The IIN-OAS expresses its solidarity with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines by the recent eruption of La Soufriere volcano

The IIN-OAS expresses its solidarity with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines by the recent eruption of La Soufriere volcano

The IIN-OAS salutes and expresses its solidarity with the children, adolescents, and families that have been affected by the recent eruption of La Soufriere volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

We greet the government’s efforts to bring support to the families that have been evacuated from the risk zone, as its fast action to avoid losing human lives.

Before this situation, the promotion and protection of the rights of children and adolescents become most relevant. The evacuation and life in refugees increase this population’s vulnerability, generating effects on their emotional development and put at risk the exercise of the rights of children and adolescents.

Lessons learned from the region before different catastrophic situations, among them the Covid-19 sanitary emergency, tell us that the voices of children and adolescents are essential to confronting difficult times. It is critical to let them express their feelings, share their experiences, and contribute to the reconstruction – not only of material aspects – but especially the effects of the social structure and the exercise of childhood and adolescent rights. The experience tells us that children and adolescents are agents of change and may contribute to the management and operation of the emergency in many and different ways.

That is why we reiterate, despite the emergencies and urgencies that characterize these situations, the rights of children and adolescents should be a reference and a priority when thinking about solutions.

In this sense, we reiterate the IIN’s commitment to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the entire region to promote and protect the rights of children and adolescents, especially in critical situations.

Image: Orvil Samuel of the AP.