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OAS renewed its commitment to the children and adolescents of the Americas

In a regular session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), Member Countries today renewed their commitment to the promotion, protection and exercise of children’s rights of the Americas with the approval of the Strategic Plan of the Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) for the period 2011- 2015.

The IIN’s Executive Council Vice President, Gloria Lozano Díaz, presented to the representatives of the OAS Member States the Institute’s work priorities for the next four years, which will focus on the issues of early childhood, attention to children and adolescents in the event of natural disasters and emergencies, violence in childhood and adolescence focused on the juvenile justice system, and commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, and international child abduction. Also the issues of law, gender, governance, stewardship and sustainability were set as the guiding principles of these approaches.

On regard to early childhood, Lozano Díaz recalled that "the first years of life are the most important that need to be addressed comprehensively", therefore "the IIN hopes to strengthen institutional capacities to achieve the development of guidelines and recommendations so the States can improve early childhood care."

As for the care of children and adolescents in the event of natural disasters, the Vice President of the Executive Council of the IIN noted that the Plan of Action proposes to “systematically collect information on experiences and lessons learned from the situation of minors in relation to the disaster cycle from the perspective of a sustainable development". "With this Strategic Plan we will give more protection to the rights of our children," she said.

Regarding the juvenile criminal responsibility system, "the IIN seeks to strengthen the capacity of children’s guides through more work on educational measures, provide more tools in this regard and ensure that those who once had fewer opportunities now have a chance to succeed," she said.

On the issue of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, the Vice President of the IIN Executive Council highlighted the work carried out by the body in relation to information sharing, done through the website "AnnaObserva", the frequent production of information, documents and thematic bimonthly newsletters, as well as technical assistance and training of human resources in countries. "In the platform of the Strategic Plan we will continue to energize the operation of the Inter-American technical links on the issue," she added.

Díaz Lozano noted that "one of the challenges the IIN faces is to work on the participation of children in terms of inclusion," and in this regard "this Strategic Plan will accompany the Member States on institutionalization and counseling on processes and strategies to implement mechanisms for dialogue with children and adolescents and guarantee their rights in a comprehensive way," she said.

Regarding the international abduction of infants, Lozano Díaz said that the Plan of Action will continue to promote the signing and ratification of conventions on the issue, to support the central authorities in the field and to promote the revision of procedural rules and technical tools that facilitate information sharing among States in terms of prevention and treatment of these cases.

Summarizing, the IIN Representative recalled that "the Plan of Action is the result of a joint effort of the Institute and Member States to generate a short- and medium-term strategic look to guide the overall activities of the institution in the region over the next four years."

The representatives of Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Panama, United States, Canada, Paraguay took the floor and generally welcomed the Plan of Action, highlighted the progress made by the Institute and highlighted the consensus among Member Countries to give priority to issues of children and adolescents. They also reiterated their commitment and support to the work of the IIN.

The Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) is a specialized agency of the OAS in childhood and adolescence. As such, assists States in developing policies, contributing to its design and implementation in the context of the promotion, protection and respect for the rights of children and adolescents in the region. In this framework, intended IIN special attention to the needs of Member States of the Inter-specific and regional groups.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-1006/11