Bolivia

In 2019, the International Catholic Center of Geneva developed the project ‘Strengthening Bolivia’s civil society in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)’, together with its member organizations Edmund Rice International and Marist International Solidarity Foundation as well as a Coalition of 18 civil society actors in Bolivia.
The project aimed to provide an avenue for the key human rights issues of the coalition to be brought to the attention of the international community on the occasion of the UPR.

Our main priorities:

  • Child and youth participation
  • Child labor
  • Violence against women and children

 

Project activities

  • In-country consultations in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba, with several CSOs invited to finalize the UPR submission (in Spanish and English), consisting of recommendations to be presented to the government of Bolivia.
  • Advocacy activities in Bolivia through bilateral meetings with Embassy representatives in La Paz. Two press conferences were held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba to raise awareness of the issues presented in the joint submission.
  • Advocacy activities in Geneva. Two representatives from the Bolivian coalition participated in twenty-one bilateral meetings with Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva. In addition, one of them participated as speaker in the UPR Pre-session organized by UPR Info. A summary of the UPR submission was made available in Spanish and English.
  • Side event ‘Addressing Implementation: Safeguarding the Rights of Children, Youth and Women in Bolivia’ held on 6 November 2019, in parallel with the UPR session, which provided the opportunity to highlight relevant recommendations directed to Bolivia, focusing on implementation. The Executive Summary of the Side Event was published in English and Spanish.

This project was realized with the support of the Canton of Geneva and Adveniat.

Impact

Upon completion of the project, the following results were achieved to strengthen advocacy efforts in Bolivia :

  • Well prepared and motivated local civil society actors were able to achieve 16 very focused and concrete UPR recommendations on children and women’s rights, in addition to 33 more generic recommendations on these vulnerable groups. The Government of Bolivia committed to implement these recommendations.
  • An oral statement was delivered on the 12th March 2020 on the occasion of the adoption of the UPR Working Group Report on Bolivia during the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council. The statement brought to the attention of the international community the alarming escalation of violence against children, adolescents and women in Bolivia. It called on the Government of Bolivia to ensure prompt and effective implementation of relevant UPR recommendations. In March 2021, a follow up statement (in English and Spanish) was delivered during the 46th session of the Human Rights Council.  
  • Local civil society actors committed to follow up on UPR recommendations and engaged with the UN Treaty Bodies, such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child, submitting a Report at the Session addressing Bolivia.
  • In 2022, the CCIG contributed to the follow-up project “Children’s and women’s rights in Bolivia: Follow up on the UN bodies recommendations”. Promoted by the Marist Foundation for International Solidarity (FMSI), this project aimed to support local actors in their efforts towards better monitoring and implementation of children’s and women’s rights in Bolivia, by building up a Monitoring Plan for international human rights recommendations. As a result, local civil society actors were provided with a solid framework of indicators to stress the persistent implementation gaps regarding  the right to participation of children and youth, child labor and violence against women and girls. Affected women, children and youth were also consulted to express their views on the human rights challenges they are facing.  

    Our partners

    Mauricio Siñaniz Zambrana
    Secretario FMSI en Bolivia
    Responsable Equipo de Solidaridad Bolivia
    Secretariado FMSI Bolivia
    Phone (+591) 72720541
    Office Cochabamba (+591) 4 4316072
    Office Santa Cruz (+591) 3 3512723
    Email: maurorsz@gmail.com

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