Topic: 2025 – Protecting and Empowering Youth in Digital Spaces
Country: Bolivia
Delegate Name: Alliance Uwajeneza
Human Rights Council
Protecting and Empowering Youth in Digital Spaces
Bolivia
Alliance Uwajeneza
City High School
The internet has quickly become one of the most important environments young people interact every day. It shapes how they learn, communicate, and see the world. For many children and teens, especially in countries like Bolivia, where geography can limit access to in-person resources, digital spaces create opportunities that would not otherwise exist, such as access to educational materials, global conversations, and tools for creativity and self-expression. But these opportunities come with serious concerns. Young people face online risks such as cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate or violent content, and exploitation, and these issues often hit the hardest in communities with limited digital literacy or inequality in internet access. As more children come online at younger ages, the international community can no longer ignore the responsibility to ensure that digital environments are safe and supportive.
Recent reports from groups such as UNICEF and the Pew Research Center show that most young people are active online, often starting at an early age before they really know how to navigate the many risks. In Bolivia and many other countries, this raises a tough question: how do you shield teens from dangerous content and online exploitation without tking away the learning opportunities and social connections the internet provides? The problem is made even harder by how quickly technology evolves. Policies and safetty guidelines don’t always keep up, which can leave kids vulnerable wile governments and organizations try to catch up.
Bolivia approaches this issue with a strong foundation in human rights. As a committed member of the International community and a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Bolivia recognizes that children’s rights to safety, privacy, access to information, and protection from exploitation apply both online and offline. National laws such as the Código Niña, Niño y Adolescente (Law 548) and the more recent Law 1636, which targets grooming and digital exploitation, reflect Bolivia’s efforts to address these risks at home.
At the same time, Bolivia believes that protecting youth is only one part of the solution. Young people must also be empowered. This means ensuring they have reliable access to the internet, teaching digital literacy skills, and giving them the tools to navigate online environments responsibly and confidently. In a country where many communities, especially indigenous and rural populations, face barriers to digital access, empowerment cannot be separated from equity. Bolivia supports international cooperation to expand internet availability, improve education around online safety, and create clear expectations for platforms used by minors.
For Bolivia, safeguarding youth in digital spaces is not just a matter of technology, but it is a matter of rights, opportunity, and inclusion. The goal is to create a digital world where young people are protected, but also trusted, informed, and able to fully participate in modern society.
Bibliography:
Liebel, M. (n.d.). Protecting the rights of working children instead of banning child labour: Bolivia tries a new legislative approach. Internationale Akademie Für Innovative Pädagogik, Psychologie Und Ökonomie gGmbH (INA) an Der Freien Universität Berlin. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2014_2019/documents/deve/dv/liebel_policy_paper_bolivia_/liebel_policy_paper_bolivia_en.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Bolivia: Arce signs bill protecting children from online abuse into law. (2025, September 11). MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/2025/09/11/bolivia-arce-signs-bill-protecting-children-from-online-abuse-into-law
Digital activists in action. (n.d.). Save the Children Bolivia. https://www.savethechildren.org.bo/digital-activists-in-action/
