Young people oppose lowering the age of criminal responsibility.

The Editorial Team  On the day that the Statute of Children and Adolescents (ECA) turns 23, protesters gathered at Bosque dos Buritis, in the Setor Oeste neighborhood of Goiânia, for a march against lowering the age of criminal responsibility. The Military Police monitored the gathering on Saturday morning (July 13th) and, according to the police, the protest was peaceful.

The action was promoted by the Salesian Center for Working Children (Cesam) and started at Praça Cívica, passing by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goiás (Alego) and continuing along Alameda dos Buritis. According to the organizers of the public event, about 400 people participated in the movement, which continued until lunchtime in the auditorium of the Colégio Atheneu Dom Bosco. 
 
The participants marched carrying banners and signs. Federal deputy Marina Sant'Anna (PT-GO) recorded a video of the demonstration and posted it on her Instagram account.
 
CNBB
The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) released a statement on May 16th expressing its position on lowering the age of criminal responsibility.

"The Episcopal Pastoral Council of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), meeting in Brasília from May 14 to 16, reaffirms that lowering the age of criminal responsibility is not the solution to ending violence. The Church in Brazil continues to believe in the regenerative capacity of adolescents when their basic rights are respected and they are given opportunities for holistic development in the values ​​that dignify human beings," part of the statement reads.
 

Read the full text of the statement below:
 
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9)
 
The debate over lowering the age of criminal responsibility, brought to the forefront once again by the outrage caused by barbaric crimes committed by teenagers, calls upon us to deeply reflect on our responsibility in combating violence, promoting a culture of life and peace, and caring for and protecting the new generations of our country.
 
Juvenile delinquency is, above all, a warning that the State, Society, and Family have not adequately fulfilled their duty to ensure, with absolute priority, the rights of children and adolescents, as established in Article 227 of the Federal Constitution. Criminalizing adolescents with prison penalties would be to mask the true cause of the problem, diverting attention with simplistic, inconsequential, and disastrous responses for society.
 
The systematic campaign by various media outlets in favor of lowering the age of criminal responsibility distorts the image of adolescents, forgetting that they are also victims of the unjust reality in which they live. They are not primarily responsible for the increase in violence that frightens us all, especially homicide crimes. According to the NGO Conectas Direitos Humanos, the majority of adolescents interned at Fundação Casa in São Paulo were detained for robbery (44,1%) and drug trafficking (41,8%). The crime of robbery resulting in death accounts for 0,9%, and homicide, 0,6%. It is, therefore, immoral to try to induce society to view adolescents as if they were the main culprits behind the wave of violence in the country.
 
The Statute of Children and Adolescents (ECA), contrary to what is unjustly propagated, is demanding of adolescents in conflict with the law and does not condone impunity. It recognizes the accountability of adolescents who commit offenses, but believes in their rehabilitation, therefore proposing the application of socio-educational measures that value the individual and provide them with conditions for self-improvement to return to a normal life in society. Society has a responsibility to demand from the State not only the effective implementation of socio-educational measures, but also investment in quality education, as well as public policies that eliminate social inequalities. Added to this is the need to courageously combat the scourge of drugs and the complex structure that sustains it, which causes countless situations that lead adolescents to violence.
 
Adopted in 42 out of 54 countries surveyed by UNICEF, the age of criminal responsibility at 18 years "stems from international recommendations that suggest the existence of a specialized justice system to judge, prosecute and hold accountable perpetrators of crimes under the age of 18" (UNICEF). Reducing it would "ignore the context of the fundamental constitutional clause – Federal Constitution, art. 228 –, in addition to contradicting the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent, the Beijing Minimum Rules, the Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, the Minimum Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Riyadh Rules), the Pact of San José, Costa Rica and the Statute of the Child and Adolescent" (cf. Declaration of the CNBB against the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility – 04/24/2009).
 
The Episcopal Pastoral Council of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), meeting in Brasília from May 14th to 16th, reaffirms that lowering the age of criminal responsibility is not the solution to ending violence. It is a negation of the Doctrine of Integral Protection that underpins the legal treatment afforded to children and adolescents by Brazilian law. The Church in Brazil continues to believe in the capacity for regeneration of adolescents when their basic rights are upheld and they are given opportunities for holistic development in values ​​that dignify human beings.
 
Let us not tire of fighting violence that is contrary to the Kingdom of God; it “is never at the service of humanity, but dehumanizes it,” as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us (Angelus, March 11, 2012). May God grant us all a maternal heart that beats with mercy and responsibility for the person who has been violated in their adolescence. May Our Lady of Aparecida protect our teenagers and help us in the defense of the family.