary (technical)
|
86,419,522
|
8.87
|
Higher
|
150,109,045
|
17.14
|
Culture
|
8,169,483
|
0.93
|
* Excluding adult
education.
Source: MINEDUC statistics,
1996.
778. Since the beginning of the Coalition Governments, the increase
in the real value of the educational subsidy has ranged from some
50% for
primary education to around 120% for special education. There was also a very
significant increase in the allocation to adult
education. In addition, a number
of changes have been made in the system of subsidies which have improved
adjustment mechanisms,
stabilized the value of subsidies throughout the year and
eliminated budget limits on some special subsidies. Special allocations
have
been made, moreover, for longer hours and for school
improvements.
779. Expenditure on subsidies (i.e. public expenditure
per student assisted in the school system) accounts on average for twothirds
of
the sector’s budget. It is worth pointing out that expenditure per
student, which in 1990 amounted to 77% of 1982 expenditure,
exceeded that level
in 1994 and by 1996 was already a third higher than in 1982 (not including
expenditure on assistance). (See Table
8.)
Table 8
Value of subsidies
Subsidized enrolment
|
Monthly subsidy per student (USD) *
|
|
1990
|
2,692,125
|
21.02
|
1991
|
2,683.137
|
21.70
|
1992
|
2,728,180
|
23.73
|
1993
|
2,750,714
|
25.84
|
1994
|
2,808,823
|
28.78
|
1995
|
2,891,167
|
34.59
|
1996
|
2,989,141
|
35.53*
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
* If quality improvement programmes and assistance and school
infrastructure programmes are added in, monthly public expenditure
per student
was USD 50 in 1996 (equivalent to an annual rate of
USD 600).
780. Lastly, there were a series of practical initiatives
introduced by the Government, which reflect the increase in public and private
expenditure on education, such as:
(a) Increase in investment of around
25%.
(b) Improved subsidy. In primary education the improvement has
amounted to some 50% and in special education to some
120%.
(c) Drafting of a law on donations for educational purposes,
aimed at attracting contributions from the private sector.
(d) Shared
financing. Within the framework of a tax reform, towards the end of 1993,
subsidized private primary schools, as well
as subsidized municipal and private
secondary schools, were allowed to demand payment from families, which is added
to the tax subsidy
as part of a system of joint payment.
- The consideration given to the real cost to the family of the child's education and the appropriate support provided;
781. The Ministry has implemented a series of programmes focused on
equity, aimed at offsetting family difficulties and the limitations
faced by
students, as a result of socioeconomic background, geographic location or other
factors which hampering access to education
and the maintenance or success of
students in the system. Although these programmes began prior to 1990, since
then they have been
increasing their coverage and diversifying the services they
offer.
782. A series of specific programmes have also been implemented to
provide support to families, as follows:
Special grants
programmes
783. The Ministry of Education runs a programme of grants,
most of which are designed to encourage students to remain longer in the
educational system. In 1996, they were distributed as follows:
Table 9
Programme of special grants for secondary
education
Year
|
Meals
|
School equipment
|
PAA
subsidy[22]
|
Health
|
Prizes
|
1993
|
102,002
|
102,002
|
14,617
|
7,296
|
130
|
1994
|
51,005
|
107,511
|
14,964
|
10,528
|
130
|
1995
|
108,674
|
108,674
|
15,260
|
10,920
|
130
|
1996
|
108,061
|
108,061
|
15,260
|
13,224
|
130
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 19931996.
Ministry
of Education programme of indigenous grants
784. This programme is
designed for indigenous students in primary, secondary and higher education,
whose performance is satisfactory
and whose socioeconomic situation is
particularly vulnerable. The programme’s aim is to train human resources
to help the indigenous
communities and society in general. The programme is
annual and permanent.
785. The main achievements of the programme in 1997
occurred in terms of coverage, with the allocation of a total of 6,000 grants,
3,214 for primary education, 1,607 for secondary education and 1,179 for higher
education, across the country but focusing especially
on Regions VIII, IX,
X, I, II and the Metropolitan Region (RM).
786. Starting in 1998, it is
hoped to initiate monitoring of the performance of grantees and to establish a
network of recipients
in order to find out and attend to their individual
requirements (selfhelp).
Table 10
Ministry of Education indigenous grants
Number of beneficiaries
|
Location
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
|
1994
|
5,000
|
Regions I, II, V, VIII, IX, X, XII and Metropolitan.
|
579
|
1995
|
5,390
|
Extended to all regions
|
663
|
1996
|
5,600
|
All regions
|
773
|
1997
|
6,000
|
All regions
|
872
|
Source: MINEDUC grants programme.
Table 11
Number of pupils receiving indigenous grants by level
Total beneficiaries
|
Primary students
|
Secondary students
|
Higher education
|
|
1993
|
4,801
|
2,787
|
1,114
|
900
|
1994
|
5,000
|
2,900
|
1,160
|
940
|
1995
|
5,390
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
1996
|
5,600
|
3,000
|
1,500
|
1,100
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 19931996.
Ministry
of Education higher education grants and solidarity loans
787. At the
end of 1997 the same coverage of grants and solidarity loans is being maintained
by the Ministry. This means that 12.1%
of students in the 25 universities
of the Consejo de Rectores (Council of Deans) received grants covering 55% of
fees on average.
University loans from solidarity funds were extended, moreover,
to 47.3% of students enrolled in Council universities.
788. The
equivalent of 77% of available contributions were allocated to solidarity funds,
following a similar pattern to the resource
allocation in 1996. The remaining
23% was distributed according to the socioeconomic profile of first year
students in the light
of the results of the 1996 socioeconomic accreditation
system.
School Food Programme (PAE)
789. This is a JUNAEB
programme[23], benefiting students
in preschool, primary and secondary education, enrolled in municipal and
subsidized private schools. It consists
in the allocation of a daily food
ration, in the form of breakfast and lunch, during the school
year.
790. The calorific value of the daily food intake varies according
to the socioeconomic vulnerability of the children concerned: either
250, 700 or
1,000 calories according to need. There is another food programme specially for
boarders. These are given four meals,
breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner, with a
total daily value of 2,400 calories.
791. The programme begins on
15 March each year and finishes on 15 December.
Table 12
School food programme
Daily rations for primary education
700Calorie rations
|
1,000Calorie rations
|
250Calorie rations
|
2,400Calorie rations
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
|
1994
|
580,948
|
121,124
|
---
|
13,892
|
36,939,749
|
1995
|
574,432
|
123,426
|
17,345
|
12,234
|
38,821,757
|
1996
|
545,432
|
114,114
|
17,997
|
13,394
|
43,254,514
|
1997
|
571,117
|
120,838
|
11,931
|
11,735
|
45,531,293
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
Table 13
Daily rations for secondary education
Breakfast
350 cal |
Lunch
650 cal |
Sup. ration
1,000 cal |
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
|
1994
|
108,678
|
27,539
|
---
|
---
|
1995
|
108,678
|
27,539
|
56,782
|
---
|
1996
|
101,186
|
29,485
|
53,832
|
2,969,295
|
1997
|
---
|
---
|
53,111
|
4,217,777
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
792. JUNAEB uses
a riskbased methodology to allocate its resources, with a view to benefiting the
poorest schoolchildren in the country.
The methodology is based on the
measurement of socioeconomic vulnerability, as determined in a survey among
first primary and first
secondary grades. The methodology is applied each year
to all municipal and subsidized private establishments in the
country.
School equipment programme
793. This programme
covers all beneficiaries of the food programme. It provides an annual set of
school materials and equipment consisting
in exercise books, coloured pencils,
ballpoint pen, lead pencil and rubber. This set is handed out at the beginning
of each school
year, on 15 March.
Table 14
School materials programme
Number of beneficiaries
|
Secondary education
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
|
1994
|
1,127,000
|
---
|
427,246
|
1995
|
995,000
|
---
|
461,507
|
1996
|
960,000
|
---
|
495,972
|
1997
|
800,000
|
110,000
|
653,263
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
Student housing programme
794. In the form of family residences, JUNAEB
student homes and boarding grants, this programme is intended for schoolchildren
in
the 7th and 8th primary grades and secondary education,
especially those living in rural areas which are not equipped with schools, in
order to enable
them to continue their studies.
795. The programme
provides full daily food intake (breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner),
accommodation, teaching support and full training
throughout the school
year.
Table 15
Student housing programme
Daily coverage. 1994-1997
Student homes
|
Boarding grants
|
Food
(thousands) |
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
|
1994
|
3,835
|
2,703
|
2,143
|
473,826
|
1995
|
3,600
|
2,384
|
---
|
130,764
|
1996
|
3,436
|
2,372
|
---
|
434,011
|
1997
|
3,584
|
2,297
|
---
|
456,580
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
Table 16
Family residences
Beneficiaries and budget allocation. 1994-1997
Year
|
Number of beneficiaries
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
1994
|
1,015
|
235,472
|
1995
|
2,105
|
623,335
|
1996
|
2,108
|
724,482
|
1997
|
2,112
|
762,155
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
First
Lady grants programme
796. This is intended for schoolchildren in
Region V – Island Territories, Easter Island and Juan Fernandez - and
Region XI,
coming from primary or secondary education and who want to
continue their studies in special, technical vocational or university
education,
as appropriate. It provides cash contributions for transfer and maintenance
throughout the children’s studies.
797. The programme runs from
15 March through 23 December of each school year.
Table 17
First Lady grants programme
First Lady beneficiaries
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
|
1994
|
500
|
184,770
|
1995
|
500
|
208,658
|
1996
|
500
|
255,645
|
1997
|
600
|
280,303
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
School
health programme
798. This programme is intended for students in
municipal and subsidized private schools, enrolled in grades 15 of primary
schooling,
aged between six and twelve, suffering from problems of eyesight,
hearing or posture, detected by teachers and confirmed by primary
health care
establishments. Free care is provided in the form of examinations, medicines and
necessary items such as lenses, hearing
aids and insoles. The programme runs
from March to December each year.
799. The first stage of the programme
involves research into health problems covering all students in the first
primary grade of municipal
and subsidized private establishments. Specialist
care is provided on a quota basis per commune and according to the impairments
observed in former years. Within the commune, an effort is made to select the
most impaired children and those who are socioeconomically
most
vulnerable.
Table 18
Main programme results (coverage, focus,
quality improvement)
Year
|
Eyesight problems
|
Hearing problems
|
Posture problems
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
1994
|
36,444
|
13,846
|
51,354
|
631,115
|
1995
|
48,629
|
20,187
|
51,026
|
820,944
|
1996
|
54,950
|
17,325
|
58,149
|
1,084,909
|
1997
|
54,950
|
17,325
|
58,149
|
1,333,021
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
Oral health
programme
800. This programme is intended for students between the
ages of 6 and 14, in municipal and subsidized private establishments, selected
by the commune’s dental unit. It provides full dental care free of charge
and organizes educational talks on oral health and
prevention (gel application
and tooth brushing). The programme takes place from March to December each
year.
801. Prevention courses are given in the educational establishments
of the municipal or subsidized private system that have asked
for the service.
Full dental care is provided in dental units in communes whose mayors have
chosen to sign the relevant institutional
agreement with JUNAEB.
Table 19
Coverage of the oral health
programme
Year
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997 est.
|
1998 est.
|
Full care
|
19,213
|
20,890
|
21,287
|
22,726
|
22,726
|
Maintenance care
|
12,937
|
22,840
|
30,551
|
38,200
|
47,750
|
Total
|
32,150
|
43,739
|
51,838
|
60,200
|
70,476
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
Table 20
Oral health programme
budget
(Ch$ million)
Year
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Budget (thousands)
|
490,600
|
529,941
|
564,387
|
675,452
|
Source: JUNAEB Statistical Office.
- The measures adopted to ensure that children may be taught in local, indigenous or minority languages;
802. This objective is pursued through the Bilingual Intercultural
Education Programme, which has been operating since 1996 and which
aims to
generate educational activities in schools for indigenous pupils, incorporating
the knowledge and values of the culture and
language of each ethnic group, and
backed up by permanent community participation.
803. It has succeeded in
developing pilot projects in establishments attended by indigenous students,
strengthening intercultural
education for teaching careers and providing
training for teachers.
804. From 1998 onwards, it is hoped to expand the
number of pilot projects, to prepare and issue a first lot of teaching material
on indigenous languages and cultures, to strengthen the indigenous education and
culture commissions (CRECI) and to provide teachers
with training and further
training.
Table 21
Bilingual education programme
beneficiaries
Year
|
Beneficiaries
|
Location
|
Budget
(Ch$ million) |
1996
|
18 schools
60 teachers 938 pupils |
Regions I, VIII, IX and X
|
85
|
1997
|
20 schools
64 teachers 1,015 pupils |
Regions I, II, VIII, IX and X
|
90
|
Source: Bilingual Education Programme.
- Mechanisms developed to ensure the access of all children, including girls, children with special needs and children in especially difficult circumstances, to quality education adapted to the child's age and maturity;
805. Special education as a separate part of general education is
conducted preferably within the regular education system, providing
specialized
resources and services to persons with special educational needs at all levels
and in all sectors of education (preschool,
primary, secondary and higher). Act
nº 19.284 was passed in 1994, setting out rules for the full social
integration of disabled
persons. Then in 1998, the Ministry of Education
published a regulation for Chapter II of the Act, establishing the right of
disabled
persons to regular education, thereby extending the educational options
open to those schoolchildren.
806. From 1990 onwards, the coverage for
children with special educational needs derived from disability have been
increased, to a
total of 4,488 pupils this year incorporated in the regular
system. The Ministry of Education will continue to promote and support
this
process, committing the necessary economic resources and undertaking teacher
training activities as part of its school integration
policy.
807. Students with special educational needs unrelated to
disability, which hamper their school education, are looked after in primary
general education schools, with specialized teaching support, as well as in
separate groups working in special classes, reaching
a total of 64,400
children.
- The steps taken to ensure that there are sufficient teachers in the school system, to enhance their competence, and to ensure and assess the quality of teaching;
808. The Coalition Governments have developed policies specifically
designed to improve teachers’ working conditions and pay,
in order
gradually to make up for the very low level they had reached at the time of the
military Government. In the first place,
the teachers’ statute (Act
nº 219.070 of 1991) established a national minimum basic wage, which
meant a real salary increase
for many teachers, who were particularly
disadvantaged. It also began to restore the teaching profession, establishing
common standards
regarding training and further training, participation, and the
development of independence and professional responsibility. At present
the
minimum income of teachers is Ch$269,867 (USD 653) for a standard 44 hours
per week of teaching in primary education.
809. Staffing levels remained
stationary between 1993 and 1995. According to the latest statistics, there were
113,368 teachers employed
in the school system. They were distributed on
the four different levels as follows:
(a) Preschool education:
9,415
(b) Primary education: 78,813
(c) Special education:
4,228
(d) Secondary education: 50,187.
810. Some 95% of teachers
possess the relevant qualifications. Women make up 68.4% of the total, a
proportion which in primary education
is as high as 72.3%, but in secondary
school only 52.4%.
811. There are at present more the 23,000 students
undergoing teacher training for different levels of the system.
812. The
educational reform which is currently under way relies on a key element, which
are the teachers. It is they who in the end
will be making use of the many
resources which the reform process has been making available to primary and
secondary schools. The
Ministry of Education has therefore been promoting a
programme of Professional Teacher Development. This programme included
initiatives
in the areas of initial training, basic inservice further training,
a programme of grants and traineeships abroad for professionals
of the education
sector and the award of national prizes for teaching
performance.
813. For the above initiatives, over
USD 60 million have been earmarked over a number of years, distributed
as follows:
(a) USD 34.5 million for initial
training;
(b) USD 9 million for basic further
training;
(c) USD 15 million for grants
abroad;
(d) USD 2.5 million for teaching performance
prizes.
814. To this figure should be added the additional cost of higher
salaries, introduced with the teachers’ statute.
815. The
teachers’ statute establishes guidelines for teaching careers with an
emphasis on the professional performance of teachers,
allowing the possibility
of steady increases in salary. A further initiative has been a national system
for the assessment of performance,
which awards financial prizes to the best
establishments. All in all, these initiatives imply a substantial improvement
and renovation
of initial training and further training for Chilean
teachers.
816. The further inservice training of teachers is essential to
achieve a qualitative improvement in education. Since 1994, some 55,000
teachers
a year have received an average of 60 hours of courses. The Centre for
Further Teacher Training, Experimentation and Research
(CPEIP) alone has taken
in a total of 83,358 teachers.
817. As far as the improvement of teaching
is concerned, in the last four years the Ministry of Education has taken several
measures
through its MECE programme. One of these improvement measures has been
the Learning Problems (PROA) programme, which has been run
as part of the
CPEIPMECE Basic Further Training Plan. It was launched in 1992, on the basis of
a strategy consisting in providing
8,400 primary education teachers with further
training in prevention, detection, diagnosis and educational strategies for
resolving
learning problems, between 1992 and 1996. This programme benefited
47,460 children. Two modifications were made in the original design:
one was
related to the relevance of the teaching material used, in the light of actual
teaching conditions; and the other related
to equity, in order to help children
with cognitive disabilities to improve their performance.
818. In
addition, an improvement programme has been running since 1995 under the title
“Modernization of Educational Practices”,
for the benefit of special
schools. Since 1996, another programme under the name “Catering for
Diversity in the Classroom”
has been aimed at teachers in primary schools
dealing with disabled children.
819. In 1997, a basic improvement
programme for teachers benefited approximately 7,000 teachers in the country,
mainly in the second
cycle of primary education and in secondary education, in
schools with a high academic reputation. It is hoped that some 25,000 teachers
will be able to improve their performance in this way within the next few
years.
820. A programme of grants and fellowships has also been providing
traineeships, postdiploma and postgraduate courses abroad. The
aim of this
programme is to offer teachers the opportunity to become acquainted with
teaching experience in other countries and to
give it consideration, with a view
to renovating teaching and learning practices in their educational units,
opening up the system
to change, while at the same time confirming their role as
agents of innovation.
821 The traineeship aspect of this programme began
in 1996, when 563 teachers travelled abroad. In 1997, 796 class teachers were
selected,
in addition to principals from different educational levels and
sectors. Since 1997, new possibilities have been offered, in addition
to the
traineeships, for teachers on active service wishing to undertake diploma,
postdiploma and postgraduate studies. This covers
a broad range of highlevel
further training possibilities, thus significantly improving the country’s
educational research
capacity. It is hoped that in the next three years some
1,500 teachers will be able to take advantage of this type of further training,
which exceeds the “President of the Republic” foreign grants
programme in terms of both magnitude and amount.
822. Lastly, the
“National Prizes for Teaching Performance”, which had been announced
in the President’s message
of 21 May 1996, are aimed at
establishing social recognition for the teaching profession. The prizes will be
awarded to the most
distinguished teachers in Chile. The candidacies and
selections are made basically by the educational community, on the basis of
teachers’ merit. The prize itself is worth Ch$ 4 million (equivalent
to USD 9,750) and a diploma is awarded to the school where
the
prize-winners teach.
- The measures adopted to provide adequate educational facilities,
accessible to all children;
823. Through its MECE programme, the
Ministry of Education has implemented measures to this effect, aimed at
improving the image of
educational units, which has implied taking steps to
improve their infrastructure and to build and equip classrooms.
824. In
the four years that the programme has been running (19941997),
193 classrooms have been built in rural schools to complete
primary
schooling facilities. In addition, 100 preschool classrooms have been built
and the infrastructure of 2,232 primary schools
has been
improved.
825. All these measures were undertaken jointly by several
Ministries (Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Planning, Ministry of
Finance
and the Architecture Department of the Ministry of Public Works), initiating an
irreversible process of joint undertaking
leading to qualitative changes in
public investment.
826. The incorporation of a significant number of
schools in the Full School Day scheme has meant in many cases making
improvements
in their infrastructure. The State will finance infrastructural
improvements undertaken for the purpose of extending the school day,
required by
schools whose physical facilities are insufficient to cope with the expected
number of pupils. The funding is to be used
for improvements, adjustments and
extensions in existing premises, the construction of new schools and the
purchase or lease of existing
buildings, as well as the purchase of furnishings
required for the single shift. The funding will consist in an additional
contribution
towards costs, in the form of an amount of resources made available
under certain conditions, allocated in accordance with a set
of requirements
that need to be met by the backer and the school itself.
827. Altogether
75 new classrooms have been built and/or improved in municipal urban schools,
benefiting 2,200 children.
828. In the specific case of preschool
education, the National Kindergarten Council (JUNJI) has contributed to school
infrastructure.
One example has been the premises specially built in accordance
with existing standards, with capacities ranging from 72 to 296 preschool
children (except for one school of 490 children) and equipped to meet the
biological, psychological and social needs of preschool
children. In addition,
further premises provided by municipalities and other community organizations
have been adapted as necessary.
829. In the period 19941997, the JUNJI
has managed to set up establishments in all regions of the country, offering
longer hours at
nursery level and in most of the other levels as well. With this
increase in the number of traditional kindergartens and classes,
the coverage in
1997 amounted to 67,197 children.
- The rate of illiteracy below and over 18 years, and the rate of enrolment in literacy classes, including by age, gender, region, rural/urban area, and social and ethnic origin;
830. The historic rate of illiteracy in Chile has been steadily falling:
in 1993, it represented 5.2% of the total population above
15 years old, and by
1996 the figure had fallen to 4.8%. During that period 19931996, a total of
29,113 people were made literate.
Table 22
Illiteracy rate 19901996
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
Table 23
Illiteracy by area and region
Urban
|
%
|
Rural
|
%
|
Total
|
%
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I
|
1,482
|
0.6
|
1,934
|
16.2
|
3,416
|
1.4
|
II
|
3,148
|
1.1
|
567
|
11.1
|
3,715
|
1.2
|
III
|
5,468
|
3.6
|
1,514
|
11.7
|
6,982
|
4.2
|
IV
|
13,536
|
4.9
|
15,259
|
14.1
|
28,795
|
7.5
|
V
|
26,593
|
2.7
|
8,893
|
8.5
|
35,486
|
3.3
|
VI
|
16,717
|
4.8
|
26,626
|
14.2
|
43,343
|
8.1
|
VII
|
20,963
|
5.6
|
39,600
|
16.2
|
60,563
|
9.8
|
VIII
|
41,760
|
4.1
|
48,484
|
16.7
|
90,244
|
6.9
|
IX
|
18,905
|
5.6
|
31,569
|
13.9
|
50,474
|
8.9
|
X
|
26,681
|
6.0
|
32,359
|
12.1
|
59,040
|
8.3
|
XI
|
2,253
|
5.3
|
1,348
|
9.4
|
3,601
|
6.4
|
XII
|
3,332
|
3.4
|
542
|
7.4
|
3,874
|
3.7
|
XIII
|
97,627
|
2.4
|
12,127
|
8.4
|
109,754
|
2.7
|
Country
|
278,465
|
3.2
|
220,822
|
13.6
|
499,287
|
4.9
|
Source: 1996 CASEN survey– Social Studies Forum
– MIDEPLAN.
