TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ALBERTO D. PÉREZ —Special for Granma International—

CUBA has been exemplary in fulfilling the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, remarked Sonia Eljach, Cuban representative of the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, during a cultural gala in Havana to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the document.

Mrs. Eljach was one of the speakers during the event that took place on November 20 at Havana’s beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes. Ester Recio, deputy minister of justice, also spoke given that it is this Cuban government institution that is responsible for the country’s ratification of this declaration passed 15 years ago in the United Nations.

In her opening words, Deputy Minister Recio recalled that there still remains much to be done throughout the world in order for children’s rights to be fulfilled. Eleven million children die every year as a result of preventable causes and another 200 million are unable to go to school, either because there are none or because they are forced to work from an early age, she said.

The UNICEF representative affirmed in her speech that "It should now be a thing of the past to have millions of children dying from preventable causes before they reach five years of age, the many adolescents who are forced to participate in wars or are victims of them, the illiterates, those who live on the street, the stigmatized and those who are incarcerated without judicial guarantees, those who are subjected to abuse and sexual exploitation."

And she continued: "Cuba has been exemplary in doing all it can to ensure that all boys and girls have the best possible start in life and universal access to education. Those goals are far from being reached in too many countries throughout the world."

The celebration of the 15th anniversary was attended by leaders and officials from numerous Cuban ministries and institutions, as well as NGO officials and heads of UN agencies represented in Cuba, who all enjoyed a choice musical program.

Granma International

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