‘Father Marcos Passerini’ Center for the Defense of Children’s and Adolescents’ Rights

Cedeca‘s mission is to defend the rights and interests of children and adolescents through socio-legal protection mechanisms, in a democratic and participatory manner, thus contributing to building a culture that incorporates the conception of children and adolescents as subjects of rights.

Founded in 1991, in a context marked by the increase in violence against children and adolescents in Maranhão, Cedeca was designed to respond to a need for the creation of a specific service, mainly of legal advice. From then on the center has established itself with actions against institutional violence based on complaints of violations committed by the Police and agents from the socio-educational system. The main activities developed up until 201o were visits to the units of fulfillment of educational measures and preparation of annual dossiers describing the circumstances of ill-treatment occurred within the units, as well as social mobilizations around the issue, public hearings, marches, interviews to the media and public civil action against the State of Maranhão. Then, a more systematic study on the education offered to these adolescents began.

Cedeca normally works in articulation with several civil society organizations and Government bodies. It integrates, for instance, the Forum for the Defense of Children and Adolescents’ Rights  and the Juvenile Justice Network of Maranhão.

The Project

‘Just the right amount‘ has the goal of contributing to the reordering of the socio-educational action of the center Youth Hope, located in the city of São José de Ribamar, metropolitan area of São Luís (Maranhão). This is the only male juvenile detention facility in the State of Maranhão. The unit has the capacity to receive 30 adolescents, but has been receiving around 50 people. Cedeca plans to interfere in the dynamics of the treatment, monitoring and visiting the unit, submitting complaints to the competent organs and carrying out a judicial follow-up of the cases of violations reported.

According to the group, little has changed in the unit’s routine with the transition from the former Minors’ Code to the ECA(1), promulgated in 1990. Physical and psychological punishment is the keynote of the place. According to what an inspector reported, it has a small cubicle of 3m2 with little light to which the boys who commit any small act of disrespect are taken to be severely beaten. Until January 2011 the unit has had a record of more than 10 deaths in one decade.

(1) N.T.: ECA stands for Statute for Children and Adolescents