Listening to Transform: The Voice of Migrant Adolescents in the Construction of PRONAPINNA

At KIND we are convinced that the participation of children on the move is fundamental for the construction and implementation of any public policy that affects their lives and rights.

In this sense, the incorporation of the “Republic of and for children ” in President Claudia Sheinbaum’s National Development Plan 2025-2030 opened a unique opportunity for the inclusion and participation of children in the design of public policies that integrate the National Program for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (PRONAPINNA) and guide government action in the coming years.

Under the leadership of Lorena Villavicencio, Executive Secretary of the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (SIPINNA), PRONAPINNA is being built as a multisectoral effort that includes not only authorities from the three levels of government, academia and civil society, but also seeks to incorporate the voices and opinions of children into its design and response.

At KIND we congratulate the initiative and were pleased to support the Executive Secretariat of SIPINNA Nacional in its efforts to integrate a participation group with children on the move to encourage their voices and opinions to be heard and taken into account in the definition of PRONAPINNA’s strategies and actions.

Focus Group of Adolescents on the Move in Mexico

With the collaboration of KIND and the organizations CAFEMIN, Aldeas Infantiles and Casa Alianza, on July 13, 16 adolescents in a situation of mobility met at the CAFEMIN facilities in Mexico City to participate in the “Focus Group of Adolescents on the move in Mexico”.

The adolescents, mostly of Latin American origin, held an open dialogue with the Executive Secretariat of SIPINNA and its team, in which they shared their opinions based on the diverse migratory experience they have had in Mexico. The adolescents in Casa Alianza and Children’s Villages are unaccompanied and have been living in Mexico for months or years, in a long integration process, while most of those who are in CAFEMIN generally arrived less than six months ago in Mexico and travel with their parents or relatives, many are still in immigration or refugee protection processes.

During the dialogue, the adolescents expressed and agreed on many of the needs, risks and challenges they have faced when migrating, as well as on their proposals and opinions on how they imagine that other children on the move could arrive and be in Mexico in conditions that ensure their reception.  protection and dignity, safe, humane integration and with rights in the country.

“Now more than ever, we need to come together across disciplines, agencies, communities and countries to ensure that the voices of unaccompanied and separated refugee children are heard and that they have access to the protection and rights they are entitled to allowing them to integrate and thrive” said KIND’s Regional Director, Europe, Kirsty Thomson.  

This is how we imagine a safe and inclusive Mexico: Priorities expressed by adolescents

For adolescents, arriving and being in Mexico feeling happy, safe and respected in their rights would imply:

1. Arrive and be in Mexico without fear, with the certainty of “being safe at all times, inside and outside the shelters” and that no one will hurt them.
2. Have a safe place to sleep, without fear of being mistreated or watched.
3. That the authorities do not separate them “from their loved ones”, especially when they travel with their extended family and that their emotional ties are also recognized, even if they are not “blood family”
4. That the authorities protect them, not extort or violate them.
5. “Eradicate corruption” and ensure that no one, be it authority or organized crime, will force them to pay to continue their way or threaten them if they do not have money.
6. To be treated with respect, without discrimination based on language, accent, skin color, religion, origin or nationality.
7. Have their cell phones to communicate with their family to feel accompanied.
8. Be in decent shelters or public spaces, with food, water, and privacy.
9. To be listened to with attention and respect by adults, authorities and civil organizations when they tell their story or express their opinions.
10. Have access to support networks, organizations and people who help them without judging them, where they can express their emotions and needs.
11. Access education, play, health and basic services like any other child or adolescent in Mexico.
12. Have opportunities to learn and work in a fair way when they need to, without being victims of exploitation, rejection or abuse for not having “papers”.
13. Have the possibility of their own home where they can live outside the hostel or the spaces where they are located.
14. To find in Mexico a path to a better life, which allows them to build a future in Mexico with real opportunities to grow and develop.
15. Know their rights, receive clear information about their situation and have the authorities treat them with dignity and help them exercise their rights
16. To be treated with dignity, without being made to feel less for being a migrant.
17. Feel part of a community that includes, respects and cares for you.
18. Have immigration documentation “as soon as possible” from immigration and identity and travel documents, without major challenges or obstacles.