ANNUAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - 2003


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INTRODUCTION

 

In the preparation of this Annual Report, we took into account the GUIDELINES provided by the Office of the Assistant Secretary General (AG/RES 1452-XXVII 0/97

  1. The Inter-American Children's Institute

The Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) is the specialized organization of the Organization of American States (OAS) for issues pertaining to Children, Adolescents and the Family.

Its mission is a technical and political one: to promote, research and prepare technical, political and legal tools and propose them to governments in order to effectively and efficiently address the real problems of Children and Adolescents in the Americas and the Caribbean.

The IIN is responsible for preparing the Annual Report on the Situation of Children in the Americas, for presentation to the General Assembly of the OAS.

In October 1924, at the 4th American Child Congress, held in Santiago, Chile, an International American Child Protection Institute was formally created, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

On June 9, 1927, ten countries of the Americas signed the Institute’s founding charter, which constituted its definitive creation. Gradually, all the rest of the countries of the Americas and the Caribbean came to be part of the Institute as well.

In 1949, the Organization of American States (OAS) invited the Institute to become a Specialized Organization of the OAS. In 1962, and without losing its technical autonomy, the Institute was fiscally and administratively incorporated into the OAS as the Inter-American Children's Institute.

 

  1. Organs of the Inter-American Children's Institute

According to its Statutes, the IIN carries out its aims through the following organs:

  • A DIRECTING COUNCIL, as the maximum governing body, made up of one delegate from each OAS Member State.

  • The PAN AMERICAN CHILD CONGRESS, intended to promote an exchange of experience and knowledge among the peoples of the Americas regarding the issues addressed by the Institute, and to make recommendations intended to solve them.

  • A DIRECTOR GENERAL, appointed by the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, selected from a slate of three candidates proposed by the Directing Council. The Director General is responsible for carrying out the resolutions of the Directing Council and for guiding the action of the different programs.

The Director General is in charge of the IIN's Headquarters and its technical and functional staff. Since March 2000, the position of Director General has been held by child affairs specialist Lic. Alejandro Bonasso.


  1. The IIN on the Internet

The Institute has adapted its modus operandi to new technologies, working via the Internet to achieve the following:

The IIN’s headquarters in Montevideo currently have a real-time connection to OAS headquarters in Washington.

There is constant, low-cost communication with Directing Council authorities and Delegates.

The Virtual Meetings of the Directing Council have become a revolutionary innovation for the operation of these Fora.

Distance training courses, inter-American courses and other virtual activities have become a constant among the IIN’s operations in the region.

The IIN’s website, www.iin.oea.org, contains complete information on the Institute, its programs and its activities, as well as comprehensive information on child, adolescent and family issues in the region. The quality of the service provided through this website is evident in the geometrical growth in its number of visitors. The IIN has also developed specific websites to strengthen and complement certain areas of action: