Fulfillmentrights Children 0

Cover Art Concept
The mere legal recognition of the rights of children is insuﬃcient

to guarantee its eﬀective respect and to transform the reality in
which millions of children live in the region. A National
Protection System is required to ensure the existence and
functioning of an institutional framework and operational
structure aimed at guaranteeing the full enjoyment, protection
and defense of their rights. Their participation in the design and
implementation of these systems is essential. Through playing,
younger children communicate their vision of themselves and
their needs, as seen in the community built with a set of insert
pieces found on the cover of this report.
Cover design: Fer Cozzi / IACHR

OEA/Ser.L/V/II.166
Doc. 206/17
30 November 2017
Original: Spanish
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Towards the Effective Fulfillment

of Children´s Rights: National
Protection Systems
2017
www.iachr.org
OAS Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Towards the Effective Fulfillment of Children’s Rights: National

Protection Systems : Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights on November 30, 2017.
v. ; cm. (OAS. Official records ; OEA/Ser.L)
ISBN 978-0-8270-6721-9
1. Children’s rights--America. 2. Children--Legal status, laws, etc.--America. 3.

Human rights. 4. Civil rights. I. Title. II. Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights. Executive Secretariat. III. National Systems for the Protection of
Children’s Rights. IV. Series.
OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.206/17
Report produced thanks to the financial support of the organization World Vision.
The positions herein expressed are those of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) and do not reflect the views of World Vision.
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Members
Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli
Margarette May Macaulay
Esmeralda Arosemena Bernal de Troitiño
José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez
Paulo Vannuchi
James L. Cavallaro
Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva
Executive Secretary
Paulo Abrão
Assistant Executive Secretary of Cases, Petitions, and

Precautionary Measures
Elizabeth Abi-Mershed
Assistant Executive for Monitoring, Promotion, and Technical

Cooperation in Human Rights
María Claudia Pulido

Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on November 30, 2017.
INDEX
CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION 9
A. Introductory Remarks: Relevance and Importance 9
B. Scope and Objectives of the Report 16
C. Limitations of the Report 17
D. Concept and Terminology 18
E. Methodology for Drafting the Report 20
F. Structure of the Report 22
CHAPTER 2 | FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING NATIONAL SYSTEMS

FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS 27
A. Paradigm Shift: Children and Adolescents as Right Holders
and Full Guarantee of Their Rights 27
B. The Duty to Respect, Protect and Guarantee the Rights of Children and Adolescents 32
C. The obligation to Implement a National Children’s Policy 37
1. Comprehensive, multifaceted, multisectoral and participatory nature
of national children’s policies 41
2. Universal and targeted policies 43
3. Linking national children’s policy to the rest of national polices 45
D. Design of the Institutional Framework: the Obligation to Organize the State
Apparatus to Ensure the Rights of Children and Adolescents 49
1. Bodies or mechanisms of deliberation, consensus-building and policy
formulation and programs 51
2. Policy implementing institutions and direct case work 58
3. Coordinating or Lead Agency 60
4. Participatory structures for children and adolescents 62
E. The National Systems at the Local Level 66
F. The Subsystem of Protection from Violence, Abuse, Exploitation, and Neglect 72
1. Adopting measures of protection 75
G. The Justice System and its Relationship with the National System for the Protection
of Children’s Rights 77
H. Private Service Providers 81
I. Non-State Actors and Community Structures 84
CHAPTER 3 | CONOMIC ASPECTS OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS FOR

THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS 91
A. Legal Obligations in Relation to Economic Aspects of National Systems 91
B. Progressiveness and Non-Regression 100
CHAPTER 4 | CENTRALITY OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS 109

A. Rights Holders 110
B. Principle of Equality and Nondiscrimination 113
C. Right to be Heard and to Meaningful and Protagonist Participation 119
D. The Best Interests of the Child 126
E. Principle of Progressive Autonomy 130
F. Protection as a Continuum and the Interaction of Rights 136
G. Gender Perspective 140
H. Intercultural Perspective 144
I. Protecting the Family as a Cornerstone of Child Rights Protection 145
CHAPTER 5 | PRINCIPAL CHALLENGES 157

A. Challenges in the Process of Transforming the Public Administration
and Good Governance 157
1. Policy planning methods 158
2. Systems for collecting data and analyzing information 159
3. Systems of measurement, monitoring and evaluation 163
4. Transparency and access to information 164
5. Participation of civil society, and of children and adolescents 166
6. Professionalization and specialization 168
7. Independent oversight systems 171
Independent National Human Rights Institutions 171
8. Mechanisms for filing complaints and reports 173
B. Weaknesses of the Institutional Framework, Limitations in Political Leadership,
and Fragmentation of Interventions 174
C. Insufficient allocation of Economic Resources and Limitations on Budget
Management 179
D. Weaknesses at the Local Level 183
E. Lack of Central Role for Children and Adolescents 187
F. Relegating Prevention 188
G. The need to Promote Social and Cultural Transformations 189
CHAPTER 6 | RECOMMENDATIONS 195

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: Introduction | 9
INTRODUCTION
A. Introductory Remarks: Relevance and Importance
1. International human rights law clearly recognizes the special status of the
child 1 because of children’s condition as developing and growing persons.
Such recognition goes hand-in-hand with the establishment of a duty on
the part of States to afford children special and enhanced protection; from
this duty derives the principle of the best interests of the child, which
requires States to make decisions and prioritize interventions that foster
children’s enjoyment of their rights as well as the protection thereof. This
recognition is enshrined in Article 19 of the American Convention on
Human Rights (hereinafter, the “American Convention” or the “ACHR”),
Article VII of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man
(hereinafter, the “American Declaration” or the “ADRDM”), and the articles
of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter,
the “Convention on the Rights of the Child” or the “CRC”), as well as in all of
the other main international human rights instruments having to do with
children.
2. Generally speaking, after the entry into force and ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, the States of the region have, at a
national level, met their obligation to transpose and comply with this
international instrument by adopting codes for children or special child
protection laws that recognize the rights of children and adolescents.
3. The legislative commitment undertaken by the States when it comes to

children is evident and has enabled clear achievements to be made and
very important milestones to be reached in this area, thereby transforming
the reality for children in our hemisphere, with advances such as:
Recognition of compulsory and free education for children and reductions
in illiteracy rates; falling infant mortality and morbidity rates thanks to
* The Commission acknowledges the special efforts of its Executive Secretariat in producing this
report, and in particular, Angels Simon, Human Rights Specialist.
1
The Commission uses the term “child” to indiscriminately refer to all male and female children
and adolescents, which in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
international corpus juris on the subject matter, is defined as every human being below the age
of eighteen years.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

10 | Towards the Effective Fulfillment of Children´s Rights: National Protection Systems
measures like vaccination programs; and declines in malnutrition levels as

a result of nutritional support programs, just to offer a few well-known
examples. While progress is visible in all the States of the region, that
challenges persist in connection with children’s and adolescents’ effective
enjoyment of their rights is also undeniable.
4. As part of its mandate, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

(IACHR) continuously monitors conditions in connection with children’s
and adolescents’ enjoyment of their rights in the different countries of the
region, as well as situations in which such rights have been violated and the
responses offered by the States to protect, restore, and repair those rights.
While the Commission acknowledges and commends advances like the
ones described, it also notes with concern the profound gap between the
rights recognized in laws and the reality in which millions of children and
adolescents in the region live. Many of the issues surrounding the rights of
children are, to a greater or lesser degree, experienced by the majority of
the States.
5. For example, the IACHR observes that sexual violence, particularly against
girls and adolescents, is a serious form of violence that is widespread in the
hemisphere, with several States having among the highest rates in the
world. 2 Adolescent pregnancy is likewise a serious problem, with this
region being the only one in the world in which births among girls younger
than 15 years of age are on the rise, with nearly 10 million pregnancies per
year; the region also ranks second with regard to the number of
pregnancies among teens between the ages of 15 and 19. 3 Corporal
punishment of children, for its part, is deeply rooted and tolerated socially
and even predominates in countries that have introduced laws that
expressly ban its use as a form of discipline. 4 Thousands of children
continue to be placed unnecessarily into institutions in the region because
2
IACHR, press releases, IACHR Welcomes Progress and Urges States to Ensure Favorable
Conditions for the Exercise of Women's Rights, March 8, 2016; IACHR, press release, IACHR Calls
Attention to the Continuing Challenges Facing Pre-teen and Teenage Girls in the Region, October
12, 2016; IACHR, press release, It Is Time to Increase Action to End and Prevent Violence against
Women and Girls, December 2, 2016.
3 th
IACHR, 165 Regular Period of Sessions, thematic hearing Sexual Violence against Girls in Latin
th
America and the Caribbean, October 24 2017, IACHR, 149th regular session, thematic hearing
on Human Rights of Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean, October 28, 2013, and United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Motherhood in Childhood. Facing the challenge of adolescent
pregnancy, p. 5, 6, 10, 11 y 12.
4
See IACHR, Report on Corporal Punishment and the Human Rights of Children and Adolescents,
2009. Uruguay Venezuela, Costa Rica, Honduras, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Peru, and
Paraguay are the only countries in the region that have adopted laws or legal reforms expressly
introducing an outright ban on corporal punishment in all settings, including in the home and
schools. See End corporal punishment.
Organization of American States | OAS

of situations of vulnerability linked to poverty and other social causes,

despite legal recognition of the right of children to live with their families. 5
In addition, although child labor has substantially decreased in the region,
5.7 million children work without having reached the minimum
employment age and do jobs that are harmful to their development or that
constitute a type of exploitation according to ILO Convention 182 on the
worst forms of child labour. 6 Furthermore, even taking into account the
major progress made in the area of education, 1.4 million children have
never attended school and 5.6 percent have dropped out of school before
finishing their education (10 million); this situation is particularly
widespread in some Central American and Andean countries where
approximately 10 percent of children ages 6 to 17 do not regularly attend
school. 7 Additionally, the fact that this region is the most violent in the
world means that several countries suffer some of the highest adolescent
homicide rates, as well as an increased risk that children and adolescents
will be recruited and used by organized crime for their own ends.
6. In addition to the above issues, which are well-known and which

demonstrate the gap between recognition of the rights of children in States’
domestic legislation and reality, it warrants noting that there are
phenomena that have an adverse impact on the rights of the child, but that
are unseen and make the existing gap even wider. For example, the
children of persons deprived of their liberty suffer serious checks on the
enjoyment of their rights as a result of their parents being incarcerated;
this has an impact on their overall development, well-being, and access to
opportunities on equal terms with other children even though children of
incarcerated parents have the same rights as all other children and should
not be treated as though they themselves were in trouble with the law
because of the actions of their parents. This is a growing problem because
of the high number of persons deprived of liberty in the region, especially
in connection with the excessive use of pretrial detention and the use of
imprisonment for non-violent drug offenses like micro-trafficking. 8
5
See, for example, IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.doc 54/13, October 17, 2013.
6
Figures provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO)
7
IACHR, Preliminary Report on Poverty, Extreme Poverty, and Human Rights in the Americas,
2016, para. 294. UNICEF and ECLAC, Child Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2010,
p. 69.
8
IACHR, 156th Regular Period of Sessions, thematic hearing, Situation of Children of Persons
Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, October 22, 2015. See also, United Nations Committee on
the Rights of the Child, documents relating to the Day of General Discussion devoted to this
issue and the Committee's Recommendations, 2011. Also, Church World Service América Latina
y el Caribe, Gurises Unidos and Plataforma Regional por la Defensa de los Derechos de Niñas,
Niños y Adolescentes con madres y padres encarcelados (NNAPEs), ¿Invisibles hasta cuándo?

7. Even though there is recognition and genuine concern on the part of States
with respect to these and other problems that affect children, the measures
they have adopted appear to be inadequate. Legal recognition of the rights
of children and legislative changes to, for example, ban child labor or
criminalize and institute heavier penalties for perpetrators of sexual
violence against children and adolescents have proven insufficient when it
comes to putting an end to these situations. Over time there have also not
been substantive decreases in prevalence levels for several of these rights
violations despite campaigns and programs targeting these issues, which
calls into question the effectiveness of public policies. Impunity levels for
crimes against children are also not showing promising results compared
to progress made with other populations groups, which have seen an
increase in the number of reports, access to justice, and the number of
convictions, which further serves to deter repetition of these violations.
8. Given the context described, it is clear that mere legal recognition of

children’s rights is not enough to ensure the effective enjoyment of such
rights or to transform children’s reality. Based on General Comment no. 5
of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the notion that in order to
protect children and their rights, a set of elements is needed—in addition
to laws—that make up a whole aimed at ensuring the rights of children has
been expanded and broadened. Among such elements, the following stand
out: 9
 public policies, practices, programs, and services;
 institutional coordination mechanisms for planning, developing,
adopting, enforcing, monitoring, and evaluating public policies,
taking into account different territorial levels (institutional
framework);
 data collection and analysis systems;
 independent monitoring mechanisms;
 systems for disseminating and raising awareness about the rights of
children;
 specialized and sufficient human resources;
 adequate financial resources for funding policies, programs, and
services; and
Una primera aproximación a la vida y derechos de niñas, niños y adolescentes con referentes
adultos encarcelados, 2014.
9
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5 “General Measures of
Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6
of Article 44)”, CRC/GC/2003/5, November 27, 2003.

protocols and standards for actions and service delivery as well as

for case management, handling, and referral.
All of this as well in a context of participation by civil society organizations,
communities, and children and adolescents themselves. These are the
components that normally stand out as parts of what is usually known
in the countries of this region as the “national systems for the
protection children’s rights” (hereinafter, the “systems” or the
“national systems”).
9. With respect to the foregoing, in addition to recognizing the rights of

children and adolescents, a significant number of codes for children or
special child protection laws generally include sections devoted to the
assignment of jurisdiction and responsibilities among the authorities, as
well as to the creation and operation of the institutions and the structures
and mechanisms necessary to enforce the code or law. In other words, they
envisage the creation of an operational model to give effect to the
rights recognized in the legislation. 10
10. On this score, the IACHR has noted that what are known as national systems
for the protection of children’s rights, make up the fundamental framework
and operational structure required for effective respect, protection and
defense of the rights of children and adolescents, in the absence of which
the legal frameworks providing for these rights are rendered
unenforceable and ineffectual in practice and the rights themselves,
impossible to realize. 11
11. It should be noted that despite the fact that the term “national systems for
the protection of children’s rights” is widely used in the countries to refer
to the operational model and structures for the effective enforcement of
laws that recognize the rights of the child, in practice, the differences
between the models are considerable. Rather than follow a standard
10
Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child Protection Systems:
Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013. Usually, all rights of
the child and situations affecting the enjoyment and exercise thereof are regulated under a
single body of law, although prior to the entry into force of the CRC, regulation was in most
instances spread out among several different statutes, which reflected the interdependent and
complementary nature of all of the rights involved in order to attain full and comprehensive
development of all boys and girls.
11
IACHR, Press Release R176/16, IACHR Urges Strengthening of National Systems for Protection of
Children and Adolescents, November 28, 2016. IACHR, report, The Right of Boys and Girls to a
Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the Americas, Prologue, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.
Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013.

system model, each country follows its own model, in keeping with the
particular circumstances and context of each State, its own Constitution,
legal framework, territorial and institutional structure, distribution of legal
powers and available resources. The systems are also dynamic and fluid
and can undergo changes over time in their structure and operation in
order to better meet child protection needs. These operational models and
the organizational designs, which were put into place in order to realize
and ensure the rights of boys, girls and adolescents, are known by different
names in each particular country, and there is also some variation in the
definitions of these names, although many systems have similar
organizational traits, operational logic and principles behind them.
12. As far as terminology is concerned, these operational models and

organizational designs have similar names, though with variations
according to the country, and the definitions also differ somewhat,
though many systems resemble one another in their main organizational
characteristics, operational logic, and principles.
13. The IACHR also cautions that the fact that a State may create an operational
model for implementation of children’s rights in its legislation and call it
“national system for the protection of children’s rights” does not mean that
the State is fully meeting its international obligations when it comes to
protecting the rights of children and adolescents. This report specifically
aims to indicate the obligations, principles, and standards that apply
to the development and operation of these systems, pursuant to the
obligations that flow from international human rights law.
14. In general, all of the national systems of the States of the region aim to
address the issues of child protection and ensure these rights by
taking a comprehensive and sustainable approach although, in
practical terms, States face significant challenges to effective
implementation of rights. For the most part, the systems affirm the role of
parents and the family as having primary responsibility for raising,
caring for and protecting children and adolescents, as well as recognizing
States’ responsibility under international human rights law to provide
special protection to children and adolescents because of their special
condition as developing persons, from which the State’s obligation to
respect, protect and ensure the rights of children and adolescents flows, in
keeping with applicable international instruments, and translated into
policies, programs, and services. The systems also identify abuse, neglect,
abandonment, exploitation and, in general, violence against children
as priority issues, on which a considerable portion of resources and
institutional efforts are spent. They not only seek to promote changes in

laws and regulations, but also in views, attitudes and practices, which in
the end leads to increased child protection capacity in the home, school,
community and care facilities, among other settings. The national systems
also assign a more central and important role to the children and
adolescents themselves by promoting involvement in social interactions,
raising their awareness about their rights and thus empowering them to
exercise those rights, and recognizing the value of their views. There is also
a certain level of recognition of the contributions civil society
organizations make to the promotion and protection of children’s rights.
The involvement of these organizations in the operation of national
systems for the protection of children’s rights is envisioned in the assorted
codes and laws, although the conditions for doing so vary among the
countries.
15. The IACHR acknowledges the significant efforts made by the States in this
subject area, without which, the progress made in recent decades could not
have been achieved. Notwithstanding, the IACHR believes that it is
essential and is a matter of urgency to continue to invest in efforts to
strengthen operational structures and mechanisms, as well as policies,
programs and services, so that recognition of the rights of children and
adolescents goes well beyond laws and is reflected in everyday life. In this
regard, the IACHR has issued a general appeal to all States of the region,
and appeals to specific States, when the opportunity has arisen to take a
position on their national systems, to redouble efforts to strengthen the
workings of the laws, programs and institutions of their child protection
systems, in their legislative, programmatic, and institutional
dimensions 12. Despite the crucial role played by the national systems,
proper functioning calls for all States of the region, without exception, to
pay closer attention.
16. The IACHR also applauds the significant interest in this topic held by the
authorities in the region responsible for matters related to children.
Several States have recently adopted or amended their legislation to
consider the creation, operation, and strengthening of their national
systems for the protection of children’s rights, while others are currently in
the process of drafting laws, with the recognition that it is important to
have an operational model and the structures necessary to fully protect
children’s rights and to do away with the obsolete vision that entailed a
succession of independent programs that addressed different issues in a
compartmentalized manner. The IACHR has been witness to the prominent
12
IACHR, Press Release R176/16, IACHR Urges Strengthening of National Systems for Protection of
Children and Adolescents, November 28, 2016. IACHR, report, The Right of Boys and Girls to a
Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the Americas, Prologue, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.
Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013.

interest shown by high-level authorities on children and adolescents to

share experiences, best practices, and challenges amongst themselves in
connection with their national systems for the protection of children’s
rights, mindful of the fact that the having such systems in operation is key
to protecting children; this could be seen during the First Inter-American
Forum on National Systems for the Protection of Children’s Rights held in
April 2017 under the auspices of the States of Mexico and Costa Rica and
attended by high-level authorities on children and adolescents from 16
States in the region. 13
17. Based on the foregoing, there is a need to close a gap and receive
contributions from the inter-American system that help to identify the
obligations States have, as well as the principles and standards based on
international human rights law that are applicable to the operation of
national systems for the protection of children’s rights, to serve as
substantive input to processes underway in the region to develop and
strengthen these systems. This report is primarily aimed at authorities,
officials, and specialists who work in the area of children’s rights, as well as
at civil society organizations that work to promote and protect the rights of
children and adolescents.
B. Scope and Objectives of the Report
18. The instant report is intended to engage in a deeper examination of the

current capacities of national systems to fulfill the legal mandate to ensure
the rights of children and to adequately respond to violations of their
rights, by identifying the major forward steps taken as well as the most
common challenges faced by the systems.
19. Because the topic is so wide-ranging and a number of different models

have cropped up in the region, rather than a single operational model for
every country to follow or emulate, this report addresses the major issues
identified by the IACHR as lying at the core of national systems. The report
does not aim to provide an exhaustive comparative analysis of the
structures and workings of all national systems in the region, but rather to
identify what principles and standards should be applied in the way
national systems are designed and function in accordance with
international human rights law. The Commission also identifies the major
13
The States that took part in the Forum, via their high-level authorities on children and
adolescents were: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, the United
States, and Uruguay.

challenges and gaps existing in practice. In addition, the IACHR issues

several recommendations to guide States’ efforts to enhance and
strengthen their national system and how they function in order to comply
with States’ international obligations in the area of protection of the rights
of children and adolescents. The report is intended to provide an
opportunity for States to review and assess the effectiveness of their
national systems.
C. Limitations of the Report
20. Because the IACHR had the most access to information and statistics from
the countries of Latin America, the observations expressed in this report
about the most common traits of the institutional structures of national
systems are mostly based on information received from those countries. It
must also be clarified that differences in legal systems (common law vs.
civil law systems) and socio-cultural contexts account for some variation in
how national systems are created and function between the English-
speaking Caribbean countries, the United States and Canada, on the one
hand, and the countries of Latin America, on the other hand. Consequently,
some of the descriptions of the structure of national systems are not
necessarily applicable to all countries, particularly, those of the Caribbean,
the United States and Canada. Even so, the basic principles upon which
national systems should be structured and function and the legal
obligations flowing from the CRC are applicable to all States 14 and, likewise,
14
The United States is not a party to the American Convention on Human Rights or to the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and, as such, is the only country of the region that
has not ratified this international treaty on the rights of the child. Nonetheless, the principles of
the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man are sources of international obligation for the United States, in
particular, Article VII of the American Declaration, in conjunction with the concept of corpus juris
that the Court and the Commission apply in interpreting the content and scope of the duty to
provide special protection to children emanating from Article VII of the American Declaration
and from Article 19 of the American Convention. In keeping with the well-established and long-
standing jurisprudence and practice of the Inter-American human rights system, the American
Declaration is recognized as constituting a source of legal obligation for OAS Member States,
including those States that are not parties to the American Convention on Human Rights. These
obligations are considered to flow from the human rights obligations of Member States under
the OAS Charter. Member States have agreed that the content of the general principles of the
OAS Charter is contained in and defined by the American Declaration, as well as the customary
legal status of the rights protected under many of the Declaration’s core provisions. See, IACHR,
Report No. 80/11, Case 12.626, Merits, Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) et al v. Untied States, July 21,
2011, paragraphs 115, 117, 118 and 119. IA Court of HR. “Interpretation of the American
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man within the Framework of Article 64 of the American
Convention on Human Rights.” Advisory Opinion OC-10/89 of July 14, 1989. Series A No. 10,
paragraphs 35-45. Also see, OAS General Assembly, Resolution 314, AG/RES. 314 (VII-O/77),

the recommendations put forward in this report are aimed at all countries
of the region.
D. Concept and Terminology
21. The Convention on the Rights of the Child from 1989 does not provide
specific terminology or an exact and clear-cut concept or definition of a
national system for the protection of children’s rights. Moreover, concepts
of and approaches to national systems coexist in the hemisphere with some
level of variation, as well as different levels of progress with respect to the
adoption and the functioning of operational models and structures to
ensure full respect and enjoyment of the rights of children and adolescents.
Even though significant efforts have been made over the past few years to
define what a child protection system is, what a child protection system
should be, and how it should be carried out, as of the time of the drafting of
this report, we can identify many different ways it is defined, as well as
widely varying degrees of responsibility assigned to the State, the family,
the community and to other non-governmental structures in each system. 15
22. Regarding the terminology, in this report, the IACHR has opted to use the
term “national systems for the protection of children’s rights,” bearing in
mind that this is terminology (or some variations such “child protection
systems”) that is widely used in the countries of the region, as well as the
ease with which authorities, officials, experts, and civil society
June 22, 1977 (entrusting the Inter-American Commission with the preparation of a study to “set
forth their obligations to carry out the commitments assumed in the American Declaration of
the Rights and Duties of Man”); OAS General Assembly, Resolution 371, AG/RES (VIII-O/78), July
1, 1978 (reaffirming its commitment to “promote observance of the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man”); OAS General Assembly, Resolution 370, AG/RES. 370 (VIII-O/78), July
1, 1978 (referring to the “international commitments” of the OAS Member States to respect the
rights recognized in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man).
15
Regarding concepts and terminology see findings and conclusions in: Alejandro Morlachetti,
ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child Protection Systems: legal basis and current
practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013, pgs. 11 and 12. UNICEF, UNHCR, Save the
Children y World Vision, “A better way to protect all children. Theory and practice of child
protection systems”, Resumen de la Conferencia Internacional realizada los días 13-16
noviembre 2012, New Delhi, India, en la cual participaron más de 130 autoridades públicas con
responsabilidades en formulación de políticas públicas, académicos, expertos y personal de
organizaciones no gubernamentales que trabajan en el campo de la protección de los derechos
de la niñez de más de 50 países de todos los continentes; y UNICEF, UNHCR, ChapinHall at the
Chicago Univeristy y Save the Children, Adapting a Systems Approach to Child Protection: Key
Concepts and Considerations

organizations that work to defend children’s rights are able to grasp the
meaning and scope of what is being referred to thereby.
23. In Declarations issued in successive Ibero-American Conferences of

Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Children’s Affairs, the States
of the Organization of American States (hereinafter “OAS”) have also
referred to these operational structures for the practical implementation of
legislation associated with children as “comprehensive child protection
systems.” 16 For its part, the Inter-American Children’s Institute of the
Organization of American States (hereinafter, IIN-OAS) refers to “National
Systems for Child Protection” in its Plan of Action when identifying
strategic actions to support the States of the region within the framework
of its institutional mandate. 17
24. In view of the foregoing, and taking into account that other names are used
in the region in the Spanish speaking countries, with some variation (such
as “national system for the protection of children,” “national system for the
comprehensive protection of children and adolescents,” or “system for the
comprehensive protection of the rights of children and adolescents”), the
IACHR cautions that the term used in this report should be considered only
for purposes of reference and not as restrictive or binding.
25. Moreover, in this report, when referring to the different institutions and
bodies that comprise a national system for the protection of children’s
rights, the IACHR has identified the different most widely-used and typical
names they go by in the region and lists the main functions and authority
these types of institutions should have. For the sole purpose of making the
report easier to read, at some points along the way the IACHR has opted to
use the most common names of these institutions, but this in no way
indicates a terminological preference for referring to them; what is
relevant are the characteristics, functions, and principles that should
govern them, as described by the IACHR in the report.
16
The Declaration of Pucón, adopted by the X Ibero-American Conference of Ministers and Senior
Officials Responsible for Children’s Affairs (2007), emphasized the importance of “…promoting,
stimulating and strengthening the implementation of comprehensive protection systems, based
on the promotion of citizenship-building at the regional and local levels as part of a progressive
decentralization programme aimed at facilitating the access of children and adolescents to the
diverse services offered for their development in their own territorial environment, seeking to
adapt these services to the particularities of each territory.” Similarly, the XII Ibero-American
Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Children’s Affairs (2010) affirmed
that “the comprehensive protection system for children and adolescents requires an
institutional structure that is strongly coherent and coordinated by adequately-endowed entities
and public budgets that include investment in children to guarantee their rights fully and
effectively.”
17
See IIN-OAS, Action Plan 2015-2019.

E. Methodology for Drafting the Report
26. As input to the drafting of this thematic report, the IACHR prepared a
questionnaire in order to gather meaningful information from the Member
States of the Organization of American States, civil society and other
relevant actors. 18 The IACHR wishes to express its gratitude to all of the
States, civil society organizations and other actors, who submitted their
responses to the IACHR, and notes their interest in and commitment to the
subject, as can be surmised from all of the responses.
27. Additionally, within the framework of the 157th Regular Session of the
IACHR, which took place from April 2 to 15, 2016, the IACHR convened an
ex officio hearing titled “National Child Protection Systems in the
Americas.” 19 This hearing enabled the IACHR to learn about the major
issues with the functioning of these systems in the region. Also, as part of
the 157th regular session, a working meeting was hosted by the
Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child with the Latin American and
Caribbean Network for the Defense of the Rights of Children and
Adolescents (hereinafter, REDLAMYC), and with other members of the
Global Movement for Children of Latin America and the Caribbean, who the
IACHR would like to thank for their participation in the hearing and for the
technical exchanges and suggestions offered during the subsequent
working meeting.
28. In addition, the Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child conducted three
country visits to gain firsthand knowledge about how national systems for
the protection of children’s rights are organized and function. The
countries and cities visited were Brazil (November 16 to 20, 2015, Brasilia
and Rio de Janeiro), Bolivia (November 30 to December 4, 2015, La Paz,
Cochabamba, Sacaba y Viacha) and Mexico (November 14 to 18, Mexico
18
The IACHR received questionnaire responses from the States of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and
Uruguay, as well as the following organizations, ANDHES (Argentina), Asociación Civil por la
Igualdad y la Justicia (ACIJ) and Fundacion Sur (Argentina), Confederación General del Trabajo de
la República de Argentina, Aldeas Infantiles SOS Argentina office, World Vision Bolivia office,
Corporación Opción (Chile), Colombia Diversa, Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia,
Confederación de Trabajadores de Colombia (CTC), Fundacion Biopsicosis (Colombia), Fundacion
Acceso (Costa Rica), World Vision El Salvador office, World Vision Mexico office, Grupo de
Trabajo sobre Política Migratoria (Mexico), Aldeas Infantiles SOS Mexico office, CODENI
(Nicaragua), CENIDH (Nicaragua), Global Infancia (Paraguay), CDIA (Paraguay), CUT-Autentica
(Paraguay), Plan International Peru office, Save the Children Peru office, Paz y Esperanza (Peru),
RENACSENIV and VIVA (Venezuela), Asociación Civil Red de Casas Don Bosco (Venezuela), and
Plan International Americas Regional Office.
19 th
IACHR, 157 regular session, thematic hearing, National Child Protection Systems in the
Americas, April 7, 2016.

City, Ecatepec, Pachuca and Acatlan). During these visits, the IACHR met
with officials from the three branches of the State and with the office of the
national independent human rights institution (ombudsperson), civil
society organizations, UNICEF and other United Nations agencies, as well as
children’s’ and adolescents’ organizations. The Commission again
expresses its gratitude to the government officials and all civil society
individuals and organizations, who met with the Rapporteurship, for the
invaluable information they provided and the suggestions they made. The
Rapporteurship would like to especially acknowledge the children and
adolescents who took part in the discussions with the Rapporteur; their
opinions and experiences greatly contributed to developing the vision and
the focus of this report as to the role that national systems must play and to
identifying some of the major gaps and weaknesses of these systems.
29. Invaluable input for the drafting of this report also came from the
presentations, roundtables, discussions and the information shared by 16
States of the region, members of the United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child, independent experts, staff members of UNICEF, the
Inter-American Children’s Institute of the Organization of American States
(IIN-OAS), World Vision, Save the Children, Plan International, REDLAMYC
and civil society organizations from different countries of the region, who
took part in the First Inter-American Forum on National Systems for the
Protection of Children’s Rights, held in Mexico City, Mexico from April 24 to
26, 2017. The event was co-sponsored by the State of Mexico through the
Sistema Nacional de Protección Integral de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes
(SIPINNA), Patronato Nacional de la Infancia de Costa Rica (PANI), the
IACHR, UNICEF, IIN-OAS and REDLAMYC.
30. The valuable efforts underway in the region—that translate into studies
and guides—geared toward providing support and technical assistance to
the States for the development and operation of their national systems for
the protection of children’s rights are also worth noting. Along these lines,
UNICEF’s initiatives in this area represented significant contributions to
this report. The initiative being spearheaded by the Inter-Agency Group on
National Child Protection Systems—comprised of Plan International, Save
the Children, UNICEF, and World Vision—to develop indicators for
evaluating levels of progress in the operation of national systems likewise
serves as a useful tool for identifying advancement and the existence of
challenges. The Inter-Agency Group shared this tool and the results of the
pilot implementation thereof in a number of States with the Commission
for preparation of this report; these ended up being interesting
contributions.
31. Lastly, the IACHR is grateful for the important and continual support it
received from World Vision organization in the drafting of this report. The

Commission thanks the organization for having shared the voluminous

body of studies and research that it has produced on the subject of how
national systems work in practical terms in the countries of Latin America
and for helping to organize the meetings with boys, girls and adolescents
during the country visits. The IACHR also would like to express its
gratitude for the valuable collaboration of the members of the Inter-Agency
Group on National Systems for the Protection of Children’s Rights, and their
generous technical contributions, which helped to enrich the substance of
the report.
F. Structure of the Report
32. The instant report is divided into five substantive chapters and a
concluding Recommendations section. The first chapter introduces the
subject and explains the need for a report on national systems; outlines the
objective, scope, and limitations of the report; lays out the methodology
used herein; and clarifies some terminology.
33. The second chapter addresses the main international obligations States
undertake in the area of the rights of the child under the American
Convention on Human Rights, the American Declaration of the Rights and
Duties of Man and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in
particular, those pertaining to the creation of national systems for the
protection of children’s rights, as well as the legal framework for the
functioning of these systems based on international human rights law. This
chapter explains the normative, programmatic and institutional
dimensions of national systems, going into greater depth on the
programmatic and institutional sides. Specifically, this chapter examines
the obligation to undertake a National Children’s Policy and what this
policy consists of, and the duty of the State to organize the state apparatus
and all operational structures to ensure the rights of the child, identifying
the major aspects of organization and functioning of the institutional
framework of national systems.
34. The third chapter analyzes the economic aspects of a national system and
the scope of the duty to allocate sufficient economic resources to
adequately and effectively ensure the rights of children and adolescents, in
accordance with international human rights law.
35. The fourth chapter places particular emphasis on recognition of the central
role played by children and adolescents themselves and their rights in
approving policies and designing and putting a national system into
practice. Likewise, it recalls the role that international human rights law

assigns to families in protecting children, as a major aspect that must be

taken into consideration by national systems in decision-making and
implementation of child protection measures.
36. The fifth chapter identifies the major challenges identified by the IACHR in
practice that hamper proper functioning of national systems.
37. The report concludes with several recommendations to the States of the
region to improve and strengthen their national systems, in keeping with
their international obligations to protect the rights of children and
adolescents.

CHAPTER 2
FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING
NATIONAL SYSTEMS
FOR THE PROTECTION OF
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Chapter 2: Framework for Building National Systems for the Protection of Children’s Rights | 27
FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING NATIONAL SYSTEMS

FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
A. Paradigm Shift: Children and Adolescents as Right

Holders and Full Guarantee of Their Rights
38. Without question, the most profound transformation to occur by operation

of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was the recognition of children
as having the same rights as all human beings, in addition to recognizing
their right to special protection, as a result of their condition as developing
and growing individuals. The Inter-American Commission and the Court
have articulated the same recognition based on Article 19 of the American
Convention and Article VII of the American Declaration. 20
20
Article 19 of the American Convention establishes that “every minor child has the right to the
measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society,
and the state.” Similarly, Article VII of the American Declaration recognizes that “All women,
during pregnancy and during the nursing period, and all children have the right to special
protection, care and aid.” Regarding these holdings see, IACHR, Violence, Children and
Organized Crime, OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 40/15, November 11, 2015, paragraphs 269 to 275.
IACHR, Report No. 83/10, Case 12.584, Merits, Milagros Fornerón and Leonardo Aníbal
Fornerón, Argentina, November 29, 2010, para. 72. IA Court of HR, Juridical Condition and
Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, pars.
54, 55 and 60; Case of the Ituango Massacres v. Colombia. Judgment of July 1, 2006. Series C No.
148, para. 244; Case of the “Massacre of Mapiripán” v. Colombia. Judgment of September 15,
2005. Series C No. 134, para. 152; and especially: IA Court of HR, Case of the “Juvenile
Reeducation Institute” v. Paraguay. Judgment of September 2, 2004. Series C No. 112, para. 147
and IA Court of HR, Case of Servellón García et al v. Honduras. Judgment of September 21, 2006.
Series C No. 152, para. 113; Case of Chitay Nech et al v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objections,
Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of May 25, 2010. Series C No. 212, para. 164; Case of
González et al (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment of November 16, 2009. Series C No. 205, para. 408; and Case of the Massacre of las
Dos Erres v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
November 24, 2009. Series C No. 211, para. 184; Case of the Gómez Paquiyauri Brothers v. Peru.
Judgment of July 8, 2004. Series C No. 110, pars. 124, 163-164, and 171; Case of Bulacio v.
Argentina. Judgment of September 18, 2003. Series C No. 100, pars. 126 and 134; Case of the
“Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al) v. Guatemala. Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series
C No. 63, pars. 146 and 185; and Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay.
Judgment of June 17, 2005. Series C No. 125, para. 172.

