Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, Feb 20.- The implementation of the Code on Childhood, Adolescences, and Youths (Law 178/2025) has established in Cuba an institutional system aimed at safeguarding the rights of children and adolescents through the creation of the Comprehensive Protection System, according to the newspaper Granma.
This new regulatory framework aligns with the mandate of the 2019 Constitution and the 2022 Family Code, recognizing the new generations as full rights holders and establishing mechanisms to guarantee their effective exercise.
One of the fundamental principles of this system is the recognition of children as developing individuals who require special protection. Thus, a shared responsibility is established among families, educational institutions, and state entities to guarantee inclusive and safe environments, free from violence.
The structure of the system is organized into seven specialized subsystems: Education, Health, Protection against violence, Alternative care, Social protection, Prevention and early intervention, and Adolescent criminal justice. Each subsystem has specific functions to address the multiple dimensions of childhood and youth life.
Regarding violence, the system offers support services, legal assistance, and psychological care, in addition to mandatory protocols in institutions for the detection, reporting, and monitoring of abuse cases.
Alternative care ensures the right of minors to grow up in a family environment, offering options such as family foster care or institutional care, the latter being an exceptional and temporary resource, decided by judicial means.
Criminal justice for adolescents focuses on applying restorative and socio-educational measures, avoiding severe penalties such as the death penalty or perpetual deprivation of liberty, and guaranteeing that adolescents are not held in centers intended for adults.
Protection measures can be administrative or judicial in nature, ranging from family support to removal from the environment, always as a last resort. Minors have the right to be heard, and the participation of advocates and technical teams in the corresponding processes is guaranteed.
The national direction of the system falls to the Commission on Childhood, Adolescences, and Youths, led by a Deputy Prime Minister and made up of heads from eleven ministries. This commission meets every two months to approve guidelines, evaluate legislative projects, and ensure the active participation of minors in decisions that affect them.
At the provincial level, the commissions are headed by the governors, while at the municipal level, the priority is the identification of risks and the receipt of complaints and reports, promoting coordinated functioning at all levels.
This institutional system represents significant progress in the comprehensive protection of childhood in Cuba, establishing monitoring and periodic evaluation mechanisms to ensure its effectiveness. (Text and photo: Cubadebate)
