INESC (Institute for Socio-Economic Studies)
INESC is the central lobbying program on behalf of street kids in Brasil. It also coordinates work with international agencies and serves as a network for organizations that work directly with street children.
INESC focuses on Congress, seeing it as the “privileged space for democracy” and also the place where public pressure can most easily be directed. Since the end of dictatorship, the return of exiles, and the struggle for a new constitution, INESC has been closely involved with the processes of Congress, and is close to many important members. Current lobbying efforts include specific laws to protect the rights of street kids, a campaign to stop the reduction of the age of majority in criminal cases, and attempts to increase the budget for street kid programs.
In the international context, INESC pressures aid groups, multinational agencies, and foreign governments to include issues around human rights and children in their deliberations.
Recent efforts have also included more emphasis on the plight of the most excluded among street kids: racial and ethnic minorities, homosexuals, girls, etc. INDESC has also begun work against child labor, collaborating with the Brasilian Department of Justice.
I want to emphasize the dramatic success of INESC in its “lobbyismo social.” Brasilian law, ever since the Estatuto da Criança in 1990, has been among the most progressive in the world, and INDESC and other NGOs have insured that civil society plays a central role in all aspects of children’s policy in Brasil.
SCS -- Qd. 08 Bloco B-50
Salas 433/441
Edificio Venâncio 2000
CEP 70333-970
Brasîlia, DF
Tel 061 226 8093 Fax 061 226 8042
Contact: Jussara de Goiás (jussarag@inesc.org.br)