39. This new vision leaves behind the so-called “irregular situation” paradigm
and the doctrine of tutelary protection, where the State intervened in what
it regarded as an “anti-social act” committed by the child or when he was
“in a state of risk or material or moral abandonment.” Under this treatment
by the law, children are regarded as the objects of assistance and control,
through tutelary interventions, which disregard the rights of the child and,
very often, involve arbitrariness, abuses and the failure of the State to
ensure rights in its conduct. 21 This vision failed to identify the State’s
responsibility to create the conditions for the effective enjoyment of rights,
on an equal basis, by all girls, boys and adolescents.
40. Moreover, laws predating the CRC framed the aspects of protection and
development of the child within a family setting. The responsibility of the
State for the wellbeing of the child was mostly confined to interventions in
response to the situations of exception described above, a “state of danger
or material or moral abandonment.” Laws failed to recognize the rights of
the child, such as recognition of progressive autonomy and the right to
participate in decisions affecting him or her, in keeping with age and
maturity level. This legal vision for the most part treated the child as
“property” of his or her family, not as an individual entitled to rights, and
relegated the State to interventions of an exceptional nature, while not
requiring it to make any investment in effort and resources to ensure the
child’s wellbeing and enjoyment of his or her rights.
41. Entry into force of the CRC and swift ratification of it by the States of the
region substantially changed the concept of the child under the law. Shortly
thereafter, the States of the region amended their legislation in order to
bring it in line with the CRC and the new paradigm. The CRC recognizes
that children are holders of civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights and this recognition is framed within a holistic and comprehensive
vision of rights.
42. This holistic and comprehensive vision flows from one of the four core
principles upon which the CRC is based, the principle of full development of
the child, which is reflected throughout the articles of the CRC. The
Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted the word
“development” in its broadest sense as a holistic concept, embracing the
child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social
development, taking into consideration that all of the rights recognized in
21
The IACHR has raised several situations of concern, which carry over from the previous
paradigm, and a failure to recognize the rights of children, particularly in the field of juvenile
justice and in addressing the situation of children without parental care or at risk of losing it. In
this regard, see its report, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas.

the CRC are interdependent and contribute to the full development of the
child. 22 The measures adopted by States must be aimed at achieving
optimal development of the child. Following this logic, the CRC requires
States to undertake a role of guarantor of the rights and to intervene in
order to ensure the necessary conditions for the effective exercise,
enjoyment and observance of all civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights for boys, girls and adolescents.
43. In the sphere of the Inter-American human rights system, the Commission
and the Court have been clear in asserting that children “have the same
rights as all human beings (…) and also special rights derived from their
condition, and these [rights] are accompanied by specific duties of the
family, society, and the State.” 23 Consequently, Article 19 of the American
Convention and Article VII of the American Declaration must be viewed as
establishing an additional and complementary right for children, who
because of their state of development require special protection. 24
44. This adapted and heightened special protection, which is recognized for
children by international human rights law, is based on their condition as
growing human beings and on the fact that they are different from adults as
to their abilities and the challenges they face for effective exercise, full
22
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5 “General Measures of
Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6
of Article 44)”, CRC/GC/2003/5, November 27, 2003, para. 12. The Committee interprets in this
way the scope of Article 6 of the CRC, which establishes within the right to life, the obligation of
the State Parties to ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the
child.
23
I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of
August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, para. 54.
24
IACHR, Report N° 33/04 Jailton Neri Da Fonseca (Brazil), Case 11.634, March 11, 2004, para. 80.
IA Court of HR, Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02,
paras. 54, 55 and 60; Case of the Ituango Massacres v. Colombia. Judgment of July 1, 2006.
Series C No. 148, para. 244; Case of the “Massacre of Mapiripán” v. Colombia. Judgment of
September 15, 2005. Series C No. 134, para. 152; and especially: IA Court of HR, Case of the
“Juvenile Reeducation Institute” v. Paraguay. Judgment of September 2, 2004. Series C No. 112,
para. 147 and IA Court of HR, Case of Servellón García et al v. Honduras. Judgment of September
21, 2006. Series C No. 152, para. 113; Case of Chitay Nech et al v. Guatemala. Preliminary
Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of May 25, 2010. Series C No. 212, para.
164; Case of González et al (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009. Series C No. 205, para. 408; and Case
of the Massacre of las Dos Erres v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and
Costs. Judgment of November 24, 2009. Series C No. 211, para. 184; Case of the Gómez
Paquiyauri Brothers v. Peru. Judgment of July 8, 2004. Series C No. 110, pars. 124, 163-164, and
171; Case of Bulacio v. Argentina. Judgment of September 18, 2003. Series C No. 100, pars. 126
and 134; Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al) v. Guatemala. Judgment of
November 19, 1999. Series C No. 63, pars. 146 and 185; and Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous
Community v. Paraguay. Judgment of June 17, 2005. Series C No. 125, para. 172.

respect and defense of their rights. 25 Thus, in the Inter-American human

rights system, under Article 19 of the ACHR and Article VII of the ADRDM,
States have the obligation to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the
effective observance of the rights of children and adolescents, removing all
obstacles to this end, and taking into consideration the particular
conditions and challenges that children face at each stage of their lives in
exercising their rights. 26 Under these precepts, States have the duty to
adopt all necessary measures to ensure the right to a decent life for all
children and adolescents and their full development as persons. 27
45. Both bodies of the Inter-American system have recognized this

comprehensive and holistic vision of child protection, while at the same
time have widely developed the concept of corpus juris in order to establish
a framework of holistic and heightened protection under Articles 19 of the
ACHR and VII of the AMHRM, which incorporate the international human
rights standards and have been fleshed out in the area of children,
particularly, the CRC. 28
25
I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of
August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, para. 51.
26
IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the
Americas, para. 43, OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013.
27
The concept of a “decent life,” as it pertains to children and adolescents and has been fleshed
out by the Inter-American Court and Commission, is consistent with the concept used by the CRC
and by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its decisions, and is closely linked to the
concepts of “full and harmonious development of the personality” or “comprehensive
development of the personality” of children and adolescents. It is also understood that
“development of the child is a holistic concept that encompasses physical, mental, spiritual,
moral, psychological and social development” and, therefore, the realization of all of his or her
rights. Consequently, the special protection owed to children and adolescents by the State must
take into consideration the substance and scope of the right to a decent life and the full
development of children as standards for compliance. See, IA Court of HR, Case of the “Street
Children” (Villagrán Morales et al) v. Guatemala. Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series C No.
63, pars. 144 and 191; IA Court of HR, Case of Chitay Nech et al v. Guatemala. Preliminary
Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of May 25, 2010. Series C No. 212, para.
169; IA Court of HR, Case of the Juvenile Reeducation Institute v. Paraguay. Preliminary
Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 2, 2004. Series C No. 112,
para. 161; IA Court of HR, Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay.
Judgment of March 29, 2006. Series C No. 146, para. 176; IA Court of HR, Juridical Condition and
Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02 of August 28, 2002. Series A No. 17, pars.
67, 80, 84 and 86. As for the interpretation by the Committee on the Rights of the Child,
referenced by the Court in the decisions cited above, see United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5 “Measures of Implementation of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (Articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6 of Article 44)”, CRC/GC/2003/5,
th
November 27, 2003, 34 Session, paragraph 12.
28
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights have consistently addressed corpus juris in their decisions in relation to the human rights

46. Nonetheless, transformations in the everyday lives of boys and girls have
been slower than the recognition of their rights in legislation. Legislative
recognition does not automatically guarantee that the rights of the child are
respected or that conditions are in place for the exercise and enjoyment
thereof. In order to promote full implementation of these rights, additional
legislative, administrative, practical, economic and other types of
provisions must be adopted, which take into consideration the particular
conditions of children, and the barriers and challenges faced by them, due
to the fact that they are developing and growing. For this purpose, there is
a compelling need for national systems and public policies to further the
effective exercise of all rights and a real paradigm shift.
47. In light of the holistic approach to children’s rights promoted by the CRC,
States must design their interventions in a comprehensive way,
considering the interdependence and complementarity of all rights.
Additionally, a multifaceted approach must be followed to include
promotion, public dissemination and outreach and sensitivity training on
the rights of the child; violation prevention efforts; protection from risks
and illegitimate interference; restoration of rights; reparation and
rehabilitation; and, justice through investigation, prosecution and
punishment of those responsible for violations of rights.
48. Rather than just intervening to protect children and adolescents from
violations of their rights after the fact, all rights of children and adolescents
must be ensured before the fact in an effective and positive way. This
approach must be firmly based on coordination, cooperation and
collaboration of different sectors and stakeholders (multisectoral), as well
of children and adolescents, as the set of fundamental norms of content and different legal
effects (treaties, conventions, resolutions and declarations), as well as in the decisions approved
by international human rights bodies, which are linked by the purpose of ensuring the human
rights of children and adolescents. While the international instrument par excellence for the
protection of the rights of children and adolescents is the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
these rights are also recognized and protected in other international treaties and, therefore,
both the IACHR and the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommend ratification of the
principal human rights treaties for adequate child protection.
See, IA Court of HR, Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al) v. Guatemala.
Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series C No. 63, pars. 192 a 194, and IA Court of HR, Rights and
Guarantees of Children in the Context of Migration and/or in Need of International Protection.
Advisory Opinion OC-21/14 of August 19, 2014. Series A No. 21, para. 57; additionally,
paragraphs 259 to 268 of IACHR report on Violence, Children and Organized Crime,
OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 40/15, November 11, 2015, and IACHR, Report No. 41/99, Case 11.491,
Minors in Detention in Honduras v. Honduras, March 10, 1999, para. 72; IACHR, Report N° 33/04
Jailton Neri Da Fonseca (Brazil), Case 11.634, March 11, 2004, para. 81.

as including the different levels of government and taking into account the
perspectives of different disciplines (interdisciplinary). Similarly,
interventions must consider different perspectives, such as a gender or
ethno-racial perspective, which have a bearing on risk factors and must be
taken into account by national systems, when appropriate.
49. Implementation of the CRC and of its new paradigm of comprehensive

protection and a rights approach entails a shift in the model and requires
new principles to guide the conduct of authorities, an organizational and
operational structure in tune with the obligations flowing from the CRC, as
well as a new institutional framework, new working methods, and
enhanced mechanisms of collaboration and coordination. The CRC
promotes a systemic approach involving different sectors and disciplines,
geopolitical levels and stakeholders or actors, giving rise to the creation of
what we know as national systems for the protection of children’s rights.
B. The duty to Respect, Protect and Guarantee the Rights of

Children and Adolescents
50. Compliance with the obligations to protect children, which flow from
Articles 19 of the American Convention and VII of the American
Declaration, in connection with Articles 1.1 and 2 of the ACHR 29 and with
the obligations undertaken in ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, means that the State has accepted the obligations to respect, protect
and guarantee the rights set forth in the CRC for all children subject their
jurisdiction, without any discrimination. 30 The obligation to respect these
29
Article 1. Obligation to Respect Rights. The States Parties to this Convention undertake to
respect the rights and freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their
jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination
for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition.
Article 2. Domestic Legal Effects. Where the exercise of any of the rights or freedoms referred to
in Article 1 is not already ensured by legislative or other provisions, the States Parties undertake
to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional processes and the provisions of this
Convention, such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to those rights
or freedoms.
30
The Commission and the Court have held repeatedly that States have the obligation to recognize
and respect rights and freedoms of the human person, as well as to protect and ensure their
exercise through the respective guarantees and the suitable means for them to be effective
under all circumstances, in accordance with the general obligations established in Article 1.1 of
the ACHR. IA Court of HR. Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion
OC-17/02, para. 92. Separately, Article 2.1 of the CRC provides that States Parties shall respect

rights means that States must refrain from interfering in the enjoyment of
human rights or from limiting them illegally or without good cause. The
obligation to protect rights requires States to take reasonable and
necessary measures to prevent violations and keep violations of rights by
third parties from happening, to prevent abuses and illegitimate
interference, when an identifiable risk comes to the attention of the State
or the State should have known of such a risk existing. The obligation to
guarantee means that States must adopt every necessary and adequate
measure to ensure the effective exercise and enjoyment of the rights set
forth in the international treaties, for all children and adolescents, on an
equal basis and without discrimination of any kind.
51. States must use all means available to them to adequately implement the
provisions of the CRC for all girls, boys and adolescents within their
territory. It is important to emphasize that compliance with the obligations
undertaken by States in the area of children’s rights are not exhausted by
merely recognizing these rights in domestic legislation. In order to
guarantee effectiveness and enjoyment of the rights, States must adopt
legislative, administrative, social, educational, financial, practical and other
measures of other types, 31 as may be needed for this purpose, to the
maximum extent of available resources. 32 Additionally, they must organize
the governmental apparatus and, in general, all structures through which
public power is exercised, so that these structures are all capable of
juridically ensuring the free and full exercise of all rights. States are also
obligated to establish mechanisms, and take actions as necessary in each
particular instance, to protect boys, girls and adolescents from concrete
risks or violations of their rights, in addition to offering an adequate
response to restore the rights, rehabilitate the victim and redress the
violation and punish those responsible. 33
and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction
without discrimination of any kind.
31
In connection with Article 2 of the ACHR.
32
Article 4 of the CRC requires States Parties, similarly to Article 2 of the ACHR, to undertake all
appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights
recognized in the present Convention,” and expressly adds that “with regard to economic, social
and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their
available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.”
33
IACHR, Report No. 80/11, Case 12.626, Merits, Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) et al v. United States,
July 21, 2011, pars. 122 to 125; IA Court of HR. Case of González et al (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico.
Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009. Series C
No. 205, para. 236; Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C
No. 4, para. 166; Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations
and Costs. Judgment of September 22, 2009. Series C No. 202, para. 62; and Case of Godínez
Cruz v. Honduras. Judgment of January 20, 1989, Series C No. 5, paragraph 175.

52. In this regard, the Court and the IACHR have affirmed that the obligations
flowing from Article 19 of the ACHR and Article VII of ADRDM, in
connection with the general duties set forth in Articles 1.1 and 2 of the
ACHR, can be fulfilled in different ways by States, but they establish the
duty of the due diligence of the State in compliance with these obligations
and the need to demonstrate the suitability of the measures it adopts to
comply with its obligations and effectively ensure the rights. 34 As the
Court’s own decision indicates, in interpreting the scope of Article 2 of the
ACHR, States must establish the concrete measures they will take to make
rights effective; however, this does not exempt each State from having to
justify the appropriateness of the particular means it has chosen and to
demonstrate whether the means will achieve the intended effect and
result. 35
53. Similarly, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has also written that it
cannot prescribe in detail the concrete and specific measures, which each
or every State must undertake to ensure effective implementation of the
CRC. 36 Notwithstanding, even though it admits this point, the Committee
establishes key advice or guiding principles under which this body finds
that States must fulfill the obligation to protect and guarantee respect for
the rights of children and adolescents. These general measures
recommended by the Committee are laid out mostly in General Comment
No. 5 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child “General measures of
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” While these
guidelines and principles do not exhaust the measures States are required
to implement, they do establish minimum standards and criteria to serve as
34
IACHR, Report No. 80/11, Case 12.626, Merits, Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) et al v. United States,
July 21, 2011, pars.122 to 125; IACHR, Report No.51/13, Case 12.551, Paloma Angelica Escobar
Ledezma et al, Merits, pars. 72 and 78. IA Court of HR. Case of González et al (“Cotton Field”) v.
Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009.
Series C No. 205, para. 236; Case of the “Massacre of Mapiripán” v. Colombia. Judgment of
September 15, 2005. Series C No. 134, pars. 111 and 113; Case of Perozo et al v. Venezuela.
Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 28, 2009. Series C
No. 195, para. 298, and Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru. Preliminary Objection, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 22, 2009. Series C No. 202, para. 62.
35
This criterion has been established by several Treaty Committees when examining the
obligations flowing from articles of similar substance to Article 2 of the ACHR, which lays out
general obligations in applying the respective treaties. See General Comment No. 3 (1990). The
nature of the obligations of the States Parties, Article 2 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, paragraph 4. Likewise, General recommendation No. 28
relative to Article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, paragraph 23. Also see, IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care.
Ending institutionalization in the Americas, para. 87.
36
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5 “General measures of
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6
th
of Article 44)”, CRC/GC/2003/5, November 27, 2003, 34 Session, para. 26.

guidance on adequate compliance with the obligation to guarantee all

rights of the CRC.
54. The Committee has said that “the general measures of implementation
identified by the Committee and described in the present general comment
are intended to promote the full enjoyment of all rights in the Convention
by all children, through legislation, the establishment of coordinating
and monitoring bodies – governmental and independent –
comprehensive data collection, awareness-raising and training and
the development and implementation of appropriate policies,
services and programmes.” 37 In keeping with the guidance provided by
the Committee in General Comment No. 5, the Committee asks the States to
submit periodic information on follow up to compliance with the CRC, as it
pertains to the following areas: a) legislation, b) policies and
comprehensive strategies, c) coordination, d) allocation of resources, e)
data collection, f) independent oversight, g) public dissemination and
sensitivity training, and, h) cooperation with civil society. The structure of
the concluding observations issued by the Committee is also based on these
areas, which the Committee regards as structural in nature and key to
ensuring implementation of the CRC, as well as constituting the foundation
of a national system for the protection of children’s rights.
55. In order to ensure children’s rights, States must first adopt legislation to
recognize these rights in accordance with the CRC and the corpus juris of
the rights of the child. As a complement to the foregoing, so that these
rights are actually realized, the State must adopt other measures to fulfill
its international obligations. This includes that the State develop policies
and strategies for compliance with each right. Additionally, States have to
build a complete institutional framework to make all of it possible, that is,
they must establish the bodies or mechanisms in charge of the formulation,
monitoring and evaluation of policies; create the institutions in charge of
the execution of the policies; and take protection actions in each individual
case. Based on these considerations, it can be asserted that building a
national system involves a normative, a programmatic and an
institutional dimension.
56. With respect to the normative dimension, as was mentioned earlier,

most of the countries of the region have approved specific child-related
norms, with the rank of legal statute or law, which transfer and adapt the
37
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6
th
of Article 44)”, CRC/GC/2003/5, November 27, 2003, 34 Session, para. 9. Emphasis added, not
in original.

content of the CRC to domestic law; usually Codes for Children or Special
Children’s Laws. This legislation is usually comprehensive in nature,
inasmuch as it addresses the full range of rights of children and
adolescents, to wit, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and
normally provides for and brings together in a single instrument the legal
provisions pertaining to children, which heretofore were spread out in
different bodies of law, pertaining to family law or juvenile criminal law.
57. As for the programmatic dimension of national systems, in order for

States to comply with the obligations to protect and guarantee all rights of
the girls, boys and adolescents, who are recognized in legislation, it is
essential to adopt public policies, practices and services that create the
proper conditions for the enjoyment and effective exercise thereof and to
also be able to provide a response to potential violations of these rights.
58. With reference to the institutional dimension, a distinction can be

drawn between: i) the bodies or entities at the different levels in charge of
arranging and making decisions about the norms, policies, programs,
practices and services; ii) the agencies, entities and institutions in charge of
implementing policies, practices, programs, and responsible for the
provision of services and direct care to children and adolescents and their
surroundings; and iii) the entity or agency in charge of coordination and
cooperation between all of the bodies and actors that come together in the
national systems for the protection of children’s rights (also known in some
instances as the coordinating or lead agency). A more detailed examination
of the main features of the institutional structure of national systems in the
region will be provided in a subsequent section in this report.
59. The IACHR finds that in order for the national system to be able to achieve
its goals of comprehensive protection and promotion of the rights of
children and adolescents, it is imperative for the following elements to be
in place: i) regulation of the Code for Children or the Special Children’s
Law; ii) a National Children’s Policy, and plans of action, programs and
regulations, stemming from that policy, in order to create and govern
services targeting children; iii) administrative and judicial agencies for the
protection and restoration of rights; iv) adequate economic resources
flowing from defined and stable budget allocations; v) procedures,
protocols, guidelines and operational manuals, such as protocols for case
management, direct casework and case referrals, guidelines for how
services are to function, and codes of conduct for staff in direct contact with
children and adolescents; and vi) measures for the protection of rights and
emergency or exceptional measures for the protection of rights (such as
alternative care placement or foster care). Legal powers (competence),
decision making procedures and action protocols must also be clearly

defined, in order to provide specific guidance to the bodies and actors

involved in the full implementation of the rights of the child.
C. The Obligation to Implement a National Children’s

Policy
60. With respect to the programmatic dimension of a national system, the

IACHR has noted, “States, as a whole, and at every level, must promote,
guarantee, and respect the rights of children and adolescents. To this end,
they should build on the foundation of a comprehensive national plan or
policy, one that is based on a meaningful and thorough assessment of the
situation, with content grounded in the rights recognized in the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and in the international human rights
instruments.” 38
61. The IACHR has also emphasized that this national plan for children “should
include concrete and attainable objectives related to the civil, political,
economic, social, and cultural rights of all children and adolescents and
should include indicators that make it possible to track compliance, as well
as strategies and deadlines for reaching the objectives,” so that it effectively
serves as an action planning instrument culminating in full implementation
of rights and transforming the lives of children. 39
62. The national policy for children 40 is a framework document that establishes
the strategic direction of the State in the medium and long term in order to
bring about the realization of the human rights of children and adolescents.
Consequently, it must hew closely to applicable international instruments
and treaties ratified by the State on the subject of children and adolescents
and, primarily, to the CRC, as well as to the recommendations made to it by
the international human rights bodies about compliance with these
international obligations. The Committee on the Rights of the Child itself
38
IACHR, IACHR Urges Strengthening of National Systems for Protection of Children and
Adolescents, November 28, 2016.
39
40
These comprehensive National Policies targeting children are known by different names,
depending on the countries; in some instances, it is called “Comprehensive National Protection
Policy for Children and Adolescents” or “National Action Plan for Children and Adolescents.”

underscores the need for a State policy to be in place for children in every
single country. 41
63. The policy is a strategic planning instrument or tool, which must clearly
establish the goals to be pursued, using as its point of departure a
comprehensive and realistic diagnostic assessment of the situation of
children and of their rights in the country. Because it is a planning
instrument, which is useful for administrative, institutional and financial
management purposes, the national policy for children must establish
targets, results and goals in as realistic and attainable ways as possible,
providing indicators and means of compliance verification. This helps to
properly manage, in a rational, coordinated and realistic way, the physical
and human resources, strategies and actions, over time, the different
sectors and institutions involved, all with a view toward pursuing and
achieving the intended goals. 42 Ideally, standardized and internationally
agreed upon indicators should be used to allow for comparisons between
countries and over periods of time.
64. The national policy for children must include how it is to be funded and
implemented, as well as identify the officials in charge of it at the different
levels.
65. Obviously, to transform the living conditions of children and to confront

the structural causes giving rise to violations of their rights, entails
engaging in medium and long-term planning in order to make an impact on
these causes and turn them around, while at the same time be in a position
to offer an immediate response to protection needs. For this purpose, these
national children’s policies usually have a multi-annual projection, with a
ten-year period being the most common length of time, although some
countries plan out for shorter periods of time (three-year or five-year
periods), and also include periodic reviews to make any adjustments that
may be needed at any given time based on current circumstances. The
national policy also needs to be further developed in greater detail through
action plans.
66. The national policy for children must become the State’s children’s policy;
this way, it is less susceptible to swings in the political mood of the day and
to changes in government. This provides an important basis for consensus
41
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, paragraphs 28 to 36.
42
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, para. 32.

and a higher likelihood for the policy to continue over time and for
implementation strategies to be sustainable.
67. The planning exercise for the drafting of the national policy for children,
must be based on a diagnostic assessment and analysis of the situation of
each one of the rights of children and adolescents in the respective country,
in addition to identifying the phenomena and issues negatively impacting
enjoyment of the their rights, such as sexual violence, the use and
exploitation of children and adolescents by organized crime groups, teen
pregnancies, child labor and exploitation, migration, among other
phenomena, which have an impact on their rights. Additionally, the most
high-risk groups of children and adolescents must be identified, inasmuch
as they require focused care to ensure their rights. Such groups include, but
are not limited to children or adolescents with disabilities, those who
belong to a particular ethnic group, children in situation of poverty,
children and teens lacking adequate parental care and migrant children. 43
68. Broad mechanisms of consultation help to more thoroughly grasp the

diverse real life circumstances and living conditions faced by children and
adolescents and to identify the most vulnerable groups and those who have
been rendered invisible and fallen through the cracks. For this reason, the
State must coordinate mechanisms to include the broadest possible
participation of society and of the children and adolescents themselves in
the drafting of this policy. Boys, girls and adolescents from a wide range
of socio-economic, geographic, cultural, sex and gender orientation,
disability, ethnic and other backgrounds should be consulted, in order to
make it possible to listen to and register their concerns and fears, as well as
their proposals. The IACHR recalls the positive experience in some
countries of convening broad consultation processes, as well as nationwide
and decentralized forums, as part of the process of drafting national policy.
States should also make sure that equally meaningful, rigorous and as
broadly participatory processes are carried out for the monitoring of policy
implementation and evaluation of results.
69. In addition, complete, disaggregated and reliable information is crucial

to be able to conduct a proper diagnostic assessment, that is in step with
reality, as well as to be able to follow-up on implementation of this national
policy, monitor and measure progress, make adjustments and corrections,
as well as to evaluate the impacts and changes that this policy actually
brought about. For this purpose, a system of data generation and collection,
43
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, pars. 29 and 30.

as well as information management, must be in place to meet the needs of

planning, monitoring and evaluation of public children’s policies.
70. For successful management, the national children’s policy must include
provisions for continual monitoring and review to allow for periodic
updating of the status of implementation and to provide guidance for
changes and adjustments, when needed. This national policy must also be
subject to open, periodic, inclusive and participatory evaluation of the
progress achieved, explain any potential deviation from the current course
of action and provide a plan to overcome any obstacles that may arise to
make it possible to achieve the pre-established goals. Evaluations must, at a
minimum, be conducted at the halfway point of the duration of the Policy
and at end of the period of effect. A schedule of periodic performance-
based reporting to the parliament and the public should be set up, as
mechanisms of transparency and accountability. 44 The information made
available to the public and to children and adolescents must be widely
accessible and in understandable language.
71. This national policy must be endorsed at the highest level 45 and, ideally,
have the rank of a legal statute, making it a plan of mandatory compliance
throughout the country, at all levels of government, and for all the different
sectors involved. Regional and local governments must approve their own
child protection policies, based on their own legal competence and
responsibilities in the subject matter, and bring these policies in line with
the national policy. Because of its rank as a law, the national policy for
children must act as the framework policy for all policies and programs
involving children and adolescents, thus making it the tool of coordination
of its own implementation.
72. Obviously, as an essential component to ensure execution of the national

policy for children, it needs to go hand in hand with the necessary
funding. Providing for a defined, stable and adequate funding mechanism
makes it possible to channel resources for the execution of strategies and
programs in a planned and timely fashion, in order to achieve the intended
goals of the policy. Otherwise, without a mechanism to effectively identify
and earmark the funding required by the national children’s policy, it runs
the risk of turning into a mere statement of good intentions. The legal
obligations of States, from the financial standpoint, will be examined more
thoroughly in a subsequent section of this report.
44
45

1. Comprehensive, Multifaceted, Multisectoral and

Participatory Nature of National Children’s Policies
73. The different phenomena and issues affecting children are complex, caused
by multiple factors and are multifaceted. Consequently, the Commission
finds that the best way to deal with these phenomena and issues is through
public policies of a comprehensive, holistic and systemic nature, which take
into consideration the variety of structural and interconnected causes.
Interventions must follow a dual track: on the one hand, mitigate risk
factors and, on the other hand, reinforce protection factors. Most of these
phenomena also give rise to infringements of several rights, thus
necessitating a coordinated response from different sectors. 46 This
perspective takes into consideration the interdependence, indivisibility and
complementarity of the rights.
74. In a comprehensive and systemic approach, child policies include the

following facets: promotion (public information, dissemination/outreach
and sensitivity training); prevention of violations of rights; promotion of
conditions for effective enjoyment of rights by all children and adolescents;
detection and response in the event of violations (protection); restoration
of rights, rehabilitation, effective access to justice and reparation.
75. In order for an approach to these issues to be effective, several sectors and
institutions must come together and act in conjunction. Intersectoral and
interinstitutional participation and coordination is crucial, through the
involvement of the different ministries and institutions with some type of
responsibility in the area of children’s rights. Usually, the sectors called
upon to jointly formulate the national children’s policy and coordinate
implementation thereof include: social development and social services;
national planning; health; education; justice; security; family; women;
statistics; labor and social security; urban planning; culture, art and sport;
and economy and finance, 47 in view of the fact that so many sectors are
linked to the rights of the child one way or another. The IACHR finds that
child policy must be written and implemented with a broad participation of
46
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, para. 117.
47
Ministerial division varies from country to country; the agencies are given different names in
each country; and different sectors can be placed under a single ministry. In some countries, for
example, the Family, Women and Children are place under a single ministry, while in other
countries, separate ministries are in charge of these areas or they are all subsumed under the
Ministry of Social Development. Some of the sectors that are most often are called upon to
collaborate in the formulation and implementation of child policies are identified in the text of
this report.

all sectors involved in the area of child protection, in pursuit of a

comprehensive and holistic vision.
76. The IACHR also finds that the standing participation of civil society in child
policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation is essential,
as is the establishment of channels of communication and mechanisms to
adequately and sustainably integrate the visions and proposals of the very
children and adolescents the policy serves, and in this way they are able to
exercise their right to participate in matters that affect them. 48 In order to
ensure this participation, the law creating the NSFIRCA must provide for
and institutionalize mechanisms of participation of civil society and
children and adolescents. Participation must be diverse and include
representatives of academia and other sectors of society. Applicable
principles and the basis for participation will be examined thoroughly in a
subsequent section of the report.
77. The comprehensive, multifaceted, multisectoral and participatory nature,

which must characterize a national child policy, both at the time of
formulation, as well as in the process of implementation, monitoring and
evaluation, has obvious implications in the institutional dimension of the
national system. A national system has particular coordination
requirements. It involves both horizontal (intersectoral) and vertical
(between levels of government) coordination and an entity in charge of
overall coordination, 49 as well as adequate mechanisms in place for this
purpose, in addition to the clarity of duties and legal authority of each actor
involved. 50 It is precisely this coordination that makes it possible for
comprehensive and complementary policies to be implemented in order to
increase effectiveness of public interventions in ensuring and protecting
the rights of the child. 51
48
Adolescents, November 28, 2016. Also see, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General
Comment No. 5 “General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, para. 12.
49
Known in some domestic legislation as ‘lead agency’ as well as ‘coordinating agency.’
50
Also see, Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child Protection
Systems: Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013. Pgs. 85 et
seq.
51

2. Universal and Targeted Policies
78. In order for a State to comply with its obligation to respect, protect and
guarantee, policies must be translated into different measures, in keeping
with particular circumstances of vulnerability, in order to effectively
ensure, on an equal basis, enjoyment of rights by all girls, boys and
adolescents. 52
79. In practice, this has given rise to a classification system of different policy
types: i) basic social policies or universal policies, aimed at all children
and adolescents as a whole, such as education and health; ii) social
development policies, also known as social assistance or social
welfare policies, which are not universal in coverage, but instead are
targeted to those families or children or adolescents requiring support
from the State in order to overcome situations of vulnerability or barriers
related to exclusion and inequities; one example of such policy measures
would be conditioned monetary transfers to families; iii) special
protection policies, 53 aimed at those children and adolescents, who
because of some special condition, specific risk situation or violation of
their rights, require special services in order to be protected for purposes
of preserving and restoring their rights –including norms and policies
involving the implementation of measures of protection of an exception
nature, which entail removing a child from his or her family; and iv) legal
defense policies, enforceability of rights and guarantee of rights in the
framework of administrative and judicial proceedings, which are used
to ensure that a specialized justice system specifically geared to children is
in place, particularly to ensure access to justice, guarantee of rights in the
context of administrative and judicial proceedings, and treatment in line
with international standards for children and adolescents.
52
IA Court of HR, Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02,
para. 61. IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, para. 46, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013.
53
There is variation in the terminology and no generally accepted term has been agreed upon by
consensus. The report uses this paragraph to provide a general typology of actions and policies
with a brief description, but the Commission cautions that the names may be different in each
country, even though these different types of public policies and interventions are widely found
for the most part. While the IACHR is partial to this classification, which is intended to list the
wide variety of interventions, some sources we consulted prefer to only distinguish between
“measures of comprehensive protection” and “measures of special protection.” The former
would encompass those measures listed under i) and ii) and, the latter, those listed under iii),
thus leaving out of the classification the measures appearing under iv).

80. The national children’s policy must consider these different types of
policies as complements to each other and be formulated and implemented
in keeping with the variety of protection needs of different groups of
children.
81. In keeping with the principle of equality and non-discrimination, States

must actively identify those groups of children and adolescents, who live in
a situation of vulnerability of their rights and require interventions, which
are targeted to their protection needs, in order for them to be able to
realize their rights. The principle of non-discrimination does not preclude
special measures from being implemented in order to defuse situations of
inequality or discrimination. In fact, said principle may require
implementation of proactive measures as a response to said situations. For
this purpose, it is essential for the policy to provide for mechanisms to
identify such groups and situations. One suitable measure for this purpose
is to collect data and properly disaggregate it to be able to identify groups
in particular situations of vulnerability, whose rights are not being ensured,
as well as situations of discrimination. Another useful measure is direct
consultation with civil society organizations, experts and members of
academia. The task of identifying these vulnerable groups can be
particularly difficult when a group has not been traditionally identified as
vulnerable and, consequently, goes unnoticed as if it were invisible, as is
often the case of minor children of mothers or fathers deprived of liberty.
82. Along these same lines, the IACHR notes that States often formulate specific
or targeted plans of action, which more precisely define strategies to
address a particular issue or right or to protect a particular group of
children, such as a plan of action to address human trafficking for purposes
of sexual exploitation, to protect the rights of child workers and to
eradicate child labor exploitation, or an early childhood intervention plan,
or one to protect migrant children. In many countries, committees,
commissions and working groups are in place to deal with these issues, and
propose policies and action strategies.
83. The IACHR recognizes the need to pay special attention to particular
groups of children because of their particular circumstances, but at the
same time, it notes that is important for these strategies to be coordinated
with the national children’s policy in order to avoid a mere patchwork of
interventions and for more consistent, effective and efficient,
comprehensive and coordinated actions to be designed. Additionally, the
IACHR cautions that care must be taken to avoid creating conditions of
further exclusion, stigmatization and re-victimization for these children
through separate treatment, unless it is absolutely necessary or in their
best interest.

84. In conclusion, special protection policies aimed at addressing particular

circumstances, which cause situations of vulnerability, or targeted to
certain groups of children and adolescents, are one of the building blocks of
a national policy for the full implementation of the rights of the child. This
type of rights protection and restoration policy must be integrated into
general public policy on comprehensive child protection.
3. Linking National Children’s Policy to the Rest of National

Policies
85. In order for a national system to realistically be capable of fully ensuring all
rights, reaching all children and adolescents, it must be designed in
conjunction and coordination with other systems and all other policies that
contribute to ensuring the rights of children and adolescents and creating
the social, economic, political and legal conditions for these rights to be
satisfied.
86. The IACHR has stressed the importance of national children’s policies being
linked to other strategic national plans and policies in order to make sure
that children are not left out of the major policies of State, such as the
policy to combat poverty, national development plans, and major social
protection policies. 54 The national children’s policy must be regarded as a
fundamental part of these plans and must be consistent with all national
plans and strategies. The IACHR notes that anti-poverty plans,
development plans, and social protection plans, and the programs and
services flowing from them all, are part of the national human rights
policies and strategies. 55
87. For this purpose, it is essential for the law or policy to provide for
mechanisms to ensure adequate coordination and cooperation between
different sectors and ministries, not only within the national system, but
also in the settings and mechanisms of the other sectors, such as the points
of coordination under the ministry of social development. 56
88. For example, some of the strategies included in social protection systems,
national development plans or in anti-poverty programs, such as
54
55
Americas,para. 101.
56
Also see, Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child Protection
Systems: Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013, p. 87.

conditioned transfers to families and other family support programs, can

make a difference in the material capacity of families and in their ability to
care for their children and, therefore, have an impact on the enjoyment of
the rights of children. Different actors autonomously design these
policies, the system of benefits and services channeled to children and
their families, many times, with no connection to anyone else.
Therefore, the national system does not necessarily play any kind of a
role in the formulation and evaluation of those policies.
89. Another clear example of the above-cited phenomenon is the education

system. The design and operation of the education system falls squarely
within the orbit of the Ministry of Education, which sets education policy.
The education system plays an important role in raising awareness of
children and adolescents about their rights and empowering them to assert
and exercise them. In addition, the school is a setting where situations of a
child’s lack of protection can be detected and protocols must be in place for
early detection and action and referral to the competent authorities.
Nonetheless, even though the school should be a protective setting, it often
becomes a setting where children and adolescents experience situations of
bullying, abuse and violence perpetrated by their peers or adults.
Consequently, it is essential that schools have plans drawn up to prevent
and respond to such situations. All of these initiatives are best addressed
and coordinated, when the education system and the national system have
jointly designed these interventions through a collaborative approach.
90. The above-cited instance of a child or adolescent with one of his or her
parents in prison is another example of how crucial it is for child protection
policies and strategies to be designed in a coordinated fashion. None of the
three systems involved in this case, the judicial system, the prison system
and the national system, is in any position on its own and in isolation to be
able to provide full implementation of rights to this group of children and
adolescents, unless all three systems work side by side.
91. Additionally, along the same lines as the above-cited examples, it must be
noted that Article 3.1 of the CRC establishes that the best interests of the
child must take precedence in all measures concerning children. In keeping
with their international and regional obligations, it is the duty of States to
integrate and apply this principle into all legislative, administrative and

judicial proceedings that have a direct or indirect bearing on children. 57

This not only entails an assessment of norms and policies aimed directly
and specifically at ensuring children’s rights, but also in general at all State
policies, at all levels of government, which may directly or indirectly affect
92. In specific terms, it means that in the processes of analysis and discussion
of laws and policies, prior to approval, a section must be introduced to
specifically take into consideration potential impacts of the laws or policies
on children. Policies of all types may have an effect on the respect for the
rights of children, and the CRC obliges States to consider and assess these
effects. This analysis and assessment is not only required of the national
system, but of all institutions of the State.
93. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has held that compliance with
Article 3.1 of the CRC requires a continual process of assessment of
effects on the rights of the child in all decisions taken by the State, with a
view toward determining the actual consequences of implementation of
those decisions, 58 in addition to when a policy is formulated.
94. The impact study can be of a more superficial nature with those decisions
that are not expected to have a significant, direct or indirect repercussion
on the rights of children or adolescents. The State, at the very least, must
conduct a more detailed analysis with any decisions that may have a
significant effect on children and adolescents, including those that have
direct repercussions on them, such as criminal justice or migration policies,
and those that may have a more indirect impact on them, such as
macroeconomic policy.
95. This impact study on the rights of the child must be included in any draft
policy, law, regulation, budget or any other relevant administrative
decision aimed directly at children and/or that is expected to have a direct
impact on children and adolescents, at all levels of government, in order to
anticipate any repercussions that they may have, in advance of approval,
57
See the general comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5
“General measure of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” para. 45;
General Comment No. 14 on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a
primary consideration, pars. 6, 35 and 99, and General Comment No. 19 on public budgeting for
the realization of the children’s right (art. 4)”, para. 47.
58
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5 “General measure of
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” para. 45 and General Comment
No. 14 on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration,
para. 35.

and throughout the entire period of implementation. This will aid, on the
one hand, in identifying potential negative effects on the rights of children
and cure them and, on the other hand, using this methodology contributes
to better coordination between policies flowing from the different sectors.
This is because when this study is conducted, it will bring into focus
potential overlapping or duplication of efforts between some sectors and
complementary efforts between others.
96. The Committee on the Rights of the Child itself has said that different
methodologies and practices can be used to conduct impact studies. The
Committee has noted that, at the very least, the CRC and its optional
Protocols should be used as a framework for the assessment of measures,
in particular, in order to make sure that assessments are based on the
general principles of the CRC and especially take into account the
differential effects that they have on children and adolescents. 59 The IACHR
believes that the assessment will serve to both ensure the effectiveness of
the measures approved, and to ensure their compatibility with
international, regional and national obligations.
97. The impact study of these policies, norms, regulations, administrative

decisions and other measures, on children and adolescents must be based
on the insights of many different stakeholders in order to benefit from a
variety of viewpoints. It is important to consider the input of children and
adolescents and their families or care-providers, civil society and subject
matter experts, as well as the appropriate public agencies, and incorporate
relevant academic research and similar documented experiences in the
same country and in other ones.
98. The study should conclude with the formulation of recommendations for
changes, alternatives, improvements and/or strengthening of
complementarity with other policies. The study and the recommendations
issued in it must be made available to the public. 60
59
primary consideration, para. 99.
60
primary consideration, para. 99.