831. As may be seen from Table 23, the situation
is uneven across the country, and there are in particular substantial
differences
between urban and rural areas, between regions and between
socioeconomic strata.
832. The level of school attendance has also been
improving in recent years (see Table 24), although there are still
inequalities.
833. As may be seen, however, there has been a gradual
increase in the number of years of effective schooling for the population as
a
whole.
Table 24
Period of schooling, 19881996
Year
|
Period of schooling
|
1988
|
8.25
|
1989
|
8.46
|
1990
|
8.58
|
1991
|
8.65
|
1992
|
9.24
|
1993
|
9.38
|
1994
|
9.47
|
1995
|
9.57
|
1996
|
9.76
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
Table 25
Average school attendance of population aged 15 and over by area and by sex
|
Region
|
Total
|
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Urban
|
Rural
|
||||||||
1990
|
1992
|
1994
|
1990
|
1992
|
1994
|
1990
|
1992
|
1994
|
|
Male
|
9.9
|
9.9
|
10.0
|
6.2
|
6.3
|
6.4
|
9.2
|
9.2
|
9.3
|
Female
|
9.4
|
9.4
|
9.5
|
6.3
|
6.2
|
6.4
|
8.9
|
8.9
|
9.0
|
Total
|
9.6
|
9.6
|
9.7
|
6.3
|
6.3
|
6.4
|
9.0
|
9.0
|
9.2
|
Source: MIDEPLAN, Department of Social Information, CASEN
surveys 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1994.
- Any systems of non-formal education;
834. According to Article 4 of the LOCE, education may take the form
of formal education or informal education. Formal education is
scientifically
structured and systematically delivered. It is made up of different levels which
ensure unity for the education process
and facilitate lifelong continuity.
Informal education is taken to mean any process related to the development of
people and society,
arising from interactions between them, but without the
tuition of educational establishments.
Out-of-school education
835. As part of the national education system,
out-of-school education in its general guidelines has aimed to extend the
coverage
of preschool and school sectors for which there have so far been no
specific social education programmes. As a response to the need
to implement an
education policy that prepares future generations for the exercise of democracy,
out-of-school education, from 1991
onwards, has played a dominant part in the
development of programmes and specific projects focused on marginalized
preschool and
school sectors, with a view to incorporating them in the
development of society as a whole.
836. Some of the achievements and
improvements are listed below:
(a) A decree was passed establishing a
new regulation for secondary school centres in order to strengthen democratic
objectives
among principals and to stimulate the participation of
students.
(b) A Day of the Student was instituted, to symbolize social
recognition of the importance of student centres.
(c) Implementation of
the programme “Your life counts - recount your life” under the
responsibility of the Balmaceda
1215 Cultural Services Centre for Young
People and the Participa Foundation, extending their coverage and the diversity
of their
artistic activities.
(d) Extension of the Open Summer Schools
programme, covering 26,000 young people in
52 communes.
(e) In 1997, a National Exhibition was held on
science, art and youth at Mapocho Station, in which 21,328 students from
all over
the country took part. Implementation of the programme for the
promotion and development of out-of-school education. As part of this
programme,
educational establishments submitted projects, and those selected obtained
teaching tools and materials for their activities,
as well as technical
assistance and recognition as a permanent group, with special accreditation by
means of youth participation
cards.
837. In preschool education, there
are two initiatives, which, although aimed at specific objectives in each case,
really belong in
the area of nonformal education. These are the TILNA programme
(Local Integration Workshops at National Level), which later became
the PMI
(Improvement Programmes for Children) and the “Know Your Child”
programme.
838. The TILNA programme, which was part of a drive to provide
further training for educational staff, led to the hire of 349 persons,
including provincial and local monitors and project coordinators, each year from
1995 onwards. As it developed, the programme gradually
became a strategy for
extending coverage in the more vulnerable sectors, eventually turning into the
Improvement Programmes for Children.
In this latest version, the activities
undertaken with the children try to make them key agents of their own community.
Each organized
group draws up a diagnosis of the best features for children in
its community, after which it makes a proposal in accordance with
the
requirements and expectations of the children in the community.
839. A
competition is then held for all the groups to submit their projects, which, if
selected, are granted assistance worth USD
2,500 a year. In the project
implementation phase, an agreement was reached with the Solidarity and Social
Investment Fund (FOSIS)
to ensure that the groups received the financial aid and
that the money was properly used.
840. The programme has been well
targeted, since most of the communes where it has been tried are those involved
in the National Plan
for Overcoming Poverty. Since 1995, some
20,000 children have benefited in one way or another.
841. The
initiative has led to 105 local projects, distributed over
37 provinces, 69 communes and 133 localities. In 1997, the
programme
covered 6,000 children of preschool age, as well as another
2,000 children over the age of 6. A further 2,024 adults received
training.
Most of the projects have run smoothly and their funds have been well
managed by the groups.
842. An important experiment has been run in the
commune of Coquimbo, which is part of Region IV, in the form of the first
Educational
Association for Local Children, an independent initiative which in
September 1996 was given legal status. It has at present
72 members.
843. The unexpected development of the Improvement
Programmes for Children, which have provided an alternative source of
possibilities
for preschool education, is due to the fruitful combination of
being locally generated and therefore socioculturally appropriate
initiatives,
and the fact that they are part of a broader training effort involving public
and private, technical and community activities
and resources.
844. Their
plans for the future are centred on gradually increasing coverage by some 25% in
poor urban and rural localities and gradually
shifting the focus to the
municipalities.
845. One of the methods chosen to extend coverage in poor
rural and urban sectors, trying unconventional approaches, has been the
programme mentioned above called Know Your Child, which is developed by leading
women in the community trained to pass educational
activities on to mothers
involved in the programme in the localities where it operates.
846. It
has been introduced in 245 rural communities in Chile’s 13 regions. In the
current period, the programme dealt with
11,953 children and provided training
to 7,753 mothers in rural areas. For JUNJI, Integra and Prison Premises,
the programme has
been applied as a tool for working with families and improving
the quality of preschool education.
847. The National Kindergarten
Council (JUNJI) itself has developed a variety of unconventional educational
programmes (family, working,
seasonal, distant or radio nurseries, nurseries at
home, for indigenous communities or community kindergartens, open patio, day
nurseries
at home and day nurseries in the consulting room) as a way of
responding to the various requirements of the population concerned
in urban,
semiurban and rural areas.
848. Through these unconventional care
facilities, JUNJI has been able to reach many children who had previously been
left without
care, extending the coverage of the programmes to
37,293 children in 1997.
849. New urban family nurseries, using
existing spare capacity, have been opened, taking in another
3,996 children. With the same
strategy, the Integra Foundation has been
able to run 56 community kindergartens, providing care for
2,107 children.
850. A further innovation has been the use of the
mass media for educational purposes. More specifically in the area of preschool
education, a parental education strategy was initiated as one way of
strengthening the awareness and commitment of parents with regard
to preschool
education. A joint commission was set up for the purpose, including JUNJI,
Integra, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF.
The campaign was assessed by an
external organization, which showed that the messages reached some 75% of the
target group to which
they were addressed. One important result of the campaign
was that State funds were allocated to produce new videos. In addition,
both
private and public television channels assisted by broadcasting the spots for
six months free of charge.
- Any system or extensive initiatives by the State to provide early
development and education services for young children, especially
for young
children from disadvantaged social groups;
851. Preschool education
is intended for children under the age of 6 and is delivered through subsidized
municipal, subsidized private
and paying private establishments. Despite the
fact that in Chile preschool education since 1965 has been considered the first
level
of the educational system, it is still not compulsory.
852. In
lower income sectors, most of the preschool facilities are provided by
institutions that depend on the Ministry of Education,
which concentrates
chiefly on 6-year-old boys and girls. There is the National Kindergarten Council
(JUNJI), an independent, decentralized,
public law institution, related to the
Government through the Ministry of Education, which is responsible for
regulating and supervising
day nurseries and private kindergartens, and the
Integra Foundation.
853. Subsidized municipal schools offer preschool and
primary education free of charge, receiving a State subsidy for every child
they
take in. Preschool education is mainly for 5 and 6 year old children, and in
1994, total enrolment came to approximately
128,000
children.
854. The subsidized private schools operate along
similar lines, except that they are dependant in this case on private sponsors
who
have been recognized as cooperating with State education. In 1994, some
85,000 children were catered for in this way.
855. Fee-paying
private schools take in children between the ages of 0 and 6, whose families are
in a position to pay the cost of
sending their children to a kindergarten. These
establishments are supervised by the National Kindergarten Council, although
owing
to the large number of kindergartens and the lack of staff to carry out
supervisions, it is not possible to ensure that the quality
of care provided is
up to the standards established by the JUNJI.
856. The National
Kindergarten Council (JUNJI), which was set up by Act nº 17.301 in
1970, is funded from annual tax revenues.
It enjoys national coverage and is
organized into regional directorates. In accordance with its legal mandate, it
works with directlyadministered
establishments on the basis of agreements and
subsidies and with the private sector.
857. It operates through
1,403 establishments and cares for 112,022 children across the
country. It runs the following programmes:
- Traditional
kindergartens
- Family kindergartens
- Kindergartens for the
children of indigenous communities
- Seasonal family
kindergartens
- Working family kindergartens
- Open patio
kindergartens
- Athome kindergartens
- Urban radio
kindergartens
- Community kindergartens
- Consulting room day
nurseries.
858. Another institution that conducts activities in this area
is the National Foundation for the Full Development of the Child. This
is a
private law institution presided over by the wife of the President of the
Republic. It is funded from tax revenues and private
contributions. Its aim is
to foster the full development of poor children by promoting their intellectual,
emotional, social and
nutritional development. It maintains a network of centres
across the country for children from lower income families aged under
6. At
present its coverage extends to some 60,000 children; its open centres
project currently has the most vacancies.
859. In order to achieve its
objective of fostering the full development of the child, while involving
families in the educational
process, it runs different programmes in order to
find the best response to the specific characteristics of the Integra
Foundation’s
requirements. These programmes are organized as
follows:
- Open centres
- Rural centres
- Community
kindergartens
- Seasonal centres
- Extended hours
centres
- Day nurseries
- Integrated
centres
- Kindergartens on wheels.
860. In all these programmes,
the educational objective is to develop the skills the children will need in
their later schooling.
It also comes with a food programme, that meets 70% of
the food requirements of preschool children.
861. A number of different
strategies have been developed to involve families systematically in the
Foundation’s educational
programme. The objective is to strengthen the
families’ role as prime educators and to reinforce the personal resources
available
to them to support their children’s development and
growth.
862. One of the essential resources on which the Foundation
relies is educational materials. The most useful of these include: the
file of
preschool education activities, which consists in a set of cards that help to
run the curriculum and a minimum number of
good quality educational activities
for every child; the “Let’s play maths” box and handbook,
which gives children
a practical, handson experience of mathematics; the book
“From home to school”, a graphically illustrated text that provides
an introduction to and the development of psychomotor and cognitive skills; the
card set “Games, entertainment and simple tasks
for the home” and
the “Let’s play in the family” kit, which provides a way of
introducing a stimulating environment
and games into the families of the
children cared for by the Foundation; educational folders for working with
families, including
the series “Be kinder to children”, which
contains a set of three folders that put across principles of education based
on
respect and affection; and the folders “Growing up means overcoming
obstacles”, “Let’s talk about television”
and
“Learning to live together”, which deal with key topics for the
development of children.
863. The results of the above activities have
been promising. By 1994, normal development indicators showed a figure of 61.8%
of children,
with an average development coefficient of 42.2%, which was still
slightly in the risk category. By the end of 1997, the results
of the programmes
showed normality indicators for more than 80% of the children, with the average
children’s development coefficient
at over
47 points.
864. From 1990 to 1996, the preschool education coverage
for the lowest quintile increased from 16.9% to 22.3%, while for the top
quintile the figure rose from 32.4% to 48.4%. The coverage discrepancy between
the first and fifth quintile in 1990 was 15.5 percentage
points, a figure
which rose to 26.1 in 1996. In the latter year, preschool coverage was
substantially higher in the fifth quintile,
at 48.4%, while in the lowest
quintile coverage was only 22.3%. Despite the efforts that have been made to
improve preschool coverage
for the first quintile, this continues to be below
the national average (see table 26).
Table 26
Preschool education coverage according
to admission quintile, 19901996
Quintile
|
1990
|
1992
|
1994
|
1996
|
I
|
16.9
|
19.8
|
21.1
|
22.3
|
II
|
17.5
|
22.1
|
22.7
|
26.8
|
III
|
20.4
|
23.9
|
27.2
|
30.0
|
IV
|
27.2
|
27.9
|
33.4
|
36.8
|
V
|
32.4
|
44.6
|
46.0
|
48.4
|
Total
|
20.9
|
24.8
|
26.9
|
29.8
|
Source: MEDIPLAN. CASEN surveys for 1990, 1992, 1994 and
1996.
865. If coverage is broken down by area, it is found that it is
substantially greater in urban areas, a situation that has remained
unchanged
since 1990, although it is worth pointing out that the discrepancy between urban
and rural areas has diminished. In 1990,
for instance, rural coverage was
approximately onethird that of urban areas, while by 1996 the figure had risen
to approximately
half.
866. Despite this increase in rural coverage,
however, the latter continues to be much lower. According to the 1996 CASEN
survey,
urban coverage was 32.6% and rural coverage only 15.3%, compared with a
national average of 29.8% (see Table 27).
Table 27
Preschool education coverage by area, 19901996
1990
|
1992
|
1994
|
1996
|
|
Urban
|
23.8
|
27.4
|
29.7
|
32.6
|
Rural
|
8.5
|
12.7
|
13.7
|
15.3
|
Total
|
20.9
|
24.7
|
26.9
|
29.8
|
Source: MEDIPLAN. CASEN surveys for 1990, 1992, 1994
and 1996.
- The changes that have occurred in the education system (including with
regard to legislation, policies, facilities, budgetary allocation,
quality of
education, enrolment, drop-out and literacy);
867. In line with the
country’s diagnosis, the education policies initiated in 1990 followed two
main guiding principles: improvement
in the quality of education and greater
equity in the distribution of education. The focus of policies aiming for
quality have been
the improvement of internal processes of the education system
and its learning results. Equity policies have tended to follow the
affirmative
action approach, according to which achieving equal educational opportunities
for a variety of groups actually means
assigning more resources and paying
special attention to the most vulnerable groups in the
country.
868. Since 1995, a third principle has been added to the other
two, namely modernization. When the country was struggling to overcome
the
problems that arose from its transition to democracy, the need to modernize was
not given priority. Moreover, there are certain
requirements as well as
favourable conditions that must be put in place in order to achieve a
qualitative change in education. What
is needed is not only better education,
but new education. In other words, the changes have to be general and more
ambitious, more
in line with what might be termed an educational
reform.
869. The design of a reform must be systemic. This means that it
is no use undertaking one part of the reform without seeing to the
whole, since
each part synergetically influences the behaviour of all the
others.
870. Progress therefore has to be made in ways of teaching and
learning, the time given to them, the contents of education, as well
as the
gradual and sustained improvement in the skills and working conditions of
teachers. Secondly, a reform has to be designed
as a broadranging and longterm
process. Thirdly, reform is only possible and will be facilitated if there was a
new institutional
framework. At one and the same time the reform has to look
after the material conditions and the new knowledge required to sustain
educational processes. On the other hand, educational reform typically is
gradual, incremental and microsocial, that is, it is produced
in and from the
base of the system.
871. The current reform has been occurring at a
continuous, incremental pace, which is characteristic of decentralized
educational
systems that are both open to society and flexible in their ability
to adapt to faster and more deepseated changes.
872. In other words, a
qualitative transformation of education has been taking place in Chile,
following its own strategy of change.
The aim of the reform is, gradually and
globally, to affect all dimensions of the system, including forms of teaching
and learning,
the contents of education, the management of educational services,
inputs both of educational materials and of school infrastructures,
and the
sustained funding of better working conditions for teachers.
A new curriculum framework
873. In addition to the effort made to provide
technical and teaching support for the management of primary and secondary
schools,
thus favouring a renewal of teaching practices, in 1996 a broadranging
curriculum reform was initiated, aimed at renewing the curriculum
of primary and
secondary education and decentralizing its preparation.
874. The
curriculum reform is based on the following guidelines:
(a) The need to
update the objectives and contents of primary and secondary education,
considering that the foundations of the educational
plans and programmes for
both these levels were laid in 1980 and 1981, respectively, and that meanwhile
considerable changes have
occurred nationally and locally in terms of
civilization, knowledge and practical reality;
(b) The obligation to
meet the provisions of the Constitutional Organization Act on Education (LOCE),
which apart from laying down
general objectives and completion profiles for both
cycles of the education system, introduced a new procedure for generating the
school curriculum on a decentralized basis;
(c) The need to achieve
quality in education, which implies ensuring that whatever is taught and learned
is essentially relevant,
which itself assumes that the recent advances in
educational science are taken into account.
875. In accordance with the
LOCE mandate, in January 1996 what were known as the fundamental objectives
and minimum compulsory contents
(under the abbreviation OF/CMO) were issued for
primary education. This marked a great step forward in updating the structure
and
corresponding curriculum contents for primary schooling and opened up the
possibility for schools, while keeping to the common core
set out in the OF/CMO
programme, to prepare their own study plans and programmes, adapted to the
students they were working with
and compatible with the educational projects of
the schools themselves.
876. The fundamental objectives (OF) consist in
the skills which students have to master in the different periods of their
schooling,
in order to meet the general purposes and objectives and completion
requirements for primary and secondary education.
877. The minimum
contents (CM) consist in the specific, practical knowledge required to achieve
the abilities and attitudes which
schools are obliged to teach, to cultivate and
to promote in order to meet the fundamental objectives established for each
level.
Curriculum reform in primary education
878. For the first time the Chilean school
curriculum is comprehensive and general in character, aimed at personal
development and
the moral and social conduct of students, and must be followed
in the educational activities conducted in the course of primary
education.
Curriculum reform in secondary education
879. The new curriculum was prepared with the
participation of many experts. It was publicized and submitted to broad
consultation
in 1997, and subsequently sent to the Upper Council for Education,
for final approval at the beginning of 1998. Altogether 189 institutions
of
different kinds were invited to take part in the consultation regarding the new
curriculum. The aim of this curriculum reform
is to respond to the fact that at
present the accelerating changes in technical knowledge and the requirements of
organizations and
society in terms of knowledge, as well as the introduction of
decentralized organization of school education and new curricula, have
to be
thought of as an incremental and longstanding process. The ministerial guidance
on minimum contents has made a substantial
change in the way the curriculum is
organized, by basically splitting objectives and contents into two major
categories: common education
and differentiated education, which in turn is
divided into two streams: humanistic/scientific and
technical/vocational.
880. The reform has introduced substantial changes
in the internal organization of differentiated education, breaking up the
existing
structure based on humanistic education and scientific/vocational,
which was geared to direct entry to the job market. The transversal
objectives
of secondary education follow the general guidelines aimed at the pursuit of
good quality, general education for all set
out by the National Commission for
the Modernization of Education.
Full school day
881. In 1997, it was decided to pursue the
objective of a full school day, which appeared as a difficult challenge but
which was to
have a favourable effect on areas of learning, the management of
schools and on educational equity.
882. Act nº 19.494,
published in the official bulletin of 25 January 1997, laid down the
rules for the implementation of the
full school day in 1997 for
3,000 subsidized schools.
883. According to the advantages and
contents outlined for the project, it was a matter of achieving a qualitative
leap forward in
order to consolidate the efforts initiated in 1990 with
programmes to improve the quality and equity of education (P900, preschooling,
primary, secondary, ENLACES), allowing more time and providing a suitable
infrastructure, better organization and better working
conditions for good
quality teaching.
884. Among the benefits are more time for teaching
activities; time to meet the requirements of the new fundamental objectives and
minimum contents; time to alternate classroom work with complementary activities
and recreation; the possibility of conducting support
activities for students
(workshops, directed studies, laboratory work, special tasks, etc.); better
identification of students, teachers
and principals with their educational
establishment; and longer time spent by children and young people in schools,
which lessens
their exposure to risk.
885. Introducing the full school
day into the Chilean educational system has required a concentrated effort to
mobilize large volumes
of resources and sustained commitment on the part of the
various actors involved, namely the State, municipalities, private sponsors,
teachers, principals and students. The outcome is that by the year 2002,
practically 9,000 schools will be running a full school
day system from
third primary grade to fourth secondary. The full school day may also benefit
pupils in the first and second grades
of primary schools in general education
with indices of over 50% of
vulnerability[24] and/or rural
schools with multigrade courses.
886. This means that each school: i)
will have an additional 200 hours annually, still within the 40 weeks
of schooling, with no change
either in vacations or in the school calendar; ii)
will increase teaching to a minimum of 38 hours a week in primary schooling
and
to 42 hours a week in secondary schooling, in addition to two hours or
the equivalent every fortnight or month for teachers to carry
out group
technical educational work; iii) will receive an increase in resources
through educational subsidies. The average subsidy
increase from third primary
to fourth secondary is 34%.
887. This measure consisting in extending the
school day can only be compared to the major efforts the country has made to
extend
the right to education to the whole of its population. It follows a
tradition, inherited from the generations who have preceded us,
who perceived
education as the key to the nation’s development.
888. The present
challenge, once the problem of school coverage has to a great extent been
resolved, is to ensure equitably distributed
goodquality education. Although the
challenges are qualitatively different, they follow the same significance and
symbolism. The
full school day maintains the tradition of those major
educational challenges already undertaken in Chile, but following a new
orientation
which is necessary in the modern world, namely quality and
equity.
