Invisible Citizens of an Invisible Country

24 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2006

Date Written: November 2005

Abstract

The United States and Somalia are the only two countries in the world which have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Its status as a colony subordinated to the U.S. Congress prevents Puerto Rico from becoming a CRC signatory in its own right. The implications for children and adolescents living in the island is damaging and far-reaching.

Born U.S. citizens, children in Puerto Rico are socially marginalized. The percentage of children living below the poverty line in the island is more than twice that of Mississippi - the poorest state in the US - and more than three times greater than the national rate of the United States. Like the U.S., the Puerto Rican government's policies for children and adolescents are based on protection, not rights. The inadequacy of such policies has led to one of the highest rates of teenage motherhood among U.S. jurisdictions, and one of the highest adolescent homicide rates in the world, second only to Colombia. Drug-related murders has been the first cause of death among young men between the ages of 15 and 19 in Puerto Rico for more than a decade.

The invisibility of children and young people living in the island is made plain by the facts that no international NGO operates in Puerto Rico, and no U.S. NGO covers them with their national programs. The government of Puerto Rico must take measures to include its socially marginalized young citizens. The fact that this country is disallowed to sign the CRC does not mean the Puerto Rican government is prevented from implementing its principles through its state legislation. The Constitution of Puerto Rico certainly commands so.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Keywords: Puerto Rico, human rights, children's rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, early motherhood, adolescent homicide, child poverty, social exclusion

Suggested Citation

Conde, Jaime E., Invisible Citizens of an Invisible Country (November 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=913567 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.913567

Jaime E. Conde (Contact Author)

Defensores PROCDN ( email )

P.O. Box 3305
Caguas, 00726-3305
Puerto Rico
787-722-3511 (Phone)
787-721-0022 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
105
Abstract Views
1,488
Rank
462,937
PlumX Metrics