ANNUAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - 2003


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COORDINATION OF THE IIN WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

 

We will now summarize the IIN’s relationships, coordination and cooperation with other Inter-American Organizations and regional and worldwide Organizations, both public and private. Also detailed are the activities carried out in 2003:

  • Round Table in Montevideo on “The Juridical Status and Human Rights of Children and Adolescents within the Framework of the Inter-American System.” A joint effort by the Office of the OAS in Uruguay, the Regional Representation of UNICEF for the Southern Cone, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR), the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) and the Inter-American Children's Institute. More than one hundred judges, district attorneys, lawyers, legislators, university professors and educators from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay participated at this event.

  • In Uruguay, IIN Director General Alejandro Bonasso was invited to speak at a Seminar on “Seminar on Child Sex Tourism: A Challenge for Serious Journalists,” organized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Uruguayan Press Association (APU).

  • Members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Norberto Liwski (Argentina), Marilia Sardenberg (Brazil) and Rosa María Ortiz (Paraguay), visited IIN Headquarters to meet with the Director General and the technical team. Central topics included the analysis of the methodology developed for the “Systematization of the Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child” and the presentation of progress on the information technology tool for monitoring rights. The “Site for Coordination of Activities for Children and Adolescents,” a tool developed by the IIN with the support of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was also presented to the visitors, with very positive response.

  • Work and coordination sessions with Dr. Rolando Quiros, President of the International Forum for Child Welfare.

  • Coordination meeting between the IIN and Carlos Raúl Anaya Moreno, Director of International Affairs for Mexico’s National System for Family Integral Development of the Family (DIF). Progress was made in the details of events on the agendas of both institutions. The foundations were also laid for the organization of XIX Pan American Child Congress, to be held in Mexico City in 2004.

  • Representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Delmer Bjorklund, Pascal Médieu and Isla Paterson, visited IIN Headquarters for working and coordination sessions. The results of the First Phase of cooperation were analyzed, as well as the possibility of a Second Phase in the following areas: life skills, human rights, conflict resolution, the gender approach, resilience, family violence, and child trafficking.

  • The training session for the establishment of the National Child and Family Information Network in Bolivia, convened by the Vice-Minister for Youth, Children and Seniors, was held at the offices of the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) in La Paz, Bolivia, with the participation of 19 representatives of government and civil society. IIN Director General Lic. Alejandro Bonasso presided over the opening ceremony, lecturing on information in the framework of a child rights protection system. The Information Program was responsible for the technical aspects of this activity.

  • In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Lic. Alejandro Bonasso attended the 5th Ibero-American Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for Child and Adolescent Affairs.

  • Negotiations were undertaken with World Vision Canada to implement the IIN’s SIPI Project in the Dominican Republic.

  • In Uruguay, the Director General of the IIN participated at a Seminar organized by the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE) as part of the VOCES Project, with the support of the European Commission and the OAK Foundation. This project seeks to protect girls and avoid situations of violence and sexual exploitation which both girls and boys experience more and more frequently, and to develop strategies to make these issues a priority for public opinion and the political agendas of governments, fostering the participation of civil society in the defense of children’s right to live and grow up free from violence.

  • In El Salvador, an Inter-Agency Meeting was co-organized by the IIN and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and attended by representatives of the OIM, UNICEF, Plan Rocca, Save the Children, World Vision and Casa Alianza. Participants presented institutional information and priorities, which included: trafficking of children and adolescents, immigration, eradication of child labor, commercial sexual exploitation, abuse, violence, youth gangs or maras, democratization of justice, strengthening of civil society, participation, and youth in conflict with the law. It was proposed that progress be sought on five basic issues: armed conflict, trade and trafficking of children, criminal justice, youth gangs, and migration.

  • An Agreement was signed with the Governing Body on Child Affairs in El Salvador, establishing the terms of reference for the use of the “Site for Coordination of Activities for Children and Adolescents.”

  • The production of a video on the Inter-American Democratic Charter was coordinated with the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) of the OAS. This was presented to the OAS Permanent Council as part of the IIN's Report for the June 2002 – October 2003 period.

  • IIN Director General Lic. Alejandro Bonasso participated in a Videoconference in Washington on “Trafficking of Persons (Women, Children and Adolescents)” organized in cooperation with the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM).

  • Actions were coordinated in Washington with the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to exchange experiences and find common lines for the application of the “Site for Coordination of Activities for Children and Adolescents.”

  • Thanks to the good offices of the IIN, two Members of the Geneva Committee on the Rights of the Child, Dr. Norberto Liwski and Lic. Rosa María Ortiz, attended a meeting with the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Enrique Iglesias, as well as IDB Representative Martín Francisco Stabile, IDB Sub-Representative César Williams, IIN Director General Alejandro Bonasso and PIINFA Coordinator Julio Rosenblatt, held on December 15, 2003 at IDB Headquarters in Uruguay. The central objective of this meeting was to establish a cooperation agreement between the IDB, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the IIN, for projects and issues of common interest.

In sum, in the year 2003 the IIN coordinated actions and activities with the following organizations:

  • Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

  • German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ)

  • Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

  • Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA)

  • Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)

  • Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM)

  • Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN)

  • Inter-American Court of Human Rights

  • International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

  • International Forum for Child Welfare (IFCW)

  • International Center for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC)

  • Office of the OAS in Uruguay

  • International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE)

  • Save the Children Sweden

  • UNICEF – Regional Representation (TACRO)

  • Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD/OAS)

  • World Vision Canada (WV)