889. The extent and quality of time spent in school is a key
factor in the learning achievement of children. Comparative international
research into the factors that positively affect learning points towards school
time as one of the most decisive.
890. The extension of school time,
added to the recent prolongation of the school year by a further two weeks,
places Chilean education
in opposition to the most advanced countries in this
respect. As for the implications of this significant change, the following are
worth mentioning.
891. From the point of view of the students, the longer
school time brings an improvement in the quality of learning and in the
enrichment
of their school experience, which is particularly important for
children who do not receive any support at home to do their homework.
The
measure also implies considerable social benefits. Children and young people
whose alternative is being in the street will spend
more time in protected
places. More possibilities will be opened up, moreover, for incorporating women
in jobs. Lastly, as a result
of the greater time available for mothers to
undertake paid work, it is hoped that the measure will help reduce child labour,
delinquency
and school dropout, all factors which tend to perpetuate poverty in
its worst manifestation.
Table 28
Level of education and extra
hours
Level/Stream
|
Increase
|
Hours per year
|
|
Preschool (second transition level)
|
0
|
Primary
|
|
Grades 1 and 2
|
0
|
Grades 3-6
|
232
|
Grades 7 and 8
|
135
|
Secondary
|
|
Sc./Hum. 1 and 2
|
261
|
Sc./Hum. 3 and 4
|
174
|
Tech./Vocational 1 and 2
|
174
|
Tech./Vocational 3 and 4
|
116
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1997.
892. The
extension of school time will benefit 2.3 million pupils in primary and
secondary education. This will entail substantial
efforts from an organizational
and financial point of view due to: i) the increase in teaching hours
(600,000 hours per week), which
will have to be paid with increased
subsidies; ii) the need to build the equivalent of practically
20,000 classrooms in 3,700 schools,
for some 760,000 pupils. This
means making infrastructure improvements so as to enable schools that are
inadequately provided to
cater for all the pupils in the new
system.
893. Other measures undertaken as part of the reform have
included programmes to improve the quality of preschool and primary education.
These programmes have entailed a systematic overhaul of the preschool and
primary education system in Chile, as a means of significantly
improving the
quality of the conditions, activities and results of kindergartens and primary
schools.
894. A number of improvements have been made in primary
education, including the acquisition of new inputs. This has led to the issue
of
school textbooks to all pupils from first to eighth grade in municipal and
subsidized schools throughout the country. In addition,
classroom libraries have
been provided in all the courses of primary education in subsidized schools.
Infrastructure in general has
been repaired and further equipment has been
added, such as children’s games and trees and the physical structure of
schools
situated in poorer sectors has been repaired.
895. Funding has
also been provided for educational improvement projects generated by the schools
themselves. The aim of these projects
is to improve the schools’
capacities for designing and implementing their own solutions and educational
improvements.
896. In 1992, the ENLACES (Links) network was launched
with the idea of building up an experimental educational information network
involving 100 schools and ten institutions. By 1995 the target had been
easily exceeded and the objectives were re-targeted, with
a proposal to
incorporate – by the year 2000 – 50% of the country’s
primary schools and 100% of secondary schools,
that is approximately
5,000 establishments across the country.
Source: ENLACES programme.
897. In 1997, 600 new
schools have been incorporated in the network, which has extended the
project’s coverage to a total of
911 primary schools. In 1998, the
plan is to bring in a further 750 schools. In the longer term, the aim of
the project is to set
up a community of educators and learners, who will be able
to exchange experiences, successes, resources and learning, regardless
of the
geographic location of individual schools.
898. With the ENLACES
programme all the schools receive La Plaza software, which facilitates the
use of computers by the children
in their educational approach to
communications.
899. Since 1996, ENLACES has been operating on the basis
of a technical assistance network, which includes centralized national
coordination
and seven outlying centres which coordinate
23 universities.
900. The objectives and strategic principles
referred to earlier serve as a basis for the programme in 900 schools,
aimed at improving
educational quality in the most vulnerable urban and rural
sectors in primary education.
901. The programme provides technical and
material support, focusing on the 10% of the country's non-fee paying schools
where the
lowest rates of learning and the greatest quality have been detected.
The programme is aimed at improving the learning abilities
of children in
primary school, so that it offers assistance both for the children and for their
teachers. It includes the following
activities: teacher improvement workshops,
libraries for classrooms and educational materials, strengthening of educational
management,
learning workshops and special care for children at highest
risk.
902. The Ministry has developed a teaching plan specifically
intended for the 3,338 rural schools (attended by 96,590 children),
which
have been found to be the most vulnerable. The plan, which is run by one,
two or three professionals, includes the following activities:
distribution of
books and teaching materials specially designed for rural children;
establishment of educational coordination microcentres
to study the
implementation of innovation in individual schools; training teachers in
multigrade schools to deal with new curriculum
experiences; methodological
adjustment to create a link between local culture and the general dimensions of
knowledge; formulation
and implementation of educational improvement projects in
rural microcentres.
903. To illustrate the progress achieved, it is worth
mentioning the impact of the 900 Schools Programme on the learning capacity
of schoolchildren according to the educational quality measurement system
(SIMCE). The academic performance indicators as measured
by the SIMCE test in
primary schools in 1988 were used to select the first schools to run the
programme in 1990. At that time, the
average performance in Spanish and
mathematics in the schools was 43.15%, a figure which rose to 60.91% in 1992,
61.62% in 1994 and
64.34% by 1996.
- Other relevant disaggregated data on the children concerned, including
on education outcomes, inter alia by gender, age, region, rural/urban
area, and national, ethnic and social origin.
904. There has been a
steady increase in the number of children incorporated in the system in recent
years. The enrolment figure has
increased in practically all levels and regions
of the country, as shown in Tables 29 to 33.
Table 29
Total enrolment each year according to
region - 1993-1996
Region
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
---|---|---|---|---|
I
|
85,276
|
87,515
|
91,447
|
93,264
|
II
|
99,781
|
99,810
|
104,172
|
106,918
|
III
|
57,171
|
58,486
|
61,108
|
62,687
|
IV
|
120,318
|
124,442
|
130,298
|
133,815
|
V
|
318,807
|
327,248
|
36,694
|
340,902
|
VI
|
156,857
|
160,488
|
165,546
|
169,636
|
VII
|
185,675
|
189,463
|
195,176
|
201,058
|
VIII
|
397,248
|
398,906
|
405,630
|
417,350
|
IX
|
185,760
|
188,232
|
94,532
|
199,128
|
X
|
210,548
|
211,426
|
221,783
|
226,988
|
XI
|
18,708
|
18,878
|
20,412
|
21,191
|
XII
|
32,061
|
32,374
|
32,625
|
33,586
|
Metropolitan
|
1,139,418
|
1,150,304
|
1,152,304
|
1,264,091
|
Total
|
3,007,628
|
3,047,572
|
3,111,727
|
3,270,614
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics (1996).
Table 30
Enrolment distribution by sex and level
– 1993
|
Preschool |
Special
|
Primary |
Secondary |
Total
|
Male
|
130,219
|
19,125
|
1,056,650
|
318,815
|
1,524,511
|
Female
|
126,129
|
13,294
|
1,009,396
|
334,298
|
1,483,117
|
Total
|
256,348
|
32,419
|
2,066,046
|
652,815
|
3,007,628
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics (1993).
Table 31
Enrolment distribution by sex and
level – 1996
|
Preschool
|
Special
|
Primary
|
Secondary
|
Total
|
Male
|
147,122
|
22,126
|
1,132,676
|
362,060
|
1,663,984
|
Female
|
142,640
|
14,318
|
1,072,416
|
377,256
|
1,606,630
|
Total
|
289,762
|
36,444
|
2,205,092
|
739,316
|
3,270,614
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics (1996).
Table 32
Enrolment distribution by region and
geographic area – 1993
Region
|
Urban
|
Rural
|
Total
|
% Rural
|
---|---|---|---|---|
I
|
79,850
|
5,426
|
85,276
|
6.36
|
II
|
99,332
|
449
|
99,781
|
0.45
|
III
|
55,569
|
1,602
|
57,171
|
2.80
|
IV
|
98,068
|
22,250
|
120,318
|
18.49
|
V
|
295,798
|
23,009
|
318,807
|
7.22
|
VI
|
119,004
|
37,853
|
156,857
|
24.13
|
VII
|
135,767
|
49,908
|
185,675
|
26.88
|
VIII
|
333,413
|
63,835
|
397,248
|
16.07
|
IX
|
144,230
|
41,530
|
185,760
|
22.36
|
X
|
155,385
|
55,163
|
210,548
|
26.20
|
XI
|
17,101
|
1,607
|
18,708
|
8.59
|
XII
|
31,075
|
986
|
32,061
|
3.08
|
Metropolitan
|
1,081,354
|
58,064
|
1,139,418
|
5.10
|
Total
|
2,645,946
|
361,682
|
3,007,628
|
12.03
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics (1993).
Table 33
Enrolment distribution by region and
geographic area – 1996
Region
|
Urban
|
Rural
|
Total
|
% Rural
|
I
|
84,604
|
8,660
|
93,264
|
9.29
|
II
|
106,398
|
520
|
106,918
|
0.49
|
III
|
60,120
|
2,567
|
62,687
|
4.09
|
IV
|
110,689
|
23,126
|
133,815
|
17.28
|
V
|
317,160
|
23,742
|
340,902
|
6.96
|
VI
|
133,167
|
39,469
|
169,636
|
23.27
|
VII
|
150,100
|
50,958
|
201,058
|
25.34
|
VIII
|
353,671
|
63,679
|
417,350
|
15.26
|
IX
|
158,877
|
40,251
|
199,128
|
20.21
|
X
|
171,308
|
55,680
|
226,988
|
24.53
|
XI
|
19,629
|
1,562
|
21,191
|
7.37
|
XII
|
32,725
|
861
|
33,586
|
2.56
|
Metropolitan
|
1,202,909
|
61,182
|
1,264,091
|
4.84
|
Total
|
2,898,357
|
372,257
|
3,270,614
|
11.38
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics (1996).
107. Reports
should also indicate the particular measures adopted:
- To make primary education compulsory and available free for all,
particularly children, indicating the minimum age for enrolment
in primary
school, the minimum and maximum ages for compulsory education, the proportion of
children enrolled, who complete primary
education, as well as any relevant
disaggregated data including by age, gender, region, urban/rural area, national,
social and ethnic
origin, service coverage and budgetary
allocation;
905. Article 10 of the Constitution stipulates that
primary education is compulsory. It makes the State responsible for
"...financing a system to achieve that objective,
which shall be free of charge
and shall allow access to the whole population...", which is equivalent to
stating the principle that
primary education is compulsory, available free to
all and provided by the State.
906. Children are admitted at the
different levels and for the different streams at the following
ages:
(a) preschool education, second transition: 5
years
(b) general primary education, first year: 6
years
(c) secondary education - humanistic/scientific
and
technical/vocational, maximum age: 18 years.
907. Pupils must have
completed primary education or equivalent studies before they are admitted to
secondary school.
908. In the case of differentiated special education,
all persons suffering disabilities are admitted to educational facilities,
without
any minimum age requirement. The maximum age for remaining in special
education is 24 years, completed during the school year. For
adult primary
education, the minimum age for admission is 15.
909. The age limits may
differ in the case of adult education and special education, which may be
specified by supreme decree issued
by the Ministry of Education.
- To encourage the development of different forms of secondary education,
including general and vocational education, and measures
adopted:
. To make such forms available and accessible to every child, providing
inter alia any relevant disaggregated data including by gender, age,
region, rural/urban area, national, social and ethnic origin, coverage
and
budgetary allocation;
910. In order to ensure access to secondary
education, the Ministry of Education has introduced a Special Grants Programme
for children
in that age bracket.
911. The main objective of the
programme is to help lowincome secondary school students by providing them with
a package of benefits
(food, school materials, health care, PAA assistance and
prizes) with a view to reducing school dropout and improving classroom
performance
and attendance. The programme has been operating since
1992.
912. Its main achievements have been more emphasis on regional
aspects, as well as on health care, which has been very well
received.
913. It is hoped that from 1998 there will be a possibility of
increasing resources, while trying to concentrate beneficiaries in
the more
vulnerable sectors.
Table 34
Year
|
Beneficiaries
|
Location
|
Budget
(Ch$ million) |
1994
|
100,000 food rations
100,000 sets of school materials 14,500 PAAs 10,000 health care 130 prizes |
All regions
|
1,374
|
1995
|
100,000 food rations
100,000 sets of school materials 14,500 PAAs 10,000 health care 130 prizes |
All regions
|
1,485
|
1996
|
110,000 food rations
110,000 sets of school materials 14,500 PAAs 11,000 health care 130 prizes |
All regions
|
1,581
|
1997
|
14,500 PAAs
11,000 health care 130 prizes |
All regions
|
438*
|
Source: Grants programme
* In 1997
most of the budget was transferred to JUNAEB (food and
materials).
914. In secondary education, it is worth mentioning the
Programme for the Improvement of Quality and Equity in Secondary Education
(MECEMedia), which aims to enable secondary schools to provide good quality
education for all. The programme focuses on secondary
schools, in order to
facilitate working conditions which allow principals and teachers more
responsibility in the pursuit of better
education for their
students.
915. The programme is applied in all secondary schools that
receive State subsidies, whether municipal or private, so that altogether
more
than 90% of students in secondary education in the country benefit directly. The
incorporation of secondary schools in the programme
has been gradual. In 1994, a
pilot experiment was conducted with 124 secondary schools spread across the
country. Then in 1995, the
programme proper was launched, incorporating
201 new secondary schools. In the last two years, coverage was extended to
95% of schools.
Thus, in 1997, most secondary schools, both
humanistic/scientific and technical/vocational, have been able to initiate the
educational
changes required for secondary education. Taking enrolment as a
whole, this means that the new system covers more than 600,000 students
in
secondary education.
916. The programme has adopted a systemic approach,
aiming to provide a minimum amount of resources to ensure educational standards
of satisfactory quality, to develop the professional base of the system and to
increase the independent design and development capacities
of secondary schools,
while readjusting certain background features so as to facilitate
changes.
917. In other words, the programme concentrates on secondary
schools, and has adopted cultural change as its ultimate target, so that
it
attempts to offer as many opportunities as possible to enable individual schools
to meet their objectives. The following changes
may be
mentioned:
(a) From the observance of rules to a sense of
responsibility for results.
(b) From individual work and pyramidshaped
organization to teamwork and network organization.
(c) From a culture
of compartmentalization and selfreference to a culture of
communication.
(d) From novelty and change seen as a form of
interruption and noise to novelty and change welcomed as an opportunity for
permanent
improvement.
(e) From change as the implementation of a
"recipe" or panacea to open systems for diverse searching, experimenting and
incremental
improvement.
(f) From evaluation seen as a threat and a
risk to evaluation welcomed as a necessary and permanent tool of effective
action in
a rapidly changing medium.
918. The programme combines a
variety of activities to achieve this objective: direct action by the Ministry
on internal procedures
in secondary schools (better educational and directional
management, young people); the introduction of incentives and competitive
elements (Educational Improvement Projects); the input of leaning resources
(libraries and teaching materials; books; educational
computing); the
establishment of support networks (technical educational assistance). These
various programmes should operate systemically,
reinforcing each other,
renovating traditional practices and opening up avenues for new
practices.
919. Through the educational management programmes, secondary
schools are given a capacity for constant renewal of teaching and learning,
with
a view to becoming more effective in their aim of achieving individually and
socially relevant, good quality education. Professional
Working Groups (GPT) are
set up in secondary schools, offering teachers an opportunity and the facility
for educational discussion
as part of routine practice in secondary schools.
This facility, which is seen as the central support of professional development,
ensures the improvement of teaching practices, by moving on from the image of an
essentially technical and isolated teacher to that
of a real professional
working with a team.
920. At present, more than 3,300 of these
Professional Working Groups have been set up, in which 44,000 teachers in
subsidized secondary
schools in the country have taken part. The work of these
groups in each school is coordinated by the head of the technical educational
unit, under the guidance of the supervisor.
921. Another basic feature of
educational policy, in particular with respect to institutional relations, has
been the directional
management of secondary schools. The effect has been to
strengthen the ability of management teams to generate institutional development
by placing the emphasis on participative teamwork.
922. Through a series
of optional curriculum activities (ACLE), students in secondary schools are
offered the opportunity to create
and to develop social skills and a better
knowledge of themselves and of the world around them. This extends the range of
possibilities
open to young people, while it improves their self esteem and
helps them adapt better to the school system.
923. To date, this
programme has achieved a coverage of some 130,000 young people in different
areas. It includes the organization
of courses and workshops that cater for a
variety of interests on the part of young people in the areas of art, sport, the
environment,
communications and leadership training. It implies developing
communication links between teachers and pupils, and between the community
and
the secondary school. In addition to workshops, the programme runs teaching
courses for teachers and local teams (more than 1,700
teachers), as well as
for student leaders (3,774 youths). It further organizes a student network
through different channels, and
publishes a bulletin under the title "Buenas
Vibras" (Good Vibes), with the contributions of young students attending
secondary school.
924. In order to facilitate reading, access to
knowledge, the development of creativity, the use of teaching materials and
research
abilities, the programme has been either setting up or improving
libraries in all the country's subsidized secondary schools. This
plan to
promote libraries and teaching materials aims gradually to make available the
best materials in the marketplace for secondary
education, with strategies for
use by teachers and students.
925. During the school year, secondary
schools subscribe to a collection of newspapers and reviews, which they choose
directly. This
gives students and teachers a chance to access information about
current affairs. All secondary schools nowadays receive a new collection
of
printed and audiovisual material. This includes encyclopaedias and dictionaries,
scientific and technical material, support material
for the social sciences and
a great variety of modern literary works. In the first half of 1998 and of 2000,
new collections will
be added to these libraries, chosen by the schools
themselves. Thanks to these inputs, the libraries become real centres of
learning
resources, which provide effective support for the process of
educational innovation.
926. In accordance with a basic equipment and
infrastructure plan, new spaces are being either created, extended or built in
secondary
schools so as to turn libraries into focal points of educational
development. To achieve this, the libraries have also been equipped
with the
necessary furnishings (in terms of shelving, reading tables, chairs, cushions,
etc.). As support for the programme's other
activities, resources and
furnishings have been distributed to help improve computing rooms and
teachers’ common rooms.
927. Another feature of the programme has
been the development of new textbooks, reflecting the preparation of a new
curriculum and
further facilitating the educational changes that are being
introduced. In March 1997, all students and teachers in the first year
of
subsidized secondary schools received new textbooks in mathematics and in
language and communication. In subsequent years, other
subjects will be covered
such as English, natural sciences and social sciences, until all levels of
secondary education are equipped.
928. The Ministry of Education's
educational computing network, ENLACES, is aiming, according to its target for
the year 2000, to
ensure that 100% of all secondary schools and 50% of all
primary schools, i.e. approximately 5,000 subsidized schools in all,
are
interconnected with each other and with the rest of the world, regardless of
their geographic location, making up a nationwide educational
community.
929. The Educational Improvement Projects (PME), in both
primary and secondary education, are to some extent part of the policy of
educational innovation and decentralization aimed at improving education. These
PME projects have constituted a major challenge for
school teachers and
principals. The preparation of projects in the course of discussions between
Professional Working Groups has
encouraged teachers to adopt new attitudes to
their professional work and to knowledge, in the recognition that there is no
end to
learning and that therefore knowledge has to be constantly updated. In
addition to setting up their projects and developing innovations
in selected
areas in line with their Institutional Education Projects, teachers learn to
differentiate between means and ends and
to assume responsibility for the
product of their activities.
930. Lastly, a further innovation which is
unprecedented in our educational system has consisted in the Ministry of
Education providing
secondary schools enrolled in the MECEMedia programme with
financial resources to hire the services of technical education assistants.
This
has given secondary schools the opportunity to take on technical assistants,
thus breaking out of their traditional isolation
and strengthening the links
between teaching teams and other institutions and universities, which can help
them find answers to their
problems. As far as the universities are concerned,
coming into contact with educational practice in secondary schools has meant
an
opportunity to adjust theoretical considerations to the real requirements of the
system. The effect has been to build a more horizontal
relationship between
academics and school teachers.
931. At this stage, the main achievements
of the MECEMedia programme may be summarized under two headings: on the one
hand, there
has been an improvement in the resources and working conditions in
schools, and on the other hand an improvement in the processes
and results of
teaching and learning for secondary school students.
932. Lastly, it is
worth pointing out that in May 1996, the President of the Republic
announced the Government's decision to invest
an additional sum of approximately
USD 1,500,000,000 in education, for the purpose, amongst others, of setting
up a network of secondary
schools offering special characteristics in terms of
quality, ability to innovate and care for young people from lower income
families.
These were the “anticipation schools”, which were later
incorporated by the Ministry of Education in a new programme:
the Montegrande
Project.
933. The project is intended to assist a number of secondary
schools equivalent to the enrolment of some 40,000 students, in other
words
between 35 and 60 schools. These selected schools, which are situated in
all regions of the country, are offered especially
promising projects, aimed at
innovation, quality and greater equity. External support will be provided by
local communities, businesses
and institutions of higher education. Through this
programme, the Ministry of Education has been trying to establish a "backbone"
of institutions that will encourage the rest to adopt "better practices", in
terms of both teaching and management.
. To introduce free secondary education and offer financial assistance
in case of need, indicating the children concerned, including
by gender, age,
region, rural/urban area, and national, social and ethnic origin, and the budget
allocated for that purpose;
934. See paragraphs 910 to 933
above.
. To make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity,
indicating inter alia the rate of access to higher education by age,
gender and national, social and ethnic origin;
935. In order to make
higher education accessible to all in 1997, on the initiative of government
parliamentarians, a proposal was
put forward and unanimously approved for the
Indirect Fiscal Contribution (AFI) to be based on an equal weighting of PAA
(academic
aptitude test) scores and secondary school marks. The AFI is the
contribution the State makes to universities in order to enrol students
with
better PAA scores.
936. This programme has had the effect of reducing the
gap between students leaving private paid colleges - who are guaranteed
admittance
to university in return for payment of a sum of money - and students
leaving public and private subsidized schools, who obtained
good marks in
secondary education but not enough points in their PAA test. It has been
calculated that applying the AFI according
to the original scheme in fact
prevented access to universities for the best students leaving subsidized
private colleges and municipal
schools, which affected some 20,000 students
a year.
