Andrés Allán Sánchez Osorio

Mexico and Panama

Rights of children and youth in situations of vulnerability

Andrés Allán Sánchez Osorio (he/him) is the honorary President and Founder of Fundación Efecto Valores, which promotes mechanisms of participation and education in human rights for children and adolescents without parental care and who live in areas with high rates of violence in Mexico.

In order to reduce the stigma and criminalization of girls, boys, adolescents and young people who live in such areas, he uses documentary film as a tool for transformation, citizen participation and collaborative work. He trains young people on human rights and prevention of violence as well as build their skills to develop short documentary films based on participatory diagnosis on violence from the members of the communities.

Allán has more than 10 years of experience working on issues related to the rights of children and youth, crime prevention, child and youth participation, advocacy and accompaniment of cases of adolescents and young victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. He was awarded in 2018 with the Youth Prize in Human Rights by the Government of Mexico City.

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“Many adolescents and young people were stigmatized and criminalized as people who had no future. I have truly been able to see how educating them in the field of human rights can change their life trajectories.”

Discussion questions

How would you describe “children and youth in situations of vulnerability”? What are some examples?

What specific human rights challenges do children and youth in situations of vulnerability face in your school, community or country? What can be done to overcome them?

Allán notes that children and youth in situations of vulnerability are often not aware that they have rights. How can human rights education help them?

Through human rights education, Allán promotes the participation of child and youth, including those in situations of vulnerability, in public life and decision-making processes. Why is their participation important?