REMARKS BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL, ALBERT RAMDIN, AT THE 88TH REGULAR SESSION OF THE DIRECTING COUNCIL OF THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHILDREN

September 16, 2013 - Medellín, Colombia

Buenos Dias,

Sra. Adriana Gonzalez Maxyclak, Director General del Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar

Sra. Gloria Lozano Diaz, Presidente del Consejo Directivo del Instituto Interamericano del Nino,

Sra. Zara Lis Navas, Vicepresidente del Consejo Directivo del Instituto Interamericano del Nino,

Distinguidos Jefes de Delegacion y delegados del Paises Miembros,

Sra. María de los Dolores Aguilar Marmolejo, Directora General del Instituto Interamericano del Nino,

Distinguidos Representantes del Cuerpo Diplomático,

Distinguidos Representantes de Organizaciones Regionales e Internacionales,

Distinguidos Representantes de la Sociedad Civil,

Damas y Caballeros,

Muy buenos días,

En nombre de la Organización de los Estados Americanos, quisiera expresar mi sincero y profundo aprecio al gobierno y al pueblo colombiano por su generosidad en acoger esta importante conferencia. Les agradezco su hospitalidad y los excelentes arreglos en el marco de este encuentro.

Hace un par de días estuve en Cali en donde participé en la Tercera Cumbre de Afro – Descendientes y hace unas semanas Colombia recibió a algunos de los Presidentes de la Región para discutir la cooperación económica a través de la Alianza Pacífico.

El compromiso de Colombia no solo demuestra su constante apoyo al trabajo del Instituto y al bienestar de los niños y niñas en nuestro hemisferio. También subraya el compromiso del país para el desarrollo de políticas integrales, que buscan la promoción de la inclusividad, la igualdad y la prosperidad.

Señoras y Señores, ahora permítanme continuar mis palabras en Ingles.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am extremely pleased to be back here with you today, not only because it is Medellin, a city and its population that has made so much progress over the past two decades and has undergone a transformation that is recognized worldwide. I am also pleased because today’s meeting is about the most important asset in our lives: our children.

We are a region where in many countries over half the total population is under the age of 18 years. In today’s world our children have many opportunities and equally many challenges to face.

Our families continue to face critical issues. Non-registration of births, malnutrition, child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation continue to plague our societies and affect our youth. In my view, too many of our children still have no opportunity to attend school or receive the health care necessary to live a healthy and productive life. This is not something we can ignore.

I can provide many statistics that demonstrate the challenging and in many cases unacceptable circumstances under which children in our hemisphere have to live. Let me just give you three telling figures which ECLAC/UNICEF 2010 studies provides us:

• 81 million children live and are nurtured in poverty and 32 million children live in extreme poverty in our hemisphere;

• 1.4 million children in our region have never attended school. And in some Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, this number increases between 2% and 4% of the population;

• 5.6% or 10 million children do not complete their primary education.

Ladies and Gentlemen, absence of sound public policies, social security systems, economic opportunities, rural development not only deprive our children of a balanced nutrition, adequate housing, potable water and sanitation, basic education, among others, it also enables the inter-generational reproduction of poverty.

Of course we have seen also progress in several areas. Overall the poverty rate has declined, malnutrition figures have gone down, child mortality has been reduced, etc., but for too many, life is a matter of survival from one day to the next. And that is simply unacceptable!

So what do we have to do?

What is required is for Governments, specialized national and regional agencies, international organizations, civil society at large, business communities, religious and cultural organizations, among others to see the value of investing in the future of this critical sector of our societies. It requires political will, policy and financial commitment, but also the understanding that not doing what needs to be done will only create more problems and be financially ineffective. Governments need to substantially increase the national budgets for education and health. Without an educated and healthy population, no society or economy will reach its highest potential. The business community must see the benefit of skilled future labor and therefore financially support non-governmental institutions that focus on improving and protecting the lives of our children.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is only through sound public policies aimed at not only protecting children’s rights, but also creating opportunities for them, with the help from home, the counsel of parents and siblings, that we can create the best environment for our children to thrive and become responsible citizens. Youth, and in particular children, cannot be seen as a separate segment in our societies, youth symbolizes continuity of what we represent, they are an integral part of the social fabric.

We have to be conscious of the fact that if we do not provide for a balanced, open and friendly environment our children will not prosper, but be confronted with many problems which, if addressed timely, could and should have been avoided. I sometimes feel that a majority of our youth is growing up with a mindset that is very individualistic and materialistic. Critical values such as solidarity with others, service to the community, readiness to help the less fortunate, are seemingly fading out. Instead, it seems it is about the newest gimmicks, the newest fashion in shoes and clothing, etc. There are many factors, domestic and external, that contribute to these trends. In my view, it must be possible to use the new technologies available to create a better understanding of roles and responsibilities in our society within youth.

Therefore I call on member states to implement the ratified conventions and to create those mechanisms and institutional frameworks to achieve the objectives of these hemispheric juridical instruments. We have to ask ourselves how we can achieve these objectives of early childhood education and protection, which are the prime focus of your discussions at this 88th Regular Session of the Directing Council.

How do we meaningfully connect with and energize the specialized institutions and mobilize Government departments and institutions in our countries and make them serious partners in these endeavors? How can we foster a stronger inter-relationship with the programs and activities undertaken by the political, security and development secretariat at the OAS and the other parts of the inter-American system, like the Inter-American Development Bank and the Pan-American Health Organization, to make the interest of children and in a broader sense youth a cross-cutting issue?

In this regard, I am pleased to announce that on 5th of November this year the OAS will organize the second Youth Conference of the Americas, which will focus on youth and democracy and youth and entrepreneurship. I look forward to the participation of the IIN and youth organizations in member states in this very exciting, inspiring and energy rich conference.

Ladies and Gentlemen, some of you may recall that in 2007, the IIN launched its strategic 2007-2011 Action Plan in Cartagena de Indias. I had the privilege to open that meeting with the then Mayor of Cartagena. On that occasion I had the opportunity to personally welcome the new Director of the IIN, Ms. María de los Dolores Aguilar Marmolejo to the OAS. I thank her for her contribution and initiatives, which have enriched the institution.

And at this meeting of the IIN again we have an opportunity to welcome a new recruit, an experienced and longstanding OAS staff member, who has served the OAS in many positions and has done so well. I welcome officially Mrs. Anne Marie Blackman, a national of Barbados, as a new member of the staff of the IIN and wish her success and as Anne Marie is from the Caribbean, I hope that she will also further assist the Institute in developing initiatives in that region.

I would also like to recognize the work of the President and Vice-President of the Directing Council. The Organization deeply appreciates your determination, leadership and vision. It can only further the cause and strengthen this valuable institution. And I believe a good moment to affirm the support of the OAS for your work and that of the Institution.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I close, l believe that we have an moral obligation to our children and those of the future to foster values in them that will make them meaningful players in our societies; we all –individually and collectively- have a responsibility to put policies in place that will provide opportunities and options for all our children; we have to continue to be strong in our resolve to fight forcefully anything that threatens the life and dignity of our children. Let us be the voice of those children with no voice and provide them a life we want for ourselves.

I thank you