AG/RES. 1433 (XXVI-O/96)

SUPPORT FOR THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INTER-AMERICAN CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE

(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 7, 1996)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECALLING:

That, in resolution AG/RES. 1348 (XXV-O/95), the General Assembly considers that attention to the problems that affect children, youth, and families are a task of major social significance for member states;

That the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) is the Specialized Organization of the Organization of American States (OAS) charged with furthering the study of problems relating to motherhood, childhood, adolescence, and the family in the Americas, and the adoption of measures conducive to their solution; and

That promoting and cooperating with the governments of the member states in the establishment and development of activities contributing to the adequate overall development of minors, as well as the constant improvement of living standards, particularly those of families, are primary aims of the Institute;

RECOGNIZING that, since its foundation, the successful and fruitful endeavors of the Inter-American Children's Institute have been reflected in important contributions in various fields, namely, in the social and legal areas and in areas pertaining to information, drug dependency, disability, and registration of vital statistics;

TAKING NOTE of the fact that the Declaration of Santiago, arising from the First Special Meeting of the Directing Council of the IIN, held in March 1996, links the work of the IIN with the processes of democratic consolidation, emphasizing the higher interests of children, in consonance with the historic processes which the region is undergoing and with the transformations taking place in the OAS, as reflected in the Declaration of Montrouis: A New Vision of the OAS; and

BEARING IN MIND that the new policy guidelines which will inspire and guide the design and execution of the IIN's work programs in the period 1996-2000 state that the IIN must serve as the resource of the Americas in matters pertaining to the rights of children, in the service of the OAS member states,

RESOLVES:

1. To reiterate its support for the work of the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN).

2. To instruct the IIN to step up its efforts in the area of children's welfare in the Hemisphere.

3. To entrust the IIN with the task of promoting among the member states of the Organization action directed at public education about the Convention on the Rights of the Child in order to develop social policies that contribute to the social integration of all the region's children and youth.