937. In this way it is just as worthwhile for a university to
admit students who have been among the best performers in secondary
education as
well as students whose performance in secondary school was not so outstanding.
This represents a significant advance
in terms of equity, since it offers
students from poor schools, who generally obtain lower marks, more possibilities
of obtaining
a place at university.
938. The list of students benefiting
from the indirect fiscal contribution (AFI) has increased from 20,000 to
27,500.
. To make educational and vocational information and guidance available
and accessible to all children, indicating, inter alia, the forms of such
information and guidance, the mechanisms used to assess their effectiveness, the
budget allocated for that purpose,
as well as any relevant disaggregated data,
including by age, gender, region, urban/rural area, and social and ethnic
origin;
939. With regard to information and guidance in educational
matters, starting in 1998 the Ministry of Education will launch a campaign
to
inform mayors, the leaders of social organizations and nongovernmental
organizations about nonformal projects, in order to create
more awareness with
regard to children and to suggest practical programmes which can conveniently be
applied in the communities.
940. It is worth pointing out that every
Ministerial Regional Secretariat of Education is obliged by order of the
Ministry - to maintain
an office that makes available all the information
children may need about educational and especially vocational matters
(information
providing informed access to higher education).
941. In
addition, educational and cultural information offices have been introduced
since 1996. This initiative is aimed at improving
and extending the information
service currently provided by the Ministry of Education to its customers and
users, such as parents,
students and teachers. It also aims to supply more
information purely about "formalities", aiming for a system that guides and
facilitates
users' decisions. By 1998, ten such offices will be operating,
located in different branches of the Ministry, especially in provincial
departments and ministerial regional secretariats. In practical terms, these
offices provide an information service on a variety
of subjects, such as: the
options available for different levels and their characteristics, quality of
service, benefits of the system,
guidance for specific administrative
procedures, school regulations, etc.
. To encourage regular attendance at school and to reduce drop-out
rates, including research, any mechanisms developed to assess
the situation, and
incentives provided to encourage school entrance, regular school attendance and
school retention, any alternatives
provided for children who are excluded from
school, as well as other relevant data disaggregated by age, gender, region,
urban/rural
area, and social and ethnic origin.
942. The School Food
Programme (PAE), the Programme for Boarders and the grants programmes mentioned
earlier are all mechanisms that
encourage school entrance and improve retention
of children in the school system.
943. With regard to alternatives
provided for children who are excluded from school, it is worth mentioning the
job training programme
for young people.
944. The objective of this
programme is to offer an economic and social start to young people who face
problems of exclusion from
work, by providing free training opportunities. The
target beneficiaries are young people between the ages of 15 and 24 from
lowincome
families, who are either unemployed, underemployed and in any case
idle, but willing to work and who find themselves outside the
regular school
system. The programme is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare,
assisted by other public bodies such as
the National Training and Employment
Bureau (SENCE), the National Solidarity Fund for Social Investment (FOSIS) and
the Ministry
of Education, as well as agents (training institutions, companies),
and support organizations (municipal placement offices).
945. The
training subprogrammes are:
- Training and work experience in
enterprises (CEL)
- Training and preparation for young people
(FCJ)
- Training for independent work (CTI)
- Alternate learning
(AA).
946. The tables below show the historic development of these initiatives from
1993:
1993
|
||||||
Other bodies
|
|
SENCE
|
FOSIS
|
|||
Subprog.
|
Total
|
Total SENCE
|
CEL
|
CTI
|
AA
|
FCJ
|
Courses
|
1,819
|
1,455
|
1,244
|
211
|
-
|
364
|
Numbers
|
34,964
|
28,332
|
24,320
|
4,012
|
-
|
6,632
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
1994
|
||||||
Other bodies
|
|
SENCE
|
FOSIS
|
|||
Subprog.
|
Total
|
Total SENCE
|
CEL
|
CTI
|
AA
|
FCJ
|
Courses
|
1,285
|
1,030
|
854
|
101
|
75
|
255
|
Numbers
|
24,699
|
19,962
|
16,639
|
1,859
|
1,464
|
4,737
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
1995
|
||||||
Other bodies
|
|
SENCE
|
FOSIS
|
|||
Subprog.
|
Total
|
Total SENCE
|
CEL
|
CTI
|
AA
|
FCJ
|
Courses
|
937
|
641
|
500
|
84
|
57
|
296
|
Numbers
|
17,908
|
12,476
|
9,976
|
1,484
|
1,016
|
5,432
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
1996
|
||||||
Other bodies
|
|
SENCE
|
FOSIS
|
|||
Subprog.
|
Total
|
Total SENCE
|
CEL
|
CTI
|
AA
|
FCJ
|
Courses
|
1,201
|
981
|
860
|
58
|
63
|
220
|
Numbers
|
22,515
|
18,439
|
16,102
|
1,029
|
1,308
|
4,076
|
Source: MINEDUC statistics, 1996.
947. According to the terms of article 10 of
the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile, the State ensures access to
education for all. In addition, the right to education is the guiding principle
of the educational programme of President Eduardo Frei's Government.
Education is assumed as a right and not as a privilege. It is
for these reasons
that there is no category of children or young people in Chile who does not
enjoy the right to education.
948. Nevertheless, according to the figures
of the 1996 CASEN survey, there are 2,527,914 persons between the ages of 0
and 24 (officially
the school age) in Chile who are not incorporated in the
school system.
949. This population may be broken down as follows,
according to the age groups that officially correspond to education
levels:
(a) In the 05 age group, 1,193,435 children are not
incorporated in the school system, amounting to 76.1% of the age group.
Disaggregated
by area, 73.4% in urban areas are affected and 89.8% in rural
areas. If the figures are disaggregated by socioeconomic stratum (quintiles),
the following picture emerges:
((b) In the 713 age group, which
officially corresponds to primary school, 1.1%, equivalent to approximately
20,764 children, are
not enrolled. For urban areas the percentage is 0.8%
and for rural areas 2.4%. Disaggregating by poverty threshold, the proportion
for indigent children from 7 to 13 years old is 2.6%, for nonindigent poor
children 1.6% and for nonpoor children 0.7% not enrolled
in the school
system.
(c) The population of children between the ages of 14 and 17
that is not enrolled in the school system amounts to 143,103 young
people,
representing some 14.0%. For urban areas, the nonenrolment is 10.6% and for
rural areas 27.8%. If the situation for this
age bracket, which officially
corresponds to secondary school, is analysed according to socioeconomic strata
(income quintiles),
the following picture emerges.
950. On this subject,
it is worth mentioning the efforts made by the JUNJI to reintegrate excluded
children, who either suffer from
disabilities or who belong to ethnic
minorities, through the implementation of specific programmes, in addition to
the implementation
of policies related to the resettlement of children and their
families affected by HIV, risk prevention and drug addiction.
951. A
useful programme from the point of view of eliminating discrimination among
children has been the design and distribution of
80,000 folders to educators and
parents, and 15,000 posters for schools and kindergartens. This programme
has been run jointly by
the Ministry of Education, JUNJI and
INTEGRA.
952. On 27 February 1991, instructions were issued in
Circular 247 on assistance that should be given to pupils who change their
civil
status and to girls assuming the responsibilities of motherhood, in order
to help them stay on in the regular education system. Statistical
surveys have
also been made at national, regional, provincial and communal level about early
pregnancies in primary and secondary
schools, considering all parts of the
system, with a view to conducting comparative diagnosis and analysis studies on
data concerning
this problem. The main achievement has been to retain a
significant number of pregnant girls and/or mothers in all parts of the primary
and secondary school system.
- Legislation applying to public and private schools and other education
institutions and prohibiting all forms of violence, including
corporal
punishment, as well as any other disciplinary measures which are not
consistent with the child's human dignity or in conformity with the provisions
of the Convention, including articles
19, 29 and 37 (a), and its general
principles particularly of non-discrimination, best interests and respect for
the views of the
child;
- Any monitoring system of the administration of the school discipline,
as well as mechanisms of reporting and complaint;
- Any independent mechanism established for that purpose;
- Legislation providing the opportunity for the child to participate in
administrative or judicial proceedings relating to education
and affecting him
or her, including those relating to the choice of school, school
exclusion.
- Contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout
the world;
- Facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern
teaching methods;
- Taking particular account of the needs of developing
countries.
953. Our country has signed bilateral and multilateral
agreements and treaties in the field of cultural, educational and scientific
and
technical cooperation with several countries, all of which are still effective,
especially those relating to further vocational
training.
954. In
April 1997, an agreement was signed between the Ministries of Education of
Chile and France concerning cooperation in the
field of education, in order to
continue further training activities for secondary school teachers and
educational principals as
part of the grants programme of the Chilean Ministry
of Education.
955. In October 1996, a memorandum of understanding
was signed between the Chilean Ministry of Education and the British Council -
acting as the main cooperation agency of Her Majesty's Government for cultural
affairs abroad - in the field of education, in order
to facilitate the enrolment
of nationals in pre and postgraduate courses.
956. The requested information is included
under several headings in this chapter.
B. Aims of education
(article 29)
- The development of respect for the child's personality, talents and
mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
- The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations,
indicating whether the subject of human rights in general, and children's rights
in particular, has been incorporated in
the school curricula for all children
and promoted in school life;
Human rights in the school
system
957. Whatever changes and innovations are introduced across
the education system will never be sufficient unless they are backed by
the deep
conviction of every teacher working in the country's primary and secondary
schools. Education in human rights therefore
appears nowadays as an
unquestionable task, since there is an increasing awareness of the importance of
creating educational systems
that will help to train outstanding individuals
able to take a constructive part in public life.
958. In this connection
a scheme has been established to provide teachers with further training through
workshops specializing in
human rights, with a view to benefiting educators all
over the country. These workshops were implemented with the help of regional
education secretariats.
Concerning children's views and their
participation
959. Through the above programming policies, the
present Government has added the principles of participation and social
responsibility
to the educational principles contained in Chilean
legislation.
960. Decree 524 of 1990 approved the general regulation
for the organization and operation of student centres in secondary schools,
with
a view to providing channels of expression and participation that voice the
concerns and needs of young people.
961. Within the framework of the
Parliamentary Assembly for Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in
the city of Concepción
in 1996, the Secretariat for Education of the
region, together with other institutions working for children, held an Assembly
of
Children, alongside the Assembly of Parliamentarians, at which children were
able to express their views, about how they experienced
their rights in
practice, and to explain to parliamentarians the situations which caused them
greatest concern.
962. That initiative created an awareness of the need
to set up a regional organization for the participation of children and young
people in the region of BioBio. As a result, a group of children attending the
Assembly were asked to lay the foundations of such
a body, which was to be know
as the Regional Parliament for Children and Young People.
963. The
objectives of the Parliament for Children and Young People of the region of
BioBio are as follows:
(a) To provide an area of participation for
representatives of children and young people in the region, in order to give
them the
opportunity to exercise the right to express their views and to put
forward suggestions about matters that are of concern to them.
(b) To
provide a space for personal development and civic training, facilitating their
participation.
(c) To provide an area for the expression of opinions
and suggestions regarding the subject of education so as to generate feedback
and to convey the views of children and young people on regional
education.
- The development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she originates and for civilizations different from his or her own;
964. The Ministry of Education encourages families to participate in
decisions and actions of the school system by strengthening the
role of the
Centros de Padres y Apoderados (Parents and Representatives Centres, or CPA) and
the participation of families in schools.
A strategy for strengthening the CPA
has therefore been designed and validated, benefiting 900 managers of such
centres in subsidized
primary and secondary schools in Regions IV, VIII, XI
and Metropolitan. In addition, 1,100 CPA directors have held meetings with
education authorities in Regions V, VIII and Metropolitan.
965. In
terms of management, it has been proposed to extend the coverage of actions
undertaken by parents’ centres in all regions
of the country, with a view
to producing educational materials, printed material and videos for distribution
in all regions and provinces
and to integrate activities conducted with parents
in school management policies.
966. A seminar was organized jointly by
SERNAM and the Ministry of Education under the title "Dialogues between the
family and the
school: Creating areas of participation for mothers and fathers".
The seminar brought together the various actors involved in educational
reform,
such as teachers, parents, school principals, municipal officials, as well as
professionals designing programmes at the Ministry
of Education on a central
level.
967. With regard to the respect for and participation of parents,
it is worth mentioning the programme “Manolo and Margarita
Learn With
Their Parents”, which is a response to the need for the school to take
account of the family in its educational
work, thereby also facilitating the
work of the teachers. The intention is to strengthen school admittance in
conjunction with the
900 Schools programme as part of the policy of
creating links between preschool and primary. The programme provides material in
support
of teachers' work with the parents and has so far benefited
26,845 families (i.e. 26,845 children between the ages of 4 and
6) and
1,586 schools. An important achievement of the programme has been
the fact that a preschool initiative has been extended to the first
year of
primary school, thus supporting efforts to strengthen links between preschool
and primary. More audiovisual material (in
the form of 2,446 cassettes) was
added to the original material on topics such as language, school, family,
sexuality and games.
In 1998, an assessment will be made of the impact the
programme has produced on the cognitive learning of children.
- The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in
the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality
of the sexes, and
friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons
of indigenous origin;
- The development of respect for the
natural environment.
968. The Political Constitution of the Republic
of Chile, in its article 8, establishes the right to live in a
pollutionfree environment. The State is responsible
for ensuring that this right
is respected and for monitoring its implementation. Within that framework, some
new environmental topics
have been incorporated in the new curricula, chiefly as
part of the minimum compulsory contents (CMO) for science subjects. It is
also
feasible in the other sectors and subsectors of the Vertical Basic Objectives to
adapt aims and contents to environmental aspects
of education. Environmental
subjects are also explicitly contained in the Transversal Basic Objectives
(OFTs), particularly with
regard to relations between human beings and their
environment.
969. In addition, since 1982 the Ministry of Education has
been running the Environmental Education Programme, which has endeavoured
to
provide a comprehensive approach to the environment through its
Interdisciplinary Learning Cycles, with a view to encouraging
knowledge,
attitudes and skills favourable to environmental protection. The programme has
provided support for environmental education
projects and environmental PMEs and
for the development of environmentally sustainable technology in technical and
vocational schools.
Its main achievements have been the incorporation of
environmental subjects throughout education (with national and regional
authorities,
supervisors, teachers, pupils, parents and representatives, amongst
others); the production of educational material relevant to environmental
conditions in Chile; and the strong motivation of teachers and students. It is
hoped in the future to incorporate environmental subjects
on the Internet and
ENLACES and to make more progress towards incorporating environmental education
in productive areas of technical
and vocational
education.
113. Reports should also indicate:
- The training provided to teachers to prepare them to direct their
teaching towards these aims;
- The revision of school policies and school curricula to reflect the
aims identified in article 29 at the various levels of
education;
- Relevant programmes and material used;
- Any peer education and peer counselling promoted;
- Efforts made to bring school organization in line with the Convention's
principles, for example mechanisms created within schools
to improve the
participation of children in all decisions affecting their education and
well-being.
970. No direct training for teachers is provided in this
subject, but the guidance the Ministry of Education offers for educational
activities, the design of programmes and other aspects of educational work to a
great extent meet the requirements of the Convention.
971. The Political Constitution
of the Republic of Chile, in article 19, paragraph 11, establishes
that the freedom of education includes the right (for any natural
or legal
person) to open, organize and maintain educational establishments subject to no
constraints except those of good morality,
good customs, public order and
national security.
972. The requirements for official recognition of
educational establishments at all levels are contained in the Constitutional
Organization
Act on Education (LOCE).
115. Reports should also provide
information on the appropriate mechanisms developed to:
- Ascertain that the aims of education identified by the Convention are
respected by such institutions;
- Ensure respect for the general principles of the Convention, namely
non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect
for the views of
the child and the right to life, survival and development to the maximum
extent;
- Ensure that all such institutions are conducted in conformity with
standards established by competent authorities, particularly
in the areas of
safety, health, number and suitability of staff, as well as of competent
supervision.
973. The Ministry of Education is constantly concerned
with fulfilling those requirements, and maintains permanent supervision through
the Regional and Provincial Secretariats of Education.
974. See paragraphs 966 to 974 above.
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural
activities
(article 31)
- Rest and leisure;
- Engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of
the child;
975. Actions have been undertaken by the General
Directorate for Sports and Recreation (DIGEDER), an institution which is
responsible
for taking steps to increase sports activities, as a way of
improving the quality of life of Chileans and assisting the international
performance of the most skilled sportsmen, by introducing schemes of
encouragement and cooperation among public and private
institutions.
976. The actions undertaken so far have included the
following:
(a) Sports Training Unit
977. Sports Training is
understood as consisting in teaching and learning activities run by teachers
with the aim of developing physical
exercise in children and young people, as
well as the acquisition of abilities and skills related to individual sports, on
a sound
basis of ethics and rules. The objectives of sports training
are:
(a) To ensure that most children and young people have better
opportunities or suitable training for sport through the school
system;
(b) To develop a national programme for the improvement of
sports training for young people, children, university students and
adults;
(c) To design and implement a national system for measuring
physical aptitude for sport in primary, secondary and university
education.
978. DIGEDER's Sports Training Unit was set up as such in 1996
and operates in 13 regions of the country, running programmes for young
people and children.
979. From an organizational point of view, the
programme is divided into four subprogrammes, each corresponding to an
educational
level in Chile's education system:
(a) Preschool physical
education;
(b) Physical education and sport in primary
school;
(c) Sport in secondary education;
(d) Sport in centres
for minors;
(b) Competitive Sports Unit
980. In 1996, it
was decided as a matter of policy that the Competitive Sports Unit should take
part in the main competitions in the
school, employment and higher education
sectors. This unit works with children of 7 years and over. Its objective
is to organize
sports competitions at communal, regional and national level,
ensuring high quality standards and broad coverage. Its activities
have
included:
− National School Games;
− Andean Games for Regions I and II (Chile, Bolivia, Peru);
− Araucanía Games, in the Province of Chalut, Argentina, with
the participation of Regions VIII, IX, X, XI and XII.
(c) High
Performance Sports Unit
981. The objective of this unit is to provide
economic support in the form of personal grants to outstanding sports performers
in
the national education system. These children and young people must come in
the top three places of national school sports championships
or official
federative championships. In 1997, the programme benefited some
530 children across the country.
982. It is also worth mentioning
the activities conducted by JUNAEB through its school camps programme. This
programme is intended
for students in primary and secondary school, who are
already in receipt of the School Food Programme. It provides accommodation
and
full daily food rations during the months of January and part of February. It
also conducts recreational/educational activities
and develops educational
contents (see Table 35).
Table 35
Coverage and budget of the School Camps
Programme
Yeat |
Beneficiaries
|
Budget allocation
(Ch$ million) |
1994
1995 1996 1997 |
41,914
40,544 46,028 42,093 |
670,896
724,696 797,026 821,935 |
Source: JUNAEB Statistics Office.
- Participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
983. The
Ministry of Education has an Out-of-school Education Department, which runs the
following activities:
Project to encourage and develop optional
educational activities
984. This project consists in setting up
centres for optional educational activities in 360 primary schools in
90 communes across
the country, that meet established requirements. In this
way technical assistance and financial subsidies are provided to encourage
and
develop a group in each area of action. The general aim is, within educational
units, to offer and develop a broad programme
of optional educational
activities, designed to meet the needs and interests of
schoolchildren.
985. The project started with an allocation of
Ch$ 250,000 per educational unit and Ch$ 1 million per commune,
which added up to an
overall total of Ch$ 90 million for
1997.
National Festival of Children's Dreams
986. This
festival gives expression to activities conducted in artistic, civic/social, and
science and technology fields. The interests
and careers of students are
combined with the application of knowledge and techniques, with an emphasis on
work conducted within
groups of optional educational activities. Its general aim
is to create encouraging educational and recreational facilities to enable
primary school students in all regions of the country to show - from their own
perspective - the reality of their region to the national
community as a whole,
by exhibiting works carried out in groups of optional educational
activities.
Methodological Integration of Out-of-school Groups in Programmes for
Improving the Quality of Education
987. This project, on the
methodological integration of out-of-school groups in Programmes for Improving
the Quality of Education
(IME) was launched in 1995. Its aim is to provide
support for the training of groups of pupils undertaking optional educational
activities,
in 25 of the P900 educational units in selected communes and regions
of the country.
988. The main aim of training groups of students in
activities based on their concerns and preferences in different areas of
out-of-school
action is to complement the school curriculum and to contribute to
the full development of the children. The project therefore rests
on the groups
of optional educational activities, assisted by the joint participation of all
the teaching staff and principals of
all the schools involved in "Group
Animation" Methodological Seminars, at Levels I and II, organized by the
Out-of-school Education
Department.
989. In 1995 and 1998,
25 educational units in five of the country's communes took
part.
Open Summer School
990. The aim of this project is
to organize recreational/educational activities for primary schools situated in
urban and rural areas
which are not provided with vacation
facilities.
991. The project runs three basic types of
activities:
(a) Organization, technical assessment, funding and
supervision of the Ministry of Education's Out-of-school Education
Department;
(b) Support by the National Council for School Assistance
and Grants (JUNAEB) to provide food to the children
involved;
(c) Provision of premises and additional material and/or
financial resources made available by municipalities that support the
project.
992. The Open Summer Schools operate in January and February, as
planned. The project's budget is Ch$ 52,146 million (for
1997).
993. The programme begins in December by holding regional seminars
for coordinators and monitors, in order to discuss objectives,
the programme,
administrative aspects, school insurance, etc.
994. The average number of
children catered for by the Open Summer Schools came to 125 per school,
which meant a total number of 7,250
children every day in the country as a
whole. Assuming that each group of children stays for two weeks, the total
number of beneficiaries
in the season comes to approximately
14,500 children.
Nature School
995. The purpose of
this project is to provide a stimulating experience for a group of children from
fifth to eighth grade of primary
school, coming from urban schools involved in
the Project for Improving the Quality of P900 Education.
996. The
activity covers the Regions IV to X and Metropolitan. It consists in moving a
complete course to a rural location, with the
idea of holding all regular
classes there, for three or four working days, in addition to the usual camping
and recreational activities.
Prevention and School
Security
997. The activities of this project are intended to
encourage and develop a preventive culture in the country's schools. It provides
information, specific technical assistance and training for staff in charge of
security courses at different levels of the education
system.
