Lima 2024

We, the working girls, boys and adolescents of the cities and mountains of the roads and veins of Latin America, organised in the Latin American and Caribbean Movement - MOLACNNATs, gathered in the city of Lima, Peru from the 13th to the 19th of October 2024 in the House of the Marcelino Champagnat University - Surco, share the following:

– We celebrate our reunion of embracing each other again in person, after 6 years, after the COVID-19 pandemic in the XII Latin American Meeting, a space of maximum instance for our movement where we renew joys, love and hopes for the present and future of our organisation.

– At this time of progress and setbacks in guaranteeing fundamental human rights in the face of the food crisis, the persecution of our protests, the increase in sexual violence and harassment of children, together with other children, we reaffirm our indignation and our voice of denunciation of the abuses committed against all children in Latin America and the world!

– Likewise, in our International Seminar on "The overflow of economic exploitation against today's children", we have analysed the impact of new technologies and new forms of exploitation in our daily lives, about how it is transforming the world of work in these times, there are new forms of exploitation that affect all children and which are not being talked about, exploitation is no longer in the world of work but in every space where we develop, especially in the virtual world.

– We are aware that when we came out of the pandemic, we already had too much influence of technologies, but we also saw that big gap, of those who had access to connectivity and others did not; that is why we believe that connectivity should be a right in order to have a quality education. As well as the importance of Artificial Intelligence, which can improve efficiency in the management of resources used in an ethical and responsible manner, artificial intelligence has the potential to strengthen the fight for the rights of children and their inclusion in a more equitable and just society.

– We congratulate the compañeras and compañeros of La Veleta and La Antena (Organisation of organised child and adolescent workers of Argentina) who are now full members of our Latin American Movement. We also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the National Coordination of Working Children and Adolescent Workers - CONNATs, Paraguay.

– We reject and denounce wars in the world such as in Palestine, Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, etc. ! They should not exist under any circumstances, nothing justifies their existence. The State of Israel and any government or authority that promotes violence, massacre, etc. as a form of self-defence is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially against thousands of boys, girls and families.

– As sister movements, members of MOLACNNATs, we challenge ourselves to continue to meet face-to-face, remotely and to be attentive to these constant changes of contexts, promoting joint actions from the local to the international level and to maintain the struggle of our flag in defending the right to work in dignified and safe conditions.

– To maintain our life, action and relations with the world movement of working children and adolescents, and international coordinations, we re-elect the MNNATSOP Peru for the next three years 2024 - 2027, with the structure of four NATS (working children and adolescents) and a team of collaborators to lead the secretariat of our movement. The secretariat must prepare the future grassroots groups who will take on this great responsibility for the coming years.

– We want to inform the international community that we are a strong, organic, self-sustainable and consolidated movement in 10 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, together with institutions/NGOs that walk with us, accompanying and promoting our protagonism and co-protagonism of our organisations in the streets, markets and spaces of social and political incidence.

– We salute the accompaniment and solidarity of the international cooperation through the Civil Society Support Programme (PASC) - Save the Children International, the Regional Office for Latin America - ORLA, the Andean Programme of Terres des Hommes, the support of Kindernothilfe through the international campaign Dialogue Works, together with institutions such as Melel Xojobal in Mexico, Protagoniza in Chile, our colleagues from MANTHOC, and the training institutes INFANT and IFEJANT that contributed to make the international meeting possible.

Once again we reaffirm: Nothing about Us without Us in decision-making on our rights, budgets, research, and on our organisation!

Yours sincerely,

• Peru: MNNATSOP (Movimiento Nacional de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes, Trabajadores Organizados del Peru).
• Bolivia: UNATSBO (Unión Nacional de niños, niñas y adolescentes trabajadores de Bolivia).
• Guatemala: ONNATS (Organización Nacional de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Trabajadores de Guatemala).
• Paraguay: CONNATS (Coordinación Nacional de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Trabajadores).
• Colombia: ONNATSCOL (Organización Nacional de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Trabajadores de Colombia).
• Argentina: LA VELETA Y LA ANTENA (The Candle and the Antenna)
• Chile: PROTAGONIZA NNATS
• Mexico: Kolem K'ontontik

Virtual participation:

• Venezuela: CORENATS (Coordinación Regional de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Trabajadores.

Invited countries:

• Chile: COLECTIVO SIN FRONTERAS
• Guatemala: REDMUCH
• Ecuador: SALESIANOS - CUENCA

Updated: 14.01.2025