AG/RES. 1522 (XXVII-O/97)

THE INTER-AMERICAN CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE AND CONCERTED ACTION ON BEHALF OF CHILDREN IN THE AMERICAS

(Resolution adopted at the seventh plenary session, held on June 5, 1997)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

CONSIDERING:

That the overall social situation in the Americas is marked by persistent indicators of inequity and that poverty, which threatens the consolidation of democracy and regional economic development, continues to be the most important factor in social imbalances, despite the improved outlook;

That children constitute the most vulnerable group, and that urgent action must be taken by government and by civil society to reestablish a proper balance among the components of society;

That the deteriorating quality of urban life has resulted in a street culture that is leading ever more children, at ever younger ages, into crime, alcoholism, sexual exploitation, prostitution, early pregnancy, child labor, and similarly negative situations;

That the lack of appropriate and up-to-date educational policies and inadequate public expenditure on education give cause for concern, as reflected in the fact that the Latin American and Caribbean region spends less per student than any other region of the world;

That the Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes a new paradigm of rules and standards that transcend the strictly juridical realm and that require the development of social policies for integrating all children and youth, on a basis of equal opportunity, and for encouraging private sector participation in such policies, so as to promote public welfare;

That the international convention has been signed by all the region's governments and ratified by nearly all member states;

That the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), established by the Fourth Pan American Child Congress in 1924 and founded in 1927, with its headquarters in Montevideo, is a specialized organization of the Organization of American States, the purpose of which is to study problems relating to children and the family;

That the Inter-American Children's Institute has accomplished significant work over seven decades, through programs, projects, and activities aimed at children in the Americas;

That in June 1963 the Council of the Organization approved the Statutes of the Inter-American Children's Institute, which confirm its status as a specialized organization and ratify that its Office functions as part of the General Secretariat of the OAS;

That the strength of this agency and of its important programs is reinforced by the underlying policies that guide and inspire its action, including those directed at linking the work of the IIN to the processes of democratic consolidation, emphasizing that the best interests of the child are also the best interests of the democratic system, at facilitating the transition from recognition and promotion of the rights of the child to immediate protection, and at encouraging the development of horizontal cooperation mechanisms among countries in the region, all of which were agreed upon by the Directing Council;

That other agencies in the inter-American system are pursuing activities that address, directly or indirectly, the problems described as they relate both to the rights of children and to their social and economic development; and

That, furthermore, the subject of children has assumed growing importance on the regional agenda and is to be addressed at the "Second Regional Summit on Childhood in South America and the Caribbean," to be held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from March 1 to 3, 1998,

RESOLVES:

1. To recognize the important progress achieved by the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) during its 70 years of work.

2. To call upon the member states, the organizations of the inter-American system, the international community, and society as a whole, including both the public and private sectors, to make a concerted effort to promote observance of and respect for the rights of all children in the Americas, so as to integrate and promote universal attention to their specific interests and enhance the political visibility of this group, which is strategically so important to human progress.

3. To instruct the IIN to compile an inventory of all activities of the organs and agencies of the inter-American system relating to the situation of children.

4. To instruct the IIN to submit to the General Assembly for consideration at its twenty-eighth regular session, on the basis of the inventory mentioned in the previous paragraph, a plan of concerted action for children in the Americas to improve living conditions for all children in the region, on the social as well as on the economic, educational, scientific, and technological levels, and to promote strict observance of all their rights.

5. To instruct the IIN to promote the fullest participation at the Second Regional Summit on Childhood in South America and the Caribbean, and to report to the General Assembly at its twenty-eighth regular session on the deliberations held and recommendations adopted at this summit.

6. To direct that activities under this resolution should be executed within allocated resources approved in the program-budget and other resources.