D. Design of the Institutional Framework: the Obligation to

Organize the State Apparatus to Ensure the Rights of
Children and Adolescents
99. As part of the obligations stemming from Article 19 of the ACHR and Article
VII of the ADRDM, which recognize the rights of the child, the State must
create and adapt its entire institutional structure and the State apparatus
to be able to protect, respect and adequately ensure the rights of children
and adolescents. This institutional framework represents what was
referred to earlier in this report as the institutional dimension of the
national system.
100. The holistic and comprehensive approach to the rights of children and
adolescents, their circumstances and with regard to the necessary
conditions for the effective enjoyment of their rights, demanded under the
CRC, requires coordinating a systemic model linking all sectors involved in
issues relating to children at all territorial levels of the State.
101. Adequate protection of the rights of the child require the creation and
maintenance of a specific and specialized institutional framework in
order to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of the
child. It is desirable for the norm creating the institutional framework for
children, to have the highest hierarchical level, preferably the rank of a
legal statute, such as a code for children or a special children’s law. This is
advantageous because the higher the normative rank of the instrument
creating them, the higher the likelihood the institutions will endure over
time and be more stable; while administrative decisions creating
institutions are more readily overturned or amended, thus becoming a
greater threat to institutional continuity. A high rank in the normative
hierarchy also reflects political will and commitment to children’s rights.
102. Most countries of Latin America with codes and/or special laws for
children have created new institutions or have overhauled existing ones to
bring them in line with the new demands of the vision of
comprehensiveness to the protection of rights. The national systems
created in the region have one essential function in common: to coordinate
and bring together the different offices and actors at the national, regional
and local levels with legal competence in children’s rights.
Notwithstanding, the solutions provided by the countries vary. There is
no single model of a SNFIRCA, but rather each State shapes the structure of
its own national system, based on different elements and factors of context.

103. Even though these differences do exist, many countries generally share the
following functional classification scheme of the institutions comprising the
national system: i) bodies or mechanisms in charge, at the different
levels, for child policy formulation, as well as for monitoring and
evaluation of compliance (deliberative and policy formulation bodies –
usually called children’s councils, committees or commissions); ii)
agencies in charge of policy execution and implementation, programs
and services, either directly or through coordination and oversight of
implementation by third parties (implementing agencies);61 and iii) body
with system-wide duties of management and coordination, known as
the coordinating agency or lead agency of the national system.
104. The principal differences, in particular, can be identified in the mandates

and powers vested by law in each institution or agency, the structure, the
administrative level, the composition, how each one functions, and the
resources allocated to it to be able to operate. Thus, policy formulation and
programs targeted to children, the execution thereof, and coordination of
the SNFIRCA is exercised in different countries by a variety of institutions,
ranging from national councils to general directorates or offices, ministries,
vice-ministries, presidential secretariats and specialized institutes, all with
different hierarchical rankings and varying degrees of political, technical
and financial autonomy. 62 Additionally, in a significant number of
countries, the same body serves as both the coordinating agency and as
implementing agency. In other countries, the national deliberative and
sanctioning body for child protection policies, is also empowered with the
function of coordinating agency.
105. Even though States have the power to organize their apparatus for
compliance with their responsibilities, several aspects and principles must
be considered when setting up the institutional framework, its functions
and legal powers, administrative rank, composition, how it functions, and
the resources that are allocated to it.
106. At each territorial level, national, state/departmental or regional, and

local/municipal, based on how the State is structured and the distribution
of legal authority between the different levels, two bodies must be in
operation: one body, which designs policies, formulates strategies, lays out
61
Also see in this regard, the regional comparative research appearing in the study by Alejandro
Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child Protection Systems: Legal Basis
and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013.
62
Also see the study by Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child
Protection Systems: Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013.
Pgs. 71 to 73.

plans and programs, and supports the synergy between the different
actors; the other body, which is executive in nature and operationalizes the
programs, projects and services. As to the coordinating agency, the IACHR
has noted the different models existing in the region and has come to the
conclusion that these agencies must have a clear mandate and a high rank
in the hierarchy to enable both horizontal and vertical coordination, as well
as sufficient human, financial and technical resources in order to be able to
carry out their duties.
107. Lastly, the national system must be prepared to provide measures of

protection, defense and enforceability, restitution of rights, in the event of a
violation thereof, which must be delivered, based on the institutional
structure of each State, through administrative bodies for the protection of
rights, specialized juvenile courts and specialized public defenders (legal
defense). In some countries, this is known as “special protection
measures” 63 in the framework of the “national subsystem for the protection
of children from violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation.” The IACHR will
refer to them, in each particular instance, to: measures of protection of an
exceptional nature (such as removal of a child from his or her family for
reasons of safety); measures of enforceability and judicial defense of rights
(in the context of a judicial proceeding); and measures of restoration of
rights (programs of care for child or adolescent victims), all of which are
coordinated through the national system for the protection of children’s
rights.
1. Bodies or Mechanisms of Deliberation, Consensus-Building

and Policy Formulation and Programs
108. As regards the bodies or mechanisms of deliberation, consensus-

building and policy formulation and programs, the law must provide
for their creation, as well as their multisectoral or inter-ministerial
composition and establish the sectors which, at the very least, must take
part and participate in these bodies, at the different levels. By the same
token, the law must provide for the participation of civil society
organizations specialized in the field of children’s rights in these bodies.
63
Terminologically speaking, “special protection measures” is the term usually used to refer to
measures of protection against violations of rights and of restoration of rights, as opposed to
“measures of comprehensive protection,” the phrase used to refer to all measures as a whole,
for the guarantee and effectiveness of the enjoyment of rights and the prevention of situations
of violations thereof.

109. At the national level, the law must create a deliberative and policy-making
body on children’s issues (usually called national children’s councils,
committees or commissions), whose major functions include consensus-
building and approval of a comprehensive national public policy for
children, the formulation of national plans, programs and action strategies,
flowing from the national policy, as well as the drafting of legislative bills
concerning children to be introduced before the legislative body of the
country. This body is also in charge of monitoring of implementation of the
national children’s policy and the evaluation thereof. It should be noted
that mechanisms for the participation of representatives of subnational
levels of government must be included in the process of formulation of this
policy, because this policy applies to all children and adolescents of the
country.
110. As for the composition, the national policy-making body is made up of the
sectors that are called upon to jointly formulate the national children’s
policy and to coordinate actions in the implementation of the policy, using
a comprehensive and holistic approach. As was mentioned above, while
many sectors are linked to the rights of the child in one way or another, the
leading ones should make up these bodies, and other sectors can be invited
or be coordinated with them, based on the particular area. The sectors
most often making up the national policy-making body are: social
development and social services; national planning; health; education;
justice; security/law enforcement; family; women; statistics; labor and
social security; culture, art and sport; and treasury and finance.
Additionally, representatives of the legislative branch, the judicial branch,
as well as representatives of associations of municipalities and of the
national independent human rights Institutions (ombudsperson), often sit
on the policy-making body, although usually as observers with voice but no
vote. The IACHR finds that this participation and the input that could be
provided by these actors are relevant to the enhancement of the protection
of children’s rights. Although these actors do not have recognized decision-
making power in the debates of the national policy-making body, they
could contribute, for example, by submitting reports or evaluations on the
situation of children or on aspects of particular concern, which they have
identified based on their respective mandates.
111. This type of body must be replicated at other territorial levels, in states
(federal States), regions and municipalities, based on the scope of the legal
authority granted to them in the legislation. Thus, at the subnational level,
the law must provide for state or provincial policy-making bodies (in

federal States) as well as regional and municipal policy-making bodies on

children’s issues 64 which respectively must adopt
state/provincial/regional policies and municipal policies for children, in
accordance with the national children’s policy.
112. The hierarchical rank assigned to these bodies in the organizational

structure, at the national, subnational and local level, and the public official
who acts as the presiding officer, are key to ensuring their capacity for
decision-making and adequate coordination between sectors. Having the
highest ranking public official chairing these bodies, along with the
participation of ministers and vice ministers, chief executive officers of the
key autonomous institutions, not only sends a clear political message about
the importance attached to children, but also paves the way for smoother
coordination, cooperation and increased effectiveness of these bodies, In
this regard, the IACHR is pleased to see that in some countries of the
region, the national policy-making body on children is chaired by the
President of the Republic or by the President of the Council of Ministers,
and that all of the relevant heads of ministries sit on the body as well, and
that the state/regional policy-making bodies on children are chaired by the
governors and the municipal policy-making bodies, by the Mayors. In
contrast, other countries have opted to create this type of deliberative and
consensus-building body for children’s policy under a ministry or
secretariat. The IACHR recommends that these bodies be granted the
highest rank in the organizational structure of government and the highest-
level officials of the executive branch chair them.
113. As for citizen participation in the management of public affairs, the

IACHR deems it imperative for civil society representatives, who advocate
for children’s rights, as well as representatives of other sectors of society
such as academia, to participate in these policy formulation and monitoring
bodies.
114. Civil society groups working in defense of children’s and adolescents’ rights
play an important role in actively contributing to the generation and
implementation of public policies aimed at children and adolescents, as
well as in monitoring and evaluating State policies. In order for civil society
participation to actively participate, the State must promote mechanisms
for this purpose. Civil society participation must come about voluntarily,
independently and autonomously, recognizing these organizations as valid
64
Also see the multi-country description and comparison of some of these bodies in the region
appearing in the study by Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National
Child Protection Systems: Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean,
2013.

interlocutors. The law must provide for this participation in policy-making

bodies on children at the different levels of government.
115. In addition to being broad, diverse, legitimate and inclusive, this

participation of civil society must have the capacity to have a real bearing
on policy making, and not just be tokenistic. The IACHR has identified that
some countries of the region have established by law parity or coequal
participation of civil society in policy-making bodies on children. Having
the same number of State representatives as the number of social
organization representatives makes for a pluralistic and diverse debate,
bringing into the discussion a variety of views, experiences and real life
circumstances affecting children. This insight is then embedded into the
logic of the need to view children’s policies as State policies, guided and
framed by the rights of children and adolescents recognized in the CRC, to
be as inclusive and participatory as possible.
116. The IACHR finds that the principle of participation in public affairs must be
viewed as a right of individuals and as a principle associated with
democracy, good governance and adequate and effective management of
public affairs. 65
117. National policy-making body on children, as well as the regional and

municipal policy-making bodies on children, must be linked to
mechanisms of consultation with children and adolescents, especially
to formal and institutional mechanisms, such as children’s and
adolescents’ consultative councils (also known as children advisory
panels or councils), and the opinions and proposals flowing from these
children’s and adolescents’ councils must be taken into consideration.
Applicable principles and obligations are more thoroughly examined
subsequently in this report.
118. The IACHR commends the experiences of convening periodic Forums or

National Conferences, with broad participation of society, for both the
design and the evaluation of the national children’s policy, which provides
invaluable input for actions and compliance with the mandate of the
national policy-making body on children. Decentralized hosting of these
Forums and Conferences helps to include a broader and more diverse
swath of society as a whole in order to be able to better inform child
65
Carta Iberoamericana de Participación Ciudadana en la Gestión Pública, [‘Ibero-American
th
Charter on Citizen Participation in Public Management,’ Spanish only], approved by the 11
Ibero American Conference of Ministers of Public Administration and Reform of the State,
th
Lisbon, Portugal, June 25 and 26, 2009 and adopted by the 19 Ibero American Summit of Heads
of State and of Government, Estoril, Portugal, November 30 and December 1, 2009 (Resolution
No. 38 of the “Action Plan of Lisbon”).

policies and evaluate them. The municipal and subnational

(regions/departments, provinces/states/ regions) forums are also highly
useful in getting their respective inhabitants involved in participating in
child policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation.
119. The IACHR also deems it important for the law to additionally provide for a
space or mechanism of cooperation and coordination between
territorial entities, for the purpose of coordinating children’s policies
throughout the territory and to ensure the principle of equality and a
minimum or ‘floor’ of service provision and quality. These spaces are
especially important to States with federal systems of government, or with
strong decentralization of legal authority among regions. Ordinarily, the
norm provides for a space or mechanism of coordination between
representatives of the different state/provincial and
regional/departmental policy-making bodies on children for these
purposes. It is important for these spaces of cooperation to also be created
at the municipal level.
120. The particular situation of federal States means that states (or
provinces, in the case of Argentina) have autonomy in the adoption of
statutes and regulations within the scope of their legal competence. 66 Even
though states must respect the federal constitution, in matters not reserved
or not specifically delegated to the central or national government, they
may have legislative, regulatory and policy-making autonomy, including for
the establishment of children’s institutions. In these systems of
government, each state creates its own children’s policy formulation and
execution bodies and the form and hierarchy thereof. Notwithstanding, the
IACHR recalls that under Article 28 of the ACHR, 67 in connection with
Article 2 of the same instrument, international obligations flowing from
treaties are of mandatory compliance at all levels of the State, and the
National Government is obligated to take measures to ensure this
compliance.
66
The federal States that exist in the hemisphere are structured and operate differently and, thus,
references in this report associated with federal States must be considered in the context of
each State’s structure, jurisdictions, and specific way of operating.
67
Article 28. Federal Clause:
1. Where a State Party is constituted as a federal State, the national government of such State
Party shall implement all the provisions of the Convention over whose subject matter it
exercises legislative and judicial jurisdiction.
2. With respect to the provisions over whose subject matter the constituent units of the
federal state have jurisdiction, the national government shall immediately take suitable
measures, in accordance with its constitution and its laws, to the end that the competent
authorities of the constituent units may adopt appropriate provisions for the fulfillment of
this Convention.

121. Federal systems pose an additional challenge in terms of harmonization of

federal and state/provincial norms in the area of children’s rights. In
practice, bringing state/provincial laws into line with federal legislation
can come about slower in some states/provinces than in others and,
consequently, progress in federal legislation may not be reflected as
progress in all states/provinces of the country. There may be disparities
and varying degrees of spottiness or a patchwork in the recognition,
implementation and protection of rights among different states/provinces,
which means that the rights of children and adolescents are better ensured
and protected in some states/provinces than in others. The Committee on
the Rights of the Child has expressed its concern over the complexity that is
posed by multiple jurisdictions in federal States, when this gives rise to the
situation of not all children in the nation being covered by the minimum
standards enshrined in the CRC, as a result of legal, political and financial
differences between the federal and state spheres. 68
122. In the case of federal States, the decisions of the component states are
crucial to the effectiveness of the national system, inasmuch as they are in
charge of creating the policy formulation and implementation bodies in
their territory and fund a considerable portion of them. However, in federal
States, which are decentralized by their very nature, national children’s
policy must be implemented through a process of coordinated
arrangement between the actions of the national/federal State and those of
the states/provinces.
123. Because of the foregoing nature of such States, it is important for a federal
level of consensus building to exist. For this purpose, federal legislation
should create a federal children’s council (or space, mechanism or similar
body), made up of the representatives of the existing policy formulation
bodies in each state/province at the most senior level (Governors), and
thus be able to coordinate and agree on the formulation and execution of
legislation and polices affecting children with a certain degree of
standardization or uniformity throughout the nation and enable progress
in territorial equity and ensure a minimum of parity.
124. Non-federal States with a high degree of decentralization in its regions,

departments or other subnational territorial divisions, composed of a
group of municipalities, could also benefit from the creation of this type of
consensus-seeking council through vertical coordination between
political and administrative territorial levels.
68
Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations: Brazil CRC/C/15/Add.241.
November 3, 2004, para. 13.

125. It has come to the attention of the IACHR that the functions and activities of
federal children’s councils, and of other mechanisms of vertical
coordination in non-federal States, have shown potential in making a
positive contribution in the following ways: i) in the economic sphere, to
managing the distribution of budgetary resources for compliance with the
goals of the national children’s policy throughout the territory of a federal
State, thus helping to even out child protection status throughout the
territory of the federal State (although it may not always achieve full
equity), streamlining transfers to areas of lower financial capacity; ii) in the
legal sphere, to expediting amendment of laws and regulations and to
increasing uniformity in children’s policies and legal standards, in
programs services and practices, in action protocols, and in guidelines for
case management and child assistance and treatment; and iii) in practical
terms, creating the federal council has contributed to stepping up the pace
of creating the institutional framework of the national system in the states
and has afforded higher hierarchical rank, a higher degree of specialization
and raised the political profile of the area of children in the different states,
in addition to contributing to the transfer of know-how and skills and to
increase the capacities of technical staff. For example, in the framework of
these federal children’s councils, technical and financial assistance
mechanisms can be proposed for the organization and functioning of the
national system at the state and municipal levels. Although it must also be
noted that those achievements are contingent upon the representatives
sitting on these bodies. Therefore, it is recommended that the members of
the federal councils be the highest-ranking public officials possible, along
with the participation of the heads of the state/provincial policy-making
bodies on children. Similar councils, which convene the heads of the local
policy-making bodies on children to bring them together with the head of
the respective state or region, can also have the same potential as the
experience with the federal children’s council.
126. In addition to approving policies, programs and services targeting children,

the policy-making bodies on children should be assigned, at the very least,
the following duties: i) evaluating on an annual basis the investment made
in children and the results achieved from it; ii) drafting the budget for the
following fiscal year; iii) monitoring compliance with the children’s policy
and the rest of the programs and services and evaluating compliance on a
periodic basis; iv) gathering and analyzing information related to the
situation of the rights of children and adolescents; v) identifying and
proposing any financial vertical transfers, which may be necessary for
proper functioning of the national system; and vi) submitting an annual
report on the status of children and adolescents to the parliament or
national assembly, or to the state legislative bodies and to mayors, as the
case may be, for the particular territorial level. All of these documents must

be accessible to the public, written in understandable language, and steps

must be taken for their public dissemination
2. Policy Implementing Institutions and Direct Case Work
127. The law must also provide for the institutions in charge of
implementation and execution of policies and programs. The State must
also organize the institutional framework and the operational mechanisms
for the provision of direct services to children and adolescents and their
families, as well as for case management and special protection measures
in response to violations of rights and the need to restore those rights.
128. The implementing institutions of children’s policy and programs and the
institutions in charge of the provision of protection services and
restoration of rights of children and adolescents, play a particularly
important and far-reaching role at the local level, because of their
proximity to children and adolescents and their families. A priority
emphasis should be placed at this level on ensuring quality and equality in
access to these services for all children and adolescents throughout the
territory.
129. With respect to the institutional framework established by the Codes for
Children and Laws for direct care and case management and the
implementation of measures of protection and restoration of rights, the
IACHR notes that the legal competence, nature, hierarchical rank and make
up of these institutions varies widely, based on the legal provisions in each
individual country. Some of the bodies have a high degree of administrative
and functional autonomy, such as Conselhos Tutelares of Brazil, although
these bodies are financially dependent on the municipalities. In other
instances, the implementing institutions are located under or are attached
to the coordinating or lead agency, such as the case of Costa Rica’s Juntas
de Protección, which are attaché to the National Children’s Trust or
(Patronato Nacional de la Infancia or PANI), or in El Salvador, where the
Juntas de Protección de la Niñez y de la Adolescencia are departmental
administrative offices of the Consejo Nacional de la Niñez y la Adolescencia
(CONNA). In other instances, the implementing institutions are attached to
the municipalities, such as the case of Paraguay, where the municipalities
create the Consejerías Municipales por los Derechos del Niño, Niña y
Adolescente (CODENIS). In all of these countries, the legislation provides
for the creation and the functioning of these services in each municipality,
with the exceptions of El Salvador, where the law establishes only the
obligation to create and fund at least one Junta per department, and in

Mexico, where the law establishes the creation of the federal and state level
child services offices called Procuraduría Federal de Protección de Niñas,
Niños y Adolescentes and Procuradurías estatales, respectively, while at
the same time provides for the ability of the federative entities (states) to
create local offices, i.e. Procuradurías Locales de Protección, and
specialized intake/first contact areas at the municipal level. 69
130. While there is variation in the laws of the States as to design of operational
mechanisms, essentially, they all involve local services of direct care to
children, their families and surroundings, which are capable of providing
comprehensive and coordinated responses between different actors when
situations of risk or violation of rights arise, and for the restoration of those
rights. In other words, they are legally empowered to implement a special
measure of protection of an administrative nature in response to a
situation of risk, of violation of rights, and for the restoration thereof. These
are usually services provided by specially trained staff and
multidisciplinary teams, who are qualified to address social, psychological
and legal aspects, and/or have the capacity to refer cases to other services
and officials (health, police, justice). These local level services can also be
tasked with other duties of promotion and dissemination/outreach/public
education on rights, by providing information, guidance and counseling,
among other things, as will be examined when the topic of the local system
for the full implementation of the rights of children and adolescents is
addressed subsequently in this report, with a more thorough discussion of
these services at the local level.
131. In addition to this institutional framework, other agencies are identified,

which are in charge of implementing the national level policies and whose
structures vary pursuant to the particular regulations of the Codes and
Laws in each country. In some instances, they are autonomous institutes
attached to a Ministry, such as the PANI in Costa Rica, or to a Secretariat
within a Ministry, such as Paraguay’s Secretaría Nacional de la Niñez y la
Adolescencia (SNNA). The SNNA in Paraguay, for example, implements
specific programs such as “Fono Ayuda 147,” which provides toll free
telephone assistance to children and adolescent victims of abuse, or the
program “Abrazo,” which protects street children and adolescents and
includes a network of direct care facilities for children and adolescents in
such a situation. This institutional framework may be divided up into
offices in order to have a presence at the subnational levels of government.
69
With respect to the typology, see Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive
National Child Protection Systems: Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the
Caribbean, 2013. pgs. 72 and 77.

3. Coordinating or Lead Agency
132. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has been emphatic in requiring
States to create a coordinating agency (also known as lead agency), in
charge of coordination of the different actors and to make sure that the
national system functions in a comprehensive fashion. 70
133. This should be a body with sufficient authority and legal powers to include
effectively coordinating the national system in its entirety, as well as to
coordinate with other relevant systems such as social protection, health,
justice, etcetera, for the promotion and protection of the rights of all
134. The nature, hierarchical rank and specific powers conferred by the law to
this administrative office or agency varies from one State to another; it
could be an autonomous institute, or a secretariat or directorate in a
ministry. In some instances, the national policy-making body on children
additionally exercises in addition to the function of deliberation and
formulation of public policies, the function of the coordinating agency.
135. In one group of countries, namely, Brazil, El Salvador, Dominican Republic

and Mexico, the law assigns the functions of the coordinating body to the
national policy-making body on children. The IACHR takes a favorable view
of this model followed by those countries and finds that this design makes
a lot of sense, inasmuch as the same body that is responsible for the
formulation of the national children’s policy, programs and services, and
follow-up on compliance, is also the body that coordinates the functioning
of the entire national system and offers the necessary technical guidance
for compliance with the policies, programs and services, bringing together
in this way, the programmatic dimension with institutional dimension of
the national system. Nonetheless, the IACHR also notes that in practice, it
may be counterproductive to overload the national policy-making body
with duties that are actually executive and managerial in nature, unless it is
endowed with sufficient recourses to be able to perform the duties
belonging to a Coordinating agency, for example, through an executive
secretariat, that is properly equipped with human, financial and technical
resources.
136. In several countries, laws and codes assign coordination of the national
system to autonomous secretariats, directorates and institutions, which are
70
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, paras. 37 to 39.

located under ministries on the organizational chart. In these instances, the

legal nature of these institutions and their relationship of dependence and
hierarchical rank within the organizational structure of the Ministry must
be taken into account, because these factors could either boost or weaken
the coordination capacity. This is particularly important when
directorates/offices or departments are involved, whose hierarchical rank
and lack of autonomy can compromise the capacity to perform the
executive functions of arranging and coordinating of policies and programs
for children and adolescents.
137. In the view of the IACHR it as key for the coordinating agency to have a
high rank in the political-administrative hierarchy and to have clear
legal competencies that afford it effective coordination capacity of
children’s institutions, in addition to having the necessary human, financial
and technical resources available to it. It must also have the capacity to
coordinate universal public policies aimed at creating the social and
economic conditions for the satisfaction of the rights of all children and
adolescents with other ministries and public agencies.
138. The coordinating agency must draft proposed technical guidelines to

enable effective implementation, functioning and coordination of the
national system as a whole at all levels, as well as draft guidelines for
implementation of action plans to put the national children’s policy into
practice and coordinate its execution.
139. The agency is also usually assigned legal competencies of a technical

nature in the formulation of proposed operational guidelines, technical
standards, and guide manuals and action and case referral protocols for
public authorities and officials, and for public and private organizations,
which work directly with children and adolescents. In its capacity as a
specialized technical team, it can advise the national policy-making body on
children and prepare draft regulations/laws and policies for their
examination and discussion at this body.
140. The coordinating agency must also draft the strategic plan in support of
instituting the national system at all levels and provide technical assistance
to the municipalities in creating and strengthening municipal policy-
making bodies on children. Additionally, it must provide technical support
and advice to municipal services of direct casework, as well as set up and
maintain a mechanism of training and ongoing exchange for public officials.
It is equally important for it to draft and implement technical guidelines to
promote the establishment and functioning of children’s and adolescents’
consultative councils, especially by promoting training for the
representatives who make them up, at the national and subnational level,

making sure that these consultative councils have all of the human,
material and technical support they need to be able to operate.
141. This agency is usually tasked with the responsibility of keeping the
register of entities and agencies providing direct services to children,
such as public or private foster care facilities and shelters for children
without parental care or victims of violence; issuing operating licenses for
these facilities; supervising compliance with operational regulations and
monitoring them; and investigating potential irregularities or non-
compliance with the rules and, when appropriate, impose corrective
measures and sanctions, including the power to even close down the
facility affected. The coordinating agency is often assigned monitoring and
supervision functions of quality and compliance with standards by
local services providing direct care to children and adolescents.
142. In addition, one of its main duties is to promote and disseminate

information and data collection systems, as well as monitoring and
evaluation of the systems provided for in the law, making sure that the
necessary mechanisms, instruments, methodologies and guidelines are in
place for this purpose, as well as making sure that the information is
collected and made available to the public. It is also supposed to establish a
transparency and accountability strategy for the national system as a
whole, which includes making sure that the different reports drafted and
evaluations conducted are published and disseminated to the public.
143. Despite its importance, in some countries it is not clear what institution
performs this function of coordination, or whether or not the legal
competency granted to it by law is adequate to carry out the function and
able to coordinate the functioning of the national system for the protection
of children’s rights at the national and subnational level, which in and of
itself denotes a weakness in the system.
4. Participatory Structures for Children and Adolescents
144. The IACHR emphatically notes that, flowing from international obligations
in the area of the rights of the child and, especially, the right of children and
adolescents to participate and be heard, the States must create formal
structures or institutional spaces for the broad and representative
participation of children and adolescents at the different levels. The
law itself establishing the national system must provide for their creation,
in light of the importance and consequence of the participation of children

and adolescents and with a view toward ensuring the conditions of

permanence and continuity of these spaces.
145. The IACHR, nonetheless, notes that this is an aspect that is not always
implemented adequately, even though the Commission recognizes the
efforts made by several States of the region to include the participation of
the children and adolescents through a meaningful, permanent and
institutionalized approach. Some States have created, at the national and
different subnational levels, advisory bodies for children and adolescents
generally called children’s and adolescents’ consultative/advisory
councils as spaces for the institutionalized and standing participation of
children and adolescents in the framework of the national system,
especially in the processes of drafting, monitoring and evaluation of the
policies of State in the area of children. These consultative councils inform
the decision-making process of the policy-making bodies on children, at the
different levels, acting as a conduit of the opinions and recommendations of
the children and adolescents affected.
146. The mechanisms of participation must be meaningful and geared

toward different age groups, in order to make them truly accessible,
providing information and materials to facilitate active and meaningful
participation in the process. 71 The participation must also be broad,
pluralistic, diverse and inclusive, ensuring that children and
adolescents of different backgrounds, ages and social groups, inter
alia, are represented.
147. The State must additionally coordinate mechanisms and procedures to

make sure that the participation of children and adolescents in children’s
consultative councils at the national, regional and local level, guarantees an
adequate degree of representation and, in this way, reflects the
diversity of the real life circumstances of the children. In other words,
children’s consultative councils must aim to elicit from the children and
adolescent members opinions that are representative of their peers. As a
prerequisite to this, the children and adolescents themselves must engage
in a preparation process, either through dialogue, or hearings,
consultations, forums, and in children’s/juvenile organizations, that is,
groups and associations, so that the children and adolescents who take part
in these consultative councils do so as spokespersons, who reflect the
voices of other children and adolescents.
71

148. With respect to this aspect, the IACHR recommends that States include in
the national children’s policy a strategy to promote social participation of
children and adolescents and earmark resources for this purpose. The
State, as well, should provide support in the process of establishing
children’s and adolescents’ own organizations in which they can participate
in different social spaces, not just the consultative councils. 72
149. The means to ensure representation, the requirements to sit on the

children’s and adolescent’s consultative councils and the number of
representatives on them, must be adequately set forth in the rules, and
several aspects should be considered such as geographic distribution, ages,
gender, socio-economic conditions, minorities, cultural and linguistic
diversity, ethnic origin, and status of disability.
150. The law should also expressly set forth the obligation that the opinions and
recommendations of children and adolescents shall be duly taken into
account and reports will be submitted on compliance with this aspect so
that their participation is meaningful and not merely tokenistic. In other
words, explanations must be provided for how the opinions of the children
and adolescents were incorporated into the policies, programs and services
and other decisions and, when they were not, an adequate justification for
such a decision will also be provided.
151. With a view towards facilitating participation, all documentation

pertaining to the national policy, as well as evaluations and other
accountability documents, and budget-related information, must be widely
accessible to children and adolescents and expressed in understandable
language.
152. Experience shows that listening to children and adolescents helps to gain a
better grasp of their different real life circumstances and surroundings, can
help to shed light on behind-the-scenes issues or issues for which little
information is available, and their proposals and views can contribute to
tailoring interventions to be more effective.
153. The national system for the protection of children’s rights must not only
integrate participation in its structures and processes (such as the
children’s and adolescent’s consultative councils), but also promote
participation as a right of children and adolescents in the different settings
72
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No.20 (2016), measures of
implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence,” CRC/C/GC/20, December 6, 2016,
paras. 24 and 45.

where children develop and grow, thus contributing to move forward in

the recognition of this right in the family and in society.
154. The IACHR is pleased that some States have created children’s and
adolescents’ consultative councils at the national and subnational level
(regional and municipal levels), in addition to consultative councils or
advisory committees of other state institutions with the legal authority to
monitor compliance with the rights of children and adolescents, such as the
national independent human rights institution (ombudsperson’s office).
The IACHR has also identified cases in which one or several representatives
of children and adolescents sit on the national or local policy-making body
on children, that is, the deliberative body, either with voice alone or with
voice and vote. However, the experience of consultative councils seems to
provide a better opportunity for the participation of a higher number of
children and adolescents. Despite these promising steps forward, the
IACHR expresses general concern over the quality of practice, because of
the absence of formalization of this participation in the organic structures
as provided in the laws establishing national systems, and because of the
significant gaps at the local level (where few consultative councils have
been instituted).
155. Lastly, the IACHR notes that States often attempt to justify their failure to
create and institutionalize permanent spaces of social participation or
other mechanisms or means for children and adolescents to be consulted
and voice their views, by citing a lack of resources available to implement
these measures, promote participation and support them. In this regard,
the IACHR, as well as the Committee on the Rights of the Child, recalls that
investment in the exercise of the right of the child to participate and
to have his or her opinions duly taken into account is an obligation of
an immediate nature. This means that States have the duty to take legal
measures and make funding available to achieve meaningful participation
of children and adolescents in all decisions that affect them and,
specifically, in the functioning of national systems for the protection of
children’s rights. 73
73
See United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19 “on public
budgeting for the realization of the rights of the child” (art. 4)” CRC/C/GC/19, of July 21, 2016,
para. 53 and Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, The right of the
child to be heard, CRC/C/GC/12, July 20, 2009, para. 137.

E. The National Systems at the Local Level
156. The expansion of democracy at the municipal level has meant greater
responsibilities for municipal governments in the area of providing public
services and guaranteeing residents’ rights and well-being. Municipal
governments have authority over any number of matters that impact the
rights of children and adolescents. Other decentralized levels of
government, such as regions or departments, generally also have
responsibilities for children that are well-recognized. These
responsibilities in the hands of decentralized governments are provided for
not only in the codes on children, but also in the statutes on political
structure and territorial organization, such as the law on municipalities.
157. One aspect of the national systems is political-institutional

decentralization, which transfers to the regional, departmental, and
especially municipal levels (subnational levels of government) part of the
political and technical responsibility for drawing up the public policy on
children, the implementation and monitoring of that policy, and for
adopting measures of promotion, protection, and defense of the rights of
children and adolescents, and the provision of services. Accordingly, States
have different levels of decentralization with varying levels of
responsibility entrusted to the regional/departmental and municipal
institutions that work with children. 74
158. In general, as regards institutional framework, municipal governments

must have a decision-making body that determines the municipal policy on
children and that monitors its implementation; and the institutional
framework or services responsible for the implementation of policies,
direct services for children and adolescents, and case management.
159. Municipal policy-making bodies on children have the important mission

of discussing, designing, approving, monitoring and evaluating the
municipal children’s policy, which should be designed mindful of the
national children’s policy. The design of the municipal children’s policy
should adapt the priorities of the national policy mindful of the reality and
specific situation of each municipality, but without losing sight of the
importance of contributing to, being guided by, and fitting within the
national children’s policy and the attainment of its objectives, outcomes,
and goals.
74
See Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Sistemas nacionales de protección integral de la
infancia: fundamentos jurídicos y estado de aplicación en América Latina y el Caribe, 2013,
pp. 74 to 78.

