Quilicura Tragedy: UNICEF Demands Urgent Action to Ensure Safe Environments for Children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for urgent measures to guarantee safe environments for children and adolescents following the quadruple homicide that occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in Quilicura.

In a statement, the international organization condemned the repeated acts of violence against children and adolescents, who have been killed or injured during this year. The State must be effective in protecting children, and this also implies guaranteeing environments free from violence. The violent death of a child or adolescent cannot be normalized, they emphasized.

Chile Must Reverse This Trend

UNICEF noted that Chile has made progress in many areas related to childhood, such as reducing infant mortality, creating the Chile Crece Contigo program, and implementing a powerful vaccination program. However, they warned that the lives of these children and adolescents are then lost in adolescence.

Chile is still in time to reverse this trend and prevent homicide from becoming the leading cause of death for adolescents, as is the case in other countries in the region, they indicated.

Addressing the Structural Causes of Vulnerability

In addition to preventive measures, UNICEF stated that the country must attack the structural causes of vulnerability to violence, including poverty. They cited the 2022 CASEN survey, which showed that 43% (53% for the Metropolitan Region) of households with children and adolescents in Chile have experienced or witnessed shootouts in their residential environment.

This information shows the context of extreme vulnerability in which many children and adolescents grow and develop. It also evidences the debt the country has with this population group, to whom it must guarantee their development and survival, they commented.

UNICEF Offers Collaboration to the State

UNICEF emphasized that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Chile in August 1990, and the Law that creates the Guarantee System, establish that the State must have mechanisms to effectively protect children and adolescents from any form of violence.

It is unacceptable that children and adolescents, carrying out their daily activities in their own communities, end up dead or injured, they expressed. Finally, UNICEF offered to collaborate with the State in the search for a comprehensive solution to this serious problem.

Conclusion

The tragic events in Quilicura have once again highlighted the urgent need for the Chilean government to take decisive action to ensure the safety and well-being of the country’s children and adolescents. UNICEF’s call for immediate measures and a comprehensive approach to address the structural causes of violence is a crucial step in protecting the most vulnerable members of society. The future of Chile’s youth depends on the government’s ability to create safe and nurturing environments where they can thrive and reach their full potential.