Caribbean teens high among world's murder victims

Speaking at the official opening of the Second Special Session on Children of the CARICOM Council of Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on Monday, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Nils Kastberg revealed that among the group

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, March 19, 2008 – The United Nations has reported that more Caribbean youth in the 15 to 17 year-old age group die from homicide than others their age in any other part of the world.

Speaking at the official opening of the Second Special Session on Children of the CARICOM Council of Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on Monday, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Nils Kastberg revealed that among the group, boys are more likely than girls to be victims of this crime.

"The region also presents the highest rate of global gun crime – 42 per cent of the world's homicides," Mr Kastberg said, adding that this is among the multitude of growing challenges facing youth in the region. "It is high time for us to deal with where the violence starts."

"While progress has been made in some key areas including education, it is clear much more needs to be done if the region is to achieve the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)."

The UN official further urged Caribbean countries to work towards developing a reputation "not just as a region fit for tourism, but also one fit for how it treats its children".

To focus the attention of the visiting delegations on the issues that matter to young people themselves, child delegates from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname read a joint statement at Monday's opening session, calling on all CARICOM states to move beyond just talk and make necessary changes to support the region's children.

"We experience injustices such as sexual, physical and verbal abuse, unavailability of good quality and affordable education, and the stifling of our voices," they told the delegates. "Children have the right to be heard."

"We may be powerless now but in a few years we'll be the ones sitting in your seats and making the decisions," they continued.

"Give us a foundation that you would be proud of. Let us be the change you want to see in the world…We demand from you a Caribbean that is safe, one that provides us the right environment in which we can grow up and reach our full potential in whatever areas we choose, a Caribbean that can contribute to a world that is fit for us, your children."

Mr Kastberg said the timing of the COHSOD session was especially significant since "we are at a crossroads - just past halfway to 2015", the target date set for the realisation of the MDGs.

The meeting, attended by Ministers from CARICOM member states, was called to assess progress made since the 1st special COHSOD meeting in 2002 on those areas that especially affect children: Early Childhood Development, Child Protection, HIV and AIDS, and Infant and Maternal Mortality.