160. Municipal services for the promotion, protection, and defense of children’s
rights vary widely in their competences, nature, place in the organizational
structure of government, and composition. Some are organs with greater
administrative and functional autonomy, whereas others are under a
central autonomous institution, the local government, or the national
policy-making body on children (national children’s council). In general, in
the countries of Latin America the legislation mandates that services for
the promotion, protection, and defense of the rights of children and
adolescents be established and operational at the municipal level, with
some exceptions in which these services are provided at the
regional/departmental level with the challenges intrinsic to the lack of
immediacy and the limited accessibility characteristic of such
arrangements.
161. Direct services should be permanent and free-of-charge, and ensure that
children and adolescents and their families have access to specialized
attention to ensure the effective observance of the rights of children and
adolescents at the municipal level. They are administrative, not judicial, in
nature, though they may refer cases to the courts and coordinate judicial
interventions in the context of protection actions (for example adopting an
exceptional protective measure that entails separating a child from his or
her family).
162. Among the functions that the laws authorize them to carry out are:
i. Actions to disseminate the rights of children and adolescents with

social campaigns to raise awareness and educational actions geared to
children and adolescents and their families, possibly coordinating with
the schools, community and neighborhood groups, local organizations,
health centers, and other agencies;
ii. Provide specialized orientation and support for families, helping to

strengthen their capacities and to reduce situations of risk to the rights
of children and adolescents;
iii. Promote family conciliation and other alternative dispute resolution

methods for family disputes that affect children and adolescents (e.g.
child support payments), favoring negotiation by the parties, and
avoiding taking matters to court where possible;
iv. Detect or receive cases involving the restriction and violation of the
rights of children and adolescents;
v. Preventive intervention in the case of a threat to or violation of the

rights of a child or adolescent;

vi. Perform assessment of the family context and of the conditions of

children and adolescents using multidisciplinary teams;
vii. Decide on the application of an administrative measure of protection

applying a plan to support the family and restore the rights of the child
or adolescent, accompanying the family group and supervising
implementation of the measure;
viii. Draw up and accompany the plan for restoring rights and coordinating
implementation of the measures so that the competent institutions act
in a timely and coordinated manner;
ix. Refer the cases that fall under their jurisdiction to the judicial
authorities, as provided by law, and request that urgent exceptional
measures of protection be granted (such as separation from the family
to protect the child);
x. Report to the prosecutorial authorities those acts that presumably

constitute a crime against a child or adolescent;
xi. Inspect the public and private agencies devoted to carrying out
alternative care programs and take stock of the situation of children
and adolescents in them, and follow up on the situation of children and
adolescents in a modality of alternative family care;
xii. Support the implementation of alternatives to the deprivation of liberty

for adolescents in conflict with the criminal law, in coordination with
the judge;
xiii. Undertake and promote studies and research to strengthen actions for
promoting, protecting, and defending the rights of children and
adolescents in order to disseminate them among the competent
authorities and public, social, and private sectors, to engage them in the
respective programs;
xiv. Advise the competent authorities, accompanying them in implementing

the legal framework for protecting the rights of children and
adolescents and drawing up the municipal children’s policy;
xv. Promote coordination of the public, social, and private sectors in

planning and carrying out actions in favor of addressing the needs of,
defending, and protecting children and adolescents, among them with
other municipal offices, health centers, schools, police, civil registry
offices, neighborhood associations and grassroots organizations,

courts, and nongovernmental organizations, including organizations of

children and adolescents; and
xvi. In some cases, these centers also offer legal representation services to
children and adolescents in judicial proceedings, or third-party
services, without detriment to the powers of the Office of the Attorney
General.
163. The types of services provided are generally very bound up with the
subsystem for special protection from violence, abuse, exploitation, and
neglect, and case management, although the IACHR considers that
protection of rights and prevention should be bolstered.
164. In addition, these municipal services should keep an electronic record of

the cases they handle and manage, including consultations, respecting
confidentiality. To this end a standardized methodology should be applied
in all the municipalities so as to allow for comparisons and for recording
data that is broken down so as to be useful for drawing up a profile of the
types of cases that reach these services. This information should be used in
designing the municipal-level child protection policies. They should
present periodic reports to the municipal authorities, and one annual
report, on their activities and the results of their activities and
interventions as well as case statistics, which should be public and easy to
access and consult.
165. These municipal services should be multidisciplinary, with a team of

professionals from different specialties. Usually the law identifies
professionals in the areas of the law, psychology, social work, and other
disciplines to work in these services, in addition to administrative support
staff.
166. The States should guarantee the effective accessibility, availability,

adaptability, and quality of services and programs at the local level,
bringing services and services management closer to the families, children,
and communities. The services should also be culturally relevant, offered in
the various languages spoken in the country, and easy to access physically
in terms of their location and as regards removing architectural barriers.
They should also be adapted for children and adolescents of different ages,
without discrimination. Access should be easy and safe for all persons.
These services should be governed by quality standards, guided by clear
protocols and procedures, and have adequate coverage.
167. The locale should have adequate and accessible physical facilities that
guarantee safe spaces and a non-intimidating environment for children and
adolescents, while ensuring a private and confidential service for each

person. The offices or centers where these services are provided, as a place
of reference for the promotion, protection, and defense of the rights of
children and adolescents in the community, should have the best possible
conditions for providing the services.
168. Many children simply do not know where to turn to ask for help and cannot
do so due to their age or because they feel fear or reservations, especially
when the perpetrator is a member of the family, caregiver, teacher, or any
other person responsible for their protection and well-being, or in a
position of superiority. To this end, in order for them to perform their
functions it is important to ensure the widespread availability of the
service in the municipality, among children and adolescents and
community members generally, so that any person can come forward to
lodge a complaint, express a concern, or consult on a given matter. 75 These
services should foster trust in children and adolescents and in the
community in general. Children and adolescents, in particular, must be
treated with respect and their consultations as well as any information or
complaint they present should be taken seriously and handled
appropriately, making them aware of the options and measures to be
adopted, and keeping them informed. The design and dissemination of
materials, signs, posters, and graphics that are easy to understand for
children and adolescents of various ages should be part of the strategy for
ensuring the widespread availability of these services. Making these
services available through the schools is also a good strategy (for example
with presentations on the service), as is cooperation between the school
and these services for early identification and referral of cases of lack of
protection. Close cooperation with health services is also well-advised.
169. The IACHR recalls that all professionals who are in contact with children
and adolescents, such as teachers, educators, health professionals, and
social workers, among others, when they learn of a possible situation of
lack of protection or violation of the rights of a child or adolescents should
have the obligation, establish by law, to bring the situation to the attention
75
Mutatis mutandi, the Commission has acknowledged that “the ability to submit complaints or
claims must be extensive stakeholders. In that way, said ability to report complaints or claims
may not be restricted to particular persons, the very staff members of the facility or institution,
the child’s family members, civil society organizations, as well as any other person who becomes
aware of a situation that warrants doing so, should be able to do so. There should also not be
any restrictions either on what type of issues can be subject to complaints or reporting of claims,
and mechanisms must be in place to allow anonymous reporting of petitions or complaints,” The
Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the Americas,
para. 407.

of the competent authority, such as for example these municipal children’s

services. 76
170. The IACHR also considers very relevant the existence of clear protocols
and guidelines for action that take account of the rights of the child and
the best interest of the child, as well as codes of conduct for the
professionals who work in these services, and appropriate sanctions in the
event they are breached.
171. The IACHR has observed the important role the coordinating agency may
play supporting local services with a view to increasing the quality of the
service they provide by issuing guidelines and protocols, and drawing up
minimum standards for quality and coverage, in addition to monitoring
their performance. In addition, they can also carry out actions such as
producing manuals and practical guides, organizing courses and trainings,
and creating spaces for sharing methodologies, materials, and transfer of
knowledge and experiences. All this is with a view to strengthening
national systems locally, transforming institutional practices so as to
guarantee better protection for the rights of children and adolescents.
172. The spaces for articulating the representatives of the local policy-making
bodies on children (municipal children’s councils) and the regional
authorities may also be an opportunity for strengthening the national
systems. Including the question of children on the agenda of the
mechanisms for inter-municipal coordination, or on the agenda of the
associations of municipalities, produces a greater level of political
commitment to the issue and impacts on the capacity of municipalities to
be able to assess their main challenges when it comes to carrying out their
obligations to uphold the rights of children and to seek common solutions
in cooperation with the central level.
76
Mutatis mutandi, the Commission has stated, regarding the principle of the best interest of the
child and the special duty arising under Article 19 of the American Convention, that “the staff of
the centers and institutions must be obligated to report any instances or circumstances that
come to their attention, which may entail an infringement of children’s rights in the context of
the care received by them at the center or institution, as well as setting forth the appropriate
disciplinary or other sanctions in the legislation, when noncompliance of this obligation is
proven,” IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, para. 408. Along the same lines as establishing compulsory
reporting mechanisms, the following have made pronouncements: Committee on the Rights of
the Child, General Comment No. 13, The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence,
CRC/C/GC/13, April 18, 2011, para. 49 and in the Joint report of the Special Rapporteur on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on Violence against Children, A/HRC/16/56, March 7, 2011, para. 55.

173. The IACHR notes that it is important for the law to be clear in dictating that
forming municipal policy-making bodies on children and municipal
services for children is an obligation, determining the authority responsible
for establishing them. The IACHR observes that the establishment of the
national systems at the municipal level has been a slow process, in relation
to the creation of the municipal policy-making bodies on children and
especially direct municipal services, with a worrisome lack of political will
in some cases and a lack of legal mechanisms for demanding their
implementation.
174. Finally, it should be noted that depending on a country’s institutional

structure, field offices of the national autonomous institution or agency or
of the respective ministry responsible for children’s matters may be set up
to operate and carry out specific programs. In addition, the centers for
alternative care are located in various parts of the territory; depending on
the institutional framework of each State they may be under the municipal
authorities or the national autonomous institution or agency entrusted
with children’s affairs
F. The Subsystem of Protection from Violence, Abuse,

Exploitation, and Neglect
175. The IACHR notes that reference is generally made in the region to a
national subsystem for the protection of children and adolescents from
violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, abandonment, and lack of adequate
parental care (hereinafter “subsystems for protection from violence” or
“subsystem”). This subsystem is not about, or should not be about, a
subsystem disconnected from the national system for the protection of
children’s rights. The IACHR observes that the process of constructing and
transforming the approach to children and the obligations of the State that
stem from that approach, adopting the policies and establishing the
institutions to that end, evolved from the entry into force of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child. In the course of this process initially the notion
of creating a system for protecting the rights of children began to take
shape around the concept of protecting children and adolescents from
violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Intervention around protection
from the various phenomena of violence and neglect or lack of adequate
parental care were and have continued to be, to this day, the interventions
that account for the lion’s share of State efforts, leading the institutional
structures to organize and operate in light of these priorities.

176. More recently, this conception has been called into question since the
interventions of a system with these characteristics come once the
violation of rights has already taken place, the logic of intervention being
very much focused on special measures of protection in response to the
violation and how to restore rights.
177. This model has major weaknesses. First, it was not a true system for fully
guaranteeing the effective implementation of all the rights of the child, as
provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Second, the same
model of intervention neglected looking at the causes of the violence and
the dimension of prevention, which requires a multisectoral approach.
178. The IACHR observes that at present all the national systems continue to
give considerable specific weight to special protection in the face of the
phenomena of violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, abandonment, and
lack of adequate parental care – or what continues to be called the
“subsystem of protection from violence.” Nonetheless, there has been a
trend towards a genuine national system for the full implementation of the
rights of children and adolescents without denying or minimizing the
challenges that persist to full implementation of the integral-system model.
179. At present, direct services at the municipal level include, for example,
preventive actions for orienting and supporting families, or actions to
disseminate the rights of children among children and adolescents
themselves, their families, and the community. There is also better
coordination with social policies, which reflects a more holistic vision and
includes preventive actions.
180. The fact that several of the national systems of the region, in practice, are
structured and operate guided fundamentally by the logic of protection
from violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect is due in part to the scope of
the phenomenon of violence against children and adolescents and the
multiple manifestations of violence and settings in which it occurs, as well
as the effects it has on the integral development of children and
adolescents and on the exercise of other rights. All this no doubt requires
the attention of the State.
181. In this respect, the IACHR emphasizes that the set of policies, programs,
and services that are taken in under what are called systems of protection
from violence should be completely integrated in the national systems for
the protection of children’s rights, and draws attention to the challenges of
a vision focused excessively on these subsystems without taking into
consideration the need for the national system to be integral. A restrictive
view on the part of the national systems focused fundamentally on the

subsystem of protection from violence poses major challenges even for

tackling and preventing violence, since it requires articulating holistic,
multisectoral, and multifaceted actions that respond to complex
phenomena.
182. The IACHR has also stated that it is common for contemporary society to
continue showing levels of tolerance and permissibility towards certain
forms of violence against children, like corporal punishment, under the
supposed justification of “childrearing and discipline”. 77 The lack of
adequate legislation that expressly and clearly prohibits all forms of
violence and public policies that promote social changes contributes to this
state of affairs. 78 The Commission has referred with concern to the lack of
an adequate legal framework that expressly prohibits all forms of
violence against children, and at the same time guarantees policies,
programs, and services to prevent and eradicate such violence.
183. In the Commission’s view, among the measures aimed at ensuring the right
to a life free from violence for children, it is fundamental to take action to
modify the structural and institutional conditions, as well as the social
norms and cultural standards that legitimate and reproduce forms of
violence against children and adolescents, and to ensure the effective
enforcement of the current law on the subject and work to turn back the
high levels of impunity in crimes against the integrity of children and
adolescents. 79 That is why the holistic, multisectoral, and multifaceted
approach of the national systems, promoting the empowerment and
participation of children and adolescents, is crucial for addressing the
violence, as is direct work with the families and the community.
184. As regards situations of abandonment and neglect, the IACHR has also
expressed the importance of linking the interventions with the social
policies of protection for the family and social development, and has called
attention to the persistence of state outlooks and responses that are more
in line with guardianship and welfare-oriented models, with a strong
emphasis on institutionalizing and separating children and adolescents
from their families. 80 In this respect, the IACHR has said that an integral
77
See IACHR, Report on Corporal Punishment and Human Rights of Children and Adolescents,
2009, and especially paragraph 35.
78
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 40/15, November 11,
2015, para. 121.
79
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 40/15, November 11,
2015, para. 293.
80
Americas, executive summary.

approach must be adopted by a robust national system based on a holistic

and multisectoral view of the issues and situations affecting children.
1. Adopting Measures of Protection
185. The States should establish mechanisms for offering adequate and suitable
protection to children and adolescents at risk and who have been victims of
violence, abuse, exploitation, or neglect. In light of the circumstances, these
measures of protection may also be exceptional and presuppose the
temporary or permanent separation of the child from his or her family to
protect the child.
186. The IACHR has noted the importance of offering specialized responses to
the various situations of lack of protection that affect children and
adolescents that consider and are respectful of the rights of children and
adolescents, promote the effective observance of their rights, and address
the socioeconomic and structural causes underlying the situations of lack
of protection through social policies and social services. To the extent
possible, and in keeping with the law, one should avoid bringing into court
the social problems underlying the situation of violation of rights when
these problems can be addressed more efficiently and adequately by social
policies aimed at protecting and supporting the family, in particular when
the backdrop to many of the measures of protection is poverty and social
exclusion, and the impact of such living conditions on families. 81
187. The IACHR has also emphasized that the principle of legality should
prevail when it comes to regulating the procedure in the context of which
decisions are adopted that affect the rights of children. As the Court and the
Commission have indicated, the procedures, be they judicial or
administrative, whose aim is to define rights, must be regulated by law, in
addition to guaranteeing the procedural rights and guarantees recognized
by the American Convention. 82 In addition, any action that affects a child
must be based on the evaluation by the professionals in the
81
Americas, paras. 231 and 232.
82
Americas, paras. 231 and 232. I/A Court HR. Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child.
Advisory Opinion OC-17/02, paras. 94, 103 and 107, and, Case of Barbani Duarte et al. v.
Uruguay. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of October 13, 2011. Series C No. 234. paras.
116 to 119. I/A Court HR. Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs.
Judgment of February 6, 2001. Series C No. 74, para. 105; I/A Court HR. Case of the
Constitutional Court v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 31, 2001. Series
C No. 71, paras. 69 to 71.

multidisciplinary teams, must be objectively and sufficiently

reasoned, as required by law, and must be in keeping with the best
interest of the child, subject to verifications of its suitability and
legitimacy through follow-up by the teams of experts. 83
188. The IACHR, in its report The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative
Care. Ending Institutionalization in the Americas, has addressed the
principles and guarantees applicable for the determination, application,
and review of an exceptional measure of protection that entails the
separation of a child from his or her family, care for the child then being
entrusted to alternative family environments or centers specialized in
protection, taking into account that separation from the family
environment should always be a last resort and for the least time possible,
in keeping with international and inter-American standards. The IACHR
has also highlighted the need for the measure to be adopted by the
competent authority in keeping with the applicable law and procedures,
strictly respecting due process guarantees, and subject to judicial review. 84
189. Based on what has been noted, protection services should have clear
protocols for managing cases that come in of children and adolescents in
need of a protective measure. These protocols should include, at a
minimum: guidelines for early identification of violations of rights; means
for determining the situation of the child and his or her family by
multidisciplinary teams; requirements for proceeding to refer to other
offices (such as health and social services) when required or to bring the
case to the attention of the judicial authorities; and it should consider the
processes needed to determine and implement the intervention most in
keeping with the best interest of the child, based on the design of an
integral plan for restoring rights that is coordinated with other offices or
agencies.
190. A case management mechanism implies having procedures, protocols, and

assignment of responsibility in the provision of protection services all
established in a legal regulation. There must be an institutional circuit and
predetermined and clear protocols for action when adopting both integral
83
I/A Court HR. Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02,
para. 113. Along the same lines guideline 57 of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of
Children establishes: “Decision-making on alternative care in the best interests of the child
should take place through a judicial, administrative or other adequate and recognized
procedure, with legal safeguards, including, where appropriate, legal representation on behalf of
children in any legal proceedings.”
84
Americas, paras. 65 to 75.

and exceptional measures, and one should ensure proper registration of all
interventions with respect to children served in the services of the national
system.
191. Integral measures may consist of providing support to the family through
social workers and psychologists, drawing on material aid mechanisms
such as subsidies, who help to better carry out parental responsibilities and
contribute to the child’s protection and well-being. 85 Exceptional measures
imply that based on the evaluations done by the multidisciplinary teams
and according to the terms set out in full in the law, a determination has
been made that it is necessary to separate the child from his or her family
either temporarily or definitively, for the child’s protection. In the initial
evaluation and the decision to open the case there must be a procedure for
determining the best interest of the child that includes hearing directly
from the child. There must also be protocols for referring cases to other
agencies or services, and criteria must be established for closing a case. At
the same time, the law should set out rules to ensure that cases are handled
confidentially.
192. The IACHR considers it important that the law also spell out specific
mechanisms for periodic review or audit of how cases are managed, to be
performed by the coordinating agency or other administrative offices, in its
role as guarantor of the adequate working of the national system as per the
protocols, guidelines, and standards applicable, and correct actions should
be taken as appropriate. In addition, it should be provided that the national
independent human rights institute be able to review whether the
management of protection matters generally follows the protocols and is in
keeping with the regulations, and that recommendations be made in this
regard.
G. The Justice System and its Relationship with the

National System for the Protection of Children’s Rights
193. The right of access to justice for the victims of human rights violations is
recognized in the main international human rights instruments, among
them the American Convention and the American Declaration. This is a
right recognized for all persons, and therefore for children and adolescents
as well. In addition, the age and growth and development of children, and
85
See IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in
the Americas, paras. 76 et seq.

their dependence on adults when it comes to exercising their rights in light

of their age and maturity, presupposes that the State adopt special
guarantees to ensure that this group has access to justice.
194. Children and adolescents face particular challenges and barriers due to
their condition that may entail obstacles that in practice impede effective
access to justice, leaving violations of their rights in impunity and
negatively impacting their right to obtain adequate reparation.
195. The State has the duty to ensure access to effective justice for children and
adolescents stemming from Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention,
in conjunction with Articles 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention, and
should adopt all adequate measures, giving special consideration to the
particular conditions of children and adolescents and the duty of special
protection towards them mindful of Article 19 of the American Convention,
to effectively guarantee access to justice.
196. With respect to this issue, the IACHR has observed the need to strengthen
the ties between the national system and the justice sector, with the
objective of ensuring effective access for children and adolescents whose
rights have been violated, diminishing the high levels of impunity that
currently exist in relation to the violations of the rights of children and
adolescents, so as to help prevent their repetition, and to articulate integral
and integrated measures of reparation and restitution of rights.
197. Some of the barriers and deterrent elements that the IACHR has
identified in access to justice for children and adolescents are associated
with the lack of knowledge on the part of children and adolescents of their
rights and the possibility of filing complaints and how to do so and where;
the limitation on the standing of persons who can file actions with the
justice system in response to violations of the rights of children and
adolescents, since in some cases it is limited to parents and/or guardians,
without children and adolescents being able to exercise the right on their
own; the lack of legal counsel and independent and specialized legal
representation, free of charge, for children, allowing them to effectively
defend their interests and rights; the short limitations periods for some
crimes committed against children and adolescents; the scant adaptation of
judicial procedures to children and adolescents and the lack of
specialization of the courts in respect of the rights of children; the fear of
re-victimization in the context of judicial procedures; and the lack of trust
in the authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes against children and
adolescents.

198. With respect to the right of access to justice and to the ability to assert
rights before a court of law, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has
written that:
For rights to have meaning, effective measures must be

available to redress violations. This requirement is implicit in
the Convention and consistently referred to in the other six
major human rights treaties. Children’s special and dependent
status creates real difficulties for them in pursuing remedies
for breaches of their rights. So States need to give particular
attention to ensuring that there are effective, child-sensitive
procedures available to children and their representatives.
These should include the provision of child-friendly
information, advice, advocacy, including support for self-
advocacy, and access to independent complaints procedures
and to courts with necessary legal and other assistance.
Where rights are found to have been breached, there should
be appropriate reparation, including compensation, and,
where needed, measures to promote physical and
psychological recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration, as
required by article 39 [of the CRC]. 86
199. Coordination between the national system for the protection of children’s
rights and the justice system is of vital importance in order to be able to
identify, address and overcome barriers, and effectively guarantee the right
to justice for children and adolescents. However, coordination between the
two areas, the national system and the justice sector, has been lacking and
ineffective in guaranteeing access to justice for children and adolescents
and ensuring that they have access to full and integrated care, tailored to
their status as children and adolescents and victims of human rights
violations.
200. In this regard, the IACHR deems it necessary for the national system and
the justice sector to jointly coordinate a strategy to ensure effective access
of children and adolescents to justice. Actions regarded by the IACHR as
requiring review include ensuring that children and adolescents have
access to information about their rights, including their right of access to
justice, and where to go to file a complaint or a lawsuit. Mechanisms for
filing a complaint must be accessible and safe, free of any formal
procedures or other limitations and/or requirements, which
unjustifiably restrict the ability of children and adolescents to gain
86

access to justice. The IACHR finds it important to grant broad and clear
legal authority to the direct care services of the national system in place at
the local level to be able to examine complaints brought by children and
adolescents, who resort to those services, and provide them with legal
counseling and support them in gaining access to the judicial system.
201. The IACHR also finds it important to establish by law the duty of
professionals, who come into contact or work with children and
adolescents, to report instances of any suspicion or risk of any situation
violating their rights.
202. Judicial proceedings must be made expeditious, accessible,

appropriate and understandable to children and adolescents, with
care being taken so that sufficient information is provided to them in
understandable language about any proceedings affecting them. By the
same token, every mechanism must be provided to facilitate the right
of children and adolescents to be heard in the context of proceedings
that affect them and for their best interests to be assessed. The IACHR
has also held that States must ensure access to free and quality legal
assistance and representation, and ensure the existence
of specialized jurisdictional bodies to hear cases involving children’s
rights. It is also important to organize periodic training for judges,
prosecutors, attorneys, police officers, teachers, social workers, health care
workers and other professionals, on the subject of the rights of children
and adolescents, including their right of access to justice. These cases must
be heard expeditiously and diligently, making sure they are promptly
processed and adjudicated and access to adequate compensation must be
ensured for children and adolescent victims, and any necessary measures
for the recovery, rehabilitation and full restoration of their rights must be
taken.
203. In the context of judicial proceedings, the privacy and wellbeing of children
victims and witnesses must be ensured and protected throughout all stages
of the criminal trials. Children and adolescents must not be subjected to
revictimization as a result of taking part in criminal trials. For this purpose,
the number of interviews should be limited or testimony should be video-
recorded. Along these same lines, the IACHR deems it important to put into
place evidence collection and assessment protocols to be sensitive to the
best interests of the child, such as adapting the way testimony of young
children is taken and assessed or how evidence is collected, when children
and adolescents are the victims of sexual violence (in coordination with the
health sector).
204. The IACHR finds it useful for protocols or “road maps” to be drafted to
guide officials and public employees during complaint intake, judicial

proceedings, and with regard to the necessary care and treatment in order
to involve officials of both the national system and the justice sector and,
when appropriate, the health sector, so that a comprehensive approach is
taken. Additionally, the State must design comprehensive and
integrated services for the assistance of child and adolescent victims
of crime, to encompass legal, psycho-social and medical aspects,
among other ones, avoiding to the maximum extent possible the
victims having to go to different agencies to obtain different
components of the full care and assistance required by them.
205. The IACHR also recommends the State to draft indicators of access to
justice for children and adolescents, which include data such as the
number of cases detected by child assistance services; the number of
complaints filed; the number of court judgments, specifying whether or not
they led to conviction or acquittal; and the rate of impunity for crimes
against children and adolescents, by type of crime. For a thorough analysis,
it is important to cross check the data from the justice sector with data
generated by other sectors, such as those of the national system, health,
law enforcement, as well as child and adolescent victimization surveys and
information from civil society organizations and research institutes.
Periodically, the State must evaluate compliance with the right of access to
justice for children and adolescents, identify persistent obstacles, and
approve a plan of measures to overcome them.
H. Private Service Providers
206. The law can establish some of the functions and services under the purview
of the national system be delivered by properly accredited private agencies
and/or non-governmental organizations, under the terms of a service
provision contract. The law usually explicitly sets forth the type of services
that may be contracted out to private agencies, the administrative
registration and qualification obligation, in addition to the applicable rules
of operation and quality of the service provided by them and the
inspections and oversight to which they will be subjected.
207. These private service providers, in some countries, usually manage

residential childcare facilities and institutions, where children without
parental care or who have been victims of violence are housed.
208. The Commission has expressly addressed private and public child and
adolescent protection and care service providers. The States of the region
have opted for a variety of models of child protection service providers. In
some countries, these services and facilities are public agencies and are

directly managed and funded by the State, while other countries these
services are provided by private agencies, managed by private individuals,
or by a mixed private/public arrangement, wherein the facilities are
privately owned but publicly funded for their partial or total operation. 87
209. In this regard, the Commission and the Court have established that, under
Articles 19 of the ACHR and VII of the ADRDM, children’s and adolescents’
right to protection, wellbeing and comprehensive development, is a matter
of public interest and, as such, it is the duty of the State to adequately
regulate and oversee all public and private service providers (even when
no service provision contract with the State is involved), which provide the
different basic and fundamental services of the care for children directly
linked to the observance of their rights. 88 By the same token, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that States Parties “shall
ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care
or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by
competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the
number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.” 89
210. The Commission, therefore, finds that States have the duty to regulate and
oversee the establishment and functioning of all services of care, custody,
and protection, such as residential care facilities and shelters,
87
For this section, see, IACHR, report The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care.
Ending institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013,
paragraphs 323 et seq.
88
For this section, see, IACHR, report The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care.
Ending institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013,
paragraph 328. IA Court of HR. Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory
Opinion OC-17/02, para. 78. Also see, IA Court of HR. Case of Ximenes Lopes v. Brazil. Judgment
of July 4, 2006. Series C No. 149, pars. 90, 96 and 97.
89
Article 3.3 of the CRC. Also see, United Nations, Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children,
guideline 5, and, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, general
measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, (articles 4 and 42 and
paragraph 6 of article 44), CRC/GC/2003/5, November 27, 2003, paragraph 43. Also see:
st
Committee on the Rights of the Child, report of the 31 session, September to October 2002,
Day of general debate on “The private sector as a service provided and its function in the
realization of the rights of the child,” paragraphs 630 to 653. Committee on the Rights of the
Child, General comment No 7, Implementaiton of the rights of the child in early childhood,
CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, Septemeber 20, 2006, paragraph 32.

independently of whether they are public, private or mixed. 90 The

regulations of the establishment and functioning of these facilities and the
provision of services by them must be governed under the principle of the
best interests of the child and address aspects pertaining to service quality
and standards for effective protection of the rights of children and
adolescents.
211. Moreover, States’ obligations must include regulation of: i) qualification

requirements and procedures for getting an authorization for operating,
licensing and registry of residential care facilities, ii) period of validity of
the authorization, renewal and extension thereof, and, iii) grounds for
revocation of authorization. Child and adolescent protection and care
service providers must be properly accredited and licensed to operate and
appear in the appropriate register. For these purposes, States must create a
registry of service providing agencies for the care and protection of
children and adolescents. 91
212. Lastly, States have the obligation to establish a permanent mechanism

or process of supervision, control and oversight to make sure that all
public and private service providers effectively comply with and respect
the regulations, regardless of whether or not they have entered into a
service provision and/or public funding agreement or contract. In many
States, inspection duties are reserved for the coordinating agency of the
national system. The law must provide for civil, administrative and
criminal sanctions, as appropriate, in the event of a breach in the terms of
service provision and/or violations of rights. 92
90
IACHR, report The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013, paragraph
328. The Commission has underscored that these obligations of regulation and supervision are
fundamentally important when public and private residential care facilities and institutions are
in charge of the protection, custody and care of children separated from their families, inasmuch
as both the duty of special protection of the child children under article 19 of the Convention
and the particular protection needs of these chidren are applicable. In relation to these
circumstances, the State has a heightened duty as guarantor in light of the situation of
vulnerability, which children separated from their families are in, and this means, as the Court
has recalled, that the State “must assume a special position of guarantor with greater care and
responsibility, and must take measures especially oriented in the principle of the best interests
of the child.”
91
institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013, para. 334.
92
institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013, paras. 334
and 342. Also see the opinion of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, General comment No.
5, General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (articles 4
and 42 y paragraph 6 of article 44), CRC/GC/2003/5, November 27, 2003, para. 43. Also see:

I. Non-State Actors and Community Structures
213. The major international human rights instruments on the rights of the child
include references to the role of society and the community in the
protection and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Article 19 of the
ACHR establishes that “Every minor child has the right to the measures of
protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family,
society, and the state.” While it is important to emphasize that the
obligations to respect, protect and guarantee flowing from the rights
recognized in the treaties, conventions and other international instruments
refer to States, there is also recognition of the place held by society, the
community and the people in the immediate surroundings of the child to
his or her development and protection.
214. In this regard, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has written that
“while it is the State which takes on obligations under the Convention, its
task of implementation – of making reality of the human rights of children –
needs to engage all sectors of society and, of course, children themselves.” 93
215. Therefore, the role played by different actors in the development of

children and adolescents, in exercising their rights and in protecting them
from any violation of their rights or form of violence or neglect, is
recognized, particularly as it pertains to actors, who are in close contact
with the child in the physical surroundings where he or she grows up and
develops.
216. In several Codes and Special Laws for Children, references are made to
actors who are not officials or agents of the State, recognizing their role in
the protection of the rights of the child and in the functioning of the
national system. These actors include community-based organizations,
parents’ associations, civil society organizations working on behalf of the
rights of the child, organizations of children’s and adolescents’ themselves,
neighborhood councils, community associations, churches and religious
congregations, civil associations, volunteer networks, and outreach
st
Committee on the Rights of the Child, report of the 31 session, September to October 2002,
Day of general debate on “The private sector as a service provided and its function in the
realization of the rights of the child,” paragraphs 630 to 653. Committee on the Rights of the
Child, General comment No 7, Implementaiton of the rights of the child in early childhood,
CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, Septemeber 20, 2006, paragraph 32.
93
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, general measures of
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, (articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6
of article 44), para. 1. Also, in comment No. 13 on the right of the child to freedom from all
forms of violence, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recognizes the importance for
community levels to be included in the coordinating framework to combat violence.

workers’ networks. The nature of these actors is quite diverse; however, all
share the common trait of being in the close physical proximity to the
children and adolescents and the ability to make a positive contribution to
promoting and defending their rights.
217. The community structures to which we are referring may consist of a

network or a group of individuals working in coordination within a
community, usually as volunteers, on behalf of promotion and protection of
children’s rights. The structure, operation and responsibilities of such
mechanisms can be formalized to a greater or lesser degree, and some of
them have become legal entities. Levels of organization, operational
capacity, sustainability, and formality are, therefore, different.
218. These community-based support structures for children have historical

roots in the region from social movements of solidarity or emancipation, at
times linked to social ministries of churches. More recently, many of the
community mechanisms specifically focused on the children’s rights
promotion and protection have been spearheaded by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and international cooperation in coordination with
the community and, in many instances, have received some degree of State
support. They are usually present in the poorest and most remote areas,
rural and peri-urban areas, and arise from an absence or limited presence
of formal services of the national system. At the current time, NGOs and
international cooperation agencies fulfill a role as facilitators, capacity
builders, technical and economic support advisors, among other ones, but
they are not the direct implementers of these community-based
mechanisms.
219. The development of community-based mechanisms and the coordination

thereof with the national system has given rise to significant achievements,
such as increased sensitivity and social mobilization of communities and
families, who take on a more active role in child protection; promotion of
rights awareness; prevention strategies implemented by the network
members, and in conjunction with the families; helping to defuse violence
against children and adolescents and violent practices rooted in society
(such as corporal punishment); implementation and enhancement of
systems of detection, reporting and referral to formal bodies of the national
system for child and adolescent victims of violence and of other violations
of their rights; teaching children and adolescents about their rights and
different self-advocacy skills; promotion of participation and recognition of
children and adolescents as social actors or stakeholders in society; social
mobilization for policy advocacy; and the development of response
strategies and intervention models in cases of violations.

220. Empowering children and adolescents by making them aware of their

rights and promoting their participation in society and their leadership is
one of the strengths of several of the community-based mechanisms in the
region. Children and adolescents mobilize around their rights and engage
in specific dissemination and training activities about their rights;94 they
engage in participatory actions for diagnostic assessment of issues; and
they are empowered for advocacy and participation in formulating budget
proposals for public children’s policy and the monitoring thereof.
221. Some Children’s Codes and Special Laws provide for mechanisms of
coordination and formal collaboration between community-based
structures and the structures of the national system. The level where the
highest degree of interaction and symbiosis can be identified between
community-based structures and the formal structures of the national
system is at the local level. The local level is where the functioning of the
national system must have the greatest operational capacity to carry out
direct actions and be capable of providing coverage to all children and
adolescents, their families and communities; yet this is where the greatest
weaknesses lies, especially in the most marginalized and isolated areas.
Consequently, coordination between the formal system and the community
structures is especially important at this level, and particularly, in areas
with less of a presence of the national system.
222. The collaborative frameworks of these community structures with the

national system for the protection of children’s rights usually vary
according to the particular country and the actors involved. In general, the
common thread to them all is that representatives of civil society
organizations and of the community structure sit on the local policy-
making bodies on children to take part in the functioning of the national
system through local public children’s policy formulation and the
monitoring thereof. These social organizations and community structures,
for example, are represented in working groups, committees and other
spaces, which are created at the local level to coordinate the efforts of the
public agencies through actions, which non-State actors and community
structures may have been conducting (such as a committee against human
trafficking, a committee for the prevention of violence). In other words,
these are spaces of deliberation and discussion of actions and strategies,
where the representatives of the institutions comprising the national
system and the community structures come together and participate
alongside each other.
94
Usually, specific education and sensitivity training is provided, which promote the ability to
identify cases of violence, express fear, making it easier to ask for help, awareness of one’s own
body and making psychogical or gender violence visible, among other things.

223. In other countries, however, the degree of interaction is higher. In these

countries, the children’s code or special law provides for the ability to
incorporate community-based protection mechanisms into the national
system as a component part. In these instances, the law makes it possible
for grass roots or community-based groups to be able to register and
constitute a unit/center/office of promotion, protection advisory
assistance on the rights of children and adolescents, which provides
services to its community. Such is the case of some of the Defensorías del
Niño y del Adolescente (DEMUNAS) of Peru.
224. The staff and outreach workers at these centers are often mothers,
teachers, community leaders, and in general individuals, who are usually
linked to the function of these direct care centers or programs on a
voluntary basis. In some instances, the person in charge of the office is paid,
or those working at it received some type of compensation, but very often
the workers do their jobs strictly as volunteers. These individuals receive
training and instruction by the members of the national system, and there
are action, management and case referral protocols in place for the
volunteers to follow, and they are also subjected to the supervision of the
State.
225. These community-based structures, that are formally linked to the national
system, usually focus their activities on aspects pertaining to: promotion
and dissemination of rights; advisory assistance on access to services;
some preventive and protective interventions; social mobilization and
social participation of children and adolescents; as well as early detection,
notification and referral of cases to formal services of the national system
or other competent authorities. Their actions are usually limited to
interventions that do not require a high degree of professionalization and
specialization, and are more linked to aspects of public information,
prevention, early detection and case referral.
226. In areas with less of a presence of the national system, these mechanisms
act as the “entryway to the national system,” the first point of contact with
the national system. Nonetheless, these community-based services must be
adequately linked and supported by the formal structures of the national
system, especially by the local direct care services for children and
adolescents and other public institutions with a child protection mandate
(health, education, law enforcement), in order to be able to refer in a timely
fashion those cases that so require it for adequate treatment.
227. In general, community-based mechanisms for the promotion and

protection of rights play a significant role in increasing the sensitivity of
society and promoting a culture of greater respect for children and

adolescents and are found throughout all countries of the region.

Coordination of the national system with these community level structures
has a basis in different cultural, historic, institutional and legal aspects,
which characterize several countries and societies. In this regard, the
IACHR deems it imperative for a national system to be based and founded
on framework legislation for children, which clearly sets the formal limits
of the national system, its functions, legal authority, as well as its capacity
to coordinate with community structures, with a clear definition of the
scope and limits of this coordination with these structures, in order to
determine the responsibility of the State emanating from it.
228. This coordination must not create two separate child care systems, which
provide differential care; the State is responsible for the promotion,
protection and defense of the human rights of all children and adolescents
throughout its territory, as well as for the functioning of the national
system, the quality and coverage thereof. Therefore, it is important for the
law to clearly define the scope and limits of this coordination between the
national system and the community structures, to ensure that this
coordination makes the two systems complementary to each other and
does not represent a breach of State obligations in particular areas of the
country.
229. These situations differ legally from the contracting of private agencies to
provide services, which can be civil society organizations (NGOs), because
in these instances a service provision contract or agreement is involved.
230. The IACHR underscores that, when formal cooperation is established

between community structures and the national system, it is important for
the law to provide for: the scope and limits of this cooperation; a
mechanism of registration and supervision by the State; adequate
regulation of the nature of the labor relationship with the individuals
involved in these initiatives in order to avoid it giving rise to hidden
contractual arrangements or other situations which run afoul of labor laws
and the rights of workers; and training, the establishment of codes of
conduct and guidelines for actions, identification, case reporting and
referral to the formal mechanisms of the national system.

