The Minister of Social Development and Human Rights, Diego Álvarez, chaired the session. Regarding the age of criminal responsibility, he stated that “it is a complex situation, often manipulated.” He said that in La Pampa, since the return to democracy, the same stance of rejection of lowering the age of criminal responsibility has been maintained.
“Once again in an election year, in a year where they begin to play with our interests, this sensitive issue is being discussed. It was no longer a matter of lowering it to 14, but rather lowering it to 13, even more so than during the military dictatorship of 1976, when it had been lowered to 14” Álvarez said.
“As a Council, we must carry out a deeper analysis of beliefs, prejudices, and the information we are absorbing,” he added, adding that “when a child’s act or action causes harm, how can we repair the damage caused? This is not done through legal means, without the legal system sanctioning and punishing the offender, but rather by giving them the opportunity to repair that damage.”
He further noted that the crime rate among children under 16 is 1%, and that the State’s efforts should be aimed at ensuring that children and adolescents “have the right to quality education, health services, sports policies, and social support so that they have a framework of opportunities, and to make the necessary social investments so that children grow up with the same access as any other member of society, and that economic or vulnerable situations are not an impediment.”
He concluded by telling the councilors to take advantage of the opportunity to clarify any doubts and gain “an alternative perspective on the issue affecting our boys and girls under 16, who are about to lose three years of their childhood and face criminal prosecution.”
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