THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN URUGUAY AND OAS’ INTER-AMERICAN CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE SIGN AN
 AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP A PROJECT ON TRAFFIC IN CHILDREN, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET, AND NORMATIVE FRAMEWORKS AIMED AT THE MERCOSUR REGION, BOLIVIA AND CHILE

Montevideo, January 13 2004

A General Cooperation Agreement enabling the development of an important project meant for dealing with the problem of child and adolescent sexual exploitation, aimed at the MERCOSUR region, Bolivia and Chile, was signed in the presence of Ambassador of the United States of America in Uruguay Martin J. Silverstein and Director General of the Inter-American Children’s Institute Alejandro Bonasso. The ceremony took place on January 13 2003 at 2 PM, in the headquarters of the Embassy in Montevideo. 

This project is in keeping with the several cooperation commands that both the Embassy of the United States of America in Uruguay and the Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN/OAS) have received in order to try to deal with such problems as the traffic in children with purposes of sexual exploitation and child pornography on the Internet, which is a flagrant violation of their human rights. It also serves the purpose of studying and proposing ways of reforming the normative frameworks connected with the criminal and procedural areas that are currently in force in the participating countries. 

The project will begin with one First Sub-regional Workshop to take place in Montevideo (Uruguay), on March 22 and 23 2004, with the purpose of creating a forum for the exchange of information on the problems which are dealt with by this Project between the MERCOSUR countries, Bolivia and Chile. The Workshop will, at the same time, seek to adjust the methodological design and the work plan in order to develop national research into Child Traffic, Child Pornography on the Internet and Normative Frameworks.