The Senate of the Republic does not plan to approve, in the current legislative session, a reform that criminalizes the recruitment or conscription of minors by organized crime, despite the fact that since 2011 there have been some fifty initiatives in the legislative "freezer," child protection experts explained.
According to figures from the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico (Redim), 30,000 minors each year are enlisted by criminal groups for tasks such as lookouts ("halcones"), drug planting and cultivation, distribution, hitmen, and other organized crime activities.
During the forum "From Protection to Action: Preventing the Use of Children and Adolescents by Organized Crime," the director of the National Institute of Criminal Sciences, Jorge Nader Kuri, commented that the institution supports the autonomous criminalization of the illicit recruitment of persons, because "we consider it an evidence-based and human rights-oriented response."
At the same time, the director of Legal Affairs of the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (Sipinna), Jorge Andrade Contreras, considered that, in order to prevent recruitment, in addition to criminal law, prevention, early detection, intervention in communities, and safe digital environments are needed.
In his remarks, the child protection specialist at UNICEF Mexico, Juan Pablo Rodríguez, deta…
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The Senate of the Republic does not plan to approve in the current legislative session a reform that criminalizes the recruitment or conscription of minors by organized crime, despite the fact that since 2011 there have been some fifty initiatives in the legislative "freezer," experts in child protection explained. According to figures from the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico (Redim), 30,000 minors each year are enlisted by criminal groups, for tasks such as "halcones" (lookouts), drug planting and cultivation, distribution, hitmen, and other organized crime activities. During the forum "From Protection to Action: Preventing the Use of Children and Adolescents by Organized Crime," the director of the National Institute of Penal Sciences, Jorge Nader Kuri, commented that the institution supports the autonomous criminalization of the illicit recruitment of persons, because "we consider it an evidence-based and human rights-oriented response." At the same time, the director of Legal Affairs of the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (Sipinna), Jorge Andrade Contreras, considered that, in order to prevent recruitment, in addition to criminal law, prevention, early detection, intervention in communities, and safe digital environments are needed. In his remarks, the child protection specialist at UNICEF Mexico, Juan Pablo Rodríguez, detailed that recruitment is not an individual problem, but rather a public one that involves children as victims, but also communities, due to the weakening of the social fabric, which poses a greater challenge for the Mexican State. The president of the Northern Border Affairs Committee, Juan Carlos Loera de la Rosa, emphasized the need for a firm response, through legislation, against those who recruit and employ other people to commit crimes, especially when it involves children and adolescents. In turn, the president of the Committee on the Rights of Children and Adolescents, Laura Esquivel Torres, warned that criminal recruitment begins with the promise of belonging to something, and that is precisely what must be addressed — in other words, providing tools and options so that children have the possibility of a healthy life. You may be interested in: Digital Economy Law advances in Senate committees; seeks to reduce the use of cash. FGR reports 92% forensic processing at the Izaguirre ranch; rejects mass incinerations at the site. "We don't have institutions up to the task": the crisis of the disappeared addressed on Con los de Casa. Join our channel! EL UNIVERSAL is now on WhatsApp! From your mobile device, find out the day's most relevant news, opinion articles, entertainment, trends, and more. dft