The government wants to remove the Orlando Pantera Center from the prison system and create a new socio-educational facility for minors
The Minister of Justice announced today in Praia his intention to remove the Orlando Pantera Center from the prison system and create a socio-educational facility dedicated to the education and reintegration of children and youth.
Clóvis Silva expressed this intention in statements to the press following the opening of a training program organized by the Garah Foundation, designed for people in the process of recovering from addiction.
On that occasion, the minister advocated for a fundamental change in the model for caring for children aged 12 to 16 who are in conflict with the law.
“I don’t want jail for children between the ages of 12 and 16. (…) I need a center that works with children to educate and rehabilitate them, not to keep them locked up and hand them food through an iron door,” the minister stated.
To implement this measure, Clóvis Silva revealed that the process will begin with an amendment to the organic law of the Ministry of Justice, separating the Orlando Pantera Center from the General Directorate of Prison Services, as he believes that the care of minors does not fit within the prison system’s framework.
At the same time, the reform calls for the creation of a specific directorate to oversee the socio-educational system and the construction of a new center designed as a family-like and welcoming space, where young people with histories of academic failure or social exclusion will have access to tailored educational programs.
“I have a dream of building a socio-educational center that, if I could, wouldn’t even have walls—it would be a home,” said the minister.
Clóvis Silva also reported that he has already presented the project to international partners, such as the European Union, United Nations agencies, and diplomatic missions, with the aim of mobilizing support.
The strategy includes the collaboration of citizens in the process of recovering from addiction for awareness-raising and community support initiatives, promoting early preventive intervention before criminal offenses occur.