CHAPTER 3
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF
NATIONAL SYSTEMS
FOR THE PROTECTION
OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Chapter 3: Economic aspects of national systems for the protection of children’s rights | 91
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS FOR

THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
A. Legal Obligations in Relation to Economic Aspects of

National Systems
231. The measures that the State is required to adopt to promote and ensure the
rights of children and adolescents include those of an economic nature. A
state's fulfillment of its international obligations with respect to the rights
of the child entails that it invest the necessary resources for the realization
of those rights. Where international instruments refer to the obligation to
“such measures as may be necessary” to ensure rights (Articles 1(1) and 2
of the American Convention and Article 4 of the CRC) they allude also to
economic measures to finance the actions needed to ensure that all the
rights of children and adolescents are respected, protected, and ensured. 95
232. Specifically, the State must allocate budgetary resources to ensure the
installation and annual functioning of the institutions and operational
structures of national systems, as well as to guarantee that laws, policies,
programs, and services targeting children are implemented.
233. In relation to the foregoing, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of
the Child has said that when examining States Parties’ reports, in its
concluding observations, the Committee habitually raises concerns
regarding whether the size of the budget is sufficient to realize the rights of
95
See, in this regard, United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No.
19 on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4), CRC/C/GC/19, 21 July 2016;
Human Rights Council resolution 28/19 aiming towards better investment in the rights of the
child, and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that preceded
the resolution, entitled “Towards better investment in the rights of the child” (A/HRC/28/33).
They address the role of national policies, resource mobilization, transparency, accountability,
participation, allocation and spending, child protection systems, international cooperation and
follow-up in relation to investment in children; and General Assembly resolution 67/218 on
promoting transparency, participation and accountability in fiscal policies, which emphasizes the
need to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of fiscal policies and encourages
Member States to intensify efforts to enhance transparency, participation and accountability in
fiscal policies.

the child. 96 The most common explanation offered by States in relation to

difficulties with implementation of policies and the operations of national
systems is shortage of economic resources. However, the rights of the child,
as recognized in international treaties and domestic law, cannot be
protected without sufficient economic resources for that purpose.
234. The IACHR agrees with the Committee on the Rights of the Child when it
says that the rights of children will not be realized “without sufficient
financial resources being mobilized, allocated and spent in an accountable,
effective, efficient, equitable, participatory, transparent and sustainable
manner,” 97 and the necessary investment must be envisaged both for the
institutions to function and for the national children's policy to be
implemented.
235. In terms of budgets, “implementing children’s rights” means that the State
is obliged to mobilize, allocate and spend public resources in a manner
that adheres to its obligations of implementation of the CRC at all levels of
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as well as in all their
structures. 98 The measures to consider, in light of the principles set forth in
the CRC, include those related to public revenue collection, budget
allocations, and spending and its effectiveness.
236. In that regard, according to the mandate contained in Article 3 of the CRC,
“[i]n all actions concerning children [and adolescents] ... the best interests
of the child shall be a primary consideration,” while Article 4 provides that
the maximum extent of available resources shall be assigned for the
realization of the rights recognized in the CRC, and Article 2 requires that
those principles be combined with the principle of equality and
nondiscrimination in the exercise of the human rights of children and
adolescents The CRC clearly establishes the priority that should be
accorded to allocating public resources for addressing the rights of children
and adolescents. Those principles should be considered throughout every
phase of the budgetary process and in all budgetary decisions that
affect children and adolescents.
237. The obligation contained in Article 3 of the CRC is crucial when States
weigh up competing budget allocation and spending priorities. States
96
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19 on public budgeting for the
realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 11.
97
98
In that connection, see United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment
No. 19 on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 27.

should be able to demonstrate how the best interests of the child have
been considered in budgetary decision-making, including how they
have been weighed against other considerations. 99
238. The implementation of the State's obligations in terms of investment in the

rights of the child should be considered in relation to each stage of the
budgetary process; in other words, in the public budget planning and
approval process; in the execution process itself; and in follow-up and
evaluation of how the investment was carried out, and its results in
relation to the implementation and realization of the rights of
239. In first place, therefore, the State's budgetary obligations require it to have
complete, sufficient, and accurate data available in a timely manner to
enable it to adopt budgetary decisions targeting the realization of the rights
of children and adolescents.
240. The amount of resources should be adequate to accomplish the national

children's policy objectives, results, and goals, and to guarantee the
functioning of the institutions that belong to the national system, which
applies to all territorial jurisdictions of the State. In that connection, the
IACHR recommends that States make estimates of the cost of proposed
legislation, policies, programs, and services that affect children and
adolescents, as well as of the operating costs of the institutional
framework, in order to determine the level of financial resources
necessary and enable budget planners and the pertinent decision-makers
in the executive and legislative branches to adopt informed decisions on
the resources necessary.
241. The IACHR considers that States should mobilize all their available
resources in a way that is compatible with their obligations to provide
children with special protection (Articles 19 of the American Convention
and VII of the American Declaration) and to consider their best interests.
To that end, at a minimum, they should consider the following: 100
a) Conducting child rights impact assessments of legislation and

policies pertaining to resource mobilization; (For example, not
all State income generation policies have the same impact on
99
No. 19 on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4), paras. 45 and 46.
100
Several of the considerations that follow are similar to those made by the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child in General Comment No. 19 on public budgeting for the
realization of children’s rights (art. 4), paras. 76, 77 and 66.

children and adolescents. Thus, indirect tax receipts have more

repercussions on the purchasing power of low-income families and,
therefore, potentially could adversely affect children and
adolescents in situations of greater vulnerability.)
b) Reviewing and ensuring that policies and formulas for the division
of public revenue among different government entities, both
vertical (between different levels of the State) and horizontal
(between sectors at the same level), favor and enhance assurance of
rights and equality among children and adolescents in different
geographical regions;
c) Introducing and applying the budgetary principles of transparency,

effectiveness, efficiency, equity, sustainability, accountability, and
participation—and in general ensuring that good governance
principles are adhered to—in budgetary regulations, as well as
coordinating anticorruption measures, at all levels. The absence or
weak enforcement of such principles can create inefficiencies,
mismanagement of public finances, and corruption. This in turn can
lead to insufficient resources being available to spend on the rights
of the child.
d) Ensuring mechanisms that encourage intersectoral and

interinstitutional coordination and cooperation, both within the
national systems for the protection of children’s rights and in other
systems, in the interests of more efficient and better coordinated
spending. This also includes identifying cooperation opportunities
with civil society organizations, international cooperation,
academia, professional associations, media organizations, and the
private sector in general, among others.
e) Introducing in budgets a justification of the specific amount of

resources that have been allocated to children, bearing in mind the
commitments assumed by the State when it set the goals, results,
and targets envisaged in the national children's policy in force upon
the budget’s adoption, stating whether or not the amount will be
enough to meet those targets.
f) Ensuring that funds are raised and transferred in time to

guarantee that they can be effectively spent. It should also be
ensured that the spending capacity exists. Such aspects are
especially sensitive at the local level and in municipalities that face
greater collection and spending challenges and that receive funds
and transfers from the central level to implement all their policies,
programs, and services.

242. In addition to the foregoing, States need to analyze the repercussions

that budgetary decisions have actually had on children and
adolescents, for which purpose it is important to conduct audits,
evaluations and studies of the impact on children and adolescents of past
public revenue collection, budget allocations and expenditures. That
information should be made widely available to the public in clear, easily
understood language. States should also have available information on the
impact that previous years' budgets have had on children—in terms of
meeting the national children's policy targets—to inform decision-making
in the present budget cycle.
243. The State should publish reliable and disaggregated information and
data regarding the extent to which children and adolescents are
guaranteed their rights throughout the State's territory, as well as on the
level of government investment in children as a proportion of the total
national budget and in comparison to the level of investment in other
sectors. 101 Information should be published in a timely manner on revenue
mobilized, budgetary allocations to children, and actual expenditure across
all levels of the State. That information should show and explain any
deviations that have occurred.
244. In keeping with the foregoing, the State has an obligation to show how the
public budget-related measures it chooses to take result in improvements
in the situation of children. The information must be analyzed among other
things, in relation to the level of realization of each right and the
availability, quality, accessibility, and equitable distribution of services
targeting children. To that end, it should demonstrate concrete results. If
Articles 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention and 4 of the CRC are to be
satisfied, it is not enough to show evidence that financial amounts have
been allocated to children without evidence of results from that investment
of resources in terms of rights. 102 In order to comply with the foregoing it is
101
Traditional classification according to the degree of specificity of resource allocation for children:
(i) Specific or Direct Expenditure: expenditure on programs and initiatives directed specifically at
children and adolescents (e.g., school meals); (ii) Indirect Expenditure: proportion of expenditure
that benefits children and adolescents through programs and initiatives directed at the family or
other actors with a clear impact on children well-being (e.g., family income transfers); (iii)
Collective Expenditure: proportion of expenditure directed at children and adolescents through
programs and initiatives that benefit a wider population group (e.g., measures to raise living
standards); (iv) Public Goods Expenditure: proportion targeting children of spending on provision
of public goods not envisaged in other categories (e.g., urban services).
102
No. 19 on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 24.

necessary that the resources specifically allocated to children be

appropriately labeled and classified so as to allow accountability.
245. Therefore, the State must have available precise information on the amount
of resources that are allocated annually to children and adolescents. In
addition, that information should be disaggregated, at a minimum, by
amount invested in children and adolescents in each of the country's
geographic zones; by age, gender, and ethnicity; and by different
vulnerability factors previously identified in the diagnostic assessment on
which the national children's policy was based (such as disability, lack of
parental care, migrants, in a street situation, LGBTI, 103 etc.) The
information should show the level of investment specifically targeting
those groups of children and adolescents, and States should continuously
assess the outcomes in different groups of children and adolescents in
order to identify where more effective promotion and further investment
are required, as well as the specific results of that investment. 104
246. It should also be kept in mind that, as the Committee on the Rights of the
Child has said, “[s]pending equitably does not always mean spending the
same amount on each child, but rather making spending decisions that lead
to substantive equality among children. Resources should be fairly targeted
to promote equality.” 105
247. The above will not only require quantitative data, but also the inclusion of
consultations with children and adolescents, with their families and
caregivers, and with persons who work directly with, or to advance the
rights of, children and adolescents in order better to determine how the
budgetary measures have affected the children and adolescents. The
results of those consultations and of the assessments mentioned above
should also be given due consideration in subsequent budgetary decisions,
with expressed justification given of how those opinions, results, and
assessments are being taken into account in later budgetary decisions. 106
248. The IACHR considers it essential for the State to provide environments
conducive to the meaningful participation of interested parties in the
budgetary process, including civil society and children and adolescents
103
The acronym LGBTI is used in this report to refer to gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and intersex
104
See also United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19 on
public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 27.
105
See also United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19 on
106
Similarly, see United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19 on

themselves. Participation should be assured throughout the whole

budgetary cycle (planning, approval, execution, follow-up, and
assessment), and to that end the State should promote the creation of
permanent mechanisms and spaces like children’s consultative/advisory
councils, as well as other means, such as consultations, hearings, forums,
and broad and inclusive debates, as well as “using new technologies.” 107
The State also has the duty to establish transparent public accountability
mechanisms that enable civil society, including children and
adolescents, to track the results of public spending.
249. To that end, as a prerequisite, the IACHR and the Committee on the Rights
of the Child consider it necessary for the State to promote appropriate
education and public awareness initiatives concerning budget decision-
making processes, via readily accessible media in clear language that is
easy to understand. 108
250. The IACHR recognizes that budget transparency is a fundamental

principle for good governance and the fight against corruption, as well as a
prerequisite for meaningful participation by civil society and children and
adolescents. Transparency means ensuring that comprehensive, user-
friendly information in easily understood, appropriate language is made
publicly available in a timely manner in relation to the planning, enactment,
execution and follow-up of budgets at the national, subnational, and local
level.
251. Bearing in mind that resource allocation is an obligation that arises from
the duty to respect, protect, and ensure the rights of the child, the IACHR
considers that there should be an express legal provision in place
governing the duty of States to invest the necessary resources to meet
their international obligations with regard to protection of the rights
of the child. The law should clearly set minimum parameters that the
State should observe in the process of resource allocation for
children, taking into account to that end the contents of the CRC and its
general principles. The legal provision on budget allocation to children
should refer to the different levels; that is, national, subnational, and local.
252. The State should also give consideration to the sustainability of financial
investment in the rights of the child to avoid any regression in levels of
107
108
No. 19 on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4), paras. 16, 52-56,
and 62.

rights realization and to maintain levels of well-being and rights

satisfaction for all children and adolescents under the State's
jurisdiction. 109 States may only take retrogressive measures in relation to
children’s rights as outlined in the principles established by international
human rights law as objective and binding criteria, which are described in
the next section of this report.
253. Usually this means that the issue of the budget allocated to the workings of
the institutions and implementation of child policies is mentioned in the
children's code, special law on children, or another law as a simple
reference to the regular budget for determining the amount of resources
that are annually allocated to children, without any kind of additional
provision. In some cases, however, those laws contain no mention of the
budget.
254. In other cases, the IACHR has noted that the law goes further and
introduces specific provisions aimed at ensuring a minimum floor or a
certain level of resources for children. Some of the models identified are as
follows:
i. allocating a specific budget percentage to implementing the national

children's policy and the functioning of the national system, either from
the national budget or from the budget of the sector to which it is
linked (for example, the Ministry of Social Development); that approach
may also be combined with setting specific percentages in other sectors
linked to children (for example, a percentage of the overall budget
allocated to compulsory education, or in the area of healthcare to
combat neonatal and child mortality);
ii. the establishment of a national children's fund from public and private
contributions, usually through charges or indirect taxes, voluntary
contributions, and international cooperation; the fund is used to
finance the annual operations of the national system and the
implementation of policies, programs, and services targeting children;
iii. the introduction of the principle of progressiveness and establishing

that economic investment for the current year may not be inferior to
that of previous years;
109
realization of children’s rights (art. 4), para. 63.

iv. in some cases, the law establishes the intangibility of funds allocated to
children, or a part thereof, in the national budget. 110
255. Ensuring the installation and normal operation of the national system and
its institutions in a way that allows them to be sustainable requires
guaranteeing a necessary minimum level of investment. The IACHR
considers it essential to give greater predictability to guaranteeing
budgetary minimums for the operation of national systems. Specifically, the
IACHR recommends that the law establish a concrete mechanism to
ensure a specific minimum level for the operation of the national
system and that the law explicitly mention the principles of non-
regression and progressiveness in the protection of children’s rights
recognized in the standards of international human rights law.
256. The IACHR also recommends that the applicable law protect the budget
for children against external or internal disruptions, such as economic
crises, natural disasters, or other emergencies, in order to maintain the
sustainability of investments at least in basic or strategic programs and in
the institutional framework for children. One way of doing that could be
the establishment of a fund that ensures the intangibility of the budget
for its basic or strategic programs—and maintain the institutional
framework that ensures the operating conditions for guaranteeing
the rights of children and adolescents.
257. The IACHR considers basic or strategic programs to include those aimed
at ensuring the rights to life and physical integrity, providing healthcare,
and combating malnutrition for children and adolescents, the disruption of
which could put at serious risk the well-being and integrity of children and
adolescents, with lasting or even irreversible effects on children and
adolescents. Basic or strategic programs are also those that target groups
in situations of greatest vulnerability who would be more intensely
affected by an economic crisis or cuts in social security benefits than the
rest of the population, to the detriment of their most basic rights, including
the rights to life, physical integrity, and health.
258. The IACHR recommends that all States identify in a participatory manner
such basic or strategic programs for children, and adopt measures to
protect them from recessions, economic crises, natural disasters, and other
exceptional eventualities.
110
See the study by Alejandro Morlachetti, ECLAC and UNICEF, Comprehensive National Child
Protection Systems: Legal Basis and Current Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013,
pp. 80 and 81.

259. Finally, the IACHR notes the need for the State to provide institutional and
financial mechanisms for dealing with inequalities and inequities
within a given territory of the State. Such differences have to do with the
combination mainly of: the income generation capacity of the territorial
authority, the competencies (responsibilities) attributed to the territorial
authority, and the degree or level of unsatisfied rights in the population.
That disparity gives rise to different realities and levels of protection and
assurance of children's and adolescents' rights. Bearing in mind the
principle of equality, the State should ensure that the mechanisms for
calculating and making transfers among different territorial levels are
properly coordinated and explain to the public what they consist of and
how they are specifically linked to the realization of the rights of children
and adolescents in the whole country, to overcoming conditions of
inequality of opportunities, and to enhancing the State's capacity to provide
protection.
260. The State should ensure that decision-makers on budgetary and taxation
matters have the necessary training and technical credentials to analyze
and discuss the impact on child rights of budget and tax proposals at the
national and subnational level. In addition, the latter should have access to
clear, user-friendly information on the situation of children to assist them
in their decision-making.
B. Progressiveness and Non-Regression
261. The obligation of the State to allocate funds for the realization of the rights
of children and adolescents is also connected with the notion of allocation
to the “maximum extent of available resources” and of the
“progressive realization” of economic, social, and cultural rights. The
foregoing is especially relevant with regard to the realization of economic,
social, and cultural rights, 111 on the basis that States do not have available
111
In spite of the distinction that is usually made between economic, social, and cultural rights on
one hand, and civil and political rights on the other, it is important to remember that human
rights are interdependent and indivisible and that caution should be exercised in differentiating
between those two categories of rights.Both systems for the protection of human rights—the
inter-American and the universal—hold that there is no hierarchy of human rights and have
affirmed the interdependence between civil and political rights and economic, social, and
cultural rights. The realization of economic, social and cultural rights will frequently affect
children’s ability to fully exercise their political and civil rights, and vice versa.For this section,
see UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 17, Rights of the Child (Art. 24),
07/04/1989, CCPR/C/35, paras. 3 and 6; that position has been consistently reiterated by the
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 3: The nature of States parties' obligations, 1990. In the
context of the IAHRS, see I/A Court H.R., Case of Acevedo Buendía et al. (“Discharged and Retired

all at once all the necessary resources to ensure fully all those rights for
children and adolescents, but that it requires sustained efforts by the State
over time to achieve that goal. In general, the complete realization of those
rights cannot come about quickly and, therefore, it requires a process
during which each country, based on their level of development, will
advance resolutely and steadily at different rates toward that objective.
Except as warranted in extreme cases, those principles regard regressive
measures as invalid and exclude inaction. 112
262. Article 4 of the CRC expressly provides that the State has an obligation to
“take measures to the maximum of their available resources” in relation to
the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights and, where
needed, within the framework of international cooperation, with a view to
achieving “progressively” the full realization of these rights. Similar
language is used with respect to the implementation of economic, social,
and cultural rights in Article 26 of the American Convention113 and Article
1 of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights
in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San
Salvador). 114
263. Both the inter-American system and the universal system for protection of
human rights have made pronouncements on the scope and content of the
obligation “progressively” to implement economic, social and cultural
rights, and on the immediate obligation to “adopt measures” and the
correlative duty of “non-regression” in ensuring those rights. Both systems
understand that while the full realization of those rights may be achieved
Employees of the Comptroller”) v. Peru, Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs,
Judgment of July 1, 2009, Series C No. 198, para. 101. IACHR, Guidelines for Preparation of
Progress Indicators in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and IACHR, The Work,
Education and Resources of Women: The Road to Equality in Guaranteeing Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights, pars. 48 ff. See also Protocol of San Salvador, preamble.
112
United Nations, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 3:
The nature of States parties’ obligations, 1990, para. 9. IACHR, Guidelines for Preparation of
Progress Indicators in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2008), para. 6.
113
Article 26 of the American Convention provides: The States Parties undertake to adopt
measures, both internally and through international cooperation, especially those of an
economic and technical nature, with a view to achieving progressively, by legislation or other
appropriate means, the full realization of the rights implicit in the economic, social, educational,
scientific, and cultural standards set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States
as amended by the Protocol of Buenos Aires.
114
The States Parties to this Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights
undertake to adopt the necessary measures, both domestically and through international
cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the extent allowed by their available
resources, and taking into account their degree of development, for the purpose of achieving
progressively and pursuant to their internal legislations, the full observance of the rights
recognized in this Protocol.

progressively, steps towards that goal must be taken without delay and
should be deliberate, concrete, constant, and targeted as clearly as
possible towards satisfying those rights. The progressive nature of the
obligation to ensure the realization of economic, social and cultural rights
requires, at a minimum, that their observance and access not be reduced
over time; it also gives rise to a prima facie prohibition against adopting
measures that are deliberately regressive (“prohibition of regression” or
“prohibition of retrogression”). 115
264. In that connection, the Commission has held that by virtue of the obligation
of progressive realization, States are forbidden to adopt policies, measures,
and laws that, without proper justification, worsen the situation of rights or
are detrimental to “progressive” advances that countries have been making
in the area of economic, social, and cultural rights enjoyed, in this instance,
by children. 116 Thus, the State undertakes to improve the situation of these
rights and to advance their enjoyment, while it simultaneously accepts the
prohibition against reducing the rights in force or the levels of access,
enjoyment, and protection attained, without sufficient and reasoned
justification. The obligation to take steps means that immobility and
inaction are not acceptable.
265. However, the IACHR has established that a regressive measure is not
necessarily incompatible with Article 26 of the American Convention, and
115
As the Court has held in this regard:
Full exercise of economic, social and cultural rights of children has been associated with the
possibilities of the State that is under obligation (Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child), which must make its best effort, in a constant and deliberate manner, to ensure access
of children to those rights, and their enjoyment of such rights, avoiding regressions and
unjustifiable delays, and allocating as many resources as possible to this compliance. I/A Court
H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child, Advisory Opinion OC-17/02, para. 81;
see also para. 64. Emphasis added.
The IACHR has determined: “The progressive nature of the duty to ensure the observance of
some of these rights, as is recognized in the language of the provisions cited, does not mean that
[name of the State] can delay in adopting all measures needed to make them effective. To the
contrary, [name of the State] has the obligation to immediately begin the process leading to
the complete realization of the rights contained in those provisions. In no way can the
progressive nature of the rights mean that Colombia can indefinitely postpone the efforts
aimed at their complete attainment.” IACHR, Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in
Colombia, OEA/Ser.L/V.II.102 Doc. 9 rev. 1, February 26, 1999, Ch. III, para. 6. See also, IACHR,
The Work, Education, and Resources of Women: The Road to Equality in Guaranteeing
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, pars. 29-58. Emphasis added.
See also: United Nations, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment
No. 3: The nature of States parties’ obligations, 1990, para. 1.
116
IACHR, Guidelines for Preparation of Progress Indicators in the Area of Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, para. 6.

that the obligation of “progressive realization” does not preclude a State

from imposing, in special circumstances, certain restrictions on the
exercise of those rights; however, such restrictions must be
objectively and sufficiently justified and be subject to scrutiny by the
competent authorities in the area of human rights protection. 117
266. The Committee on the Rights of the Child also considers it that, in times of
economic crisis, States should only adopt regressive measures after
assessing all other options to ensure that the level of enjoyment of
children's rights does not deteriorate, since children are one of the most
sensitive groups to the adverse impacts of regressive measures. The State
must demonstrate that such measures are necessary, reasonable,
proportionate, non-discriminatory and temporary and that any rights
thus affected will be restored as soon as possible. In particular, the
State must demonstrate that the most vulnerable children will be the
last to be affected by cuts. 118
267. However, the immediate and minimum core obligations imposed by

children’s human rights shall not be compromised by any retrogressive
measures, even in times of economic crisis.119 Specifically, the CESCR has
stated:
[T]he Committee is of the view that a minimum core

obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least,
minimum essential levels of each of the rights is
incumbent upon every State party. Thus, for example, a State
party in which any significant number of individuals is
deprived of essential foodstuffs, of essential primary health
care, of basic shelter and housing, or of the most basic forms
of education is, prima facie, failing to discharge its obligations
under the Covenant. If the Covenant were to be read in such a
117
IACHR, Report No. 38/09, Case 12.670, Admissibility and Merits, “National Association of Ex-
Employees of the Peruvian Social Security Institute et al.,” Peru, March 27, 2009,
paras. 139 and 140.
118
realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 31. United Nations, Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 3: The nature of States parties’ obligations, 1990,
para. 12.
119
See the core obligations specified in the general comments of the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, such as No. 13 (1999) on the right to education, No. 14 (2000) on the
right to the highest attainable standard of health, and No. 19 (2007) on the right to social
security. For example, paragraph 51 of General Comment No. 13 provides: “The obligation to
provide primary education for all is an immediate duty of all States parties.”

way as not to establish such a minimum core obligation, it

would be largely deprived of its raison d’ê tre. 120
268. In turn, the Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights
provide that “human rights law demands that at least minimum essential
levels of all rights should always be ensured.” 121 The obligation of States
to ensure the minimum essential content of each social right serves as a
baseline from which to measure progressive realization and the obligation
of non-regression.
269. “States parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of
their available resources” means that States are expected to demonstrate
that they have made every effort to mobilize, allocate and spend
budget resources to fulfill the economic, social and cultural rights of
all children and adolescents. 122 To demonstrate that, it is necessary to
have information with which to measure investment and the progress
achieved with that investment.
270. Progress should be measurable in relation to objectives, results, and

concrete goals, and clear and consistent qualitative and quantitative goals
and indicators should be used to illustrate the progressive realization of
children’s and adolescents' economic, social and cultural rights to the
maximum extent of available resources. Such measurements should be
done, among other things, as part of the implementation of the national
children's policy and in relation to the results and measurements of
previous national children's policies 123.
120
United Nations, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 3:
The nature of States parties’ obligations, 1990, para. 10. See also the minimum core obligations
with respect to essential levels in the general comments of the Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, such as No. 13 on the right to education, No. 14 on the right to the highest
attainable standard of health, and No. 19 on the right to social security.
121
United Nations, Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, adopted by consensus
by the Human Rights Council on 217 September 2012, through its resolution 21/11, para. 48.
122
123
States also have an obligation to report regularly to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on
their implementation of the contents of the CRC; thus, Article 44 of the Convention obliges
States Parties to regularly report on their progress in advancing all the rights of children in their
jurisdictions, including economic, social and cultural rights. A follow-up mechanism based on
periodic reporting is also established for the Protocol of San Salvador, allowing measurement of
progress made by states in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The system of
progress indicators and the periodic reporting procedure envisaged in Article 19 of the Protocol
of San Salvador serves not only for international supervision, but also to assess what states and

271. It should also be considered that economic, social and cultural rights give
rise to the immediate obligation to ensure the exercise of those rights on an
equal basis without discrimination as well as the possibility of their
justiciability. 124
civil society are doing to implement the Protocol at the domestic level. See OAS, Progress
Indicators for the Measurement of the Rights Considered in the Protocol of San Salvador, 2nd
edition, 2015.
124
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 3: The nature of
States parties’ obligations, 1990, para. 1.

CHAPTER 4
CENTRALITY OF CHILDREN
AND ADOLESCENTS
Chapter 4: Centrality of children and adolescents | 109
CENTRALITY OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
272. The CRC requires that States adopt a comprehensive and holistic approach
in addressing children's issues that has children and all their rights as
recognized in international human rights instruments at heart. The
ultimate goal of national systems for the protection of children’s rights is to
ensure for children and adolescents the full and effective exercise of all
their rights.
273. National systems should be founded on the four guiding principles of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 125 which guide all that treaty’s
provisions: (i) The principal of (and right to) comprehensive, harmonious,
and holistic development for children and adolescents that take all their
rights into consideration (CRC, Art. 6); (ii) the principle of equality and
nondiscrimination (CRC, Art. 2); (iii) the principle of the best interests of
the child (CRC, Art. 3) and (iv) the right of children and adolescents to have
a say in all matters that affect them (CRC, Art. 12).
274. Giving centrality to children and adolescents in the operation of national

systems for the protection of children’s rights implies, among other things,
recognizing them as holders of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural
rights as well as of all the rights attendant on their integral development;
understanding protection of their rights as a continuum, not as isolated and
unconnected interventions; assuming the existence of different needs as
they grow and their abilities evolve, which in turn gives rise to
responsibilities of varying types and intensity for the State, family, and
society at each stage of their development; respecting the autonomy that
children and adolescents gradually acquire in the exercise of their rights, as
they grow in age and maturity; recognizing and promoting their right to be
heard and have due weight given to their opinions in all decisions that
affect them; giving particular attention to groups of children and
adolescents who face special or unique challenges in enjoying their rights,
in order to promote conditions that ensure those rights; and introducing
the principle of the best interests of the child as a prime consideration in all
decisions that affect children and adolescents, while taking the necessary
125
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, “General measures of
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” para. 12.

steps to see to it that those interests are effectively valued and justified in
an objective way.
A. Rights Holders
275. The CRC unequivocally recognizes children and adolescents as rights

holders and emphasizes their dignity as persons. For its part, the
Committee on the Rights of the Child has stressed that children and
adolescents are at a vital and enormously important stage in the evolution
of their abilities and ongoing physical, psychological, emotional, mental,
moral, cognitive, and social development. 126 The IACHR recognizes that
during the different stages of childhood and later as teenagers, children
and adolescents gradually develop their personal, social, and legal
autonomy, which occurs as they grow and their abilities develop.
Childhood and adolescence are, therefore, vital stages of critical
importance in a person's existence that have value in their own right and
should not be regarded for legal purposes and socially merely as a transit
to adulthood.
276. Children and adolescents are full holders of rights that must be recognized,
observed, protected, and ensured. These days children and adolescents are
considered neither minors, nor incapable, nor lacking, but complete
persons, full human beings with dignity who possess capacities and
potential to be developed, and as holders of civil, political, economic, social,
and cultural rights that must be recognized based on the mere fact of their
existence.
277. Article 6 of the CRC provides that every child has an inherent right to life
and that States shall ensure the survival and development of all children. In
its General Comment No. 5, the Committee states that the development of
the child is “a holistic concept, embracing the child’s physical, mental,
spiritual, moral, psychological and social development” and that
“implementation measures should be aimed at achieving the optimal
development for all children,” 127 in line with their growth-based needs,
taking into consideration what those specific needs are at each stage. The
126
See, for example, United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 7,
Implementing child rights in early childhood, CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, 20 September 2006, and
General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence,
CRC/C/GC/20, 6 December 2016.
127

Committee recognizes that children's needs change throughout their

different stages of development, and also that their ability autonomously to
exercise their rights increases and evolves. 128 At all events, their rights
should be recognized holistically, bearing in mind their indivisibility and
interdependence.
278. These considerations are enshrined in Article 19 of the American

Convention and Article VII of the American Declaration, which, as has been
mentioned, recognize that children and adolescents are entitled to
appropriate, strengthened special protection, by reason of their
condition as still-growing persons who, because they are still developing,
encounter specific obstacles with regard to their possibilities for the
effective exercise, full observance, and protection of their rights, 129 which
also give rise to “specific duties [for] the family, society, and the State.” 130
279. Although all persons under the age of 18 are recognized as rights holders,
the ability to exercise human rights depends on the child’s level of
development and maturity. As they grow and develop, children and
adolescents learn autonomous decision-making skills and capacities on the
issues that affect them and to exercise their rights for themselves. Plainly, a
months old child will not have the same decision-making ability as a 17-
year-old adolescent, and a baby is more dependent on adults for their well-
being, protection, and care than an adolescent is in their relationship with
adults. Thus, there is a diversity of obligations, not only for the State, but
also for the family and the community.
280. There is recognition, therefore, of the progressive autonomy of children

and adolescents in exercising their own rights, which increases with
age and maturity, and States have an obligation to adapt their laws,
policies, and practices to recognize and support children and adolescents in
the autonomous exercise of their rights and decision-making.
281. All children and adolescents have the right to grow and develop on an
equal basis with others, to expand their potential, and to contribute to the
development of society. States must respect and ensure the rights set forth
in the CRC to all children and adolescents within their jurisdiction without
discrimination of any kind. That means that States have a duty to identify
children and adolescents at special risk where the enjoyment of their rights
128
See General Comment No. 7 (2005), Implementing child rights in early childhood, and General
Comment No. 20, on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence.
129
I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02,
para. 51.
130
I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory Opinion OC-17/02,
para. 54.

is concerned, and adopt specific measures to promote and guarantee their

rights on an equal basis with other children and adolescents.
282. It is also worth recalling that under the principle of universality of

human rights, national systems for the protection of children’s rights must
provide care to all children and adolescents under the jurisdiction of the
State, since States have a duty to respect and ensure the rights of all
children and adolescents who are in their territory. Thus, for example,
national systems must ensure that child and adolescent migrants will have
their rights guaranteed without any discrimination based on their
immigration status. The Court, the IACHR, and the Committee on the Rights
of the Child emphasize that immigration status cannot be used as a pretext
to deny child and adolescent migrants assistance and services such as
health care, education, food, and decent housing, among other rights
recognized by the CRC. 131
283. At the same time, rights awareness and empowerment for children and
adolescents is of critical importance. For children to exercise and defend
their rights they must first know and understand them. For example, much
of the violence perpetrated against children goes unchallenged, not only
because certain forms of abusive behavior are understood by children as
“normal” and accepted social practices, but also due to the lack of child-
friendly reporting mechanisms or the fact that they are unaware of their
existence. 132
284. Rights awareness and empowerment for children and adolescents is linked
to education and the educational environment. According to Article 29 of
the CRC, apart from technical instruction and transmission of knowledge,
the goals of education include the development in children and
adolescents of an awareness of their rights, as well as the development of
skills for life and for responsible participation in society. 133 Fulfilling what
131
See, for example, IACHR, “Human Rights of Migrants, Refugees, Stateless Persons, Victims of
Human Trafficking and Internally Displaced Persons: Norms and Standards of the Inter-American
Human Rights System” (2016); I/A Court H.R., Rights and guarantees of children in the context of
migration and/or in need of international protection, Advisory Opinion OC-21/14 of August 19,
2014; United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No.6 (2005),
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children outside Their Country of Origin,
CRC/GC/2005/6, 1 September 2005.
132
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be
heard, CRC/C/GC/12, 20 July 2009, para. 120.
133
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, pars. 531 to 541.The Convention on the Rights of
the Child recognizes children's right to education at Article 28, while Article 29 describes the
aims and goals that education should pursue. With regard to the aims and goals of education,
see Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 1, The Aims of Education, U.N.
Doc. CRC/GC/2001/1 (2001), 17 April 2001.

the right to education entails, in conjunction with the duty to provide

protection recognized at Article 19 of the American Convention, means that
States have a duty to ensure that those topics are included in the academic
syllabus from a very early age in an age-appropriate way.
285. The duties of the State in terms of ensuring rights have given rise to the
creation of complaint, reporting, and rights enforcement mechanisms.
Owing to their child status, children and adolescents face specific barriers
and challenges when it comes to accessing complaint/reporting
mechanisms and justice. Despite the recognition of children and
adolescents as rights holders, every country in the region still has
challenges where enforcement and access to justice are concerned that
need to be evaluated and strengthened.
286. Therefore, the Commission considers providing adequate protection to

children and adolescents requires that the State ensure that all children
and adolescents, especially those at special risk, such as child migrants,
those in foster care, or those in the juvenile justice system, among others,
know and have access to information about their rights and about
mechanisms for lodging complaints and reporting wrongdoing. 134
B. Principle of Equality and Nondiscrimination
287. The principle of equality and nondiscrimination is considered one of the

cornerstones of the system for protection of human rights and a pillar of
any democratic system. 135 The American Declaration and the American
Convention were both inspired by the ideal that “[a]ll men are born free
134
Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54/13, October 17, 2013, para. 405. The Committee on the Rights
of the Child has expressed similar positions in various general comments. See, in particular,
General Comment No. 5, paras. 53, 66, and 68, and General Comment No. 13, para. 48.
135
See, inter alia, IACHR, Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 1999,
Chapter VI. The same can be said, in general, in the framework of the United Nations, as the
Human Rights Committee has established: “Non-discrimination, together with equality before
the law and equal protection of the law without any discrimination, constitute a basic and
general principle relating to the protection of human rights” (UN, Human Rights Committee,
General Comment 18. Non-discrimination, CCPR/C/37, 10 November 1989, para. 1). Equality and
nondiscrimination are recognized at Articles 1 and 24 of the American Convention and II of the
American Declaration.

and equal, in dignity and in rights,” 136 while the CRC considers that
principle one of the four fundamental principles on which the CRC rests.
288. Article 2 of the CRC establishes the obligation for States to respect and
ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to all children within their
jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind.
289. The IACHR has specified a dual conception of the right to equality and
nondiscrimination: one has to do with the prohibition of any arbitrary
difference in treatment; another concerns the obligation to create
conditions of real and effective equality for groups that have historically
been excluded and are at greater risk of discrimination. 137 In other words,
the inter-American system espouses a formal notion of equality, precluding
any unreasonable, capricious or arbitrary differences in treatment. At the
same time, however, it is moving toward a concept of material or structural
equality that is premised upon an acknowledgement of the fact that for
certain sectors of the population different special measures need to be
adopted aimed at equalizing access to rights and opportunities. 138
290. The State has a duty to promote integral development for children and
adolescents from the most excluded and underprivileged groups, as well as
for those in situations of vulnerability or at a disadvantage in the exercise
of their rights, whether civil and political or economic, social, and
cultural. 139
291. In connection with the foregoing, the Inter-American Court has held that
any person who is in a vulnerable condition is entitled to special
136
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, Preamble. The general principles of
nondiscrimination and equality are recognized at Articles 1 and 24 of the American Convention
and II of the American Declaration.
137
IACHR, The Situation of People of African Descent in the Americas. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.Doc.62,
December 5, 2011, para. 89, 90-95, citing, inter alia, IACHR, Application to the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights in the Case of Karen Atala and Daughters v. Chile, September 17, 2010,
para. 80.
138
Specifically, it follows from the foregoing that States have an obligation to refrain from adopting
any measures that are in any way intended, either directly or indirectly, to create situations of
discrimination, and must take positive steps to correct or change any discriminatory situations
that exist in their societies, based on the notion of equality and the principle of
nondiscrimination. IACHR, Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Americas,
paras. 89-99.
139
OAS, Progress Indicators for Measuring Rights under the Protocol of San Salvador,
OEA/Ser.L/XXV.2.1/GT/PSSI/doc.2/11, March 11, 2011, para. 44; see also para. 63. See also the
related analysis on this subject in, IACHR, Guidelines for Preparation of Progress Indicators in the
Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.132, July 19, 2008, para. 48; see also
pars. 53 and 55.

