Source: http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/conferences/hrc2006/four/hrc070319pm-eng.rm?start=01:12:13&end=01:14:44

UN Human Rights Council
March 19, 2007
Afternoon Session

Cuba

Thank you, Mr. President.  We are grateful for the report by Mr. Pinheiro on the subject of violence against children.  Basically he has addressed the areas of family, community, society, and exploitation of child labor.  However, as he himself recognizes in his excellent study, on this occasion there is no addressing of central aspects of the concept of violence against children such as the impact of armed conflicts and foreign occupation, as well as other manifestations of violence such as coercive measures- unilateral coercive measures.  A study will have to address the subject of negligence and the negligent treatment of children shown in aspects such as the unjust current international order and the impact of policies and decisions by institutions such as the WTO and the Bretton Woods Institutions.  

In identifying the main forms of violence against children, we should not forget to mention poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and marginalization.  The unilateral illegal boycott by the United States of America for more than four decades against the Cuban government is a serious form of violence against children- both boys and girls in Cuba, which includes such cruel and surrealistic manifestations as depriving a Cuban child of receiving a digital camera, a Nikon camera, which was a prize given to him in a world competition for environmental drawings.  When looking at the future of the mandate of the independent expert, we suggest two paths.  Firstly, that the expert systematize and integrate all aspects related to the concept of violence against children or clearly define his mandate, adjusting it to a content which avoids duplication with other Council mechanisms on the rights of the child.  Thank you.