998. Activities so far have included:
(a) Providing
information to 13 regions and 42 provinces, through the distribution
of printed material.
(b) Holding training and organization sessions for
the school security support network in 13 regions of the
country.
(c) Developing the pilot plan for road safety education,
implemented in 13 regions of the country, on the basis of two schools being
selected per region, the choice being left to the Ministerial Secretariats to
select schools with greater risks of traffic accidents
or traffic
congestion.
999. The two main public bodies involved in the area of
cultural activities are the Cultural Division of the Ministry of Education
and
the Department of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DIBAM).
1000. The
DIBAM has launched a number of programmes bringing young people into touch with
their cultural heritage, placing the emphasis
on literary creation. These
activities have led to the following publications:
- XXIst Century Poets, an anthology published in 1996, including the
works of 25 young poets from all over the country.
- XXIst Century Storytellers, a 1997 anthology including the works of
25 storytellers, mostly from Santiago.
- XXIst Century Storytellers, only for young people from the regions. To be published in 1998.
- XXIst Century Playwrights, anthology to be published in
1999.
- Dictionary of the Spoken Language in Chile, a project undertaken
jointly by the DIBAM and the Chilean Academy of Language.
1001. The first
phase of research into the spoken language in Chile began in 1997 and is due to
run till the year 2000, leading to
the publication of a
dictionary.
1002. Other programmes have been implemented to bring young
people and children into touch with the cultural heritage, with the emphasis
on
musical interpretation and composition, such as:
- Cycle of musical interpretation on the piano, "To Warsaw in the year
2000", organized by the DIBAM and the Chopin Society. These
cycles have been
organized since 1993 each year.
- Musical cycles for young people (composition and interpretation).
- "Flora Guerra" piano competition, held in 1996 and 1997, in conjunction
with the Chopin Society and the British Council.
- With the Modern School of Music, the Cultural Training Department of the
DIBAM has been carrying out a series of concerts for various
instruments,
interpreted by young people, each year since 1995.
1003. In order to
bring children and young people into touch with the cinema and film aspect of
the cultural heritage, prizes were
awarded to the winners of the "First
Metropolitan School Video Competition", in conjunction with the Ministerial
Secretariat of Education
of the Metropolitan Region, a programme which is due to
be developed further.
1004. In 1994 and 1997, the Ministry of Education,
through its Culture Division, also carried out a number of activities benefiting
Chilean children either directly or indirectly. The following may be worth
mentioning:
- Competition of projects and children's literature of the National Book and
Reading Council.
- Specific projects for children who passed the Artistic and Cultural
Development Projects Fund Competition.
- Competitive fund for arts
schools.
- Culture/adventure programme.
- National School
Theatre Programme.
- National School Theatre
Competitions.
- Support for the Cultural Centre for Balmaceda 1215
youths.
- Workshops and activities of the National and Regional Programme of the Roving Theatre and National Folklore Dancing.
- Folklore and painting workshops and competition for disabled children or
children at social risk.
1005. The budget allocated to the Culture
Division from 1994 to 1997 mainly went to the Book Fund and the Culture and Arts
Development
Fund (FONDART). The Arts Schools Fund was set up in 1997. The budget
allocated to the Culture Division is as follows:
Table 36
Budget allocated to the Culture
Division
Year
|
Amount
|
1994
|
2 781 779
|
1995
|
3 218 410
|
1996
|
4 133 266
|
1997
|
4 681 432
|
Source: Culture Division.
1006. For 1997, the Art
Schools Fund had a budget of Ch$ 308,605 million to promote cultural
activities in 17 art schools, benefiting
9,006 students and
510 teachers.
1007. There is also the Balmaceda 1215 Culture
Corporation, that was set up to offer young people between the ages of 14 and
21, of
limited means but possessing artistic talent, free facilities for the
development and improvement of their abilities. This cultural
institution runs
workshops in Santiago and in the provinces, as well as arts training and
services. Its most important activities
have been as follows:
- Regular
artistic workshops;
- Regional Workshops: Culture/Adventure
Programme;
- Artistic training;
- Grants for higher art
studies.
1008. Lastly, it may be pointed out that the Regional Workshops
and the Culture/Adventure Programme are supported by the Ministry
of Education
through its Culture Division, with the participation also of the National Youth
Institute. This activity is national
in character and calls on distinguished
Chilean artists. The workshops have been held for three years now. In 1997, the
towns of
Lota, Iquique, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas were visited. In the years
since it was set up, it has benefited 1,887 young people.
118. In this
regard, reports should also indicate:
- The proportion of the relevant overall budget allocated (at the
central, regional, local and where relevant at the federal and
provincial
levels) for children;
- The cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activities, programmes
or campaigns developed and provided at the national, regional
or local, and
where appropriate at the federal and provincial levels, to ensure the enjoyment
of this right including in the family,
in the school and in the
community;
- The enjoyment of the rights recognized by article 31 in relation to
other rights recognized by the Convention, including the right
to
education;
- The respect ensured to the general principles of the Convention, namely
non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect
for the views of
the child and the right to life, survival and development to the maximum
extent;
- Relevant data on the children concerned, including by age, gender,
region, rural/urban area, and national, social and ethnic origin;
- Progress achieved in the implementation of article 31,
difficulties encountered and targets set for the future.
1009. See
reply to number 117 (paragraphs 975-1008 above).
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
(Articles.
22, 38, 39, 40, 37 (paras. (b) - (d), 32-36)
1. Refugee children (article 22)
1010. Chile has
ratified the 1951 Convention on this subject as well as the 1967 protocol.
Consequently this right is fully implemented
by Chile. Every person, adult or
child, seeking refugee status is treated in the same manner.
1011. At
present there are no children seeking refugee status for themselves they enjoy
that status by the fact of accompanying their
parents.
120. Reports
should also indicate:
- The international and domestic law and procedures applicable to the
child who is considered a refugee or is seeking asylum;
- Relevant international human rights and humanitarian instruments to
which the State is a party, at the multilateral, regional and
bilateral
levels;
- The domestic legislation and procedures in place, including to
determine refugee status and ensure and protect the rights of asylum
seeking and
refugee children, as well as any safeguards established and remedies made
available to the child;
- The protection and humanitarian assistance provided to the child in the
enjoyment of his or her rights set forth in the Convention,
as well as in other
relevant international instruments, including civil rights and freedoms and
economic, social and cultural rights;
- The measures adopted to ensure and protect the rights of the
unaccompanied child or of the child accompanied by his or her parents
or by any
other person, including in relation to temporary and long-term solutions, family
tracing and family reunion;
- The measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles of
the Convention, namely non-discrimination, the best interests of the
child, respect for the views of the child, the right to life, and survival and
development to the maximum extent possible;
- The measures adopted to ensure appropriate dissemination of
information and training on the rights of the child who is a refugee or
is
seeking asylum, particularly to the officials competent in the areas addressed
by this article;
- The number of asylum seeking and refugee children disaggregated
inter alia by age, gender, country of origin, nationality,
accompanied or unaccompanied;
- The number of such children going to school and covered by health
services;
- The number of staff handling refugee children who attended training
courses to understand the Convention on the Rights of the Child
during the
reporting period, classified by type of job.
1012. The legislation
currently in force on this subject is:
- The 1951 Convention and the
Protocol adopted in 1967;
- Act no 19 476 dated 21
October 1955;
- Ministry of the Interior Regulation
no 597 of 1984 concerning aliens.
1013. A refugee child
is treated in the same way as any Chilean child: he attends school as an
ordinary pupil and may if necessary
have recourse to the different social
services.
1014. Chile has no programme relating to the provision of
protection and humanitarian assistance for these children. However, the
Chilean
Catholic Migration Institute, a private non-profit-making body, is implementing
a number of programmes in this area.
1015. As regards statistics on
refugee children, it can be stated that in 1998 there were some 300 persons
with refugee status. Of
these, 150 were Peruvian and 20 Cuban; the others were
from various African countries. Of the total, some 60 were children.
- Protect
and assist the child;
- Trace the parents or other members of the family of any refugee child
in order to obtain information necessary for reunification
with his or her
family. In cases where no parents or other members of the family can be found,
please indicate the measures adopted
to ensure that the child is accorded the
same protection as any other child permanently or temporarily deprived of his or
her family
environment for any reason, as set forth in the
Convention.
1016. Please see paragraphs 1010-1015 above.
1017. Please see paragraphs 1010-1015 above.
1018. In recent years no
situation of armed conflict has arisen in this country; consequently this point
is not relevant to the current
situation.
B. Children involved with the system of administration of juvenile justice
1. The administration of juvenile justice (article 40)
- Consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and
worth;
- Which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and
fundamental freedoms of others;
- Which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of
promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a
constructive role
in society;
- Which ensures respect for the general principles of the Convention,
namely non-discrimination, the best interests of the child,
respect for the
views of the child and the right to life, survival and development to the
maximum extent.
- No child shall be alleged as, accused of or recognized as having
infringed the penal law by reason of acts or omissions that were
not prohibited
by national or international law at the time they were committed;
- Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law has
at least the following guarantees, indicating, where relevant,
additional
guarantees provided to the child:
. To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to
law;
. To be informed promptly (indicating any time-limit fixed by law) and
directly of the charges against him or her and, if appropriate,
through his or
her legal guardians, and to have legal or other appropriate assistance in the
preparation and presentation of his
or her defence; in this regard, please
indicate what other appropriate assistance may be made available to the
child;
. To have the matter determined without delay (indicating any time-limit
fixed by law) by a competent, independent and impartial
authority or judicial
body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other
appropriate assistance (indicating
what other appropriate assistance may be made
available to the child) and, unless it is considered not to be in the best
interests
of the child, in particular taking into account his or her age or
situation, in the presence of his or her parents or legal guardians;
. Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to examine
or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain the participation
and
examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under conditions of
equality;
. If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have this decision
and any measures imposed in consequence thereof reviewed
by a higher competent,
independent and impartial authority or judicial body according to
law;
. To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot
understand or speak the language used;
. To have his or her privacy respected at all stages of the
proceedings.
- The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be
presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;
- Measures taken for dealing with such children without resorting to
judicial proceedings, and to ensure that in such cases human
rights and legal
safeguards are fully respected, indicating the situations in which such a system
applies and relevant procedures
established for that purpose.
- No child is deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or
arbitrarily; [2] The arrest,
detention or imprisonment of a child is in conformity with the law and is used
only as a measure of last resort and for
the shortest appropriate period of
time;
- The general principles of the Convention are respected, namely
non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect for
the views of
the child, the right to life, and survival and development to the maximum extent
possible.
- Prevent the deprivation of liberty of children, including through
arrest, detention and imprisonment, inter alia in relation to asylum
seekers and refugees;
- Prevent the imposition of indeterminate sentences, including through
their legal prohibition;
- Monitor the situation of the children concerned, including through an
independent mechanism;
- Monitor progress, identify difficulties and set goals for the
future.
- With humanity and respect for the inherent humanity of the human
person;
- In a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her
age.
- The child deprived of liberty is separated from adults unless it is
considered in the best interests of the child not to do so;
- The child has the right to maintain contact with his or her family
through correspondence and visits (indicating the number of
such contacts), save
in exceptional circumstances, those circumstances being specified in the
report;
- The conditions in institutions in which children are placed are
supervised and monitored, including by an independent mechanism;
- Complaint procedures are made available to the child;
- A periodic review is made of the situation of the child and of the
circumstances relevant to his/her placement;
- Education and health services are provided to the child;
- The general principles of the Convention are respected, namely
non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect for
the views of
the child, the right to life, and survival and development to the maximum extent
possible.
- Prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, indicating
inter alia whether there is any legal time-limit for such access to
assistance and what other appropriate assistance may be made available to
the
child;
- Challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before
a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority;
- A prompt decision on any such action, indicating inter alia
whether there is any legal time-limit for such a decision to be
taken.
1019. In Chile there are a number of legislative
instruments relating to persons infringing the penal law. Their principal
characteristics
are dispersal and lack of doctrinal unity.
1020. In
Chile there is no system of penal justice for juveniles as such; instead, there
is a regime of protection for minors (Minors
Act) and a penal regime for adults
which in some cases is applicable to minors. The mechanism determining which
system is to apply
rests on two criteria: age and capacity of discernment.
1021. In general terms, the structure of the Chilean system is as
follows:
(a) Depending on the age and capacity of discernment of a
young offender, he will become subject either to the guardianship procedure
provided for in the Minors Act or to the penal procedure for adults laid down by
the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure
(CPP). Children between ages
16 and 18 must previously undergo an examination to determine their level of
discernment; this is a
requirement to determine ability to stand trial.
(b) The guardianship regime is applicable to all child offenders under
age 16 (and between ages 16 and 18 where the offender has
been declared lacking
in discernment).
(c) The penal regime for adults is applicable to
young offenders over age 16 but under age 18 who have acted with discernment.
The
regime for adults is applicable to them without modification save that
minority is deemed to be an extenuating circumstance to be
taken into account
when sentencing.
1022. The Constitution does not contain any provisions
specifically applicable to minors. One may therefore conclude that the
guarantees and rules laid
down therein are applicable to all individuals,
whether adults or minors.
1023. Article 1, paragraph 1, of the
Constitution lays down the fundamental principle of human dignity and the
equality of all individuals. This principle is subsequently (article
19)
elaborated in its application to criminal responsibility. Paragraph 2 of that
article establishes the principle of equality before
the law and prohibits all
forms of arbitrary discrimination in law or by any authority. These principles
offer further evidence that
the constitutional rights and guarantees are also
applicable to children.
- No 1: The right of the individual to life and to physical and
psychological integrity.
- No 2: Equality before the law. Neither the law nor any
authority may establish arbitrary differentiations.
- No 3: Equality of protection in the exercise of their rights.
This principle comprises the right to legal defence, including defence
without
charge; the principle of legality of the court which hears, examines and judges
the case; the prohibition of the automatic
assumption of criminal responsibility
in law; the principle of legality of the penalty; and the principle of
standardization of crimes
and offences.
- No 4: The right of personal freedom and individual security.
That right includes freedom of movement; the guarantee that no one may
be
deprived of liberty or be restrained except in the cases and forms specified in
the Constitution and the law; the guarantee that no one may be arrested or
detained except by order of the competent authority, save in cases of flagrante
delicto; the guarantees concerning the place and conditions of detention or
arrest; the right to release on bail; and the right of
an accused person not to
be required to give evidence on oath regarding his own case.
- No 26: The guarantee that the legal provisions regulating the
exercise of the rights recognized in the Constitution may not affect the essence
of those rights.
1024. The Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure
lays down the penal regime applicable to adults; the rules applicable to minors
it deals with only marginally. However, it does contain the fundamental
principles governing the system: the rules for the determination
and
implementation of criminal responsibility.
1025. The Penal Code
establishes the rules governing imputability, i.e., the rules by which the
applicability or inapplicability of
the penal regime for adult individuals is
determined.
1026. The Code of Criminal Procedure lays down the procedure
to be followed for the determination of imputability and for the trial
and
sentencing of persons deemed to be criminally responsible.
1027. As was
mentioned earlier, to determine whether an individual is criminally responsible
or not, the legislation currently in
force rests on two criteria: age and
capacity of discernment.
1028. The Penal Code regulates the situations
of persons infringing penal law on the basis of rules fixing the age of criminal
responsibility;
these are contained in article 10 of the Penal Code, paragraphs
2 and 3 of which read as follows: "The following are exempt from
criminal
responsibility: minors under age 16, and minors between ages 16 and 18 provided
that it is established that the person concerned
has acted without discernment.
The juvenile court concerned will make a statement on this point to be able to
proceed with the trial."
1029. Thus under these rules all minors under
age 18 are non-imputable and consequently cannot be held criminally responsible.
The
exception to this rule arises in the case of a juvenile between ages 16 and
18, who will be held criminally responsible if it is
established that at the
moment of committing the delictuous act he was acting with discernment; this is
a matter for the juvenile
judge to decide.
1030. A minor under age 16,
and a juvenile between ages 16 and 18 who, in the opinion of the juvenile judge,
has acted without discernment
will be subject to the courts, procedures and
measures provided for in the Minors Act.
1031. A minor between ages 16
and 18 who has acted with discernment will be subject to the courts, procedures
and penalties established
in the penal law applicable to adults.
1032. Briefly, it may be said that the formula used for purposes of
declaration of non-imputability is a combination of biological
and psychological
criteria based on three presumptions, viz.:
(a) beginning at age 18:
automatic presumption of full imputability ;
(b) under age 16:
automatic presumption of absolute non-imputability;
(c) between ages 16
and 18: simple legal presumption of non-imputability, which may be invalidated
if it is established by a special
procedure conducted by a juvenile judge that
the minor acted with discernment.
1033. The rules concerning proof of
the age of the accused and the form of proceeding against an accused person who
is a minor are
laid down in article 349 of the CCP. This article lays down a
number of rules and defines types of evidence. These rules are as
follows:
- If the accused person is apparently under age 16, he shall immediately be
placed provisionally at the disposal of the juvenile
judge while investigations
are conducted to ascertain his age and to proceed accordingly;
- If the accused person states that he is under age 18, or if the fact is
known or presumed from another source, the judge shall
order the inclusion of
his birth certificate in his case file;
- The judge has a number of means (developed from Act no 18
857 of 1989) of obtaining information on the age of a minor. In particular, he
can call on various judicial and administrative
authorities, even by telephone,
to supply the information required; the authorities in question may reply in the
same manner. In
addition, article 1 of the Minors Act (no 16
618) provides that, in the event of doubt over the age of a person who appears
to be a minor, he shall be provisionally considered
as such pending verification
of his age.
1034. The procedure for declarations concerning discernment
is based on articles 10 (paragraph 3) and 347 bis (a) of the Penal Code
and
articles 16, 26 (paragraph 8), 28 and 51 of the Minors Act
(no 16 618)[25],
which stipulate that:
- It is the responsibility of the juvenile judge
to rule in this matter;
- The declaration is a prerequisite for the
start of criminal proceedings;
- To reach a decision on discernment, the judge must consult the Technical
Council of the Minors' Institute or one of its members;
- The decision concerning lack of discernment is to be referred to the Court
of Appeal where the charge carries with it a sentence
of imprisonment. The court
will make its ruling without further proceeding other than consultation of the
public prosecutor except
where further submissions are requested;
- If the juvenile has to be detained in an institution during the
proceedings, he may only be detained in an Observation and Diagnosis
Centre
(COD) or, if there is no approved COD in the locality concerned, in one of the
alternative premises designated in the Supreme
Decree of the President of the
Republic enacted in pursuance of article 71 of the Minors Act. However, he may
be taken into care
in a Transit and Allocation Centre (CTD) when detention is
not called for;
- The detention of the juvenile during the proceedings for the declaration
on discernment shall be considered as deprivation of liberty
for all legal
purposes, and the fact that proceedings are still pending does not debar the
criminal court judge from releasing him
if such a step is in line with the
general regulations.
1035. The law does not specify whether the court
competent to try a juvenile between ages 16 and 18 accused of a crime or offence
is the criminal court judge or the juvenile judge. In practice it has become
accepted that the criminal court judge will hear the
case. Consequently the
juvenile is brought before the criminal court judge, who conducts the initial
investigations into the case;
once it has been established that the juvenile is
under age 18, he refers the juvenile to the juvenile judge, requesting the
latter
to give a ruling on discernment.
1036. Another problem not
settled by legislation is that of whether the judge should proceed directly to
requesting a declaration
on discernment or whether he should first of all rule
on whether the requirements of article 274 of the CCP for the start of trial
proceedings have been met. In the latter case, if insufficient evidence is
assembled during the period of detention to warrant the
opening of trial
proceedings, the criminal court judge should release the juvenile on grounds of
insufficient evidence without needing
to seek a declaration on discernment.
Case-law on the subject is also unclear. Some criminal courts verify that the
requirements
of article 274 of the CCP are met before referring the juvenile to
the juvenile judge, whereas others immediately request a declaration
on
discernment without inquiring whether there are sufficient grounds for a
trial.
1037. Finally, the law is unclear on whether the procedure for a
declaration on discernment is a contentious or a non-contentious
matter. In
practice the matter is dealt with in accordance with the rules contained in the
Minors Act and applying to non-contentious
matters: oral proceedings without a
formal judgement, but decisions must be taken with a full knowledge of the
facts. The judge evaluates
the evidence according to his conscience; he must
hear the minor if possible; he may ask for any social, medical or psychological
reports he considers necessary and make use of any other information medium he
considers suitable. There is a right of appeal against
his decision (which is
treated as a plea and enjoys precedence as regards hearing and ruling) and also
a right of complaint and
application for a rehearing.
1038. As regards
appearance, a minor does not require legal counsel when appearing before a
juvenile judge; but there is no obligation
on the judge to hear the minor before
making his decision. At the same time, the Minors Act does not contemplate the
possibility
of the designation of counsel by the minor to defend him before a
juvenile judge; likewise, it contains no specific rules permitting
a minor
charged with an offence to give a judicial mandate. However, the amendment to
the CCP introduced in 1989 authorizes the judge
to appoint a lawyer or solicitor
to a minor under age 18 who has none.
1039. The rules applicable in the
case of a minor charged with a crime or offence are described below (although in
principle the rules
of the Code of Criminal Procedure are not applicable to a
non-imputable minor):
- Recourse to amparo is available; the Code of Criminal Procedure
establishes rules governing recourse to action of this type, which has
constitutional
status and is designed to protect individual freedom. Both legal
doctrine and case-law recognize that amparo is available to non-imputable
minors. Confirmation of this is to be found in the ruling of the Supreme Court
of Justice dated 19
December 1932 concerning the procedure and decisions in
cases of appeal in amparo.
- There are some rules relating to evidence, and in particular those
defining and regulating the different types of evidence, which
are not defined
in the Minors Act.[26]
- As regards rules governing appearance in court as a defendant or as a
witness: article 53 bis B (as complemented by Act no 18 857
of 6 December 1989) states that "the intervention of the legal representatives
is not required for a person without legal capacity
to make a statement as an
accused person or as a witness or be tried or participate in any other aspect of
criminal proceedings".
