RESOLUTION B3-1581, 1583 and 1599/92

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to its resolutions of 11 July 1991 on the murder of street children in Brazil, 12 March 1992 on the sufferings of abandoned children in Colombia, 9 April 1992 on the plight of street children in Guatemala, and 14 May 1992 on the situation of women and children in the developing countries,

B. struck by the fact that 45 million Brazilian children are denied fundamental rights such as education, food and health care,

C. having regard to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children adopted in New York on 30 September 1990 during the United Nations World Summit for Children,

D. whereas the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force in September 1990, states that children have the right to have their opinion taken into account on matters affecting them (Article 12),

E. having regard to the Statute of the Child and Adolescent that has been in force in Brazil since 13 July 1990,

F. having regard to the continuing violations of the rights of street children in Brazil and elsewhere, with reports, for example, of murders by organized gangs, prostitution and international trade in children and their organs,

G. whereas this problem is due to major socio-economic inequalities in Brazil and at international level, large sections of the population thus being denied the basic essentials for life,

H. concerned at the reports that social workers helping street children in Brazil and members of their families have been threatened with death because of the work they are doing,

I. welcoming the fact that street children are organizing themselves to safeguard their interests,

J. having regard to the reports that on Friday, 13 November 1992 the bodies were found of Jorge Antonio de Oliviera Silva, aged 20, a street worker in Rio, and Jean Alves da Cunha, aged 13, from the province of Espirita Santo, both of whom were involved in organizing the conference,

K. having regard to the conference of street children which will be held in Brasilia from 18 to 21 November and will be attended by street children from Brazil and other countries in the region,

1. Appeals again to the Brazilian authorities to do everything they can to improve the safety and prospects of street children;

2. Calls on the EC and its Member States to support the Brazilian authorities in this respect, to raise the question of the interests of street children in their development relations and to increase their assistance to these children and their organizations under development programmes;

3. Calls on the EC and its Member States in particular to cooperate with the Brazilian authorities in every conceivable way with a view to combating the international trade referred to above;

4. Calls on the European Community and its Member States to ensure that cooperation with Brazil includes a priority area on the provision of education, food and health care for children, in particular the homeless in the big cities;

5. Expresses its appreciation for the work done by non-governmental organizations that are seeking to improve the lives of street children;

6. Calls on the Brazilian authorities to take the measures needed to halt the massacre of street children and bring those responsible for the murders to justice;

7. Calls on the Brazilian authorities to ensure the safety of employees of these non-governmental organizations;

8. Considers it essential that the Brazilian Government should implement as soon as possible an effective policy to help street children, in particular through a special education programme, which will require suitable teachers and facilities, and support for the unofficial urban economy, the only area which can offer the children real prospects at the present time;

9. Calls on the Brazilian authorities to support, where possible, the Movemento Nacional de Meninos e Meninas de Rua during and after the conference in consultation with this movement;

10. Calls on the Brazilian Government to take due account of the conclusions of this meeting and, above all, to implement the federal law on the rights of children and adolescents;

11. Requests its President to show Parliament's solidarity with street children during the conference, which is taking place this week;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Brazilian Government and the Movemento Nacional de Meninos e Meninas de Rua, the organizers of the conference of street children in Brazil.