Children and teenagers are also victims of the "Mapuche conflict" in Chile. This is what Gary Stahl, the Chilean UNICEF representative, has concluded recently. UNICEF -the UN agency for the protection of minor's rights- has expressed its concern on "the violent incidents affecting physical and psychological safety of Mapuche children". Stahl, who met with Chilean government officials, stressed that the government should carry out an "impartial investigation" on abuses committed on Mapuche children.

The alarm was raised after a group of police officers assaulted a school in the Araucania region on October 16. The raid left 12 injured by shotgun pellets and 30 people suffocated by tear gas canisters. Most of the injured were children, says the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).

The government has dismissed the accusation, but the indigenous communities have submitted medical reports that provide evidence of the allegations. In a meeting with Chilean ministers, the UNICEF's delegation has offered the police forces training courses to protect minor's rights during incursions in Mapuche communities. Police raids are common in the Araucania region, but UNICEF has refrained from criticizing them alleging the UN agency has no authority in the matter. Even so, it has urged the government "to seek to improve the conditions for reporting incidents, because if people are afraid of making a complaint, no investigation is possible". Gary Stahl further added that "if we don't want to see another generation of Chileans marked by violence we have to find out what happened and seek a solution so that such incidents do not happen again in the future".

The Araucania region, a hot spot
Araucania, one of the fifteen administrative regions in which Chile is divided, is the Mapuche's native land and the hotbed of their activities. Mapuche activism is focused mainly on the encroachment of their ancestral land, most of which remains in the hands of large state owners. Land occupation is often fought back with police violence. Last August 13 a young Mapuche died as a result of police shotguns during an eviction from occupied land.

Further information:

• EFE: Unicef pide imparcialidad en las indagaciones por violencia contra unos niños mapuche
• Mapuexpress: UNICEF pidió al Gobierno mejorar canales de denuncia e investigación de hechos que ocurren en la Araucanía