AMERICA/MEXICO - 2000 children have been killed or maimed between 2006 and 2014

Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – The increase of children who disappear or are recruited by criminal gangs in Mexico and are killed or maimed continues to be alarming. This is denounced by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after a recent visit to the country of the rapporteur on the Rights of Children, Girls and Adolescents of the IACHR. According to information gathered from various civil society organizations committed to the protection of children, sent to Fides Agency, between 2006 and 2014 2,000 children have been killed or maimed, sometimes in a bloody way, in addition to a high number of children who are forcibly recruited by criminal gangs in the poorest communities.
As regards to the system of protection for children, the IACHR notes that there is still a worrying lack of standards, coordination and supervision by the State. In addition, only a few months ago, in the home for children "La Gran Familia," in Michoacán, hundreds of children, infants, and young people were found in inhumane conditions, victims of all sorts of abuse. The institution has also condemned the conditions of children living in the streets, especially in the overcrowded capital, as well as immigrant children, many of whom travel unaccompanied and have no legal assistance, which is vital to ensure their rights. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 21/10/2014)