The British High Commission has funded two delegates from Belize to enable them to participate in the Regional Child Protection Conference held in Havana, Cuba, from January 28 to February 1, 2008.
With assistance from the British High Commission, two Belizeans, Margaret Nicholas of the Belize Family Court and Merlene Moody of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, joined representatives from fourteen other Latin American and Caribbean countries who attended the conference, which was organised by the British Embassy in Havana, the Cuban Interior Ministry and the British Charity, “Child Protection Development Trust”.
The objectives of the conference were to share practical experiences on how to treat cases of child sex abuse; to debate, analyse and exchange experiences in order to overcome current obstacles in this field; to learn about advances made by Cuba in child protection, and to visit the Child Protection Centre in Havana, which is an example of best practice in the region.
Cuba and the United Kingdom have worked together in the field of child protection since 1999.
The countries and territories participating in the conference are Barbados, Belize, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom, as well as a representative from UNICEF.
The Child Protection Development Trust was founded in 2006.
-press release-