Panama01CI

Country: Panama Committee: Unicef Nov Topic: Child Imprisonment

I. Country Profile: 1. La Republica de Panama or the Republic of Panama 2. tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season that lasts from May to January 3. (a) Location: 9 00 N, 80 00W (c) Size: 78,200 sg km    __**B. Political Geography**__ 4. Panama is a constitutional democracy. Political parties include: Democratic Change, Democratic Revolutionary Party, Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement, Panamenista Party, Patriotic Union Party, Popular Party. Government officials are President Martin Torrijos Espino, First Vice President Samuel Lewis Navarro, Second Vice President Ruben Arosemena Valdes. 5. The capital is Panama. 6. Panama is affiliated with BCIE, CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina,UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO 7.  President ENDARA in 1990 abolished Panama's military and created the Panamanian Public Forces, and in 1994,Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force. however it allowed the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression", thus there is no regular military force. ** __C. Cultural Geography__ ** 8. Spanish is the official language in Panama but about 14% of Panamanians speak English. Ethnicities range from mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6%. major religions are Roman Catholic and Protestant. 9. population is 3,309,679 and the growth rate is 1.544%. Distribution in Panama ranges from ages  0-14 years: 29.6%, 15-64 years: 63.8%, 65 years and over: 6.7%. 10. major cities include Panama, David, Balboa, Cristobal, La Chorrera, Santiago, and San Miguelito. 1 1. Infant mortality: 13.4% per 1000 births. 12. Physicians (per 10,000 people) 16.8%; Teachers are 3.8% ** __D. Economic Geography__ ** 13. GDP: $39.33 billion; Per Capita: $11,900 14. 7.26% of land that is arable 15. copper, Mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower 16. Industrial: petroleum products, paper products, textiles and clothing, plastic products, and light assembly; Agricultural: rice, maize, beans, bananas, sugar cane, coffee bean, cattle, timber, and shrimp 17. Exports: melon, watermelon, bananas, shrimp, lobster, sugar, clothes and coffee Imports: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum and mineral products, electronic equipment, and food 18. Currency: Balboa and the US dollar 19. Exports: $10.37 billion Imports: $15.18 billion 20. Panama was explored and settled by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. We broke from Spain in 1821 and joined Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela in a union called the Republic of Gran Colombia. Panama seceded from Columbia in 1903 and that year signed a treaty with the USA which allowed for the construction of a canal and gave them sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone. The canal was built between 1904 and 1914. in 1977 an agreement was signed for the transfer of the canal to Panama from the US. Moreover, in 1989 Manuel Noriega Panama's dictator was overthrown with the help of the USA. Furthermore, recently in October of 2006 the expansion of the Panama canal was approved and the project began in 2007 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/pm.html http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/countryfacts/panama.html#Economy http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/worldguide/maps2/988_a.jpg __II. Background__ Child imprisonment refers to children under the age of 18 that come into conflicts with the law and are placed in jail. Most of the time these children are placed in jail for crimes they didn't commit, sometimes they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and also for crimes to small to be punished by the law. Child imprisonment is a growing problem amongst developing countries and countries lacking a firm justice system. These countries haven't developed proper jail housing for minors thus children are forced into captivity with criminals who have committed crimes like murder and rape. Moreover, expecting mothers who are put in jail are allowed to keep their newborn for a certain time limit which is usually until the child is 2 or 3 years of age. This exposes the child to living conditions inappropriate for their developing bodies, especially because most children are denied medical treatment and are fed insufficiently. More than a million children, worldwide, are affected by child imprisonment and the number is still growing. many are trying to solve this problem through alternatives like reformatory schools and counseling, however countries lacking funds and those trying to get money out of tax payers still place vulnerable and innocent children in jail. In Latin America, a network of NGOs called RED para la Infancia y la Adolecencia was established for the sole purpose of protecting children's right. in 2004, RED fought Panama's ministry of justice through campaigns in order to prevent Panama to adopt harsh measures for child imprisonment. luckily Panama's parliament prevented the measures to pass within the same year. __III. UN INVOLVEMENT__ The UN is strongly involved with the protection of children rights and the prevention of chid imprisonment. The United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Defense for Children International(DCI), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), are committees created in order to raise awareness of the violation of human rights around the world. Their have been several treaties enacted to give children proper treatment internationally including: the 1990 UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles deprived of their Liberty, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. DCI created program NO Kids Behind Bars to promote investment and stopping, using international standards, child imprisonment. T    he UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was based in Vienna and it led to the adoption of Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime, which was approved by Economic and Social Council. The 1989 Convention sets the bar by stating that a child is a human being under the age of 18 and makes child imprisonment a violation to child rights because under Article 6 it states,"  No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances; Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action        ," meaning the child is properly treated and is given medical treatment which in many cases is denied to children in prison. Moreover, the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles deprived of their Liberty states that the juvenile justice systems should uphold the rights and safety and promote well-being of juveniles and states that imprisonment should be used as a last resort. within the Panamanian region, RED para la Infancia y la Adolecencia was created to promote justice and make public injustices against the youth. In the Latin American region, Peru set forth an NGO promoting Human Rights, Peace, and Democracy in their country and those countries who support their organization. The organization is called IDL, El Instituto de Defensa Legal (the Institute for Legal Defense). __** IV. Country Policy/Possible Solutions **__ Panama is one of many Latin American countries that share their same views on Child imprisonment. We haves signed the CRC, Convention on the rights of the Child and have enforced it throughout the years. Recently however, in oder to prevent gang violence our minister of justice proposed to retreat from the convention in order to promote justice to those who violate the laws. Our legislation, to prevent a violation of rights prevented the measures from being enacted. We want justice to be promoted but we can't find ways to do it without putting those who violate the laws behind bars. We understand and are deeply concerned about children who consciously violate laws, therefore we are willing to support organizations that strive for reforming young criminals. Moreover, we have structured a proposal called FASTER, or Food And Shelter Towards Equitable Reform. the name says it all: This organization provides food and shelter to the children that are equitable from violating laws on the grounds that they were put in jail as a way to get them off the streets. it provides schooling and reform to give them the opportunity to be successful in life. __http://www.kidsbehindbars.org/english/docs/RapportKBBtotaal.pdf__________ __ http://www.gmfc.org/index.php/gmc6/content/view/full/275______ __ http://www.hrweb.org/groups/idl.html____ http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2004/07/22/panama-reject-harsh-laws-youth-offenders__ __http://www.unicef.org/events/yokohama/analysis-americas.html________ http://www.cyberschoolbus.un.org/crc/text.html__ __http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/Conflict_with_the_Law.pdf____ http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/child.asp__ __http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/res45_113.htm______ __ http://www.un.org/rights/dpi1765e.htm__ __http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2006/issue4/0406p38.html__
 * __A. Physical Geography__ **