protection, which must be provided by the States if they are to comply with
their duties to respect and guarantee human rights. The Court considers
that States should not merely abstain from violating rights, but must adopt
positive measures to be determined based on the specific needs of
protection of the subject of law, either because of their personal situation
or because of the specific circumstances in which they find themselves. 140
292. For its part, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized the
importance that State efforts take into consideration groups of children and
adolescents who are in a vulnerable situation where their rights are
concerned: “Particular attention will need to be given to identifying and
giving priority to marginalized and disadvantaged groups of children. The
non-discrimination principle in the Convention requires that all the rights
guaranteed by the Convention should be recognized for all children within
the jurisdiction of States. (...) [T]he non-discrimination principle does not
prevent the taking of special measures to diminish discrimination.141 The
Human Rights Committee, in turn, has underlined the importance of
adopting special measures to reduce or eliminate conditions that lead to
discrimination 142.
293. Addressing discrimination may require changes in legislation,

administration, policies, programs, services, and resource allocation, as
well as educational measures to change attitudes and perceptions. It should
be highlighted that applying the principle of nondiscrimination and
equality in access to rights does not mean that all children and adolescents
should be treated the same. 143 The IACHR reminds States that not every
differentiation of treatment will constitute discrimination if the criteria for
140
I/A Court H.R., Case of Ximenes Lopes v. Brazil, Judgment of July 4, 2006, Series C No. 149,
para. 104.
141
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, General measures of
implementation for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 4 and 42 and paragraph 6
of Article 44), para. 30. Likewise, the II World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993) stated
specifically that: “National and international mechanisms and programmes should be
strengthened for the defence and protection of children, in particular, the girl-child, abandoned
children, street children, economically and sexually exploited children, including through child
pornography, child prostitution or sale of organs, children victims of diseases including acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome, refugee and displaced children, children in detention, children in
armed conflict, as well as children victims of famine and drought and other emergencies.”
142
Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 18 (1989), HRI/GEN/1/Rev. 7 at 168 (1989),
para. 10. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, “General measures of
143

such differentiation are reasonable and objective and if the aim is to

achieve a purpose that is legitimate under the Convention. 144
294. Moreover, the non-discrimination obligation requires States actively to

identify individual children and groups of children the recognition and
realization of whose rights may demand special measures. For States,
identifying those groups of children and adolescents entails, among other
things, that the data collected be broken down so that actual or potential
discrimination can be identified.
295. Some of the groups of children and adolescents usually identified are those
in poverty; in traditionally excluded or discriminated-against social groups;
in street situations; with disabilities; who belong to indigenous peoples or a
minority; migrants; without parental care; girls and female adolescents by
reason of their gender; and LGBTI children and adolescents, among others.
296. However, it is important to note that “groups in a vulnerable situation” or

“groups that historically suffer discrimination” will vary from one society
to the next and from one point in history to another. Every State has a duty
to determine who those groups are in order to devise appropriate inclusive
policies that ensure them the free and full exercise of their rights. 145 In
addition, there are groups of children and adolescents who, while not
included in traditionally excluded groups, find themselves in situations of
vulnerability that go unnoticed, (children of persons deprived of liberty, for
example.)
297. The IACHR considers it highly pertinent to emphasize the principles of

equality and nondiscrimination because every country in the region,
without exception, has deep social divides and structural situations that
foster inequality, social exclusion, and discrimination. The region ranks
first in the world in terms of economic inequality and inequity within
countries. 146 For that reason, the IACHR considers it essential that all States
144
IACHR, Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Americas., pars. 89-99. See also
Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 18 (1989) on non-discrimination, para. 147.
145
IACHR, Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Americas, para. 118.
146
Between 2008 and 2010, 8 of the 10 countries with the highest rate of income inequality in the
world were located in Latin America, where an enormous share of income goes to a small
fraction of the population: the richest 10% tap 32% of income, while the poorest 40% receive
just 15%. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report for
Latin America 2013-2014. Citizen Security with a Human Face: Evidence and proposals for Latin
America, p. 22. For an overview of the regional context we describe, see the World Bank report,
Shifting Gears to Accelerate Shared Prosperity in Latin America and the Caribbean and the
LATINOBAROMETRO annual report for 2013. IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime,
para. 38.

include in their national plans for children policies and strategies to

promote equality for those groups with clear targets and indicators. They
should also conduct reviews of those policies and publish the specific
results obtained with them in terms of transforming the realities of those
298. The IACHR recommends that social policies targeting children in situations
of vulnerability not only be welfare oriented, but seek to transform the
underlying structural conditions in such situations, as well as addressing
children's and adolescents' immediate and basic needs. To that end,
objectives, results, and targets should take account of both aspects:
coverage of immediate needs and structural change. Indicators and
evaluations should focus not only on the level of investment made or on the
number of children and adolescents covered, but on elements that allow
the change in structural conditions to be measured and made public.
299. The lack of effective observance of the principles of equality and

nondiscrimination impacts a host of different rights. The IACHR, for
example, has highlighted the widespread discrimination and social
exclusion faced by LGBTI children and adolescents, made worse by the
entrenched prejudice, stereotypes, and cisnormative patterns in the
region's societies, which tends to lead to generalized discrimination,
stigmatization, intimidation, harassment, abuse, mistreatment, physical,
psychological, and sexual violence, and in extreme cases even death. Such
situations occur in all spheres, including in the victim's own family, in
schools, in the healthcare system, in the protection system, in their
community and in society. They are often excluded from education, either
through absenteeism or because they drop out as a result of the
discrimination and violence they suffer in the classroom. The lack of a
proper education has repercussions on their opportunities for later life,
relegating them to circles of exclusion and poverty that put them at even
greater risk for violence and exploitation. They are sometimes made to
undergo “treatments" to change their sexual orientation, while intersex
children and adolescents are forcibly subjected to surgical procedures or
therapies to "normalize" their sex. Some children and adolescents are
driven from their homes by their families, exposing them to street
situations, poverty, deteriorating health, and becoming victims of violence
and exploitation. Such experiences adversely impact their quality of life and
are associated with low self-esteem, an increased depression, and

suicide. 147 This example provides a measure of the broad array of rights
that can be violated as a result of discrimination.
300. The IACHR has also indicated that equality can be affected indirectly as a
result of arbitrary or disproportionate distinctions in the application of
laws, measures, practices or policies that at first glance appear to be
neutral but that in fact have an impact that is prejudicial to groups in
vulnerable situations. 148
301. In that regard, an examination of laws and policies to ensure that they
comport with the principles of effective equality and nondiscrimination
should also look for their potential discriminatory impact, even when
their formulation appears neutral or they apply to everyone, without
distinction. 149 That was the finding of the Inter-American Court, for
instance, in relation to standards and procedures for belated registration of
birth, in which the practical consequence of the onerous requirements and
bureaucratic red tape was to increase the number of undocumented
children who had no way to prove their nationality. Particularly, for
children of immigrant parents with irregular status, the effect was to
exacerbate their exclusion by denying them access to social benefits and
rights. 150
302. Therefore, to examine norms and policies for their adherence to the
principle of effective equality and nondiscrimination, one has to look at
their discriminatory impact –even those whose formulation is neutral or
those that apply to everyone, without exception. The emphasis must be on
objective factors—including the discriminatory effect or result—in
preference to the declared intention to discriminate. 151
147
IACHR, Violence against LGBTI Persons, 2015. IACHR, press releases, On Trans Day of Visibility,
IACHR Urges States to Ensure Full Inclusion of Trans People and Combat the Factors that
Exacerbate Discrimination and Exclusion, March 31, 2017; IACHR Expresses Concern over
Setbacks in Federal Protections for Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Students in the United
States, March 15, 2017; Intersex Awareness Day – End Violence and Harmful Medical Practices
on Intersex Children and Adults, UN and Regional Experts Urge, October 24, 2016;
Pathologization: Being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and/or Trans is Not an Illness, May 12, 2016;
Discriminated and Made Vulnerable: Young LGBT and Intersex People Need Recognition and
Protection of their Rights, May 13, 2015; IACHR Expresses Concern over Pervasiveness of
Violence against LGBTI Persons and Lack of Data Collection by OAS Member States, December
17, 2014.
148
149
150
I/A Court H.R., Case of the Girls Yean and Bosico, Judgment of September 8, 2005, Series C No.
130, para. 141.
151

303. The IACHR also emphasizes that the principles of equality and participation
are intertwined. That occurs in two ways: on one hand, broadly consulting
the opinions of children and adolescents, and enabling them to participate
in the design, application, monitoring, and evaluation of laws, policies,
programs, and services, can throw light on potential situations of inequality
and discrimination; on the other hand, promoting rights awareness in
children and adolescents, empowering them, and facilitating different
channels and mechanisms for their social participation, creates conditions
that will enable them to uphold their rights and achieve equality.
304. The national children's policy and all the workings of the national system
for the protection of children’s rights should be founded on an inclusive
and fair approach that ensures effective equality before the law for all
children and adolescents, and should correct or change any de jure or de
facto discrimination prejudicial to certain groups. 152
C. Right to be Heard and to Meaningful and Protagonist

Participation
305. As the Committee on the Rights of the Child has said, Article 12 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child is a unique provision in a human
rights treaty. It addresses the legal and social status of children, who, on
the one hand lack the full autonomy of adults but, on the other, are subjects
of rights. Paragraph 1 of the CRC assures, to every child capable of forming
his or her own views, the right to express those views freely in all matters
affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in
accordance with age and maturity. Paragraph 2 states, in particular, that
the child shall be afforded the right to be heard in any judicial or
administrative proceedings affecting him or her. 153
152
I/A Court H.R., Case of the Yean and Bosico Children v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary
Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment of September 8, 2005, Series C No. 130,
para. 141.
153
heard, CRC/C/GC/12, 20 July 2009. Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
provides: 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own
views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the
child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 2. For this
purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and
administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an
appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.

306. The right of all children and adolescents to be heard and have due weight
given to their views constitutes “one of the four general principles of the
Convention, ... which highlights the fact that this article establishes not only
a right in itself, but should also be considered in the interpretation and
implementation of all other rights.” 154 In the opinion of the Committee,
“[a]rticle 12 as a general principle provides that States Parties should strive
to ensure that the interpretation and implementation of all other rights
incorporated in the Convention are guided by it.” Furthermore, the
Committee has expressly underscored the relationship that exists between
determining the best interests of the child in each case and the right of the
child to be heard. 155
307. The right of the child to be heard has both an individual and a collective
dimension; thus, there is the right to be heard of an individual child and
the right to be heard as applied to a group of children (e.g. a class of
schoolchildren, the children in a city or country, children with disabilities,
or girls). 156 This section looks most closely at the collective dimension and
at the right to social participation of children and adolescents. 157
308. The IACHR recalls that children and adolescents should be regarded as full
holders of rights whose exercise must be ensured and progressively
realized, including through spaces for their participation, consistent with
their developing abilities and taking into account their age and maturity.
Therefore, the State should adopt effective, appropriate measures to
ensure the rights of children and adolescents to express their views
on all issues that affect them, by providing them with access to the
means and mechanisms for doing so in line with their development.
They should also see to it that due weight is given to their views in, for
example, policies and decisions relating to their education, health,
sexuality, safety, culture, family life, and judicial and administrative
proceedings, among others. That principle extends to all spheres in which
children and adolescents play a role, including the family, education, the
154
heard, para. 2.
155
heard, para. 17.
156
heard, para. 9.
157
For an analysis of both dimensions, see Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment
No. 12, The right of the child to be heard. Specifically with regard to the concrete right of
children and adolescents to participate and be heard in administrative and judicial proceedings,
see also IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, pars. 247 to 264.

community, politics, administrative settings, and judicial proceedings, as

well as in the context of services provided for them. 158
309. This section of the report deals not only with the participation of children
and adolescents in consultative/advisory councils on children and
adolescents within the institutional structure of national system for the
protection of children’s rights, but also, in general, with their participation
in all the different environments and spaces where they are present.
310. The IACHR underscores that it should not be about just any kind of role for
them, but involve meaningful and protagonist participation. That
includes the possibility to express themselves freely and to be heard by
those who take decisions that will affect their rights, their development,
and the course of their lives. It entails, on one hand, that the State ensure
that children and adolescents receive all the information and advice they
need freely to form an opinion and take an autonomous, informed decision
in their best interests. On the other hand, it requires that laws, at a
minimum: ensure and promote the existence of appropriate spaces and
processes suitable for children and adolescents to exercise their right to
participate and to be heard; envisage sustained, set procedures and
mechanisms to that end; make assistance available for children and
adolescents in those processes; establish mechanisms to guarantee that
those opinions are being heard and due weight given to them in decision-
making; and contemplate the obligation to set down on record a reasoned
explanation of the way in which the opinions of children and adolescents
are weighed in the final decision, as well as to notify them of the outcomes.
Merely symbolic, inconsequential exercises that do not offer a real
possibility of influencing discussions and the final decision should be
avoided.
311. Likewise, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has said that
participation processes should be meaningful, genuine, respectful,
and sustained. The concept of participation emphasizes that including
children should not only be a momentary act, but the starting point for an
intense exchange between children and adults on the development of
policies, programs and measures in all relevant contexts of children’s lives.
Accordingly, it encourages that participation occur in the context of
permanent structures. The Committee also underlines the importance of
States establishing a direct relationship with children, not simply a link
158
See, in this connection, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, The
right of the child to be heard, especially para. 19.

through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society

organizations. 159
312. Specifically, the State should ensure that children and adolescents are
consulted and participate actively and directly in the preparation,
application, oversight, and evaluation of all pertinent laws, policies,
programs, and services that affect their lives, whether in schools or in
community, local, national, and other contexts. As was mentioned, the
views expressed by children and adolescents may add perspectives and
experience that are highly useful in analyzing the situation of children in a
country or municipality and in decision-making, policymaking and
preparation of laws and/or measures, as well as their evaluation. 160 The
importance has also been highlighted of hearing the views of certain
groups of children and adolescents on specific matters, such as, for
example, the opinion of adolescents who have experience with the juvenile
criminal justice system with regard to proposed amendments to applicable
laws in that sphere; of children and adolescents who were adopted on laws
and policies relating to adoption; of child and adolescent migrants on
immigration laws, policies, and practices; or of children and adolescents
who have been placed in alternative care on reforms of standards and
practices with respect to children without parental care.
313. The participation of children and adolescents should encompass the

regulatory, programmatic, and institutional dimensions of the national
system. In turn, besides children's and adolescents' consultative councils,
various means and mechanisms should be made available for their
participation—including forums, consultations, focus groups, opinion polls,
and self-perception surveys—that directly gather the views and experience
of children and adolescents.
314. For example, the IACHR has found that self-perception and victimization
surveys, used in combination with other sources, have the advantage of
providing first-hand information on the circumstances in which children
and adolescents live and the challenges they face in exercising their rights,
the prevalence of certain phenomena, and possible policies and measures
to adopt as more effective means of prevention and response. 161 The
periodic opinion polls targeting children that some States in the region
carry out are a valuable tool for assessing the situation of children in a
159
In that vein, see Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 5, “General
measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” para. 12, and
heard, paras. 3 and 13.
160
Coincidentally, see General Comment No. 12, paras. 12 and 27.
161
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, pars. 510 to 512.

country and knowing the opinions of children and adolescents; however, it

is important for the information collected to inform policy formulation and
evaluation in a meaningful way. The consultations and forums held during
the national children's policy formulation process, or in its evaluation, are
also invaluable for collecting the opinions of a large number of children and
adolescents and for grasping their different realities. Such methods should
supplement more permanent and institutionalized contexts, since on their
own they are too limited to fulfill the obligation of ensuring the right to
participation of all children and adolescents in children's policies and the
national system.
315. At the same time, the State should invest in measures to help children and
adolescents to understand and exercise their rights. As was mentioned,
schools are crucial to that end because they perform an important role in
fostering children's and adolescents' awareness of their rights and
development of skills for life and for responsible participation in society. 162
The school is also one of the settings in whose management and operation
the State should encourage and ensure child and adolescent
participation. 163 The school can also serve as a setting to gather the
opinions of children and adolescents, using mechanisms such as surveys on
different aspects of their enjoyment of their rights. However, that should
not be a barrier to the inclusion of out-of-school children and adolescents
in consultations and participation mechanisms. States should also be aware
that online media and new technologies now offer numerous innovative
opportunities to intensify and broaden child and adolescent participation,
although their participation should not be confined exclusively to such
media. 164
316. By the same token, adults’ understanding and awareness of children’s

and adolescents’ right to participation is important for the latter’s
enjoyment of that right. Similarly, the IACHR urges States to invest in
162
See Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 28 and 29 and Committee on the Rights of the
Child, General Comment No. 1, Article 29 (1): The Aims of Education, CRC/GC/2001/1, 17 April
2001.
163
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted that “[s]teady participation of children in
decision-making processes should be achieved through, inter alia, class councils, student
councils and student representation on school boards and committees, where they can freely
express their views on the development and implementation of school policies and codes of
behaviour. These rights need to be enshrined in legislation, rather than relying on the goodwill
of authorities, schools and head teachers to implement them.” Committee on the Rights of the
Child, General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be heard, CRC/C/GC/12, 20 July 2009,
para. A10. IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, pars. 521 to 526.
164
In that regard, see also a number of recommendations in General Comment No. 20 on the
implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence, paras. 48 and 49.

training and awareness-raising on child/juvenile participation, particularly

for parents and caregivers, professionals working with and for children and
adolescents, policymakers, and decision makers. Trained facilitators and
personnel are needed to mentor the participation of children and
adolescents of different ages and backgrounds in the processes of design,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies, programs, and
services, as well as assisting with a proper understanding of all aspects to
do with their participation, thereby adequately ensuring their right. 165
317. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has indicated that Article 12
imposes no age limit on the right of children and adolescents to express
their views, and discourages States from introducing age limits either in
law or in practice which would restrict their right to be heard in all matters
affecting them. 166 Moreover, States “cannot begin with the assumption that
a child is incapable of expressing her or his own views.” On the contrary,
States should devise appropriate measures to encourage and support the
participation of different groups of children and adolescents, especially
those that face greater challenges for doing so, by tailoring methodologies
to children and adolescents of different ages and from different
backgrounds, and adapting mechanisms and procedures to make that
possible, without discrimination. 167 At the same time, the child has the right
not to exercise this right. Expressing views is a choice for the child, not an
obligation. 168
318. The IACHR understands that the age- and language-specific peculiarities
associated with the ways in which children and adolescents communicate,
as well as any special assistance requirements and needs that they may
have in order to form their views and express them, should not in practice
be an impediment or obstacle to ensuring the right of children to make
themselves heard. On the contrary, Articles 19 of the American Convention
and 12 of the CRC give rise to additional obligations for States in terms of
regulating processes and mechanisms appropriate for children and
adolescents for guaranteeing the effective participation of all children and
adolescents, without discrimination, taking into account their evolving
165
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No.20 (2016) on the implementation of
the rights of the child during adolescence, CRC/C/GC/20, 6 December 2016, paras. 25. IACHR,
The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the
Americas, para. 254.
166
heard, para. 21.
167
heard, para. 20 and 21.
168
heard, para. 16.

capacities and the principle of progressive autonomy. It should be borne in

mind that some groups of children and adolescents, such as very young
boys and girls, children and adolescents with disabilities, migrants, or
those who belong to excluded or underprivileged groups or to ethnic,
cultural, and linguistic minorities, experience more difficulties and
obstacles in exercising their right to participate.
319. Among the means that enable and make it easier for children and
adolescents to express their views are interpreters and other specialized
personnel, such as those who work with young children or children with a
disability, for example. 169 Environments should be secure and conducive to
children and adolescents expressing themselves freely without fear of
repression or ridicule, feeling intimidated, or being influenced or
manipulated by others.
320. Furthermore, in keeping with the objective of promoting real and

meaningful participation, the law should envisage the obligation for
decision-makers at different levels (national and subnational) to inform
children and adolescents how their views have been weighed and taken
into consideration. That allows accountability on compliance with the duty
to ensure and respect children’s and adolescents’ right to participation.
321. The IACHR recommends that, in addition to the provision in law of

permanent, institutionalized mechanisms of participation, directives,
guidelines, protocols, and practical guides be adopted on child and
adolescent participation in order to promote and properly guarantee that
right, as well as to establish the conditions to that end, in line with what has
been indicated above 170.
322. Ultimately, participation is a right and a process that allows children and
adolescents to have role in their personal and social development. That
implies exercising the right to be informed, to express opinions, to be
heard, to organize, and to influence decisions on issues that involve or
concern them, while taking into account at all times the principles of
169
heard, CRC/C/GC/12, 20 July 2009, paras. 20 and 21; Committee on the Rights of the Child,
General Comment No. 9, The rights of children with disabilities, CRC/C/GC/9, 27 February 2007,
Forty-third session, para. 32: “It is essential that children with disabilities be heard in all
procedures affecting them and that their views be respected in accordance with their evolving
capacities.”
170
The IIN-OAS has published various studies and tools for the States to promote this right that can
be consulted in the following link.

nondiscrimination, progressive autonomy, and the best interests of the

child.
323. This right is closely linked to other articles in the CRC that facilitate its
assurance: Article 13 on freedom of expression, which, in turn, includes
freedom to seek, receive and impart information; Article 14, which
enshrines freedom of thought, conscience and religion; Article 15, which
recognizes the right to freedom of association; Article 17, which guarantees
access to information and to the national and international mass media;
and, finally, Article 31, which recognizes the right to participate fully in
cultural and artistic life.
D. The best Interests of the Child
324. Article 3(1) establishes the best interests of the child as the main criterion
or parameter in decisions that affect the rights of children and adolescents,
a recognition echoed by both organs of the inter-American system, which
have linked it to Articles 19 of the American Convention and VII of the
American Declaration.
325. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified Article 3(1) as one
of the four fundamental principles that underpin and inform the whole
CRC, its interpretation, and its implementation, and that the concept of the
child's best interests is aimed at ensuring both the full and effective
enjoyment of all the rights recognized in the Convention and the holistic
development of the child. 171
326. Thus, in all legislative, administrative, judicial, financial, and other

measures concerning children and adolescents the best interests of the
child shall be a primary consideration. That does not mean to the exclusion
of other persons’ rights, but that priority should be given to measures that
favor the realization of children's and adolescents' rights. The best
interests of children and adolescents should be considered in decisions that
affect both as individuals and collectively or as a group.
327. The principle of the best interests of the child entails that children’s and
adolescents’ holistic development and full enjoyment of their rights must
be considered the guiding principles in establishing and applying standards
171
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art. 3, para. 1), para. 4.
General Comment No. 7, Implementing child rights in early childhood, CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, 20
September 2006, paras. 1 and 4.

and policies to the lives of children and adolescents. 172 That principle has a
direct impact on the adoption of laws and policies, as well as on the type,
quality, and appropriateness of programs and services provided to children
and adolescents, and it sets a priority in the allocation of public funds for
children. In other words, the best interests of the child must govern every
aspect of the operations of national system for the protection of children’s
rights as well as overall.
328. That principle gives the child the right to have his or her best interests
assessed and taken into account as a primary consideration in all actions or
decisions that concern him or her, both in the public and private sphere,
and it should be applied as a dynamic concept that requires an
assessment appropriate to the specific context. 173
329. According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the child's best
interests should be considered a threefold concept: a substantive right, an
interpretive legal principle, and a rule of procedure 174:
A substantive right: The right of the child to have their best

interests assessed and taken as a primary consideration when
different interests are being considered in order to reach a
decision that affects them. It is applicable whether the
decision concerns a child, a group of identified children, or
children in general. It is directly applicable or self-executing
and can be invoked before a court
A fundamental, interpretative legal principle: If a legal

provision is open to more than one interpretation, the
interpretation which most effectively serves the child’s best
interests, taking into account all the rights contained in the
CRC, should be chosen.
A rule of procedure: Assessing and determining the best

interests of the child require procedural guarantees to
guarantee that the child's best interests are given serious
consideration and that this principle is not applied arbitrarily
or subjectively. As part of the procedure, justification must be
provided for the decision that shows that the child's best
172
I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child, Advisory Opinion OC-17/02,
pars. 53 and 137(2).
173
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art. 3, para. 1), para. 1.
174
See Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the
child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, para. 6.

interests have been explicitly taken into account, what criteria

the decision is based on, and how the child’s interests have
been weighed against other considerations, be they broad
policy issues or individual cases.
330. Thus, whenever a decision is to be made that will affect a specific child, an
identified group of children or children in general, be it a decision in the
context of administrative or judicial proceedings, or the adoption of laws,
policies, strategies, programs, plans, budgets, and guidelines that govern
the activities of persons who work with children and adolescents, the
decision-making process must include an evaluation of the possible impact
(positive or negative) of the decision on the child or children concerned. 175
In addition, the State has the obligation to ensure that the interests of the
child have been assessed and taken as a primary consideration in decisions
and actions taken by those providing services that target children, whether
in the public or private sector, and that they are recognized in the rules
governing their operations. 176
331. This legal duty applies to all decisions and actions that directly or indirectly
affect children. Thus, the term “concerning” refers first of all, to measures
and decisions directly concerning a child, children as a group or children in
general, and secondly, to other measures that have an effect on an
individual child, children as a group or children in general, even if they are
not the direct targets of the measure. As stated by the Committee on the
Rights of the Child, such actions include those aimed at children (e.g.
related to health, care or education), as well as actions which include
children and other population groups (e.g. related to the environment,
housing or transport). Therefore, “concerning” must be understood in a
very broad sense. According to the Committee, that does not mean that
every action taken by the State needs to incorporate a full and formal
process of assessing and determining the best interests of the child.
However, where a decision will have a major impact on a child or children,
a greater level of protection and detailed procedures to consider their best
interests is appropriate. 177
332. The State should review and, where applicable, amend its domestic laws
and other sources of law in order to incorporate the best interests of the
175
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, paras. 10, 13 and 14.
176
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, paras. 14(c) and 25.
177
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, paras. 19 and 20.

child. The law should expressly include the child's best interests as a
guiding principle, and a procedure should be established for their
determination. The State should also provide information and training on
the best interests principle and its application in practice to all those
making decisions that directly or indirectly impact on children, including
professionals and other people working for and with children. 178
333. In addition, a continuous process of child rights impact assessment is

needed not only to predict the impact of any proposed law, policy or
budgetary allocation on children and the enjoyment of their rights, but also
to evaluate the effects on the rights of the child of a particular law, policy,
or budgetary allocation, in order to weigh the actual consequences of their
implementation and formulate recommendations for introducing the
necessary changes. 179
334. The child-rights impact assessment (CRIA) can predict the impact of any
proposed policy, legislation, regulation, budget or other administrative
decision which affect children and the enjoyment of their rights and should
be complemented with ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the real and
effective impact of measures on children’s rights. 180 The impact assessment
should take into account opinions and input from children and adolescents,
civil society and experts, as well as from relevant government departments,
academic research and experiences documented in the country or
elsewhere. The analysis should result in recommendations for
amendments, alternatives and improvements and be made publicly
available. 181
335. In keeping with the holistic interpretation of the CRC, the realization of the
child's best interests should be considered in the light of the progressive
autonomy of the child in making decisions that affect him or her and in the
exercise of his or her rights. There is an intimate relationship between the
178
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, paras. 15(a) and (f).
179
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, para. 35 General Comment
No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, para. 35 and 45.
180
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, para. 35. General Comment
No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, para. 99.
181
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, para. 99.

realization of the best interests of the child and the recognition of their
progressive autonomy and of their right to be heard and to have due
consideration given to their views in all matters that affect them, for which
they should be afforded the opportunity to influence decisions. In
determining the child's best interests, the opinions of the child or children
who will be affected should be taken into account, in keeping with their
evolving capacities, which should be given due consideration in line with
their ability to understand and their maturity. As the child matures, his or
her views shall have increasing weight in the assessment of his or her best
interests. If the decision differs from the views of the child, the reason for
that should be clearly stated. 182
336. In order to demonstrate that the right of the child to have his or her best
interests assessed and taken as a primary consideration has been
respected, any decision concerning the child or children must be
motivated, justified and explained. The motivation should state explicitly
all the factual circumstances regarding the child, what elements have been
found relevant in the best-interests assessment, the content of the
elements in the individual case, and how they have been weighted to
determine the child’s best interests. If, exceptionally, the solution chosen is
not in the best interests of the child, the grounds for this must be set out in
order to show that the child’s best interests were a primary consideration
despite the result. It is not sufficient to state in general terms that other
considerations override the best interests of the child; all considerations
must be explicitly specified in relation to the case at hand, and the reason
why they carry greater weight in the particular case must be explained. 183
E. Principle of Progressive Autonomy
337. The duty of to provide special, appropriate and strengthened protection for
children, as recognized in the American Convention (Art. 19), the American
Declaration (Art. VII), and the CRC, is based on recognition of the special
condition of children who, because of their progressive development at all
levels—physical, cognitive, emotional, psychological, and social—depend
on adults for effective access to and enjoyment of all their rights, as well as
for recourse to legal action to demand them.
182
heard, paras. 70-74, 84, and 85; General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to
have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art. 3, para. 1), paras. 43 and 44.
183
to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, paras. 97; see also paras. 38
and 39.

338. However, that dependency on adults, and its intensity, is modified in

accordance with the evolving capacities of the child and his or her level of
maturity. Thus, in the period corresponding to the early years of the life of
the child, when the dependence on adults for the realization of their rights
is greatest, the link between the right to a family and the rights to life,
development, and humane treatment of the child is particularly important.
However, as the boy or girl grows and their skills and abilities develop, that
dependence on adults to exercise and enjoy their rights diminishes. 184
339. Article 5 of the CRC provides that the exercise of the rights of the child is
progressive by virtues of the evolving capacities of the child, 185 and that
parents, family members, and other persons responsible for the child have
a responsibility to provide appropriate direction and guidance in the
exercise by the child of those rights. That principle is grounded in the fact
that boys and girls have the right progressively to develop the autonomous
exercise of their rights, moving beyond the traditional argument that the
parents have powers over their children because the latter lack capacity
and autonomy.
340. That principle recognizes the special and unique condition of children and
adolescents based on their growth and development. It highlights the role
of all children and adolescents as active participants in the promotion,
protection, monitoring, and upholding of their rights, and as the architects
and decision-makers for their own lives, while recognizing their right to
special appropriate measures for ensuring their rights.
341. Indeed, that principle points to the fact that children and adolescents, who
are subjects of rights, can progressively exercise those rights for
themselves as they acquire more abilities and skills in line with their
evolving capacities, age and maturity, thus leaving behind the notion of
children as merely objects and recipients of assistance and care. 186
184
Americas, para. 271. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 7,
Implementing child rights in early childhood, Fortieth session, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, 20
September 2006, para. 17.
185
Article 5 of the CRC provides: “States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties
of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided
for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide,
in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and
guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention.”
186
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has established that “[i]n the case of children, they
exercise this right in a progressive manner in the sense that the minor of age develops a greater
level of personal autonomy with time” I/A Court H.R., Case of Gelman v. Uruguay, Merits and

342. Specifically, in light of the principle of progressive autonomy, the IACHR

considers that, at a minimum, the State should adopt the following
measures: legal recognition of the agency of children and adolescents; the
introduction of policies for empowerment of children and adolescents
through the knowledge and exercise of their rights; policies of support for
parents, caregivers, educators, and other persons in direct contact with
children and adolescents in relation to the evolving capacities and
progressive autonomy of children and adolescents; fostering the
participation of children and adolescents in policy processes and in the
formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and
services that target them; and ensuring direct access for children and
adolescents to readily available, age-appropriate services.
343. The IACHR recommends that States review, in direct consultation with
children and adolescents, all laws relating to legal capacity and the capacity
autonomously to exercise rights and access services in the case of children
and adolescents, taking into account the principle of progressive autonomy
and in a manner compatible with the right to protection and the principle
of the best interests of the child. Setting age limits in law, or other means of
assessing maturity for autonomous decision-making, should consider the
prohibition of any gender-based discrimination; age limits or other
considerations addressing maturity for the exercise of rights should be
equal for girls and boys. 187
344. The IACHR has observed that States in the region have proceeded to
introduce a number of legislative amendments that leave behind the
traditional vision of persons under 18 years old lacking legal capacity
autonomously to exercise their rights, and include provisions relating to
age and maturity for exercising various rights. 188 In that connection, there
Reparations, Judgment of February 24, 2011, Series C No. 221, para. 129. IACHR, The Right of
Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the Americas, para. 44.
General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be heard, paras. 84 and 85; and Committee
on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 7, Implementing child rights in early childhood,
para. 17. IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, para. 273.
187
In that regard, see, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 20 on the
implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence, para. 38.
188
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has also referred to that aspect in different general
comments. See, for example, General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of
the child during adolescence; Joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child on harmful practices; General Comment No. No. 15 on the right of the child to
the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (art. 24); and General Comment No.
7 Implementing child rights in early childhood; as well as the Report of the Special Rapporteur
on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health, Right to health in adolescence A/HRC/32/32, 4 April 2016.

should be a broad recognition of the capacities of children and adolescents

at all times, unless that recognition would give rise to unacceptable risks
for their protection and well-being. As the Committee on the Rights of the
Child has stated, “[e]volving capacities should be seen as a positive and
enabling process, not an excuse for authoritarian practices that restrict
children’s autonomy and self-expression and which have traditionally been
justified by pointing to children’s relative immaturity.” 189
345. The parental role necessarily diminishes as the child acquires an

increasingly active role in exercising choice throughout adolescence, such
as, for example, in the exercise of freedom of religion, access to
information, freedom of thought and expression, freedom of association,
planning for their own health, and in access to information and services in
relation to sexual and reproductive health. 190 States should also take all
appropriate legislative and other measures to strengthen and ensure
respect for the privacy and confidentiality of data of children, consistent
with their evolving capacities, particularly during adolescence. 191
346. At the same time, the IACHR emphasizes that the right of children and
adolescents to exercise increasing levels of autonomy and responsibility in
decision-making does not obviate States’ obligations to guarantee their
protection. Therefore, a balance should be ensured between respecting the
evolving capacities of adolescents and appropriate levels of protection. 192
189
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 7, Implementing child rights in
early childhood, para. 17, and General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of
the child during adolescence, para. 18, see also paras. 39 and 40.
190
Americas, pars. 603 to 624. In the context of the universal system, see Committee on the Rights
of the Child, General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be heard, paras. 99 and 100; and
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. No. 15 on the right of the child to
the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (art. 24), CRC/C/GC/15, 17 April
2013; General Comment No. 4, Adolescent health and development in the context of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRC/GC/2003/4, 21 July 2003, paras. 26 and 28. See, also,
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14, The right to the
highest attainable standard of health (article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights), E/C.12/2000/4, 11 August 2000, para. 23, and Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, Right to health in adolescence A/HRC/32/32, 4 April 2016. Regarding
the exercise of the right to health, see, for example, IACHR, Access to Information on
Reproductive Health from a Human Rights Perspective, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 61, November 22,
2011, in particular, pars. 32, 38, 48, 59, 60, 90, and 91.
191
General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence,
para. 46.
192
In that same connection, see General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of
the child during adolescence, paras. 19, 20, 39, and 40.