Article 34 of the regulations to implement the Protection
of Minors Act (Decree: no 2 351; Ministry of Justice, 1928)
stipulates the manner in which juveniles under age 18 are to appear in criminal
trials involving
both adults and minors: it states: "If an ordinary court orders
questioning, confrontations or other proceedings in which the minor
must take
part, it shall so inform the juvenile judge, so that the latter may fix the
establishment in which the proceeding must
take place, together with the other
conditions applicable, taking the precautions necessary to avoid prejudice to
the minor..."
- As regards the instruments laying down the rights of the accused, a new
article 67 was added to the Code of Criminal Procedure
by Act
no 18 857 of 6 December 1989 as complemented by Act
no 19 047 of 1991. Article 67 complements article 3 bis, which
permits a minor under age 18 to conduct his own case in criminal proceedings,
stipulating that the rights of the accused may be exercised by his parents or
guardians; if they do not do so the judge may appoint
defence counsel following
the investigation stage. This rule should be considered as an option open to
both the parents and the judge;
but it does not overrule the principle that the
minor may act on his own behalf. One of the most important rights granted to an
accused
person by the CCP is that of "appointing counsel and submitting evidence
designed to disprove the charges laid against him". In addition,
article 4 of
Act no 19 047, which amends article 293 of the CCP, stipulates
that before a person in detention is placed at the disposal of the court he
has
the right to a "conference with his lawyer" in the presence of the head of the
establishment. However, owing to the location
of these regulations and the fact
that they derive from a recent reform of criminal trial proceedings, it is not
clear whether they
are followed in proceedings conducted before a juvenile
judge, in particular where the minor concerned is under age 16 and is not
an
accused person.
- The rules governing separation of persons deprived of liberty are as
follows: the Code of Criminal Procedure, together with other
legislative
instruments, requires that minors be kept separate from adults in prison
establishments. The guarantee concerning the
place of deprivation of liberty is
enshrined in the Constitution. All the international instruments on the penal
system or the protection of the rights of the child contain a provision on the
subject.
The CCP proposes a number of criteria for separation: detainees from
convicts, men from women, juveniles from adults, first offenders
from
reoffenders, level of education, age and nature of the offence. The lack of
certainty in these provisions, together with those
contained in the Minors Act,
has diminished in importance on account of the fact that only exceptionally are
minors under age 18
entering adult prisons; this results from the implementation
of Act no 19 343 of October 1994, which speaks of "the removal
of persons under age 18 from adult penitentiary institutions"; it prohibits the
entry of minors under age 16 in any circumstances, and allows, as an exceptional
measure in places where there is no Observation
and Diagnostic Centre, the
possibility of admitting minors whose discernment is being determined into
separate sections where they
will enjoy special support from the National
Service for Minors. The need to bring in this Act demonstrates that the former
system
did not prevent children from being placed in prisons and that it was
necessary to give a legal guarantee to a right which was protected
only by
general rules which were not binding on the administration or the courts.
Finally, it must be mentioned that the Act under
consideration makes no
reference to juveniles held to possess discernment and in prisons for adults,
sometimes under inadequate forms
of segregation; this situation aggravates the
lack of protection they enjoy under the Chilean system, notwithstanding the fact
that
for all legal purposes save that of criminal responsibility they are still
minors.
1040. If the juvenile judge decides that an accused minor
between 16 and 18 years of age has acted with discernment, that decision
will
mean that he is deemed imputable and will be tried and sentenced in accordance
with the rules applicable to adults. Consequently
a juvenile in this situation
becomes fully subject to the rules laid down in the Penal Code and the Code of
Criminal Procedure in
the same way as adults, but with the following exceptions:
- The Penal Code provides for diminished responsibility for a juvenile who
has been declared judicially imputable in the following
terms: "A minor between
ages 16 and 18 who has been declared by the competent court to have acted with
discernment and is thus not
exempt from responsibility shall be sentenced to a
penalty one degree less than the minimum laid down by law for the offence he has
committed". As a complement to this substantial reduction in the penalties
applicable, the law provides that the penalties applicable
to an adult who has
used persons under age 18 to commit an offence shall be increased by one degree;
the judge evaluates the question
according to his conscience.
- The Penal Code provides that "persons under age 21 and women shall serve
their sentences in special precincts. In places where
no such premises exist,
they shall be placed in ordinary prison establishments, but duly separated from
adult and male criminals
respectively."[27]
1041. The
treatment of offending minors who are exempt from criminal liability is governed
by the Minors Act, published in February
1967, which follows on from the first
Special Act concerning Minors (no 4 447 of 1928). It establishes
a special system of protection for persons under age 18 and, as mentioned
earlier, sets the legal consequences
of illicit acts committed by non-imputable
persons. In addition, the Act gives official sanction to the existence of
specialized
courts for minors and defines the procedures and protective measures
available to those courts. Generally speaking, the Act grants
wide powers to
these courts; those powers enable them to deal with cases with a substantial
degree of discretion. Side by side with
these principal powers, importance is
attached to technical reports designed to provide information on the conditions
in which the
child or juvenile lives. In matters relating to criminal
responsibility the juvenile judge gives a ruling on discernment and the
application of appropriate measures of protection.
1042. A juvenile
judge does not only have the power to hear cases involving criminal acts; he may
also investigate practically any
factor of judicial relevance which affects the
life and development of the child concerned. This is due to the fact that the
expressly
stated purpose of the Act is to protect a minor charged with an
offence, not to resolve the penal conflict to which the act he has
committed has
given rise. This approach explains the absence of any special procedures or
protective measures applicable to these
offenders.
1043. The contents of
the Act can be briefly summed up as follows:
- Implementation of the
Act
- Administrative machinery (now superseded by the Organic Act concerning
SENAME: Decree-Law no 2465)
- Police force dealing with
minors
- Judicial bodies for minors: organization and
powers
- Homes for minors and institutions providing
care
- Penal institutions.
1044. From the foregoing it is clear
that the Minors Act governs a substantial proportion of the current
arrangements, both substantive
and procedural (organic and functional), for the
protection of minors. It has been amended many times but has nevertheless
maintained
its initial approach. The principal amendments introduced were:
- Decree-Law no 2 465 of 1979, which repealed the whole of
Title I (National Council for Minors), replacing that body by the National
Service for
Minors (SENAME);
- Act no 19 234 of 1994, amending the articles concerning
the ill-treatment of minors;
- Act no 19 343 of 1994, amending various articles with a
view to preventing the placing of minors in penitentiary establishments for
adults.
The effects of that Act can be observed from the following
table:
Table 39
Admissions to Observation and Diagnostic Centres (CODs) and Gendarmerie (annual)
Age group
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
||||
F
|
M
|
F
|
M
|
F
|
M
|
F
|
M
|
|
0 - 6 years
|
753
|
907
|
224
|
243
|
2
|
23
|
-
|
33
|
7 - 12 years
|
674
|
1.914
|
178
|
502
|
7
|
16
|
27
|
31
|
13 - 21 years
|
2,260
|
9,505
|
809
|
6,525
|
358
|
6,328
|
374
|
6,776
|
22 years and over
|
272
|
212
|
18
|
66
|
1
|
19
|
6
|
40
|
Total
|
3,959
|
12,538
|
1,229
|
7,336
|
368
|
6,386
|
407
|
6,880
|
Source: SENAME.
1045. Of the total number of girls
admitted, 50% were from the metropolitan region. The percentage for boys was
similar.
1046. With the exception of certain specific rules laid down in
article 32, the Minors Act establishes a uniform procedure and measures
in
respect not only of minors charged with crimes and offences but also of other
matters within its field of competence. However,
the Act is also unclear on
whether such cases are to be deemed contentious or non-contentious.
1047. If a minor has reached puberty the judge may summon him for a
personal hearing. However, this measure is not obligatory, since
the Act states
that it is to be done "if possible". If the minor concerned has not reached
puberty he will be heard only if the judge
considers it desirable.
1048. Article 32 of the Minors Act stipulates that before any of the
measures provided for in it are applied to a minor in respect
of an act which,
if committed by an adult, would constitute an offence, the judge must establish
the circumstances in which the offence
took place and the extent to which the
minor participated in it. However, even if it is established that the act did
not take place,
or that the minor played no part in it, the same measures may in
any case be applied if the judge concludes that the minor is in
material or
moral danger.
1049. The measures applicable to a non-imputable minor who
has infringed the penal law are listed in article 29 as follows:
- To be given a warning and be returned to his parents, guardians or persons
responsible for him;
- To be left at liberty but under
supervision;
- To be placed for as long as considered necessary in a special educational
establishment designated in the Act;
- To be placed in the care of a person who volunteers for the purpose so
that the minor can live in that person's family and who
the judge considers fit
to direct the minor's education; in addition, the minor will remain within the
system of liberty under supervision.
1050. These measures will be
applicable for a period fixed by the judge in his decision; the Act establishes
no criteria on the subject.
The judge may at any time, after consulting the
Technical Council of the Minors' Institute, amend or annul the measures decided
on
if circumstances change.
Juvenile courts: organization and
powers
1051. Act no 16 618 establishes a special
system of courts for minors with powers to take cognizance of matters falling
within the scope of the
Act and to enforce the decisions for which they are
responsible. These courts form part of the judiciary and are governed by Act
no 16 618 and subsidiarily by the Courts Organic Code. They are
thus placed under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Justice.
1052. At the time of entry into force of the Act it was decided that
there should be nine juvenile courts presided over by certified
judges, 5 in
Santiago, 2 in Valparaiso, 1 in the department of Pedro Aguirre Cerva and 1 in
Concepción. At present there are
49 such courts distributed throughout
the country. Where there is no juvenile court, its functions will be discharged
by the court
of second instance; where there are more than one, the oldest will
hear these cases.
1053. Juvenile courts are presided over by a single
certified judge, who must meet the requirements for a post of certified judge
in
a departmental court of second instance and in addition possess a knowledge of
psychology, which can be obtained by successfully
completing a course on minors
and the law at any State-approved university or through examination by a board
of members of the teaching
profession. In addition, each juvenile court will
have a court social worker and a secretary, who may act as substitute for the
titular
judge.
1054. The areas of competence of the juvenile courts are
specified in article 26, section 8 of which states: "to hear all cases in
which
minors charged with crimes, offences or misdemeanours appear in accordance with
the provisions of article 28 and to issue the
ruling required at the outset on
whether the minor between ages 16 and 18 has acted with discernment or not".
1055. The proceedings before a juvenile judge are regulated by the
special provisions contained in the relevant Act and only subsidiarily
by the
Code of Criminal Procedure. In non-contentious cases the proceedings will be
oral and there will be no formal judgement; the
only requirement is that the
judge should issue his rulings in full knowledge of the facts.
1056. If
the matter is a contentious one, or if objections to the measures or decisions
adopted by the judge are submitted and the
nature of the case permits, the
summary procedure set down in Title XI, Book III, of the Code of Summary
Proceedings will be followed,
but with some changes; the hearing and the
submission of evidence will take place on a date fixed by the court; there will
be no
substitution of proceedings; and the final rulings have to meet the
requirements applicable to interlocutory decisions instead of
those for final
rulings. A case becomes contentious only if objections are submitted by the
parents or guardians or any other person
who has the care of the minor; the
possibility that the minor himself may submit objections is not envisaged.
1057. Whatever the procedure followed, the evidence will be evaluated
according to the conscience of the judge, who had wide powers
to obtain evidence
and to take various measures to inform himself of the circumstances of the case.
He must if possible hear the
minor if the latter has reached puberty; if not, he
may hear him only if he thinks this desirable.
1058. The only recourses
against a decision of a juvenile judge are those of appeal, complaints and
application for a fresh hearing.
Appeals are heard in accordance with the rules
governing interlocutory proceedings and are allowed solely for purposes of
devolution.
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of the child (article 39)
1059. The SENAME looks after young offenders
within the rehabilitation systems described under point 36. The protective
measures
available are: behavioural rehabilitation in an institution; liberty
under supervision; and daytime behavioural rehabilitation.
1060. Table
38 shows trends in the numbers of subsidized rehabilitation places from 1994
onwards.
Table 38
Numbers of places in protection schemes,
year by year
System
|
Places
|
|||
---|---|---|---|---|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
Daytime behav. rehab.
|
1,194
|
1,897
|
2,365
|
3,089
|
Liberty under supervision
|
2,287
|
1,817
|
1,778
|
1,477
|
Institutional behav. rehab.
|
828
|
833
|
926
|
1,000
|
Total
|
4,309
|
4,547
|
5,069
|
5,566
|
Source: SENAME, Ministry of Justice.
1061. As
can be seen from table 39, there were in all 5 196 persons in care on 31
December 1997.
Table 39
Numbers of persons in SENAME care by sex and type of protection
Scheme
|
Daytime bebav. rehab.
|
Liberty under supervisión
|
Institutional bebav. rehab.
|
Total
|
Sex
|
||||
Girls
|
740
|
361
|
233
|
1,334
|
Boys
|
2,275
|
1,031
|
556
|
3,862
|
Total
|
3,015
|
1,392
|
789
|
5,196
|
Source: SENAME. Figures as of 31 December 1997.
1062. Table 40 shows the principal reasons for the placing in protection
of the minors so placed on 31 December 1997.
Table 40
Reasons for placing in SENAME protection
schemes
Daytime behav. rehab.
|
Liberty under supervision
|
Institutional behav. rehab.
|
Total
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Offences against the person
|
246
|
95
|
49
|
390
|
Offences against property
|
1,336
|
568
|
393
|
2,297
|
Sexual offences
|
42
|
43
|
19
|
104
|
Infringements of law on drugs
|
486
|
198
|
127
|
811
|
Minor infringements
|
9
|
6
|
2
|
17
|
Severe maladjustment
|
595
|
259
|
142
|
996
|
Minor maladjustment
|
237
|
161
|
40
|
438
|
Victim
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
20
|
Not known
|
57
|
55
|
11
|
123
|
Total
|
3,015
|
1,392
|
789
|
5,196
|
Source: SENAME.
1063. The age distribution of the
individuals within the behavioural rehabilitation schemes on 31 December
1997 is shown in table
41.
Table 41
Numbers of minors by age and system
Daytime behav. rehab.
|
Liberty under supervision
|
Institutional behav. rehab.
|
Total
|
|
Age group
|
||||
Under 10
|
14
|
3
|
-
|
17
|
10 - 13
|
503
|
80
|
113
|
696
|
14 - 16
|
1,693
|
712
|
515
|
2,920
|
17 - 18
|
754
|
497
|
142
|
1,393
|
19 and over
|
36
|
87
|
16
|
139
|
Not known
|
15
|
13
|
3
|
31
|
Total
|
3,015
|
1,392
|
789
|
5,196
|
Source: SENAME.
1064. The length of stay within
behavioural rehabilitation schemes of the individuals affected as of 31 December
1997 is shown in
table 42.
Table 42
Length of stay within schemes
Daytime behav. rehab.
|
Liberty under supervisión
|
Institutional behav. rehab.
|
Total
|
|
Less than 6 months
|
1,004
|
467
|
309
|
1,780
|
7 - 12 months
|
870
|
343
|
227
|
1,440
|
Over 1 year
|
1,141
|
582
|
253
|
1,976
|
Total
|
3,015
|
1,392
|
789
|
5,196
|
Source: SENAME.
1065. The degree of success of
the schemes can be seen from the figures for the numbers of individuals released
from behavioural rehabilitation
schemes between January and December 1997 given
in table 43.
Table 43
Quality of releases
Successful release
|
Unsuccessful release
|
Not classifiable
|
Not known
|
Total
|
|
Institutional behav. rehab
|
323
|
642
|
107
|
36
|
1,108
|
Daytime behav. rehab.
|
698
|
606
|
373
|
58
|
1,735
|
Liberty under supervisión
|
490
|
346
|
295
|
48
|
1,179
|
Total
|
1,511
|
1,594
|
775
|
142
|
4,022
|
Source: SENAME.
1066. Since 1990 the SENAME
has been conducting various studies of juvenile offenders against the penal law
and the programmes which
cater or them. From those studies an explanation of
juvenile delinquency, known as the "deficient socialization concept", has been
developed.
1067. This concept endeavours to explain juvenile delinquency
on the basis of deficiencies in the socialization process within the
family,
starting from the hypothesis that that process is the principal means whereby a
biological person becomes a social person;
it is in the family that the child
internalizes the values, attitudes and standards which will guide his conduct
and with which he
will acquire value as a person.
1068. However, this
process of socialization within the family, in which the parents are the
principal players, can be affected by
a deficient performance of the parental
roles. The result is that children live in a family dynamic in which they
receive little
recognition and personal value enhancement, weak and inconsistent
standards and authority, vague demarcation lines and roles inconsistent
with
their state of childhood. All this gives rise to a situation of family
disintegration.
1069. During this process of family disintegration the
child or juvenile gradually accumulates experiences which bind him to peer
groups of persons in similar family environments; these include groups of
children living or spending much of the day on the streets
who have dropped out
of school and work in the informal sector.
1070. These experiences are
typified in the factors which lead to entry into the SENAME network of
programmes; they include running
away from home, vagrancy, begging, failure to
adapt to family and school standards and consumption of drugs, all of which fall
within
the general concept of behavioural problems.
1071. Following these
first experiences in the street, away from the family home, the children link up
with more structured groups
which have socially deviant standards and practices.
They join in these groups and little by little are recognized as equals and
develop attachments and loyalties which they have difficulty in
relinquishing.
1072. In groups of the second type the child or juvenile
will participate in criminal activities, minor at first (scuffles, thieving,
petty larceny) but later more serious (such as robbery with threats, serious
bodily harm and possibly homicide).
1073. As regards the scale of
offences by juveniles against the penal law, and more specifically the increase
in the number of offences
and their nature, the following may be observed from
the information available in SENAME:
(a) In absolute figures, increases
in the numbers of juveniles entering the system on account of offences against
the penal law
were observed in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
(b) In percentage
terms, the figure for 1995 shows an increase of 3.2% over that for 1994 and that
for 1996 an increase of 23.7%
over that for 1995. A breakdown of the figures by
type of offence reveals an increase in the numbers of offences against property
and a decrease in the numbers of offences against the person and sexual offences
(which are considered the most serious).
1074. The principal
developments in the field of rehabilitation are to be found in the policies of
SENAME since 1990, particularly
with regard to the guidelines giving preference
to open-environment programmes, the expansion in the number of programmes
available
for children and juveniles who have committed offences against the
penal law, and in their integration into society.
1075. The situation
after 6 years with regard to these guidelines is as follows:
- Widening
of the scope of open-environment programmes;
- Reduction of the scope of
closed-institution programmes;
- Reduction of the numbers of children and juveniles entering prisons for
adults;
- Development of support projects for work within the families and
communities to which young offenders belong;
- Psycho-social support and legal defence for young offenders deprived of
liberty;
- Formulation and implementation of a plan for infrastructure, directed
mainly towards the construction of COD-CERECO closed-institution
centres in
regions requiring them;
- Conduct of studies designed to:
. Evaluate closed-institution and open-environment rehabilitation
programmes;
. Standardize open-environment programmes using traditional and
community approaches and closed-institution programmes for men and
women;
. Establish profiles of young offenders in each region;
. Establish profiles of girl offenders;
. Obtain knowledge of the situations of juveniles in prison;
. Determine the needs of young offenders against the penal
law.
- Development of technical support mechanisms designed to:
. Monitor and evaluate rehabilitation programmes;
. Determine the commitment caused by offences and the psycho-social
traumas incurred;
. Create or activate regional networks of rehabilitation programmes;
. Define the technical requisites for rehabilitation in a
closed-institution environment;
. Define a model for intervention within a closed-institution
CERECO.
- Holding of meetings for exchanges of experiences between rehabilitation
centres and for the training of teams of professionals.
1076. In the
latter context, particular mention should be made of the agreement between the
Ministry of Justice and ILANUD in 1996
to organize a number of activities in the
field of care for young offenders. The first of these was a seminar on the
subject of drug
dependency for professionals in the care system and other
sectors.
1077. During 1997 two seminars were held in Chile for
professionals working with juvenile offenders. The object of those seminars
was
to provide information on the model of pro-social thinking in the expectation
that it would be applied by the persons who had
received that training. Both
seminars were conducted by professionals of international standing. They were
financed by the Latin
American Institute for Crime Prevention.
1078. Finally, mention should be made of a programme, known as the
Programme for Legal Defence and Psychological Support for Young
Offenders,
elaborated by SENAME to meet the needs of young offenders. It is designed for
young offenders held in the minors' sections
of the detention centres of the
gendarmerie and covers both juveniles awaiting a decision on discernment and
those who have been
declared to possess discernment, i.e. those who have been
formally charged.
1079. The programme covers two fields: legal and
psychosocial. In the legal field, which is handled by lawyers, the objective is
to
speed up the proceedings which will lead to the speedy release of the
juveniles concerned. The psychosocial sector consists of a
team comprising
social workers, psychologists and workshop instructors; their task is, on the
one hand, to develop activities which
will minimize the effects on juveniles of
a stay in a prison for adults and, on the other, to conduct inquiries when
requested to
do so by a juvenile judge. The activities undertaken by this team
include individual and/or group psychological therapy, guidance
for families,
school catch-up classes and the development of various activities (manual
workshops, sports, recreation) designed to
occupy the free time of the juveniles
concerned.
1080. Programmes of this type are currently operational in 11
of the country's 13 regions, namely regions I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII,
VIII,
IX, X and the metropolitan region. The scheme covers 345 places, the
majority of them in regions V and VIII. The metropolitan
region only covers
juveniles formally charged, since young offenders declared to be without
discernment are taken into the Tiempo
Joven community.
1081. The
programme may be briefly evaluated as follows:
(a) The general
objectives of the programme are being achieved; the procedures for an earlier
release of juveniles have been speeded
up. In addition, knowledge of the
procedures used before the juvenile and criminal courts has been accumulated and
the validity of
those procedures established.
(b) In addition,
monitoring and vocational guidance have in practice helped to minimize the
effects of prison culture and to improve
the conditions under which juveniles
are held in those sections. Another positive effect is that the families of
juveniles do not
lose contact with them and are given more flexible support and
guidance by the professionals in the programme (lawyer and social
worker).
(c) The principal difficulties observed arise from the absence of
suitable premises within the centres to permit the desirable level
of
segregation and the unavailability of sufficient space for the conduct of
activities permitting full use of free time.
