Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Following the approval of its preliminary draft by the Council of Ministers, the Code of Children, Adolescences, and Youth enters a key stage: becoming law and truly impacting the lives of new generations.
"We have been working for over a year. We heard many voices to collectively build a legal text that aspires to be useful, fair and close to the Cuban reality, to its main addressees, who are the future of the nation", said Marlen Triana Mederos, Vice-Minister of Education, in an interview given to Juventud Rebelde.
A few weeks ago, the preliminary draft of this legal norm was approved in an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers for presentation to the President of the National Assembly of People's Power, “a decision that excites us and makes us even more committed,” the official stated regarding this important result.
“Let us remember that in July 2023, Parliament approved the Comprehensive Policy for Children, Adolescences, and Youth, which recognized the need to update the Code in force since 1978. From there, its elaboration was included in the Legislative Schedule 2023-2027.
We are glad of this step. It is the result of a serious, collective and prolonged work that now enters a key stage: that the Code becomes law and really impacts on the lives of girls, boys, adolescents and young people in Cuba", said Triana Mederos, who pointed out that the establishment of the temporary working group to deal with all matters related to the Code was essential.
“In October 2023, the temporary working group was established to draft the Code for Children, Adolescents, and Youth, led by the Ministry of Education and with the participation of multiple state bodies, agencies, and entities, as well as the Union of Young Communists (UJC, for its acronym in Spanish) and student organizations,” she stated.
In addition, technical support was initially provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and research centers dedicated to social studies.
“The actions carried out included a broad regulatory and documentary review, which included an analysis of current national legislation on children and adolescences, a study of international treaties and documents from the Committee on the Rights of the Child, as well as a review of regulations from other countries and national studies,” she commented.
Normative and practical gaps were identified, and successive versions of the draft were developed based on analysis and consultation with experts. Inter-institutional coordination was decisive in integrating sectoral perspectives, avoiding duplication, and promoting the project to decision-makers and the media.
“After 14 months of continuous work, the Preliminary Draft of the Code for Children, Adolescences, and Youth was published on the Ministry of Education website on December 5, 2024. Since then, several months of intense work have followed to incorporate the relevant criteria derived from the consultation processes, including exchanges with children and adolescents.”
She specified that legislation from Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Uruguay, United Nations recommendations, and recent Cuban regulations, such as the Family Code, were used as references.
She specified that legislation from Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Uruguay, United Nations recommendations, and recent Cuban regulations, such as the Families Code, were used as reference.
The current law dated back to 1978, and since then, the social reality, the challenges faced by children, adolescents, and young people, and international legal frameworks have changed profoundly.
She believed it was urgent to have a modern law aligned with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, consistent with the 2019 Constitution and the Families Code, and capable of responding to current issues such as risks in digital environments.
"From the previous law, valuable elements are maintained, such as the fundamental role of families in guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents, the establishment of individual responsibilities, the value of the educational, scientific, and cultural development of young people, among others. All of this has been strengthened with a more modern and guarantee-based approach."
We believe that the Code adequately reflects the rights and perspectives of children, adolescents, and young people in Cuba, she stated.
The text recognizes that every child and adolescent is unique and can grow up in very different contexts, and therefore seeks to respond to this diversity through respect, inclusion, and non-discrimination, proclaimed Marlen Triana Mederos. (Source: ACN)