Thus, States should keep in mind the obligation to recognize that persons
up to the age of 18 years are entitled to continuing protection from all
forms of exploitation and abuse, such as, for example, by setting a
minimum age limit of 18 years for marriage, recruitment into the armed
forces, and involvement in hazardous work.
347. In keeping with the recognition of evolving capacities and the principle of
progressive autonomy, the State should promote greater empowerment for
children and adolescents through knowledge of their rights from an early
age, in line with their level of development, so that they can exercise them
and report their violation. Information accessible to children and
adolescents of all ages should be disseminated about their rights and how
to exercise them through, inter alia, the school curriculum, the media,
including digital media, and public information materials, adapting
contents and media to different ages and making particular efforts to reach
out to children and adolescents in marginalized situations.
348. As regards the duty of the State to promote rights awareness in children
and adolescents, coupled with the aims that the CRC ascribes to education
in that most important role, 193 the IACHR is concerned about the absence of
a broad inclusion of children's and adolescents' rights and of teaching
strategies for promoting and disseminating those rights in school curricula.
Furthermore, the IACHR is particularly concerned by discussions in the
region that propose backward steps in the area of human rights education
and in empowerment for children and adolescents in the exercise of their
rights in educational contexts. 194
349. The responsibility also arises for the State to provide assistance to
families in developing child-rearing skills, which entails taking account
of the evolving capacities of children and adolescents and their progressive
autonomy for exercising their rights, bearing in mind Articles 19 of the
American Convention and VII of the American Declaration, taken in
conjunction with the provisions set forth in Articles 5 and 18 of the CRC.195
193
See Articles 28 and 29 of the CRC and Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment
No. 1, The Aims of Education, U.N. Doc. CRC/GC/2001/1 (2001), 17 April 2001.
194
The IACHR has monitored those situations through requests for information made to States
under to Articles 41 of the American Convention and 18 of the Commission's Statute, as well as
through data received at thematic hearings. See, for example, IACHR, 161st regular session,
thematic hearing, , Human Rights Situation of Young People in Guyana, March 22, 2017; IACHR,
150th regular session, thematic hearing, Public Policies for Protecting the Human Rights of LGBTI
Children and Adolescents in Paraguay, March 28, 2014; IACHR, 149th regular session, thematic
hearing, Human Rights of Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean, October 28, 2013.
195
Article 18 of the CRC provides: 1. States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure recognition
of the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and
development of the child. Parents or, as the case may be, legal guardians, have the primary

The direct care services provided by national systems at the local level
could develop a role in that regard, in coordination with healthcare
services and those that provide support to pregnant women and families,
as well as through spaces linked to schools, such as parents’ associations.
However, the IACHR has seen only limited evidence of such efforts,
although it is worth highlighting the positive impact had by campaigns to
end corporal punishment in the home as a best practice.
350. In addition, the State should provide training in children's and adolescents'
rights for all professionals working directly with them, with a focus on
acquiring the competencies needed to work with them in accordance with
their evolving capacities; The State should also adopt guidelines and
protocols to provide clear guidance to professionals who are in contact
with, and provide services to, children and adolescents, particularly to
promote understanding and respect for the evolving capacities of children
and adolescents and their consequences, on the personal, social, and legal
planes, in order to realize their rights and eliminate any unjustified
obstacles to the exercise of their rights or access to different services.
351. Furthermore, services targeting children and adolescents should be

age-appropriate, their access guaranteed, and the assistance they provide
consistent with the principle of respect for their progressive autonomy and
their right to protection. Such access should be made available even
without an adult present, especially in the case of information and advisory
services.
352. The IACHR has found that though laws have advanced in recognizing that
children and adolescents are entitled to exercise rights for themselves, they
continue to face significant obstacles as a matter of routine. In particular,
the IACHR is troubled by information it has received regarding the
prejudice and nonrecognition of the capacities of adolescents in the region,
who frequently have difficulty exercising their rights and accessing services
for themselves. The State should ensure the conditions that will enable
everyone, including children and adolescents in accordance with their
evolving capacities, to act autonomously and to move forward with their
own life plan.
responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child. The best interests of the child
will be their basic concern. 2. For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth
in the present Convention, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal
guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the
development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children.

F. Protection as a Continuum and the Interaction of Rights
353. The objective of protection of children and adolescents and of their rights
should be viewed broadly and as a continuum; it should be understood not
only as protection against infringements of rights, but also as a set of
prevention strategies designed to stop such violations from occurring; the
interaction of rights must also be considered.
354. Protection needs vary depending on the child’s stage of life (i.e., their age
and level of biological, psychological, emotional, social, and cognitive
development) and on their family and social environment. 196 That entails
adapting interventions to suit their protection needs, which are associated
with their life stage as well as their progressively evolving capacities and
autonomy. As was noted, at an early age children are completely dependent
on adults for their survival, well-being, development, and basic care; that
situation evolves and changes as children grow, acquiring greater
autonomy the nearer they get to adolescence.
355. Longitudinal studies show the importance of interventions from a very

early phase—even from pregnancy—with the family and throughout every
stage of the child's growth, since they are all interrelated and influence the
final outcome in terms of the child's level of protection and enjoyment of
rights. What happens in the early years of a child's life has an impact in
adolescence and later in adulthood.
356. Evaluations of early childhood interventions, or in infancy, have helped to

grasp the importance of protection as a continuum and not as isolated,
disconnected interventions that only address risks that may arise at certain
stages in a child's life. This protection and rights-oriented approach is
based on the life course, 197 and therefore is conceived as a continuum.
357. The approach based on protection as a continuum is the vision most

consistent with the protection that the CRC demands. That vision seeks to
ensure the holistic development of children and adolescents, as required by
Article 6 of the CRC, taking into account the specific characteristics of each
196
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 7, Implementing child rights in
early childhood, Fortieth session, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, 20 September 2006, and General
Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence.
197
The term "life course,” as opposed to “life stages,” tends to be used to highlight precisely the
continuity, overlapping, and interrelated element of all peoples' experiences from the beginning
to the end of their lives.

stage of the life cycle, while at the same time integrating a longitudinal
outlook on life and its different stages. This outlook considers the different
phases of a child's development, as well as their protection needs and risks
at each one of them, as interrelated and connected aspects.
358. Incorporating the approach of protection as a continuum allows an

understanding of how a child's first experiences in life may have an
influence throughout their lives and on their future, affecting their health,
education, development, and other rights. This approach is premised on the
consideration that a particular factor in a child's life negatively affects the
enjoyment of a certain right in the present and restricts others at later
stages in the child's life; or, to the contrary, a particular factor promotes the
enjoyment of a certain right in the present and propitiates the enjoyment of
others in the future.
359. For example, situations of acute undernourishment in early childhood may

adversely affect the child's health and development in the first years of life,
as well as having subsequent negative repercussions and impacts on their
education and future opportunities by causing disability and health
problems, impairing their quality of life, reproducing cycles of poverty, and
making children and adolescents more vulnerable to situations of violence
and exploitation. Some factors, such as exclusion, discrimination,
poverty, and domestic violence may even affect the next generation by
being transmitted intergenerationally.
360. The bio-psychosocial development of human beings is a systematic process

of continuity and change in persons that occurs between birth and death. It
is a process of changes, developing capacities, relations with their
environment, and learning based on accumulated life experience. That
process of maturation in children and adolescents is critical. The evidence
systematically shows that there are development opportunities in early
childhood that are not repeated at later stages in life. Unequal access to
development opportunities between boys and girls from different
socioeconomic backgrounds, especially in the early stages of life, tends to
reproduce the original inequality intergenerationally.
361. Development theories in psychology also show that empowering adults to

exercise the rights and freedoms that they enjoy is largely conditioned by
their experiences and their enjoyment of rights, or lack of access thereto,
during childhood and adolescence. That link is expressed, for example, in
the fact that a safe childhood with adequate family and community support
increases a person's self-assurance and their chances of developing fully in
the future. The opportunities to which people have access as children help
to shape and develop their skills and opportunities as adults. By the same
token, negative lessons learned during childhood in contexts where boys

and girls grow up, such as violent or discriminatory forms of relationship,

tend to be reproduced in adolescence—increasing their chances of getting
into trouble with the law—and later in adulthood. 198
362. The Committee on the Rights of the Child acknowledges that investment in
early childhood development has a positive impact on children’s ability to
exercise their rights, breaks poverty cycles and brings high economic
returns. Underinvestment in children in their early years can be
detrimental to cognitive development and can reinforce existing
deprivations, inequalities and intergenerational poverty. 199 Therefore, it
has profound implications, not only for their individual optimum
development, but also for the present and future social and economic
development of the society and country.
363. The above is consistent with the findings of numerous empirical studies
which show that investing in family assistance and early childhood
development programs, in particular those targeted toward families in
vulnerable circumstances, is one of the most cost-effective and efficient
ways to reduce subsequent risk behaviors among youth. 200 More
specifically, family-oriented interventions to change parenting styles and
improve relationships within the family have produced results in terms of
reducing the risk of children becoming involved in antisocial behavior and
violence. The earlier these programs are administered in a child’s life, the
greater the benefits. 201
364. Economists have also found evidence based on a monetary quantification

of the costs of an early intervention versus the costs of a later intervention.
The investment done in one stage has positive repercussions on the next.
365. However, that is not to deny the importance that each life stage has, just as
it implies recognizing that the risk factors in adolescence are not the same
as they are in childhood, or that the protection factors are. 202 Therefore,
interventions must be tailored with that in mind. The IACHR concurs with
the Committee on the importance of giving greater attention to the period
of adolescence.
198
In this regard, see IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, pars. 129 and 130, and United
Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children, pp. 285 and 287.
199
200
United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children, pp. 318.
201
202
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the
rights of the child during adolescence, paras. 2 and 3. IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized
Crime, pars. 128 to 132.

366. In addition, there is evidence that infringements of children's rights and the
various kinds of violence inflicted on them are usually linked and overlap
one another, which leads to the successive victimization of the children
most exposed to these vulnerabilities, 203 hence the need to approach
protection as a continuum.
367. For example, children who repeatedly experience violence in their family
are most likely to leave home to escape from the violence, abuse, or neglect
and may end up in extremely precarious and vulnerable circumstances, in
the street or in institutions where they generally face greater risks of being
abused and exploited, recruited and used by criminal groups or
organizations, and coming into contact with the juvenile justice system. 204
Therefore, prevention of violence in the home is a protection factor not
only in the present, but also against the risk of violations of other rights in
the future. Seen from another perspective, interventions to protect children
in street situations would be more effective if the root causes of that
phenomenon were addressed, which include, among others, domestic
violence, which takes place long before they run away from home. That is
why it is important to consider protection of the child holistically and as a
continuum, and not as isolated episodes of protection interventions to
safeguard a particular right or to deal with a particular situation in a given
sector or institution.
368. In light of the above, the Commission has emphasized that, specifically in
relation to prevention of violence in adolescence, it considers that steps
should be taken during both childhood and adolescence to prevent the
victimization of adolescents and violent behavior on their part, and that
they should give due consideration to the role played by the family and
society in the child's life. Preventive measures need to be holistic and
contemplate, among other aspects, the impact that socialization norms and
patterns of social behavior have on children. 205
369. It is necessary not to lose sight of the fact that rights are interconnected
and complementary; likewise, different types of rights violations and
violence cannot be viewed independently or in isolation. 206 The IACHR
considers that interventions limited to just one sphere or to a particular
203
In this regard, see, for example, Press Release No. 26/04, Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights and Unicef Express Concern over Situation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents Involved with
Gangs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, December 4, 2004.
204
205
206

manifestation of violence or violation of a right can only partially achieve

their objective. The IACHR has also indicated that initiatives to address the
most extreme forms of violence need to take into account the above-
mentioned factors involving different overlapping and interconnected
forms of violence and should initiate prevention in small children working
with their families, as well as considering the underlying factors related to
tolerance or social acceptance of any form of violence and discrimination.
They should not focus only on addressing the most serious forms of
violence with interventions exclusively targeting children and adolescents,
without considering their families, communities, and social
environments. 207
370. In conclusion, the holistic view of children, families, and communities is a

hallmark of the systemic approach to child protection and requires that the
services offered in the context of national systems be a continuum adapted
to the various needs of children and adolescents over time, as well as
taking their families, communities, and social environments into account.
In formulating its goals and, in particular, designing intervention strategies,
the national children's policy must give special attention to protection as a
continuum and the interaction of all rights.
G. Gender Perspective
371. A national system for the protection of children’s rights that is rights-based
must inevitably consider the principles of equality and nondiscrimination,
and how they apply to issues of gender. The aim of that approach is to
identify and alter the array of social stereotypes, beliefs, practices, mores,
and values predicated on sexual difference and gender roles that
historically have been used to discriminate against women. Giving
consideration to this approach is critical for taking steps to overcome
gender- and sex-based structural inequalities and discrimination and move
toward more-genuine equality among all children and adolescents. 208
372. A gender-aware approach should highlight the social inequalities and

structural discrimination experienced by girls and adolescent women in
the societies of all the hemisphere's countries. In practice, such gender-
based structural inequalities have meant that girls and adolescent women,
207
208
For the terminological aspects of "gender" and “sex," see IACHR, Violence against LGBTI Persons,
OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, doc. 36, November 12, 2015.

in particular, face constant challenges in exercising their rights and the

level of violence and discrimination against them. It also restricts their
participation, which impacts them socially and affects the exercise of their
rights. The IACHR has appealed to the countries of the region to pay greater
attention to the various challenges confronting pre-teen and teenage girls,
bearing in mind the different risk factors to which they are exposed and the
high prevalence of certain forms of violence against them, as well as other
rights violations precisely for being girls. Accordingly, it has urged States
to strengthen the gender perspective in national systems for the
protection of children’s rights, and that they regularly consult girls
and adolescent women on their situation and on proposals to improve
it, as well as empowering them and involving them in the design and
evaluation of public policies for ensuring their rights. 209
373. It is also essential for the gender approach to be widely conceptualized and
implemented, including identification and analysis of inequalities,
discrimination, stigmatization, and prejudice against individuals by reason
of sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or because their
bodies differ from the male and female norm. There are disturbing
situations affecting different groups because of gender identity, sexual
orientation, and their bodies, such as LGBTI children and adolescents. The
national system should identify such situations and implement policies
aimed at achieving equality for all children and adolescents in the exercise
of their rights, without discrimination based on biological traits, gender
stereotypes, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
374. Legal reforms are needed to confront direct and indirect discrimination
against girls and LGBTI children and adolescents, as are policies, programs,
services, sensitization and educational efforts, and investment, among
other measures. 210
209
IACHR, press release, IACHR Calls Attention to the Continuing Challenges Facing Pre-teen and
Teenage Girls in the Region, October 12, 2016. See also the preamble to the Inter-American
Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women
(Convention of Belém do Pará).
210
In that regard, the IACHR has recognized that de jure equality alone is not enough to achieve
gender equality. It also requires eliminating practices and conduct that generate and perpetuate
women's position of inferiority in society. Nevertheless, the commission does not underestimate
the importance of formal equality and underlines the importance of the right to achieve social
“although formal equality does not guarantee the elimination of instances of discrimination,
recognizing it makes it possible to encourage transformations in society, thereby enhancing the
authority of this right.” See IACHR, Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
on the Status of Women in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.100 Doc. 17, October 13, 1998, Ch. IV.

375. The IACHR and the Court have noted with particular concern on multiple
occasions that social stereotypes regarding gender, gender identity,
biological traits, and sexual orientation are closely linked to violence and
discrimination. 211
376. States should work in partnership with all interested parties, including civil
society, community and faith leaders, and the broader community, as well
as with children, adolescents, women, and men to change social attitudes
and effect real change. States should recognize the importance of engaging
with everyone—boys and men, as well as girls and women—in all
measures introduced to achieve gender equality.
377. The gender approach should be crosscutting and applied in the

formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and
programs, as well as in the establishment and working of services targeting
children, in personnel and professional training, and in awareness-raising
strategies. The national children's policy should include it as a crosscutting
approach. At the same time, however, the IACHR recommends the inclusion
of concrete goals and specific targets for doing away with this type of
discrimination, bearing in mind the troubling situation that exists in all
countries in the region and the need proactively to promote
transformations in society.
378. All services targeting children should include the gender dimension, as well
as making the way in which they implement that dimension an explicit part
of their operating protocols, and highlighting measures adopted and the
justification for doing so. Explicit measures are needed in all laws, policies,
and programs to guarantee the rights of girls on an equal basis with boys,
just as they are for LGBTI children and adolescents. In turn, it entails
providing specialized services and care that take account of special needs
and necessary actions to fully ensure their rights, while making catering for
differences. The measures adopted and the results obtained should be
compiled, evaluated, measured, and made publicly available.
211
I/A Court H.R., Case of Atala Riffo and Girls. v. Chile, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment of
February 24, 2012. Series C No. 239, I/A Court H.R., Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v.
Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009.
Series C No. 205, pars. 236 and 258. IACHR, press releases, It Is Time to Increase Action to End
and Prevent Violence against Women and Girls, December 2, 2016, and IACHR Calls Attention to
the Continuing Challenges Facing Pre-teen and Teenage Girls in the Region, October 12, 2016.
IACHR, Violence against LGBTI Persons, 2015. IACHR, press releases, Discriminated and Made
Vulnerable: Young LGBT and Intersex People Need Recognition and Protection of their Rights,
May 13, 2015, and IACHR Expresses Concern over Pervasiveness of Violence against LGBTI
Persons and Lack of Data Collection by OAS Member States, December 17, 2014.

379. The opinions and experiences of children and adolescents are essential for
identifying problem areas associated with discrimination and
stigmatization based on biological characteristics, gender stereotypes,
gender identity, and sexual orientation
380. Furthermore, the gender approach also entails identifying and recognizing
the existence of social notions rooted in masculinity and male rules of
gender socialization that are associated with violence and male dominance,
both among peers and toward women. 212 The IACHR considers that one
cannot disregard or negate the vulnerability of boys and adolescent males
to such social stereotypes, socially prevalent rules of behavior, and
expectations of them in terms of their attitudes and how they interact with
others, as they are ubiquitous, significant obstacles to boys and adolescent
males achieving full and harmonious development, and to preventing them
from being exposed to violence or engaging in it themselves with the
attendant consequences.
381. Gender socialization rules as well as using violence to settle disputes and as
an instrument to exert power and dominance in interpersonal
relationships influence children and adolescents of both sexes, increasing
the likelihood of their reproducing the same rationale. It has been noted,
for instance, that violence is more widespread when boys are encouraged
to develop aggressive masculine traits, interpersonal relations are based on
power and submission, and relations with adolescent and adult women are
characterized by abuse and sexual dominance. 213
382. Failing adequately to recognize that this environment is colored by gender

stereotypes and notions of masculinity also creates a gap in terms of policy
and prevention and protection services for tackling and responding to this
specific problem area and offering adequate protection to boys and
adolescent males.
383. The IACHR urges States to adopt a gender approach in designing a strategy
for dealing with these problems, promoting positive masculinities,
overcoming cultural values based on machismo, and promoting greater
recognition that most of the abuses that boys and adolescent males suffer
also have a gender dimension. 214 This approach should include actions
212
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, para. 129, 240 and 241.
213
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, para. 129, and United Nations Secretary-
General's Study on Violence against Children, p. 287.
214
Research and statistics show that during adolescence—generally from age 15 on—there is a
marked increase in the incidence of both adolescent victims of violence and adolescent

aimed at changing the way in which children and adolescents of both sexes
interact with each other, as well as making parents, educators, caregivers,
and society in general aware of these issues.
H. Intercultural Perspective
384. An intercultural perspective involves respecting differences, recognizing

and respecting the right to diversity, promoting equitable interaction
among cultures where it is understood that no cultural group is superior to
any other, and recognizing and valuing the contributions of all those groups
to society. The intercultural approach alludes to the recognition of cultural
diversity, according legitimacy to culturally different representations,
views, and practices, and promoting mutual knowledge and respect among
cultures.
385. That entails encouraging children and adolescents who belong to

indigenous peoples, religious, linguistic, migratory, or other groups to
preserve their own cultures, profess and practice their own religion and
beliefs, and use their own language. At the same time, tolerance, respect,
mutual knowledge, and interaction among children and adolescents from
different cultures should be fostered.
386. From that point of view, social, economic, and political inequalities that
exist in society to the detriment of particular cultural groups should be
taken into account, as they may result in discrimination and exclusion,
made more acute by failure to recognize and value ethnic and cultural
differences or by undervaluing a given culture or ethnic group. The
intercultural approach should identify such structural inequalities based on
membership of a particular linguistic, religious, cultural, or ethnic group,
and devise measures to eliminate them through measurable concrete goals
whose fulfillment should be monitored. It entails, among other things,
recognizing that indigenous and migrant children and adolescents, for
example, need special measures for the realization of their individual and
collective rights without discrimination and on an equal footing with the
rest of the population.
perpetrators of violence, with most of that violence occurring in communal or public spaces.
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, para. 129.UNODC, Global Study on Homicide
2013, pp. 28-30, and UNDP, Human Development Report for Latin America 2013-2014. Citizen
Security with a Human Face: Evidence and proposals for Latin America, p. 53. UNICEF, Hidden in
Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children, 2014, p. 34.See also Committee on
the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 20 (2016) on the implementation of the rights of
the child during adolescence, CRC/C/GC/20, 6 December 2016, paras. 29 and 30.

387. This approach aims to promote conditions for building a more inclusive
and egalitarian society and should be mainstreamed in the activities of the
various sectors that make up the national system for the protection of
children’s rights, particularly in policy design, implementation, monitoring,
and evaluation. Similarly, the national children's policy should set concrete
goals and targets to measure progress and allow public accountability on
actions and results obtained in that regard. That information should be
publicly accessible in different languages, including indigenous languages
and those of other linguistic minorities. The services provided by national
systems should be tailored to respect cultural and linguistic differences, as
well as the diversity of world visions, beliefs, and ideologies, in addition to
being readily accessible to all groups.
I. Protecting the Family as a Cornerstone of Child Rights

Protection
388. The American Declaration, American Convention, and CRC all recognize the
family as the main nucleus of protection of children and adolescents, and
assign the family a preponderant role in ensuring the care, well-being, and
protection of children and adolescents as the natural setting for their
growth and development, especially during the early stages of their lives. 215
They also recognize the right of the child to live with and be cared for by
their parents, as well as the duty of States to support the family so that it is
can carry out its functions fully. Those rights give rise to the obligation of
the State to promote and propitiate adequate support for families to enable
them to meet their parental responsibilities in caring for and bringing up
their children, thereby guaranteeing the protection of children and their
rights. 216
215
See American Convention, Article 17(1); American Declaration, Article VI; and CRC, preamble
and Articles 3.2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 20, 21, and 27.
216
In that regard, see IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.54/13, 2013, particularly pars. 49 to 64).
See, in particular, Articles 18(2) and 27 of the CRC: Article 18(2): “For the purpose of
guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall
render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-
rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services
for the care of children.” Article 27: 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a
standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social
development. 2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the primary responsibility
to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary for the
child's development. 3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their
means, shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to

389. The right to a family recognized in Articles 17.1 of the American

Convention and VI of the American Declaration is closely tied to the
effective observance of the rights of the child and, therefore, Articles 19 of
the American Convention and VII of the American Declaration, owing to the
importance of the family in the life of the child and its protective,
caregiving, and child-rearing role. 217 The Court and the commission have
held that “[i]n principle, the family should provide the best protection of
children (…). And the State is under the obligation not only to decide and
directly implement measures to protect children, but also to favor, in the
broadest manner, development and strengthening of the family nucleus.” 218
390. As was mentioned, children and adolescents need a secure family

environment that satisfies their emotional, welfare, security, care, and
holistic development needs. The family environment should offer
appropriate conditions for children and adolescents to attain an optimum
standard of living and to develop their capacities and full potential,
recognizing that children and adolescents have a central role and
responsibility in their own development, whose personal autonomy
evolves and increases in line with their age and maturity. 219
391. Nevertheless, the IACHR also observes that the persons closest to children,
who should protect them and take care of them, may in some instances
expose children to situations that threaten their personal integrity and
development. In order to prevent violations of the rights of children from
occurring and to guarantee effective protection for children, States should
devote efforts in strengthening the family and community settings, as well
as introducing exceptional measures to protect the child when their own
family are the cause of their rights being unprotected and violated.
implement this right and shall in case of need provide material assistance and support
programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing. The same rationale
applies to several of the General Comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child that
address topics related to the importance of family care and the State’s obligation to support it.
217
Americas, para. 57.
218
para. 66. See also IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, pars. 42 and 53. In the context of the universal system, the
Human Rights Committee has also expressly linked the protection to which the family is entitled,
as recognized in Article 23.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to the
fulfillment of the duty to protect children by reason of their special status recognized in Article
24.1 of that covenant. UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 17: Article 24
(Rights of the Child), Thirty-fifth session, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 (1989), and
General Comment No. 19: Article 23 (The Family), Thirty-ninth session, U.N. Doc.
HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 (1990).
219
Americas, para. 42.

392. Accordingly, the State has the obligation to adopt legal, administrative,
financial, and other measures that prioritize strengthening the family as the
principal unit for protecting and caring for the child, as well as to reduce
risk factors. 220 The State has an obligation to favor, in the broadest possible
way, the development and consolidation of the family nucleus as a
protection measure for the child. 221 From the above, it is inferred that the
State needs to have a national system for the protection of children’s rights
that includes policies, programs and services for family support and
assistance and takes into account the role of families as the natural
environment in which children grow and should be provided care and the
necessary protection for their integral, harmonious development, as well as
combining mechanisms for early detection of situations of violence, abuse,
and neglect.
393. The IACHR has emphasized that social protection policies for families are
crucial for the protection, care, and well-being of children, and should be a
priority for States in keeping with their international obligations as regards
protection of the rights of the child. 222
394. Currently, in several of the region's countries, a considerable part of the

operations of national systems—and of the programs and services that
they implement—center on protecting the child from situations after the
fact, from abandonment or neglect by parents, or from violence of which
they are victims in the family environment, and generally intervene to
separate the child from his or her family unit in order to ensure the child’s
safety and offer some form of temporary or permanent alternative care.
Although the importance of such measures must be acknowledged, national
systems should give greater consideration to prevention strategies so that
children are not deprived of their right to live and grow in their family
220
pars. 53, 71, 72, and 76. In the same sense, see Human Rights Committee, General Comment 17,
Rights of Child (Art. 24), 07/04/1989, CCPR/C/35, paras. 2, 3, and 6. United Nations Committee
on the Rights of the Child, Committee on the Rights of the Child Day of General Discussion on
“Children without Parental Care,” 2005, Report on the fortieth session of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child, CRC/C/153, para. 645.
221
See I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child, Advisory Opinion OC-
17/02, para. 66; Case of Gelman v. Uruguay, Merits and Reparations, Judgment of February 24,
2011, Series C No. 221, para. 125; and Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala, Preliminary
Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment of May 25, 2010, Series C No. 212, para.
157. IACHR, Report No. 83/10, Caso 12.584, Merits, Milagros Fornerón and Leonardo Aníbal
Fornerón, Argentina, November 29, 2010, para. 105.
222
Americas, para. 4.

environment and have their right to a dignified life free from all forms of
violence ensured.
395. In addition, poverty alleviation strategies and social protection programs

should consider families and their material circumstances when designing
and implementing policies, programs, and services, in order to ensure the
economic means and access to services that contribute to the realization of
the rights of all members of the family and promote conditions of social
inclusion. However, the IACHR notes that in practice, the synchronization
between children's policies and the policies mentioned is weaker than one
would reasonably expect, bearing in mind all the above considerations
regarding the intrinsic relationship that exists between protecting the
rights of children and adolescents and the capacities of the family to care
for and raise them.
396. Poverty and families' want of means to provide an adequate standard of

living have profound and often irreversible repercussions on children and
adolescents and all their rights. Limited access to nutritious food,
malnutrition, lack of access to health care services, clean water, sanitation,
and decent housing have an impact on the physical integrity, development,
and health of children and adolescents, as well as adversely affecting other
rights. As strategies for dealing with poverty, children and adolescents
drop out of school to work, run the risk of being victims of labor
exploitation or hazardous work and of becoming victims of violence and
sexual exploitation or trafficking, and are more likely to enter into child or
forced marriages, being caught up by gangs and groups that engage in
criminal activities, and migrating in search of new opportunities. Poverty is
also one of primary reasons parents decide to give up guardianship of their
children, give them up for adoption, abandon them, or allow authorities to
separate children from their parents, place them in institutions, or declare
them eligible for adoption. 223
397. Although economic reasons cannot be a justification for separating a child

from his or her parents, in practice, the IACHR has found that poverty
continues to be the main backdrop in cases of children being separated
from their families. The IACHR and the Court have established that poverty
223
The Commission has underscored the need to assess more thoroughly the situation of children
and adolescents living in poverty and the impact it has on the exercise of their human rights. The
Commission also notes that measuring child poverty requires a multidimensional approach
based on a perspective that includes children’s and adolescents’ access to adequate services
enabling their full physical, social, mental, spiritual, and moral development. It should also
provide for the ability to enjoy all their rights, reach their full potential, and participate as full
and equal members of society. IACHR, Preliminary Report on Poverty, Extreme Poverty, and
Human Rights in the Americas, 2016, pars. 279 ff. IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family.
Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the Americas, pars. 6, 95, 96 et seq.

alone cannot be grounds for separating children from their parents and
denying them other rights enshrined in the American Convention as a
result; rather, it should be considered a sign of the need to adopt measures
to support the family. 224
398. The vulnerability of families is compounded when two or more

vulnerability factors intersect. The State, through the national system,
should have the capacity to identify families in situations of greatest
vulnerability so that they can provide them with special assistance, such as
poor families, indigenous families, families that belong to traditionally
discriminated-against ethnic groups, single-parent families, families
composed of adolescent parents, and families in which one of the members,
whether a child or a parent, has a disability.
399. The IACHR and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have reminded
States of the right of every child to a suitable standard of living for physical,
psychological, mental, cognitive, social, and moral development, and urged
them to introduce social protection floors that provide children and
adolescents and their families with basic income security and access to
social services access to ensure their rights. 225
400. The IACHR acknowledges the valuable efforts that States in the region have
been making in terms of investing greater resources in policies, programs,
and services designed to improve the material living conditions of families
in vulnerable circumstances or poverty, as well as in programs and services
aimed at raising awareness and educating parents on aspects relating to
raising and caring for their children and for early prevention and detection
of violence in the home. However, it has also noted that, in general, there is
a need to strengthen the integral and complementary nature of the
measures, their coverage and funding, as well as to conduct regular
evaluations of their effectiveness in achieving the desired objectives. 226
401. The IACHR has observed that in this area in particular, there is a need for
various sectors to coordinate policies, programs, and services, especially
with respect to the national system, social protection policies, poverty
alleviation strategies, health care services, and social assistance services.
224
Americas, pars. 6 and 96. I/A Court H.R., Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child,
Advisory Opinion OC-17/02, para. 76.
225
Americas, pars. 96-114. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment
No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence, para. 67.
226

Several sectors have complementary objectives whose coordination is

necessary to strengthen how they function and their efficiency and
effectiveness in achieving those objectives. The IACHR considers that
coordinated policy planning, integrated services and program design,
and impact assessments are critical for boosting efficiency.
402. Furthermore, in relation to State policies targeting the family, the IACHR
has established that States have the duty to prevent and protect children
and adolescents from violence in the home, with the aim not only of
preserving the child's right to humane treatment but also their right to live
with their family. Violence in the family is a common vulnerability factor
for children and adolescents and may lead to the separation of children
from their families in order to be placed in alternative care or, as still often
happens in practice, institutions, with the attendant risks for many other
rights that institutionalization entails for children and adolescents. The
IACHR has defined States' obligations with regard to prevention of violence
in the home and protection of children and adolescents based on Articles
1(1) and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights in conjunction
with Articles 17 and 19 of that treaty, which include the responsibility to
devise policies, programs, and services targeting families in the framework
of national systems for the protection of children’s rights in coordination,
particularly, with health and education services to support families in
providing their children with a positive, violence-free upbringing, care, and
well-being. 227
403. Accordingly, as regards fulfilling the obligation to adopt all appropriate

domestic measures to provide support to and strengthen families, the
Commission has recommended, for example, making day care services
available that make it possible to combine a job with parental
responsibilities, support and advisory services from the antenatal phase
and through the child's upbringing; counseling and training programs for
families on the rights of the child and positive child rearing without
violence; and benefits or direct material assistance and conditional
transfers, among other measures. 228
404. However, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on
Human Rights, as part of their follow-up on States' implementation of their
treaty obligations, have both expressed their concern about the type and
the quality of data they receive from the States as regards compliance with
227
Americas, pars. 6, 7, 94, 95, and 115-129.
228
Americas, conclusions 6, 7, and 9.

this obligation, the suitability of measures for achieving their objectives,

and the level of coverage of those measures. 229
405. The IACHR notes that although States must establish the concrete
measures that they deem appropriate for realizing the right to protection
of the family (Article 17(1) of the American Convention), that does not,
however, exempt each State from having to justify the appropriateness of
the particular means it has chosen and to demonstrate whether the means
will achieve the intended effect and result. 230 Thus the State has a duty to
act immediately in the context of the national system for the protection of
children’s rights and in close coordination with other sectors, in order to
regulate and give effect to the content of this right based on the social
function of the family.
406. The IACHR recommends that in designing national children’s policies, as

well as social protection, national development and poverty alleviation
policies, States implement mechanisms to gather opinions and
experiences from families and the professionals who provide them
with services, in order to obtain a more closer representation and
understanding of the various realities and challenges that they face,
and what type of support and services would be relevant. States should
also have data on families’ circumstances in order to formulate policies
better tailored to them. Access should also be improved to information on
services established for families, ensuring that the information reaches, in
particular, the most vulnerable families whom the services target and
strengthening active transparency mechanisms to facilitate access to
services. Periodic assessments of services and their impact should be used
to make policy adjustments.
407. Finally, as regards different types of families and the protection to which
they are all entitled, according to the Inter-American Court, the concept of
229
Treaty-specific guidelines regarding the form and content of periodic reports to be submitted by
States Parties under article 44, paragraph 1 (b), of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
adopted by the Committee at its fifty-fifth session (13 September-1 October 2010),
CRC/C/58/Rev.2. The Committee requests States parties, with regard to the group of Articles
included in the section “Family environment and alternative care (Articles 5, 9 to 11, 18 (1) and
(2), 19 to 21, 25, 27 (4) and (39))”, to provide information on family support measures under
paragraph 1. See also Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 19: Article 23 (The
family), Thirty-ninth session, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 (1990), paras. 1 and 3.
230
Americas, para. 87. This position has been established by the various treaty bodies in their
examination of obligations under Articles with content similar to that of Article 2 of the ACHR
that contain general obligations for implementation of the respective treaties. See, General
Comment No. 3 (1990), The Nature of States Parties’ Obligations, Article 2 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, para. 4.

family should not be confined exclusively to marriage or to a univocal

and immutable concept of family. The Court considers that the concept
of family life “is not confined solely to marriage-based relationships and
may encompass other de facto "family" ties where the parties are living
together outside of marriage.” 231 In another decision, the Inter-American
Court held more specifically that “the American Convention does not define
a limited concept of family, nor does it only protect a ‘traditional’ model of
the family.” The Court also rejects “a limited, stereotyped perception of the
concept of family, which has no basis in the Convention, since there is no
specific model of family (the ‘traditional family’).” 232 Further, the Court
considers that the imposition of a specific vision of the family could
constitute arbitrary interference with the right to private life, recognized in
Article 11(2) of the American Convention because of the impact it may
have on a family unit. 233
408. In this regard, the Commission has shown concerns over a limited and
stereotyped interpretation of the concept of family, which fails to recognize
existing inter-American standards on the subject and arbitrarily excludes
diverse families, such as those formed by same-sex couples, who deserve
equal protection under the American Convention. The IACHR notes that
this type of interpretation creates an environment conducive to the
development of discriminatory speech and attitudes toward LGBTI
persons. The concept of family cannot be limited only to stereotypes based
on binary gender constructs—man and woman—or on heteronormative
sexual orientation. The concept of family should be understood in its
broadest spectrum to ensure recognition of diverse emotional
connections and to respect people’s sexual orientation and gender
identity, as well as to protect the children who belong to these
families. The Commission urges the States of the region to adopt all
measures to recognize the rights of the different types of families within
their jurisdictions and to ensure that all their members can fully exercise
231
citing a decision of the European Court of Human Rights, para. 69.
232
February 24, 2012. Series C No. 239, pars. 142 and 145.
233
February 24, 2012. Series C No. 239, para. 175. The Inter-American Court notes that “social,
cultural, and institutional changes are taking place in the framework of contemporary societies,
which are aimed at being more inclusive of their citizens’ different lifestyles. This is evident in
the social acceptance of interracial couples, single mothers or fathers and divorced couples,
which at one time were not accepted by society. In this regard, the law and the State must help
to promote social progress; otherwise there is a grave risk of legitimizing and consolidating
different forms of discrimination that violate human rights.” See I/A Court H.R., Case of Atala
Riffo and Daughters v. Chile, para. 120. See also Case of Fornerón and daughter v. Argentina,
Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment of April 27, 2012, Series C No. 242, para. 98.

their human rights 234. The Commission uses in this report the term family
as established by the jurisprudence of the inter-American system, i.e., in the
broad sense described.
234
IACHR, Violence against LGBTI Persons, OAS/Ser.L/V/II.rev.2, doc. 36, November 12, 2015,
para. 330 and recommendation 83. IACHR, press release, IACHR Regrets Ban on Gender
Education in Paraguay, December 15, 2017.