(d) Moreover, the human
and material resources available to the programmes are insufficient to permit
speedy and effective treatment
of problems of a psychiatric nature
(aggressivity, loss of emotional control, etc.), neurological problems and
problems related to
the syndrome arising from the withdrawal of drugs. All these
problems occur frequently among young offenders deeply involved in crime
(i.e.,
juveniles who have committed serious offences and are repeat offenders) and are
factors making for crises in situations of
deprivation of liberty.
1082. Finally, it should be mentioned that since 1995 projects have been
initiated for the construction and equipment of Behavioural
Rehabilitation,
Observation and Diagnosis Centres. By the end of 1997 four such centres had
been completed (in regions II, IV and
VIII and the metropolitan region and land
had been purchased and design work begun for eight more (in regions III, V,
VI, VII, VIII,
IX, X and the metropolitan region). Investment in this area
totalled Ch$ 4 million.
1083. For the period 1998-2002
investments totalling M$ 15 million have been programmed for the sector. During
this period 14 new
centres are to be created and design work begun on a further
7. In addition, under a special project existing centres have been adapted
to
provide sections offering basic features of security and segregation for young
offenders. The cost of this project was Ch$ 373
000 million, spread over
the years 1996, 1997 and 1998.
C. Children in situations of exploitation, including
physical and psychological recovery
and social
reintegration
1. Economic exploitation of children, including
child labour (article 32)
- Economic
exploitation;
- Performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with
the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's
health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
1084. As regards
protection against economic exploitation and the performance of work which may
be hazardous or prejudicial to a minor's
health, development or education, the
provisions of the Labour Code prohibit the employment of persons under age 18 in
underground
work, tasks requiring excessive physical effort and work which may
prove dangerous to the minor's health, safety or morals, and also
work in
cabarets and other similar establishments in which live shows are presented and
in places selling alcoholic beverages for
consumption on the premises. Night
work is also prohibited under the conditions mentioned in the previous paragraph
(article 14 and
paragraph 1 of article 18).
1085. Without prejudice
to the rules already mentioned, which refer specifically to work by minors,
article 1187 of the Labour Code
lays down the general rule (thus also applicable
to persons under age 18) that a worker may not be required or allowed to be
employed
on tasks which are deemed to exceed his strength or which may endanger
his health or safety.
1086. The Labour Directorate and/or the health
services are competent to determine whether a task falls within the
above-mentioned
prohibitions applicable to minors or to workers in general.
152. In this regard, reports should in particular
indicate:
- Whether legislation has included a prohibition, as well as a
definition, of hazardous and harmful work, and/or of the activities
considered
to be hazardous, harmful to the child's health or development or to interfere
with the child's education;
- Any preventive and remedial action undertaken, including information
and awareness campaigns, as well as education, in particular
compulsory
education, and vocational training programmes, to address the situation of child
labour both in the formal and informal
sector, including as domestic servants,
in agriculture or within private family activities;
- The measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles of
the Convention, particularly non-discrimination, the best
interests of the
child, the right to life, and survival and development to the maximum extent
possible.
1087. Please refer to paragraphs 1084-1086 above.
1088. As regards government action undertaken during the period covered
by this report, and to give full effect to the provisions
of the Convention
referred to, mention may be made of the following:
(a) The Government
of Chile has transmitted to Congress for further action a draft decision to
ratify ILO Convention no 138 concerning the minimum age of
admission to employment; that draft is currently in second discussion in the
External Relations
Committee of the Senate, as required by the Constitution.
(b) The Government of Chile has transmitted to Congress for further
action a draft decision to ratify ILO Convention no 138
concerning the minimum age of admission to employment. The draft was approved by
Congress on 3 November last, and it only remains
for it to be published in the
Diario Oficial in order to enter into force.
- A minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment;
- Appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of
employment;
- Appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective
enforcement of this article, and any mechanism of inspection and
system of
complaint procedures available to the child, either directly or through a
representative.
1089. Chilean legislation governing the minimum age
for admission to employment lays down the following rules (art. 13):
(a) A person aged 18 or over has full capacity to accept employment
and may freely enter into contracts of service.
(b) Persons over age 15
but under age 18 may only work with the express permission of his father or
mother, grandparents, guardians
or the labour inspector, in the order given,
each acting in the absence of those preceding them.
(c) When the
authorization is given by a labour inspector, the latter must bring the
circumstances to the attention of a juvenile
judge, who has the power to quash
the authorization if he considers that it will have undesirable consequences for
the minor.
(d) Minors between ages 14 and 15 may only work if they
comply with the system of authorization referred to in the previous section
and
then only subject to the following additional requirements:
- that
they have completed their minimum compulsory schooling; and
- that the work is light, is not prejudicial to their health or development
and does not interfere with their attendance at school
or participation in
educational programmes.
(e) Minors under age 14 are prohibited from
working.
(f) As regards hours of work, national legislation provides
that minors under age 18 may not work for more than eight hours per
day and are
prohibited from working in industrial and mining establishments between 10 p.m.
and 7 a.m. except in family establishments
where the work is performed under the
authority of a member of the family (art. 18, para. 1).
(g) In the
event of offences against the above-mentioned rules protecting the employment of
minors, the Labour Code lays down sanctions.
These consist of fines inflicted by
the labour inspectorate; article 477 of the Code sets the amount of these fines
at 1 to 10 monthly
tax units, with an increment of 0.15 unit for each worker
involved in the offence where more than 10 workers are involved in the
enterprise concerned.
(h) Furthermore, if a labour inspector
establishes that a minor is being employed other than in strict compliance with
the regulations
on the protection of minors already mentioned, he must order the
cancellation of the employment relationship and apply the appropriate
sanctions
to the employer concerned in accordance with article 17 of the Code. Without
prejudice to the foregoing, and also in accordance
with the Code, the employer
is required to pay to the minor whose contract has been cancelled all monies due
to him in respect of
work done.
- Any national policy and multidisciplinary strategy developed to prevent
and combat situations of children's economic exploitation
and
labour;
- Any coordinating and monitoring mechanism established for that
purpose;
- The relevant indicators identified and used;
- Relevant programmes of technical cooperation and international
assistance developed;
- The progress achieved in the implementation of this article, benchmarks
set up as well as difficulties encountered;
- Relevant disaggregated data on the children concerned, including by
age, gender, region, rural/urban area, and social and ethnic
origin, as well as
on infringements observed by inspectors and sanctions
applied.
1090. In the first place, with regard to earlier standards,
both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
which
provides that "children and young persons should be protected from economic and
social exploitation" and that "their employment
in work harmful to their morals
or health or likely to hamper their normal development should be punishable by
law", and the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes the right
of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing
"any
work that is likely to be hazardous ... or to be harmful to the child's health
or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development", have
constitutional status in Chile under article 5, paragraph 2, of the national
Constitution.
1091. As regards international labour standards, Chile has
ratified 6 ILO Conventions concerning child labour: Nos. 5 and 6 of 1919
concerning respectively the minimum age for employment in industry and the night
work of young persons; no 7 of 1920 concerning the minimum age
for employment at sea; and Nos. 10, 15 and 16, setting standards for the minimum
age for employment
in agriculture, as trimmers and stokers and for the medical
examination of young persons employed at sea respectively. The provisions
of
these Conventions were incorporated into labour legislation promulgated between
1924 and 1931.
1092. In Chilean law the protection of the physical and
psychological integrity of the person from all illegal or arbitrary assault,
including that arising from the performance of paid work, derives by implication
from article 19 (1) and (6) of the Constitution, which state:
"The
Constitution guarantees to everyone:
(1) The right to life and the physical and psychological integrity of the
person;
(16) Freedom to work and protection at work."
1093. The
special regime providing protection for minors in the work environment is
defined in the Labour Code, the text currently
in force of which dates from
1994. Specifically, the relevant provisions are contained in the second chapter
of Book I, entitled
"Concerning the capacity to enter into contracts and other
regulations relating to the employment of minors".
1094. The regime for
the protection of minors at work is fully compatible with ILO Convention
no 138 and the other ILO Conventions which Chile has ratified.
Convention no 138 has not yet been ratified.
1095. As
regards data on the children concerned, on the basis of the estimates made by
the CASEN 96 survey, it can be said that some
47,000 children between ages 6 and
14, or 1.9% of the population in that age group, worked during the three months
preceding the
inquiry. Of these, 16,000 children stated that they had been
working regularly; the other 31,000 stated that they had worked occasionally.
1096. If these figures are disaggregated by age, it will be observed
that some 15,000 of the children concerned (5,000 working regularly
and 10,000
occasionally) were between 6 and 11 years of age and approximately 32,000
(11,000 working regularly and 21,000 occasionally)
were between ages 12 and 14.
These figures correspond to 0.9% of boys and girls between ages 6 and 11 and
4.2% of those between ages
11 and 14. These figures correspond to 0.9% of all
boys and girls between ages 6 and 11 and 4.2% of those between ages 12 and 14.
1097. In the 12-14 age group child labour is encountered more frequently
among boys than among girls; 73% of the children working
regularly and 79% of
those working occasionally are boys.
1098. A comparison by sex reveals
that 2% of boys work regularly and 4.3% occasionally. The corresponding figures
for girls are 0.8%
and 1.2% respectively.
1099. In addition, child
labour is more frequent among children living in rural areas than among those
living in urban areas. Table
43 shows that 1.9% of children between ages 12 and
14 living in rural areas work regularly and 5.4% occasionally, whereas the
corresponding
figures for children in urban areas are 1.3% and 2.2%
respectively.
Table 44
Percentage of population between ages 12
and 14 in work
by area of residence, 1996
Child labour
|
Urban areas
|
Rural areas
|
Working regularly
|
1.3
|
1.9
|
Working occasionally
|
2.2
|
5.4
|
Total working
|
3.5
|
7.3
|
Source: MIDEPLAN, CASEN 96 survey.
1100. However, it should be pointed out that, since there are more
children living in urban areas than there are in rural areas, and
although child
labour is more frequent in the latter, 76% of children working regularly and 67%
of those working occasionally are
urban children.
1101. The CASEN survey
also revealed that child labour, both regular and occasional, is encountered
most frequently among children
living in poverty.
1102. Among children
aged between 12 and 14 years, 31.5% of those working regularly and 8.1% of those
working occasionally stated
that they were not attending school. These
percentages contrast with 2.4% among non-working children.
1103. From
the foregoing it may be concluded that there is a clear relationship between
non-attendance at school and regular child
labour.
1104. In the 15-17 age
group there appear to be approximately 78,000 persons in the labour force (9.7%
of the membership of the group,
according to the CASEN survey).
1105. Of
the total number of juveniles in the labour force, 82.7% are in employment and
17.3% are unemployed.
1106. As regards the incomes of those in
employment, the average monthly wage received by the juveniles concerned is
approximately
54 000 pesos - less than the statutory minimum wage fixed for
persons under age 18 (61 445 pesos).
1107. Juveniles are employed
primarily in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing (37%) and in commerce
and restaurants (24%).
1108. Of the juveniles in the 15-17 age group in
the labour force, whether in employment or unemployed, 77.3% are not attending
school,
whereas the proportion of non-working children not studying is only
9.7%.
1109. The higher school drop-out rate among these juveniles is
reflected in a lower level of completed schooling. Thus the average
duration of
completed schooling among juveniles in the labour force is 7.7 years, that among
juveniles who are not economically active
is 9.5 years.
1110. In June
1996 Chile signed a memorandum of understanding with the ILO International
Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour
(IPEC) in which the Government of
Chile undertook to take the following measures:
(a) To analyse the
child labour situation in the country;
(b) To elaborate and establish a
national plan to combat child labour:
(c) To frame and develop policies
directed towards the prevention and elimination of child labour;
(d) To
develop national plans incorporating measures of local or sectoral scope or
directed at specific occupations;
(e) To provide special care for boys
and girls working under unacceptable conditions or conditions which violate
fundamental rights
and in hazardous activities and conditions, with particular
reference to boys and girls under age 12.
1111. In 1996, with a view to
coordinating, evaluating and monitoring the activities to which it had committed
itself, the government,
on the proposal of the Ministry of Labour and Social
Insurance, established the National Advisory Committee for the Elimination of
Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers, composed of representatives
of public and private institutions, employers' and
workers' organizations,
non-governmental organizations, various churches and representatives of
international organizations such
as the ILO and UNICEF.
1112. One of the
first tasks of the Advisory Committee is that of establishing a picture of the
reality of child labour. To that end
the findings of the CASEN surveys into the
social and economic situation organized in 1994 and 1996 have been published;
those surveys
contained a specific question on child labour. It was thus
possible to obtain more precise data on the position. In addition, a study
of
the features of child labour will be put out to tender in October of this year
with the support of UNICEF; the use is envisaged
of qualitative and quantitative
methodologies with child workers and their parents with a view to obtaining
reliable data from which
the social, family and economic characteristics of
working children can be determined. This will be a key element in the design and
implementation of policies for the elimination of child labour.
1113. The other tasks of the National Advisory Committee consist of the
definition of the nature of the measures to be taken and the
fields of activity
to be explored, the coordination of concrete projects to combat child labour,
the evaluation of the programme
and of its activities and the incorporation of
an institutional dimension (and in particular the community dimension) into
policies
on child labour - in brief, to elaborate a plan for the elimination of
child labour.
1114. Together with the National Advisory Committee,
regional committees for the elimination of child labour were established in each
of the 13 regions of the country under the chairmanship of the competent
Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social
Insurance.
1115. In order to prepare a logical matrix for the plan, a number of
meetings have been held with the different public services and
ministerial
authorities represented on the national and regional committees. It is intended
to include members of parliament and
of the judiciary, and especially
institutions of civil society. The purpose of these meetings was to reach
agreement on the causes
and consequences of the different problems concerning
child labour and to attack those causes.
1116. In addition, by the end
of 1998 the results of an inquiry sponsored by UNICEF will be known. This will
enable a more precise
picture of the reality of child labour to be obtained.
That picture will be analysed in the different committees and will provide
a
basis for the finalizing of the different measures to be taken. Admittedly,
there is already a consensus on the importance of education;
but the whole will
rest on a basic assumption of continuing economic growth and the combined effect
of the social plans, which together
constitute essential elements for an
approach to this subject.
1117. In 1998, in the context of the
implementation of the plan of action, the launching of three specific projects
on the elimination
of child labour is envisaged. These projects will be financed
by the International Labour Organization and will take place in regions
VI and
IX and the metropolitan region; they will target previously defined groups of
working children.
2. Drug abuse (article 33)
- Protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances, as defined in relevant international
treaties;
- Prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking
of such substances.
156. Reports should also indicate:
- The relevant international conventions, including at the regional and
bilateral levels, to which the State is a party;
- Any arrangements made and structures developed to raise awareness in
the general population and amongst children, including through
the school system
and whenever appropriate by the consideration of this topic by the school
curricula;
- Any measures undertaken to assist children and their families,
including through counselling, advice and helplines, where appropriate
of a
confidential nature, and policies and strategies designed to ensure the physical
and psychological recovery and social reintegration
of children
concerned;
- Any measures designed to monitor the incidence of drug abuse on
children, as well as their involvement in the illicit production
and trafficking
of narcotic and psychotropic substances, progress achieved, difficulties
encountered and targets set for the future;
- Any relevant disaggregated data, including by age, gender, region,
rural/urban area, and social and ethnic origin.
1118. In September
1990 the Government of Chile inaugurated the National Council for Narcotic Drug
Control (CONACE), composed of all
the Ministries and State Secretariats involved
in the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and control of narcotic drugs and
psychotropic
substances.
1119. CONACE is the body coordinating the
policies, plans and programmes being implemented by the government, through the
different
agencies of the State, designed to develop systematic, comprehensive,
coherent, concerted and sustained action to achieve the ends
mentioned and to
contribute to the body of social policies promoting improvements in the quality
of life of individuals, families
and the community. It is also the body acting
as advisor to the President of the Republic and official government spokesman in
dealings
with international organizations concerned with the drug problem.
1120. In order to carry out its task of coordinating action on a
country-wide basis as effectively as possible and in a decentralized
manner,
CONACE has established regional councils for drug control (CORECEs) in all the
13 administrative regions of the country.
1121. In 1993 the National
Policy and Plan for Drugs Prevention and Control was elaborated. Within that
framework CONACE has contributed
to the establishment of a new and modern legal
framework for the country. A Coordinating Committee on Prevention, and another
on
control, have been established; a national information system on drugs has
been established and documentation and information centres
have been created,
made operational and interconnected. CONACE has also helped to create the
mechanisms for community participation
by means of a fund for the support of
projects deriving from local initiatives and to validate preventive strategies
at communal
level.
1122. A number of other measures have been taken in
such fields as studies of drug consumption, prevention campaigns and
epidemiological
surveillance.
1123. In 1995 Act no 19
366, laying down penalties for the consumption of and trafficking in narcotic
drugs and psychotropic substances, was promulgated.
Among other things, the Act
also defines and lays down penalties for the offence of money-laundering. It
also lays down rules concerning
the diversion of raw materials and essential
chemical substances to drug manufacture, strengthens the existing provisions on
the
control and eradication of the illicit cultivation of plants containing
drugs and establishes the statutory instruments necessary
for the use of new
policing techniques. Finally, for the first time in Chilean legislation, the
public and private consumption of
drugs (in the latter case, on an agreed basis)
is declared punishable.
1124. It should also be mentioned that other
public institutions, such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of health,
the National
Service for Minors and the National Youth Institute have devised a
corpus of programmes for the prevention of drug consumption and
the treatment
and rehabilitation of consumers.
1125. In the educational field, mention
should be made of the Programme for the Prevention of Drug Consumption in the
School System.
This programme was launched by the Ministry of Education in 1992
as a response to the rises in the indices for school dropouts, poor
performance
and repeat years among pupils. This situation was observed in a number of
regions of the country, and especially in the
north, which was designated as a
high-vulnerability region (relating to the traffic and consumption of drugs), as
it borders on countries
which produce narcotic drugs.
1126. The aim of
the programme is "to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life among
children and young persons within
the school community by developing global
strategies for the prevention of drug consumption".
1127. The basic
objectives pursued are the promotion and development among the players in the
school community of skills and capacities
of a nature to promote the prevention
of drug consumption by stimulating the development of preventive training
activities, with
the participation of all the members of the school community,
designed to support personal development, promote awareness and strengthen
capacities in the field of prevention of consumption.
1128. The groups
targeted were pupils, teachers and parents in subsidized primary and
middle-level municipal and private educational
communities within the country.
So far 1 433 teachers have received training under the scheme and some 3 000
seminars have been organized
for parents; the principal aim of the latter is to
develop the awareness and motivation of parents on the subject of prevention of
drug consumption, particular emphasis being laid on protective and risk factors.
1129. The principal beneficiaries of the programme are children and
young persons at school. With a view to encouraging active participation
by
students and promoting many and varied preventive measures, support is being
given to pupils centres through School Prevention
Projects (PEPs). These
projects are financed by a participatory fund to which any subsidized
establishment in the country may apply.
The aim of this scheme is to distribute
funds to schools to enable them to develop prevention activities in accordance
with their
needs. The scheme was first launched in 1994; between that year and
1997 it financed 1 845 projects throughout the country at a total
cost of Ch$
286 000 million.
1130. Together with this scheme, a number of
large-scale activities and cultural events for young persons were organized.
Particular
mention should be made of a poster competition for schoolchildren, a
cultural event entitled "Spring without Drugs" and meetings
with youth leaders.
1131. During the period 1994-97 the Ministry of Education invested Ch$ 1
069 886 million in the Programme for the Prevention of Drug
Consumption in the
School System (see table 45).
Table 45
Year-by-year investment in the
Programme for
the Prevention of Drug Consumption
Year
|
Investment (in M Ch$)
|
1994
|
138,000
|
1995
|
237,000
|
1996
|
300,364
|
1997
|
675,758
|
Source: Programme for the Prevention of Drug
Consumption.
1132. The Ministry of Health is not conducting any specific
prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programmes related to drug consumption
at central level. The programmes, projects and activities being conducted in
this area are based on initiatives taken in individual
health services.
1133. The National Service for Minors has developed a training programme
for classroom teachers covering prevention, treatment and
rehabilitation in
relation to drugs and alcohol; emphasis is laid on detection of consumption and
initial intervention. Also, work
has begun on a policy and model treatment for
excessive consumption of drugs by offenders against the law.
1134. As
regards data on the subject, mention may be made of the findings of a
nation-wide study of drug consumption in Chile carried
out in 1994. The study
established that 13.4% of the Chilean population living in towns with 50 000 or
more inhabitants had taken
drugs at some time during their lives and 4.5% during
the previous 12 months (the drugs in question were the three illegal drugs
consumed in the country - marijuana, cocaine base paste and hydrochlorate). The
study also revealed that volatile solvents had been
sniffed by 0.7% of the
population during their lifetimes, 0.18% during the last 12 months and 0.006%
during the past month; and that
during the previous month 40% of the population
had consumed alcohol and 40.5% cigarettes.
1135. Drug consumption in
Chile is highest among males between ages 18 and 34 (43% of them had taken
marijuana or cocaine base paste
or hydrochlorate at some time in their lives)
and among persons in the higher socio-economic categories. Tobacco consumption
is highest
in the 12-18 age group at all socio-economic levels. Use of volatile
solvents during the previous month is highest among girls under
age 12 and boys
between ages 12 and 18.
1136. The age at which base paste is consumed
for the first time is mostly somewhere between ages 19 and 25 for both men
and women;
for consumption of cocaine, it is mainly between ages 19 and 25 for
men and between 12 and 18 for women; and consumption of marijuana
begins mostly
between ages 12 and 18. Consumption of alcohol and tobacco begins mainly between
ages 12 and 18 in all socio-economic
categories and that of tranquillisers
between ages 26 and 64.
4. Sale, trafficking and abduction
(article 35)
161. In this
regard, reports should indicate inter alia:
- The legislation adopted to ensure effective protection of children
against abduction, sale and trafficking, including through the
consideration of
these acts as criminal offences;
- Awareness and information campaigns to prevent their occurrence,
including campaigns undertaken in cooperation with the media;
- The allocation of appropriate resources for the development and
implementation of relevant policies and programmes;
- Any
national strategy developed to prevent and suppress such
acts;
- Any coordinating and monitoring mechanism established for
that purpose;
- The relevant indicators identified and
used;
- Whether special units have been created among law enforcement officials
to deal with these acts;
- Relevant training activities provided
to the competent authorities;
- Structures and programmes developed to provide support services to the
children concerned and to promote their physical and psychological
recovery and
social reintegration, in the light of article 39;
- The measures adopted to ensure that in the implementation of
article 35 due consideration is taken of other provisions of the
Convention,
including in the areas of civil rights, particularly in relation to
the preservation of the identity of the child, adoption and prevention
of any
form of exploitation of children, including child labour and sexual
exploitation;
- The measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles of
the Convention, including non-discrimination, the best interests
of the child,
respect for the views of the child, the right to life, and survival and
development to the maximum extent possible.
