Latin America and the Caribbean is a region with deeply entrenched sensitive child right issues. These are considered taboo subjects due to social norms or other contextual factors, and, as such, are under-discussed, under-studied, and often overlooked in the public national discourse.

Addressing sensitive child rights issues is pivotal for the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. While progress has been made in the region, growing violence, economic crises due to inflation and geopolitical instability, and increasing polarisation, threaten to halt or even reverse progress.

This project examines sensitive child rights issues in Latin America and the Caribbean and highlights the sensitive issues, challenges, and opportunities that UNICEF offices in the region face. Through in-depth interviews conducted with all 24 UNICEF country offices, two regional office focus groups, and two desk reviews, our report identifies key sensitive child rights issues in the region.

The report highlights major challenges and opportunities in advancing the child rights agenda, making reference to key stakeholders, and provides recommendations on strategies UNICEF can prioritise to move the agenda forward region-wide.

This project was undertaken for the UNICEF Latin American and the Caribbean Regional Office, to complement the regional Child Task Force, aimed at revitalising UNICEF’s engagement on child rights. The project runs from September 2023 to March 2024.