1137. On
this subject please refer to chapters 1 - 4 of this report.
5. Other
forms of exploitation (article 36)
164. Reports should also indicate, inter
alia:
- The prevalence of any form of exploitation prejudicial to the child's
welfare;
- Awareness and information campaigns launched, including for children,
families and the public at large, as well as the involvement
of the
media;
- Training activities developed for professional groups working with and
for children;
- Any national strategy developed to ensure protection to the child and
the targets set for the future;
- Any mechanism established to monitor the situation of the child, the
progress achieved in the implementation of this article and
any difficulties
encountered;
- The relevant indicators used;
- Measures adopted to ensure the physical and psychological recovery, as
well as the social reintegration, of the child victim of
exploitation
prejudicial to any aspects of his or her welfare;
- Relevant measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles
of the Convention, namely non-discrimination, the best interests
of the child,
respect for the views of the child, the right to life and survival and
development to the maximum extent possible;
- The measures adopted to ensure that the implementation of this article
takes into due consideration other relevant provisions of
the
Convention;
- Relevant disaggregated data on the children concerned by the
implementation of this article, including by age, gender, region,
rural/urban
area, and national, social and ethnic origin.
1138. These points have
been covered in the different chapters of this report.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group
(Article 30)
- To enjoy his or her
culture;
- To profess and practise his or her own
religion;
- To use his or her own language.
1139. See
below, paragraphs 1140-1153.
166. In this regard, reports should also
indicate inter alia:
- The ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or indigenous groups
existing within the State party's jurisdiction;
- The measures adopted to ensure the preservation of the identity of the
minority or indigenous group to which the child belongs;
- The measures adopted to recognize and ensure the enjoyment of the
rights set forth in the Convention by children belonging to a
minority or who
are indigenous;
- The measures adopted to prevent any form of discrimination and combat
prejudice against those children, as well as those designed
to ensure that they
benefit from equal opportunities, including in relation to health care and
education;
- The measures adopted to ensure respect for the general principles of
the Convention, namely the best interests of the child, respect
for the views of
the child, the right to life, and survival and development to the maximum extent
possible, as well as non-discrimination;
- The measures adopted to ensure that in the implementation of the rights
recognized in article 30 due consideration is taken of
other provisions of
the Convention, including in the areas of civil rights, particularly in relation
to the preservation of the child's
identity, family environment and alternative
care (for example art. 20, para. 3 and art. 21), education and the
administration of
juvenile justice;
- Relevant disaggregated data on the children concerned, including by
age, gender, language, religion, and social and ethnic origin;
- The progress achieved and the difficulties encountered in the
implementation of this article, as well as any targets set for the
future.
1140. Prior to 1990 the State does not appear to have taken
any measures of a social character targeting indigenous ethnic minorities.
From
1990 onwards, for the first time in the history of the country, this sector of
the population, made up of the Mapuche, Aymará,
Rapanui,
Altacameña, Quechua, Colla, Kawashkar and Yagán communities,
became a priority element in government policy.
1141. Although there are
clearly great socio-cultural differences between these indigenous groups - which
are aggravated by the considerable
distances between them - certain elements
common to all of them were identified at the beginning of the 1990s. These
elements, which
inspired a determination to give priority to the integration of
these groups within the framework of social policy, were:
(a) a
deterioration in their living conditions and increasing
marginalization;
(b) disputes over land and water within indigenous
communities arising from divisions of land, usurpation, fraudulent sales,
leases,
etc.;
(c) High levels of emigration from indigenous communities
to urban areas and low levels of population increase;
(d) Low levels
of opportunity and access to the school system, poor quality of education and
its irrelevance, since it did not take
into account the cultural and linguistic
realities of the indigenous peoples;
(e) Lack of access to technical
and vocational training systems and to higher education;
(f) Problems
relating to access to the courts and the administration of justice.
1142. In the light of that situation, in 1990 the government of that
time established the National Indigenous Peoples' Commission
with the specific
aim of framing indigenous legislation and establishing an indigenous development
corporation. The Commission advised
the government on the framing of policies
towards those groups, particularly in relation to their full economic and social
development
with regard to the preservation, strengthening and dissemination of
their cultural values and modes of expression and the due participation
and
emergence of their members within the national community.
1143. On 5
October 1993 the Indigenous Peoples Act (no 19 253), laying down
standards for the protection, promotion and development of the indigenous
peoples and establishing the National
Indigenous Development Corporation.
1144. The principal features of this new instrument are as
follows:
(a) It sets as its objective the elimination of all types of
discrimination existing in the country in order to enable individuals
forming
part of an indigenous culture to express that culture in full freedom;
(b) It establishes formal legal recognition of the indigenous
communities in Chile;
(c) It grants legal personality to indigenous
communities as instruments for development and defence;
(d) It
creates a Land and Water Fund through which the State will subsidize indigenous
individuals and communities for purposes
of acquisition of land;
(e) It
creates the Indigenous Ethnic Development Fund to promote the implementation of
agricultural and stock-rearing plans and
programmes;
(f) In the
educational and cultural fields, it establishes an intercultural bilingual
scheme to preserve culture, language and identity
and by so doing to promote
their progress and development;
(g) It establishes an institution - the
National Indigenous Development Corporation (CONADI) - to fix guidelines for
policies relating
to indigenous peoples; the latter will be represented on it.
1145. According to the results of the CASEN 96 survey, the numbers of
persons claiming to belong to one of the eight indigenous ethnic
groups covered
by the instrument was 635 376, or approximately 4.5% of the country's
population.
Table 46
Indigenous population in Chile, by
ethnic group
Group
|
Number
|
Percentage
|
Non-indigenous
|
13,576,673
|
95.40
|
Mapuche
|
517,125
|
3.63
|
Aymará
|
90,527
|
0.64
|
Atacameño
|
9,988
|
0.07
|
Rapanui
|
7,720
|
0.05
|
Colla
|
5,467
|
0.04
|
Quechua
|
3,436
|
0.02
|
Yagán
|
975
|
0.01
|
Kawashkar
|
138
|
0.00
|
Not known
|
20,195
|
0.14
|
Total
|
14,232,244
|
100.00
|
Source: MIDEPLAN, Social Information Dept., CASEN 96
survey.
1146. Some regions, such as regions I, IX and X, have high
concentrations of indigenous peoples; in regions XI and XII the indigenous
population is of significant size.
1147. As regards the distribution of
the indigenous population between rural and urban areas, the CASEN 96 survey
revealed a substantial
difference between them and the non-indigenous
population. It appears that 51.5% of indigenous Chilean men live in rural areas
-
a very considerable difference from the 15.5% of non-indigenous men. The same
orders of magnitude are found with women (49.6% and
13.6% respectively).
1148. As regards incomes, according to the findings of the CASEN 96
survey, 25% of the indigenous population were living in poverty
and 10.6% in
extreme poverty; in other words, 35.6% of the indigenous population were living
in poverty at the time of the inquiry.
A comparison of these figures with those
for the total population of the country - 17.5% living in poverty and 5.7% in
extreme poverty
- highlights the difference; the gap is one of over 12
percentage points. These figures show that the incidence of poverty and extreme
poverty in Chile is higher among the country's indigenous
peoples.
1149. If it is remembered that, generally speaking, poverty
mostly affects children and young persons, the above data point to the
conclusion that some 50% of indigenous children are living in poverty or extreme
poverty. (No detailed information is available on
the indigenous population
under age 18.)
1150. There are three areas of particular importance for
the living conditions of indigenous peoples: justice; education and culture;
and
community development.
1151. Although the general improvement in the
living conditions of Chileans belonging to indigenous ethnic groups will also
lead to
improvements in the situation of indigenous boys and girls, the State is
gradually introducing in increasing numbers projects, programmes
and activities
focussed on them. The most noteworthy are those relating to education and
support provided through a special system
of primary, secondary and higher
education scholarships for indigenous pupils and students.
Table 47
Primary education scholarships
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
I
|
322
|
360
|
378
|
388
|
388
|
420
|
II
|
54
|
80
|
96
|
101
|
101
|
133
|
III
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
5
|
21
|
IV
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
V
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
10
|
10
|
20
|
VI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
4
|
14
|
VII
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
3
|
6
|
VIII
|
250
|
300
|
323
|
336
|
336
|
352
|
IX
|
1,600
|
1,700
|
1,720
|
1,728
|
1,728
|
1,744
|
X
|
274
|
267
|
287
|
299
|
299
|
315
|
XI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
10
|
10
|
26
|
XII
|
-
|
8
|
10
|
15
|
15
|
25
|
Metropolitan region
|
-
|
72
|
86
|
98
|
98
|
130
|
Country total
|
2,500
|
2,787
|
2,900
|
3,000
|
3,000
|
3,214
|
Source: Ministry of Education.
Table 48
Secondary education scholarships
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I
|
100
|
100
|
107
|
157
|
162
|
172
|
II
|
20
|
30
|
37
|
54
|
59
|
69
|
III
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
7
|
12
|
IV
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
5
|
10
|
V
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
10
|
18
|
VI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
6
|
10
|
VII
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
5
|
8
|
VIII
|
100
|
120
|
127
|
182
|
189
|
199
|
IX
|
660
|
695
|
702
|
738
|
740
|
755
|
X
|
100
|
125
|
134
|
184
|
189
|
199
|
XI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
14
|
19
|
24
|
XII
|
-
|
6
|
8
|
16
|
19
|
29
|
Metropolitan region
|
20
|
38
|
45
|
85
|
90
|
102
|
Country total
|
1,000
|
1,114
|
1,160
|
1,450
|
1,500
|
1,607
|
Source: Ministry of Education.
Table 49
Higher education scholarships*
Region
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I
|
74
|
100
|
106
|
106
|
131
|
145
|
II
|
13
|
25
|
31
|
31
|
46
|
53
|
III
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
IV
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
V
|
37
|
34
|
34
|
34
|
54
|
59
|
VI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
VII
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
3
|
6
|
VIII
|
43
|
63
|
69
|
69
|
91
|
99
|
IX
|
438
|
530
|
536
|
536
|
550
|
558
|
X
|
51
|
60
|
69
|
69
|
89
|
97
|
XI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
5
|
8
|
XII
|
-
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
10
|
16
|
Metropolitan region
|
94
|
85
|
92
|
92
|
112
|
120
|
Country total
|
750
|
900
|
940
|
940
|
1,100
|
1,179
|
* Includes universities, higher education centres and
technical training centres.
Table 50
Total scholarships
Región
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
I
|
496
|
560
|
591
|
651
|
681
|
737
|
II
|
87
|
135
|
164
|
186
|
206
|
255
|
III
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
10
|
15
|
39
|
IV
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
11
|
24
|
V
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
49
|
74
|
97
|
VI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
8
|
13
|
30
|
VII
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
11
|
20
|
VIII
|
393
|
483
|
519
|
587
|
616
|
650
|
IX
|
2,698
|
2,925
|
2,958
|
3,002
|
3,018
|
3,057
|
X
|
425
|
452
|
490
|
552
|
577
|
611
|
XI
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
24
|
34
|
58
|
XII
|
-
|
17
|
21
|
34
|
44
|
70
|
Metropolitan region
|
-
|
195
|
223
|
275
|
300
|
352
|
Country total
|
4,250
|
4,801
|
5,000
|
5,390
|
5,600
|
6,000
|
Sources: years 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995: Ministry of
Education compendium of statistical information; years 1996 and 1997:
Ministry of Education.
1152. As stipulated in the Indigenous Peoples Act,
CONADI has elaborated an education plan made up of two components: first, it is
establishing the basis for intercultural bilingual education; and second, it is
implementing a school support programme to induce
indigenous pupils to remain in
the educational system.
1153. Other support activities (both direct and
indirect) for children in indigenous communities are conducted by the National
Service
for Women (by means of studies on the entry of women into the labour
market) and the Kindergartens Board, which is introducing kindergartens
of a
non-conventional type for boys and girls belonging to indigenous ethnic
minorities.
Annex
PROJECTS CONCERNING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS PERIOD 1993-1997
Year of project
|
Name of project
|
Executing agency
|
Institutional sector
|
Contribution of donor (dollars)
|
Present situation
|
Type of cooperation
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sweden
|
1993
|
P-900 seminar
|
CIDE
|
NGO & CAI
|
33.097
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Sweden
|
1994
|
Sonido Centro Juvenil Conchalí
|
Municip. Conchalí
|
Municip.
|
8.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Switzerland
|
1996
|
Children's educ.: rehab. handicapped
|
Municip. Viña del Mar
|
NGO & CAI
|
28.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
European Union
|
1996
|
Prev. drug consumption SENAME
|
SENAME
|
Min. of Justice
|
496.600
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1995
|
Asst. prep. & prev. teenage pregnancies
|
SERNAM/ MINEDUC
|
Multisectoral
|
70.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Prev. teenage pregnancies
|
SERNAM
|
SERNAM
|
150.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Publication & follow-up PNI
|
MIDEPLAN
|
MIDEPLAN
|
27.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Elab. of PRIAs for regions III & VIII
|
MIDEPLAN
|
MIDEPLAN
|
10.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Analysis sit. children in rural areas
|
MIDEPLAN
|
MIDEPLAN
|
20.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Integr. children in indigenous communities
|
JUNJI
|
Min. of Education
|
10.500
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Training for nursery educ.
|
JUNJI
|
Min. of Education
|
3.000
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Pilot programme community radio
|
JUNJI
|
Min. of Education
|
3.000
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Discussions on training for nursery education II
|
MINEDUC
|
Min. of Education
|
13.000
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Educ. innovations in classroom teaching
|
MINEDUC
|
Min. of Education
|
65.000
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Tech. assist. human training
|
MINEDUC
|
Min. of Education
|
60.000
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
MINJUS study children
|
MINJUS
|
Min. of Justice
|
24.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Technical support
|
MINJUS
|
Min. of Justice
|
27.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Prof. training prev. ill-treatment of children
|
INTEGRA
|
Min. of Justice
|
10.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Seminar on childhood for journalists
|
INTEGRA
|
Min. of Justice
|
5.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Fourth Convention on Rights of Child
|
PARL. COMM. HR
|
Legislative
|
5.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Report on stories for sick children in hospital
|
Agua Viva
|
NGO & CAI
|
4.400
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Publication PRIAs Regions I, III, VIII, XI
|
MIDEPLAN
|
MIDEPLAN
|
10.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Study: characteristics of child workers
|
MIDEPLAN
|
MIDEPLAN
|
50.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Study: integr. of disabled children in reg. educ.
|
MIDEPLAN
|
MIDEPLAN
|
2.500
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Support Committee on Maternal Breast-feeding
|
MINSAL
|
Min. of Health
|
20.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Reg. course on Rights of Child and Social Policy
|
Univ. Diego Portales
|
Universities
|
3.500
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Seminar on rights of child
|
Vicaria Pastoral Soc.
|
NGO & CAI
|
10.000
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Support of Children's Parliament
|
Children's Parliament
|
Legislative
|
9.200
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Study: effectiveness of laws against ill-treatment of children
|
MINJUS
|
Min. of Justice
|
4.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1996
|
Study: children deprived of liberty
|
MINJUS
|
Min of Justice
|
8.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
UN
|
1993
|
Study: frequency of violence in families
|
NGO
|
NGO & CAI
|
3.430
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Germany
|
1995
|
Tech. assist. intermediate centres for juveniles
|
FOSIS/INI
|
Multisectoral
|
2.031.000
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
Belgium
|
1997
|
Municipalization of schools system
|
PIIE
|
Universities
|
*
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Belgium
|
1997
|
Apprenticeship reading & dyslexia
|
Catholic Univ.
|
Universities
|
*
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Belgium
|
1996
|
Boys' and Girls' town
|
Children's Town
|
NGO & CAI
|
19.049
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Belgium
|
1996
|
Carpentry training centre for mentally deficient boys
|
NEPE (NGO)
|
NGO & CAI
|
142.313
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Belgium
|
1997
|
Prog. children and juveniles at social risk
|
Corporación Chasqui
|
Foundation & Corp.
|
55.571
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Belgium
|
1997
|
Boys' and Girls' town
|
Children's Town
|
NGO & CAI
|
21.049
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Spain
|
1995
|
Interv. in case of ill-treatment of children
|
MINJUS/SENAME
|
Min. of Justice
|
103.199
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Spain
|
1996
|
Mobile libraries
|
DIBAM
|
Min. of Education
|
130.000
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Spain
|
1996
|
Women's particip. in society and politics
|
SERNAM
|
SERNAM
|
40.000
|
Exec,
|
Donation
|
Finland
|
1996
|
Aid to Chilean Children
|
PIDEE
|
NGO & CAI
|
53.763
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Finland
|
1996
|
Kindergarten
|
Unicomio Azul
|
NGO & CAI
|
10.753
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Finland
|
1996
|
Illapel educ. scheme for women & children
|
Finland/Chile Association
|
NGO & CAI
|
5.161
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Netherlands
|
1993
|
Social integr.juvenile drug addicts (Temuco)
|
NGO
|
NGO & CAI
|
52.420
|
Ended
|
Donation
|
Italy
|
1995
|
Family and rural schools
|
CIDE
|
NGO & CAI
|
*
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
Italy
|
1996
|
Video Canelo (educ. TV)
|
Canelo de Nos
|
NGO & CAI
|
210.754
|
Exec.
|
Donation
|
Luxembourg
|
1996
|
Training for marginalized youth in N. Santiago
|
Cristo Vive Foundation
|
Foundation & Corp.
|
1.010.806
|
Negot.
|
Donation
|
* Projects forming part of technical cooperation or on which no
financial information is available.
[*] Translator's note: also referred to in the initial report as the National Plan of Action in Favour of Children (PNI).
[**] The bold text is taken from the "General guidelines regarding the form and contents of periodic reports to be submitted by States parties under article 44, paragraph 1 (b), of the Convention", adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at its 343rd meeting on 11 October 1996 (see document CRC/C/58).
[1] See pages 4-11 of the explanatory document "Respuesta del Gobierno de Chile ante el Comité de los Derechos del Niño de las Naciones Unidas", 1994.
[2] See pages 4-11 of the same explanatory document.
[3] "Progress towards attainment of the PNI targets 1990-1995" and Santiago Agreement, MIDEPLAN, 1996.
[4] The statistics given in this section are based on various studies produced by the Department of Social Studies of MIDEPLAN.
[5] See the annex: donor countries, projects, executing agency and budget.
[6] See the initial report, paragraph 39 (b) and (c).
[7] See the relevant sections of the initial report on the measures taken by Chile to give effect to the rights recognized in the Convention.
[8] See paragraph 64 of the initial report.
[9] Miguel Cillero, "Evolución historica de la consideración jurídica de la infancia y adolescencia en Chile" in Seminario, El Estado y los niños mirando en el tercer milenio, August 1993, p. 71.
[10] Ibid.
[11] An individual household is "a group of two or more persons who, whether or not related to each other, have economic independence, i.e. they participate in the formation and use of the same budget, share food and live in the same dwelling or part of a dwelling. An individual household may consist of a single person". National Institute of Statistics, 1992, National Population and Housing Census.
[12] Primary family nucleus includes "the head of the household, his or her spouse or common-law spouse and the children and stepchildren of the head of the household, whatever their civil status, provided that their respective spouses or common-law spouses are not present". "The families of Chile according to the latest population census (1992), SERNAM, document nº44, June 1996, p. 12.
[13] A family is "a group of two or more persons making up a single individual household related up to the fourth degree of consanguinity (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces, and cousins) and up to the second degree of affinity (spouses, parents-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law, stepchildren, and brothers- and sisters-in-law)". Op. cit.
[14] Op. cit., p. 19.
[15] A collective household is "a group of persons having no family relationship who share a dwelling or a part of a dwelling and make a common life together for reasons of health, work, religion, study, discipline, etc.". Op. cit., p.18.
[16] The activities of these institutions are described in various parts of the report.
[17] Mimeographed document "Programme of support for women heads of poor households, second phase", SERNAM, December 1997.
[18] Source: Department of Social Information, MIDEPLAN.
[19] Data from research conducted by UNICEF-Chile/SERNAM in 1995.
[20] The statutory framework on working conditions refers to current regulations governing the working conditions of professionals in the education sector, with regard to aspects such as working hours, pay and further training assignments.
[21] It is worth mentioning here the significant contribution made by the Programme for Women in favour of preventing early pregnancies.
[23] The National Council for School Assistance and Grants (JUNAEB) is an independent corporation under public law attached to the Ministry of Education, which is responsible for devising, implementing and coordinating measures of social and economic assistance to schoolchildren in preschool, primary and secondary education, with a view to furthering equal education opportunities.
The objective of JUNAEB is to reach schoolchildren all over the country with a series of assistance programmes to encourage their enrolment and maintenance in the educational system, to improve their performance and to avoid dropout until they have completed the appropriate education cycle. These programmes are basically targeted at school sectors which are more socioeconomically vulnerable in municipal and subsidized private schools at different educational levels.
[24] Vulnerability is understood to be the biological, psychological, socioeconomic and cultural risk affecting the quality of life, well-being and learning capacity of schoolchildren. The vulnerability index is the average weighted percentage of unsatisfied needs of schoolchildren in a particular school, such as medical care, dental care or being underweight for their age.
[2]6 According to the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, deprivation of liberty means any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in another public or private custodial setting from which this person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other public authority (rule11 (b)).
[25] Article 347 bis of the Penal Code was introduced by Law nº18 857 of December 1989. Articles 16 and 51 of the Minors' Act was amended to read as indicated here by Act nº19 343 of October 1994.
[26] As regards evidence, it must be kept in mind that article 36 of the Minors Act admits as legal evidence any material which the juvenile court judge considers relevant.
[27] Reference has already been made to this point. Even so, it must be remembered that there are no special precincts where convicted persons who acted with discernment can serve their sentences.
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