CHAPTER 5
PRINCIPAL CHALLENGES
Chapter 5: Principal Challenges | 157
PRINCIPAL CHALLENGES
409. All the information collected by the IACHR during the process of preparing
this report reveals a series of principal challenges that affect the capacity of
the State to adequately implement the rights of children and adolescents.
410. The first observation that the IACHR has almost always received is that
“there are major gaps between the legal recognition of the rights of the
child in the law, and the reality experienced by a great many boys and
girls,” as well as gaps “between the legislative mandate to establish the
national systems and the responsibilities vested in them by the law, and
their effective implementation and actual operation.” In addition, these
gaps appear to be more profound at the local level, and in certain
municipalities and geographic zones.
411. The IACHR notes that even though the States of the region have made legal,
programmatic, and institutional gains, one must also recognize that major
challenges persist when it comes to fully guaranteeing all rights for all
children and adolescents. Although in some countries legislative changes
are still required in order to establish a genuine national system with the
characteristics described in the preceding chapters, or there may be a need
to adapt and/or adjust the legislation in force, in general the principal and
most common problem lies in the effective implementation and operativity
of the national systems once they are established by law. Following is a
description of the main challenges identified that have been shared by the
countries of the region.
A. Challenges in the Process of Transforming the Public

Administration and Good Governance
412. Recognition of the central role of human rights and the attendant duties of
the State to guarantee them has brought with it profound legal and political
changes, and changes in the structure and organization of the State, in
particular in the processes and methods of action available to the public
administration to enable it to carry out that duty to uphold human rights.
The view of the State and its function with respect to persons under its
jurisdiction have been modified. The legal, political, and social conception
according to which the central role of the State is to seek to guarantee the

rights and security of all persons, organizing its policies, structures, and
resources to that end, is well-established.
413. More recently, modernization of the administration and operations of the

State has been given impetus associated with the concept of “good
governance.” Special importance is accorded to the principles of
transparency; citizen participation; effectiveness and efficiency in
public management; quality in planning, implementing, monitoring
and evaluating public policies; performance and results indicators in
public-sector management; professionalization and creation of
protocols for action and quality standards; accountability;
independent oversight; and fighting corruption, among others.
414. It has been said that good governance is the process by which public
institutions conduct public affairs, administer public resources, and
guarantee the attainment of human rights and the well-being of all persons
in a manner essentially free from abuse, discrimination, and corruption,
respecting the rule of law and democratic principles.
415. The IACHR finds that many of the challenges the national systems face have
to do with the need to continue improving and deepening processes for
managing public affairs. These include aspects related to the political and
institutional processes of designing, implementing, monitoring, and
evaluating public policies; systems for information and measurement;
social participation and the participation of children and adolescents
themselves; technical capacity and professionalization; transparency and
accountability; independent oversight; and effective, efficient, sustained,
equitable, and transparent financing. Following are some of the main
challenges detected.
1. Policy planning Methods
416. The IACHR observes that in general, while systems for planning public
policy for children have improved, one of the main problems that one
continues to encounter at the root of the current challenges to the
operation of the national systems is the deficient planning of the national
children’s policy and the policies and programs that stem from it. This gives
way to problems of ineffectiveness and inefficiency, may lead to corruption,
and erodes the confidence of the population in the institutions of the State
and the capacity of the public administration to carry out the commitments
assumed in the laws and policies on the human rights of children and
adolescents.

417. There is a need for public institutions to continue developing systematic

strategic planning processes. The planning processes should become basic
tools of government and management of public affairs.
418. As noted earlier, the national children’s policy should include the objectives
and expected results, the strategies for getting there, as well as the goals to
be achieved in the period established in the planning exercise. The IACHR
notes that it is necessary to increase the quality of the planning method,
identifying with greater precision the interventions and activities needed
to effectively attain the objectives sought, as well as coming up with a price
projection of the programs’ costs, in order to be able to realistically
calculate the costs of the national policy and to ensure that the human and
financial resources needed to make it viable are secured. This would make
it possible for the States to plan more adequately, to improve their
performance, and to verify compliance with their international obligations.
Otherwise, a dissociation is created between the objectives set in the
policies and what is actually attained.
419. As a prerequisite, systems are needed for gathering data and systematizing
the information so as to allow for a complete and reliable understanding of
the situations faced by children and adolescents. This aspect is particularly
weak in the vast majority of countries of the region, requiring efforts to
establish and strengthen such systems. Without reliable and
comprehensive information, it is difficult to be able to construct a national
children’s policy with the capacity to respond adequately to the challenges
that children and adolescents face. Moreover, without a strong information
system it is not possible to carry out actions for monitoring, measuring
gains and outcomes, conducting evaluations, or ensuring accountability.
2. Systems for Collecting Data and Analyzing Information
420. As indicated, the IACHR detects a major weakness of the data collection and
information analysis system, with major gaps in the availability and
accuracy of data and statistics. This poses a crucial challenge for improving
policies in terms of the following considerations, among others: preparing
assessments that are technically solid, complete, and in line with the reality
of the situation of children’s and adolescents’ rights on which to base the
national children’s policy; taking stock of the level of attainment of various
rights, identifying which rights are most frequently violated and why;
identifying what groups of children are more exposed to violations of their
rights or to lack of guarantees, as well as casting light on the structural
contexts of discrimination and social exclusion, and identifying the causes
and consequences of these situations; and gauging the level of prevalence

of various phenomena that have a negative impact on children as well as

identifying the areas most affected (geo-social mapping).
421. The shortcomings are mainly due to the lack of reliable data collection
systems; the lack of sufficient institutional capacity; and the lack of trained
human resources to collect and analyze the relevant data. Information
systems are costly and the States should allocate sufficient resources to
establish and operate them, given that this is part of the “necessary
measures” that the State must adopt to ensure effective observance of the
rights of children and adolescents. The State should invest systematically in
generating a steady flow of information and evidence using various
methods.
422. This information is essential for States to be able to make informed

decisions on the design of public policies. That is, it allows for the design of
more effective evidence-based strategies for intervention, it makes it
possible to monitor and adjust these policies as necessary, as well as to
evaluate their effectiveness, efficiency, and impact, and to take note of good
practices and lessons learned. In addition, the information must contribute
to facilitating well-grounded decision-making on the level of economic
resources needed to adequately finance these policies. 235
423. The health and education sectors are usually the main exception to this
situation. Generally speaking, substantive gains have been made in these
sectors regarding the information systems and systems for collecting data
on indicators of implementation of these rights. The adoption of
standardized indicators internationally in health and education have
contributed decisively to these gains.
424. Direct services for children and adolescents at the local level perform an
important mission collecting data on the types of cases, consultations, and
interventions in their work, keeping statistics on them. This information is
extremely valuable to get an overview of what types of situations come into
the system more often, by municipality. To this end it is important that
these services/offices/care centers have a computerized system to record
and share this information in real time. This information is input for
decision-making of the municipal policy-making body in working out the
local policy on children, for example on the type of preventive
interventions that need to be strengthened or on the need to establish a
235
Along the same lines, see the report of the IACHR Violence, Children and Organized Crime,
paras. 505 ff., and IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, paras. 80-90 and 554 et seq.

strategy for addressing certain phenomena that are highly prevalent in the
municipality.
425. Moreover, the IACHR has noted that efforts at intersectoral coordination
in collecting data and statistics for designing public policies are crucial
given that at present the information is scattered across various sectors
and institutions. To that end, it is necessary to maintain a constant dialogue
and an information system that cross-checks the data from the various
institutions, such as the ministries of security, justice, health, labor, social
development, planning, and education, among others. 236 The existence of a
single and integrated system that brings together all the statistical
information on children available through the various sectors and
institutions would contribute decisively to improving information
management.
426. The obligation to produce statistical information entails producing data

and information that is duly disaggregated. The disaggregation should be
suitable and relevant for serving the aim of seeing to and strengthening the
attainment of all the human rights of all children and adolescents. The
information should be disaggregated so that it is useful for taking stock of
and monitoring the situation of the persons, groups, and communities in
who are vulnerable in the exercise of their rights or historically
discriminated against, excluded or at a socioeconomic disadvantage. 237 The
information should be broken down at least by: age, gender, ethnic origin
or social group, geographic location, socioeconomic situation, immigration
status, disability, and other characteristics relevant to the national
contexts.
427. As the IACHR already noted in its report Violence, Children and Organized
Crime, the process of understanding and responding adequately to complex
and multicausal phenomena that affect the rights of children and
adolescents will continue to pose challenges, but to the extent that efforts
are furthered to improve the systems for generating and collecting data
and analyzing information, it will be easier to obtain evidence for
understanding these phenomena, the risk factors and factors of protection,
and the strategies of intervention that have worked to enhance prevention
and to improve the responses to violations. In this regard, the IACHR has
noted the importance of having not only quantitative data, but also
qualitative data, research, and longitudinal studies, among others. 238 In this
236
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, paras. 505 et seq.
237
IACHR. Guidelines for Preparation of Progress Indicators in the Area of Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (2008), para. 58.
238
UNICEF, Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children, 2014, p. 6.

regard, partnerships with academia and research centers may prove very
valuable.
428. The data system should also pull together information on the number of
cases of violations of the rights of children and adolescents that have been
reported, the prosecutions, the verdicts, and the measures of reparation
offered the victims, broken down by type of offense, profile of the person
responsible and profile of the victim. The data should include all victims
under 18 years of age and should be made available to the public
periodically. This type of information is not always collected and is
essential for obtaining evidence of impunity and better understanding the
types of crimes committed against children and adolescents and their
characteristics.
429. Where there are observatories of the rights of the child one notes a
greater capacity for collecting data, quantitative and qualitative, for cross-
checking data from various sectors and sources, and for interpreting them.
Various and standardized methodologies are applied, along with
evaluations to gauge the impact of the policies. In some cases, the
observatories represent interesting partnerships between the State and
academia. The use of new technologies should be explored in this field.
430. The IACHR also notes that it is essential to introduce the participation of
children and adolescents in generating this information. The voices
and opinions of children are crucial for understanding the various realities
in which different groups of children live, to give visibility to hidden issues,
and to identify solutions, as has been noted on several occasions in this
report. In this respect, innovative and promising experiences are beginning
to be detected in the region that should be maintained and strengthened.
Self-perception surveys, for example, have proven to be very valuable for
collecting information directly from children and adolescents, as have
surveys done in schools in various countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean, although the IACHR notes that mechanisms should also be
found for gathering information on the situation of those children and
adolescents who are not in the school system, to hear their voices.
431. Moreover, the availability of data serves to incentivize an informed

debate with the public and can prompt government authorities to act
to fulfill their responsibilities. In addition, by raising awareness about
certain issues, it can serve as a catalyst for legislative, policy, and social
actions and changes.
432. The IACHR recognizes that the States are making efforts aimed at
improving existing data and information systems, though they need to go

further, particularly in aspects related to: establishing a national-level

mechanism that centralizes the information and establishing an integrated
information system that is available to the public to facilitate the oversight
and scrutiny of public policies; establishing a system of standardized
indicators in various sectors; adopting methodologies and protocols that
ensure data quality; introducing aspects related to the rights of the child in
population surveys and longitudinal studies; including the participation of
children and adolescents; as well as conducting qualitative studies and
research.
3. Systems of Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation
433. Related to what was just referred to, the IACHR has also identified the
need, in all countries of the region, to create and strengthen systems of
measurement that make possible effective and transparent monitoring,
introducing measurable goals and creating indicators for measuring the
progress, results, and impacts of the policies.
434. Establishing monitoring and evaluation systems is tied to adequate

fulfillment by the States of their international obligations, and to principles
related to good government, particularly the principle of transparency and
accountability. Having constant monitoring, of both the operation of the
national system and the national children’s policy, will make possible
adequate, effective, and efficient implementation while also making it
possible to identify, in a timely fashion, problems, gaps, or deviations, and
to introduce the corrections or adjustments necessary to overcome those
situations and move towards the results proposed. Monitoring allows those
in charge of implementing the national children’s policy to have
information on progress towards attaining the expected results and
therefore towards its objectives and goals.
435. The national children’s policy, with a medium- and long-term horizon for
implementation, needs intermediate evaluations that make it possible to
identify possible needs for adjustments or updates. The final evaluation,
once the national children’s policy is no longer in effect, on its effectiveness,
its strategies, and the results that have been obtained, and of the workings
of the national system at its various levels, presupposes that this evaluation
can inform in a timely manner the future public policy decisions and the
operation of the institutional framework for children, make
recommendations, and draw out the lessons learned. The evaluation
mechanisms should be focused on identifying evidence and concrete
results obtained, comparing this information with planning projections. In

addition to contributing to transparency and accountability to society, it

discourages corruption and increases the suitability of these policies and
their capacity to ensure the exercise and enjoyment of rights.
436. In addition, an annual report should be prepared that the executive

submits to the legislature regarding the national children’s policy and the
gains made, which is tied to the report on the execution of the budget
earmarked for children and adolescents. This report should be made in an
accessible language and be widely disseminated among the public and
especially among children and adolescents.
437. Constructing indicators is crucial for monitoring, evaluation,

transparency, and accountability; they also highlight the efficiency and
effectiveness of policies and services, while also bringing to light whether
they comply with the principles of equality and equity, when it is possible
to break down the information by various groups of children and
adolescents. It is also important for the systems of measurement to
incorporate standardized indicators that allow for international
comparisons and comparisons over time; although internationally
standardized indicators are interesting for the reasons noted, it is also
important to supplement them with others adapted to the specific situation
of each country.
438. Usually health and education are the sectors with the most indicators,
many of them standardized, followed by security and justice. However,
such measurement instruments need to be developed for other sectors. It is
important for other sectors to develop their indicators and compile the
data to use these indicators and measure the gains made.
439. The IACHR also considers that the participation of civil society should be
expanded, along with the participation of children and adolescents in the
monitoring and evaluation processes, so as to ensure that their opinions
are heard.
4. Transparency and Access to Information
440. Transparency is a principle that should guide the relationship between the
State and all persons under its jurisdiction in the conduct of public affairs.
Access to information is a right that undergirds the proper working of
democracy, as it is a condition for ensuring other rights, in particular the
right to citizen participation in the conduct of public affairs.

441. The Commission considers it necessary to strengthen the debate on

matters of public interest based on the principle of active transparency,
that is, objective, adequate, sufficient, updated, broadly accessible,
understandable, and reliable information should be proactively
disseminated to society; and that there be accountability for the results
obtained through the policies being implemented. The principle of active
transparency means that the State should make available to the public –
without necessarily requiring a request for information – data on the
implementation and results of public policies and on the level of
investment in children, as well as information on the services and benefits
that the State offers and the requirements, conditions, procedures, and
time periods of the administrative procedures and how to access them.
This makes it possible to monitor compliance with the commitments
States have undertaken with respect to children and enables institutional
performance to be evaluated and public management and the service
operation to be improved.
442. The principle of active transparency and the right of access to information
are crucial in a democratic society, as they facilitate participation,
monitoring, and oversight of State activity. They also make it possible to
overcome the barrier of the lack access to information as an obstacle to
obtaining services for groups in a situation of greater vulnerability, and to
keep the information from being used as a way of exercising power,
discriminating, proselytizing, or engaging in corruption. In addition,
information should be provided on the procedure for consultations and
filing complaints. That information should be provided to the public
routinely and proactively.
443. The IACHR has identified the need to develop transparency and
accountability as part of the institutional culture of the public
administration, especially in relation to the rights of the children, and in
particular: greater visibility should be given to the national children’s
policy and the budget for children; and there should be broad
dissemination of the reports on progress and gains, and of the results of the
evaluations and recommendations made, and on the State’s plans to carry
them out. The media, new technologies, and transparency (or open
government) portals are useful instruments for performing that function.
The IACHR considers that one should accord the schools a more
preeminent role for conveying information to children and adolescents
about their rights, the national children’s policy, the State’s investment in
their rights, and the specific progress and gains made.

5. Participation of Civil Society, and of Children and

Adolescents
444. While the IACHR recognizes that civil society participation in the
conduct of public affairs related to children has progressed substantially
since the coming into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it
also observes that this participation should be strengthened. The same
applies for the social participation of children and adolescents, although
recognition of the importance of their participation and its effective
promotion has taken even more time due to preconceptions and
stereotypes regarding the capacity of children and adolescents to
participate and the need to articulate special measures for facilitating the
participation of children and adolescents of various ages.
445. Social participation plays a central role in democratic life on channeling

and expressing some of the social demands and on overseeing the
application of rights through participation in the governmental political
system. These groups need to remain vigilant to the implementation of the
national children’s policy and the operation of the national system and its
services. In addition, they should have the opportunity to contribute
constructively, proposing improvements to the policy-making bodies on
children, but also through other participatory mechanisms such as forums,
hearings, debates, and consultations. A strong social movement for children
would help advance more quickly protection for the rights of children and
adolescents.
446. The IACHR has observed various levels of recognition of civil society
participation in the operation of the national systems. In particular, the
IACHR considers that the States should review their legislation in order to
accord legal recognition to civil society participation in the main
institutions that make up the national systems, especially the policy-
making bodies on children, at all levels, ensuring that such participation is
broad, diverse, legitimate, and inclusive, and that it has the capacity to
effectively impact on debates and decision-making.
447. Related to the foregoing, the IACHR views with concern that some
organizations or groups assume levels of representation that do not
correspond to the plural, diverse, and inclusive outlook that is required for
such bodies to work, and asks the States to review their laws and practices
to effectively ensure this plurality, diversity, and inclusiveness of outlooks
and points of view. Equality and pluralism need to be ensured. For this
reason, once the channels of citizen participation are opened up, it is

necessary to avoid having them come under the control of organized

interests ensure that reproduce social exclusion. 239 The IACHR is also
concerned about those cases in which social representation is decided
upon by the executive; it is recommended that this situation be modified
where it exists, and that mechanisms and procedures for selecting civil
society representatives be put in place that are democratic, transparent,
consensus-based, and participatory. With respect to diversity and non-
discrimination, the particularities, characteristics, and needs of the
indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples should be respected, as well as
those of any other socially and culturally diverse population group.
448. The growing provision of public goods and services through commercial
entities and social organizations may generate the risk of conflicts of
interests when these same service-provider organizations that are
contracted by the State sit down to participate in the policy-making bodies
on children, for their independence may be impaired and their monitoring
and oversight role may be cast in doubt. In those States with a high degree
of outsourcing of children’s services to NGOs this situation may lead to
challenges in terms of the role that should be played, ideally, by civil society
organizations through their participation in the bodies that engage in
deliberations and decision-making on public policy, programs, and services
for children. The State should articulate the mechanisms needed to expand
civil society representation in these spaces and ensure that possible
conflicts of interests not perturb their operations.
449. As regards the participation of children and adolescents, the IACHR notes
that gradually children’s and adolescents’ consultative councils have been
established nationally, while at the local level there are considerable gaps,
with a failure to implement them. At the same time, the processes for State
promotion of and support for the participation of children and adolescents
on these consultative councils for children and adolescents is also limited
at the local level, which makes participation difficult. These aspects require
greater attention by the States in order to implement the right of children
and adolescents to participate in the matters that affect them.
239
Along the same lines, see Articles 10(e) and 33 of the Carta Iberoamericana de Participación
Ciudadana en la Gestión Pública (Ibero-American Charter on Citizen Participation in the Conduct
of Public Affairs), approved by the Eleventh Ibero-American Conference of Ministers of Public
Administration and Reform of the State, Lisbon, Portugal, June 25-26, 2009 and adopted by the
Nineteenth Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, Estoril, Portugal,
November 30 and December 1, 2009 (Resolution No. 38 of the “Lisbon Action Plan”).

450. The IACHR is of the view that the States should perform an evaluation of
the current status of children’s participation in the country, including their
recognition in the legislation as well as identifying existing spaces and
mechanisms for children and adolescents to participate in designing,
monitoring, and evaluating public policies that affect them, at the different
levels. This document should identify the main gaps in setting up children’s
and adolescents’ consultative councils, or similar entities, and establish a
short-term action plan to effectively guarantee this right, adopting goals
and strategies to that end, and reporting annually on what has been
accomplished.
451. The IACHR has not found sufficient evidence, from the information
provided, of what the States are accomplishing in other areas such as the
systematic production of materials for children and adolescents with
information on the national children’s policy and the budget earmarked to
children, as well as the follow-up reports and evaluations; support by the
States for efforts to organize children and adolescents; provisions on how
one should take into account the opinions of children and adolescents in
public policy-making and in relation to the operation of the national
systems; including in the national children’s policy an objective aimed at
promoting the participation of children and adolescents in various areas,
such as the family, school, community, and in the children’s and
adolescents’ consultative councils, among others; and evaluations on
compliance with the duty to promote the right to participation of children
and adolescents.
6. Professionalization and Specialization
452. The IACHR identifies as major obstacles to the implementation and proper
functioning of the national systems the need to ensure the
professionalization and specialization of the staff who make up the
national systems, especially those persons who are in direct contact with
and serve children and adolescents. 240 This unmet need is most marked at
the local levels, especially in some rural zones and municipalities, or
240
The IACHR, the Court, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have all referred repeatedly
to the importance of the principles of professionalization and specialization of work with
children. See, e.g., IACHR. The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, paras. 201 ff., OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 54/13, 17 October 2013.
IACHR, Violence, Children, and Organized Crime, paras. 502 to 504, OAS/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 40/15,
November 11, 2015. I/A Court HR. Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child. Advisory
Opinion OC-17/02, paras. 78-79.

geographically isolated areas, due to the lack of qualified and trained

human resources in these places, and to budget limitations when it comes
to hiring personnel with the qualifications required and in adequate
numbers.
453. Applying the principles of specialization and professionalization implies

the need for specialized and multidisciplinary units in the local
services provided directly, with trained staff and protocols adapted to
children in the sectors and entities with responsibilities for the rights of
children.
454. The IACHR considers that there should be an increase and strengthening of
the training plans and continuing professional education courses as
well as workshops for professionals to share experiences with one another,
to increase the quality of care provided to children and adolescents. In
addition to the personnel hired in the context of the services of the national
system, professionals from other sectors such as teachers, police, judges
specialized in matters involving children, and health services personnel
should all receive training on children’s rights and should all be familiar
with the protocols for identifying child and adolescent victims of violence,
abuse, and neglect; case management; and referral. Training on children’s
rights should be geared not only to the personnel who are in direct contact
with children and adolescents, but also to the decision-makers, in the
legislative and executive branches, so that they may have a better
understanding of the rights of children as they do their work.
455. The processes of selecting and contracting the personnel who work
directly with and for children and adolescents should be provided for in the
law, and should be carried out carefully based on academic qualifications,
merits and references, and the professional experience of the candidates,
especially those who have direct contact with children and adolescents,
discarding anyone with any history of abuse, neglect, or any other form of
violence against children. One must also see to it that the labor conditions
and remuneration of the personnel correlate with their responsibilities,
and thus do all possible to hire and retain suitable and trained personnel,
motivated personnel, with continuity and stability in their positions and
opportunities for professional development and continuing education. The
IACHR has noted that in those countries that experience a high turnover in
the personnel devoted to providing direct attention and protection, the
quality of attention declines, and therefore greater efforts are needed to
promote the stability and professionalization of these positions.
456. There are countries in the region in which the legislation provides that
local promotion and protection services are to have personnel chosen by
popular vote, with a fixed term (e.g. four years with the possibility of re-

election), at the end of which they must leave their positions and new
candidates must be elected (this is the case of the Conselhos Tutelares in
Brazil). In these cases, it is also fundamental to establish the requirements
and minimal criteria for ensuring the level of professionalism,
specialization, and multidisciplinary approach of the teams that work
directly with children and adolescents. The challenge of the turnover
entailed in a system with the characteristics described could be solved by
having technical support personnel on permanent multidisciplinary teams
working alongside the persons elected. This would also represent progress,
considering that the number of persons elected is very small compared to
the level of coverage and the ratio of professionals/population that is
generally established in the legislation, and considering that integral
protection requires the involvement of professionals from various
disciplines.
457. It is also crucial to have guides, procedures, and protocols for action, case
management and referral, as well as codes of conduct that ensure quality,
timeliness, and suitability, while also considering the best interests of the
child, in all activities under the mandate of the national systems. Insofar as
possible the States should offer integral and integrated responses in a
single service, through multidisciplinary teams, to avoid the need to go
before various mechanisms to secure complete attention (one example is to
be found in the integral and integrated services for victims of sexual
violence that include medical, legal, psychological, social, and family
assistance). These protocols, guides, and procedures should be widely
known by the personnel in contact with children and adolescents; periodic
trainings should be organized on them, as well as evaluations of their
effectiveness and suitability.
458. Several experiences in the region are seeking to cover personnel shortages
in the areas with the greatest challenges for contracting qualified and
suitable professionals, to ensure coverage. These include agreements with
universities so that students in the last years can engage in professional
practices at centers and services for children, thereby bolstering the
possibilities of these services expanding their human resources with
personnel from various disciplines, at the same time as they provide
students learning opportunities. In any event, there should always be a
professional expert to guide the work of the students, through cooperation
agreements, to formalize the modality of professional practices and the
suitable professional practices and the suitable profile required, in addition
to having an adequate training plan. These modalities also make it possible
to expand coverage and improve the presence of services in the
communities with more professionals and other personnel.

459. The integration of community structures in the structure of the

national system may also pose some challenges when it comes to
guaranteeing the principles of professionalism and specialization. These
grassroots social organizations or community-based structures are
valuable as they provide the national system with connections to the
communities and the environments closest to children and adolescents,
which helps strengthen protective spaces for children and adolescents.
Coordination with these structures has made it possible to overcome
challenges to services coverage of the national system at the local level. In
these cases, as noted above, in addition to the legal definition of the scope
and limits of this cooperation, it is important that the States guarantee the
transfer of knowledge, training and education for persons who are
part of these community structures, which are part of the national
system. In addition, the State should provide guidance and protocols for
action, and technical support, and supervise its workings. These
community structures should have access and proximity to formal services
made up of professionals and multidisciplinary teams within the structure
of the national system to which those cases that so require can be referred.
7. Independent Oversight Systems
Independent National Human Rights Institutions
460. National independent human rights institutions have an important

mandate to supervise the State’s compliance with it international
obligations, and its obligations under domestic legislation, in relation to the
rights of children and adolescents. 241
461. In this respect, the IACHR observes that most of the countries of Latin
America, with some exceptions, have a national independent human rights
institution operating under guidelines established by the United Nations
for these institutions (the so-called Paris Principles). 242 These national
independent human rights institutions have attributed to them, in addition
to their general functions, a specific mandate to protect the rights of
children, and to that end they have a specialized area, unit, or division
responsible for this. These areas, in some cases, are at the same time
241
On this issue see, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment 2 of the Committee
on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations, The role of independent national human rights
institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, CRC/GC/2002/2,
November 15, 2002.
242
Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions. Adopted by General Assembly resolution
48/134 of December 20, 1993.

responsible for other population groups such as women or persons with

disabilities. In the case of Argentina, the law provides for the establishment
of an Ombudsperson for the Rights of Children and Adolescents dedicated
exclusively to promoting, protecting, and defending the rights of this
population group.
462. Depending on the mandate attributed to them by the legislation of each

State, the national independent human rights institutions may, among
other activities: supervise the implementation of the law, policies, and
practices in keeping with the rights of children and adolescents; evaluate
the level of implementation of the rights recognized to vest in children and
adolescents; seeing to effective respect for the statutory rights and
guarantees for children and adolescents; conduct investigations; promote
extrajudicial and judicial measures, with the possibility of submitting, on
their own behalf, cases to the courts and intervening in judicial cases to
inform the court of issues related to the rights of children and adolescents;
exercise authority to provide support for children and adolescents to turn
to the courts of justice; provide legal counsel; supervise the public and
private agencies that are devoted to providing direct services to children
and adolescents; receive all types of claims made by children and
adolescents or that are made by any person with respect to children and
adolescents; foster the enforceability of rights by receiving complaints;
keep tabs on the actions and decisions of the State authorities as per the
law; draft and publish reports on issues related to the human rights of
children and adolescents; make recommendations to agencies of the State
to better carry out their obligations; and report annually to the legislature
on the work done in a public report.
463. The IACHR emphasizes that the mandate of the national independent
human rights institutions is useful for implementation of the rights they
oversee, since they monitor the relationship between children and the
State, and propose institutional changes, changes in social practices,
changes in policies on children, and legislative reforms. Nonetheless, the
IACHR observes as the main challenge the scant economic resources
allocated to these institutions, which limits their ability to fully carry out
their mandate and ensure their coverage throughout the territory. In
addition, the IACHR recommends that the States grant broader authority to
these national independent human rights institutions, revising the
mandates assigned to them in the legislation.
464. The IACHR also values the drawing up of monitoring plans and indicators
in relation to the recommendations made by international human rights

supervisory bodies, such as the IACHR and the Committee on the Rights of
the Child of the United Nations.
465. The IACHR recommends that the States, in designing and monitoring
implementation of the national children’s policy, specifically refer to the
recommendations made by the national independent human rights
institutions and by international human rights supervision bodies, spelling
out the specific actions needed to carry them out, and reporting on this
implementation.
8. Mechanisms for Filing Complaints and Reports
466. Adequate protection for the rights of children and adolescents requires
that there be mechanisms for enforcing their rights. In this regard, the
Commission considers it essential for the States to establish mechanisms
for filing complaints and reports on the treatment received by children and
adolescents in the context of the national systems, i.e. with respect to the
actions of the agencies and entities that constitute it and of those who
provide direct services to children and adolescents, both public and
private. These mechanisms for filing complaints and reports should be
known, accessible, and adapted to children and adolescents, while also
being safe, flexible, and effective. 243
467. The mechanisms for filing complaints and reports should be spelled out by
the law or by regulation, consistent with the relevant international human
rights instruments, and they should have at least the following
characteristics: they should be simple, widely known, and designed mindful
of children and adolescents; they should be easily accessible to children
and adolescents and to adults under the jurisdiction of the State without
any discrimination, adapted for age, sensitive to gender, language,
disability and other conditions; they should be available to children and
adolescents in a special situation of dependency on the State, or of
vulnerability, such as children and adolescents at residential institutions
for alternative care, children and adolescents deprived of liberty; and
243
For this section see: IACHR, The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family. Alternative Care. Ending
institutionalization in the Americas, paras 402 ff.; Joint report of the Special Rapporteur on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on Violence against Children, A/HRC/16/56, March 7, 2011; Committee on the
Rights of the Child of the United Nations, General Comment No. 12, The right of the child to be
heard, paras. 46 and 120; Committee on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations, General
Comment No. 5, General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (articles 4, 42 and 44, para. 6), para. 24; Report of the United Nations Independent Expert
for the Study of Violence against Children, A/61/299, August 29, 2006, para. 112(d).

migrant children and adolescents, among others; they should be guided by

the best interests of the child and informed by the experiences and
perspectives of children; respect the rights to intimacy, privacy, and
confidentiality; promote the establishment of a free 24-hour phone line for
direct attention; avoid any risk of harm, intimidation, reprisal, or re-
victimization by the filing of a complaint; process the complaint promptly
and take the measures considered appropriate; have adequate financial,
professional, and technical resources for processing the complaints; and
conduct regular systematic monitoring of the mechanisms to determine
whether they are adequate for children. Said supervision should include
consultations and the opinions of children and adolescents who have used
such processes. 244
468. The Commission considers that mindful of the principle of the best
interests of the child and the duty of special protection stemming from
Article 19 of the American Convention, associated with Article 25 of the
American Convention, the possibility of filing complaints or grievances
should be broad. Accordingly, this possibility of filing complaints or
grievances should not be restricted to certain persons; it should be possible
for children and adolescents themselves to do so, as well as members of the
child’s family, civil society organizations, and any other person who comes
to learn of a situation that should be reported. Nor should the subject
matter on which one may present a complaint or grievance be limited. And
mechanisms should be put in place allowing for complaints and petitions to
be submitted anonymously in all centers, institutions, and entities that
provide services directly to children and adolescents. 245 The IACHR has
noted that such complaint mechanisms are not always available in all the
services, with the requirements cited.
B. Weaknesses of the Institutional Framework, Limitations

in Political Leadership, and Fragmentation of
Interventions
469. The IACHR has noted that while most of the countries of the region have a
legislative and conceptual framework for a systematic approach to
guaranteeing the rights of children, in practice the national systems face
challenges. Among the main challenges and weaknesses, the IACHR notes
the following: weaknesses in the operation of the institutional framework
244
Americas, paras. 402 to 421.
245
IACHR. Juvenile Justice and Human Rights in the Americas, para. 604.

associated with a lack of leadership, which could be read as a lack of

political will; the persistence of the earlier institutional framework,
paternalistic and welfare-oriented, and of practices and procedures from
the previous paradigm for protecting children; the need to develop new
capacities, methods, skills, and processes with a systemic logic; and the
insufficient allocation of resources, an aspect that will be analyzed in the
next section. The weaknesses of institutional structures at the local level
will be discussed in a subsequent section.
470. The IACHR has found that in many instances there is no high-level political
leadership assigning the necessary political importance to and promoting
the operation of the national systems and implementing the national
children’s policy, as there should be. While the IACHR is satisfied to see that
in some countries the chair of the national system is the president of the
country (or the governor, in federal States), in other cases it is the minister
in charge of children’s issues who presides over it, while in yet other
countries the administrative structure of the national system is situated
below the ministerial level, in practice undercutting the leadership and
operational capacity of the national system.
471. The IACHR considers that only with such political leadership will the State
be able to accelerate gains in respecting children’s rights, articulating
government initiatives on an interagency basis, working in coordination
with regional/state and municipal/local governments, and promoting a
budget allocation that makes it possible to meet the objectives of the
national children’s policy. This leadership at the highest level makes it
possible to commit all government actors and to mobilize other actors such
as civil society, academia, the business sector, the media, and society in
general due to the prominent place the issue of children’s rights is coming
to have on the political agenda.
472. The scant intersectoral coordination observed in the public institutions

is one of the greatest obstacles to applying the systemic view. Often, the
sectors/ministries operate as silos, when the success of public policies on
children requires precisely coordinated and complementary interventions
among the various agencies of government. Along with horizontal
articulation, it is essential that there be articulation of the various levels of
government. The very scope of the national children’s policy requires
ongoing coordination among the sectors and levels of government.
473. The policy-making bodies on children (children’s councils) answer

precisely to this necessary intersectoral coordination and articulation
among the levels of the State. The main difficulties observed are: (i) the
composition of these bodies is not sufficiently broad and comprehensive;

(ii) their rank does not give the policy-making body sufficient capacity to
mobilize, and the public servants who work in them do not have decision-
making powers; (iii) the persons who participate in the various sectors do
not have even minimal training in the rights of children, making it difficult
to discuss policies from a children’s-and-adolescents’-rights-based
perspective and to go forward designing the policies together; (iv) these
policy-making bodies on children are not convened as regularly as they
should be; (v) these bodies do not have the resources needed to operate
adequately and in a sustained manner; (vi) neither work methods nor
capacities have been developed that facilitate real intersectoral articulation
and the joint and integrated construction of the policies geared to children;
(vii) the policy-making bodies on children operate based more on a logic of
sharing information than on one of effective coordination, conflicting
interests persist among sectors, and resistance persists to turning over
decision-making power to these bodies and/or part of their budgets to
cover the costs of an articulated policy. One observes a need to continue
going further in the change in organizational culture and the administrative
and managerial methods and processes based on the new paradigm
involving an integral approach to guaranteeing rights and the principles of
good governance.
474. The IACHR has also identified lack of clarity in the law as to the scope of
authority of the various agencies and mechanisms that constitute the
national system, weaknesses in putting in place and operating the
mechanisms for vertical articulation, and delays in the establishment of the
national systems, as provided for by law, especially at the local level.
475. The IACHR has also noted the recurrent changes in several countries as
regards the institutional framework that constitutes the national system.
These changes in the institutional framework are usually associated with
changes in government, with the coming into office of a new president or
prime minister and his or her cabinet, and the reorganization of
organizational charts in the executive branch, with no assessment of
effectiveness generally being done to guide the decision making. In the
cases observed, there is generally a change in the rank and nature of the
various institutions that make up the national system, the structures of the
national system are subsumed within another ministry, or the existing
institution is eliminated and the institutional arrangement changes.
476. These periodic changes, associated with new government administrations

taking office, make for a precarious situation for the stability and solidity of
the national system and the main institutions and agencies that are part of
it. This instability has repercussions for the technical staff who support the
operation of the national system when, for example, the institutional
structure of the national system is moved from one ministry to another, or

from one section or bureau to another within the same ministry, resulting
in a loss of investment in both human capital and the level of specialization.
These recurrent changes also make it difficult to evaluate the national
systems for the purposes of analyzing their effectiveness and efficiency,
and to introduce any adjustments that may be called for to improve their
operation, for not enough time elapses with the system running to be able
to make such evaluations and introduce the changes in case needed.
477. In some countries, there is no real “system” for integrally guaranteeing the
rights of children and adolescents, beyond the names that the relevant law
might give it. In other cases, while the law formally provides for a genuine
“system,” in practice it has not yet become operational.
478. Traditionally child protection and the relevant policies and financing have
been focused almost exclusively on specific issues and groups of children
considered to be the most socially excluded. Nonetheless, this approach
limited solely by specific issue or group, via targeted programs, has
serious limitations and has led to lack of coordination, fragmentation,
and duplication of effort. While one must recognize that these
interventions have produced positive results for the protection of these
particular groups, and in developing methodologies for intervening and
generating knowledge, this approach often results in a compartmentalized
response to child protection marked by numerous inefficiencies, the lack of
an integral perspective on rights and their interconnectedness, limitations
in terms of the approach to prevention, and problems of sustainability. 246
479. The Commission has observed the tendency to construct the public policy
of protection for children’s rights based on an aggregate of a variety of
scattered programs, initiatives, and interventions, without a sufficient
overall vision of the complementarity and articulation of all of them. At the
same time, the IACHR also notes, as it did at the beginning of this report,
that there is a tendency to emphasize and overemphasize a focus of the
national system on issues related to violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect,
and abandonment. The States must complete this process of transition
to the new paradigm of genuine integral guarantees of the rights of all
children and adolescents, making greater efforts focused on
preventive policies, social policies aimed at ensuring rights, and in
promoting human rights.
480. The reasons for the aspects that have been referred to are, mainly: the
inertia of the past and the structuring of interventions based on the logic of
these programs, going back several years; the persistence of the previous
246
UNICEF, UNHCR, ChapinHall at the University of Chicago, and Save the Children, Adapting a
Systems Approach to Child Protection: Key Concepts and Considerations.

institutional arrangement based on a paternalistic approach without the

mandate, capacities, human resources, or infrastructure to adopt a holistic
and systemic approach to integrally guaranteeing the rights of children and
adolescents; the resources from international cooperation and foundations
interested in a particular issue, seeking specific programs focused
exclusively on the topic that is being financed; the weakness of the
coordinating/lead agency when it comes to articulating the national system
and for coordinating with other sectors and entities of the State; and the
limitation in the economic resources made available, which means that
those resources end up focused on the most pressing issues and on the
groups in the most vulnerable situations.
481. The IACHR also notes that policies for children are relegated and
isolated. The policies geared to children are accorded the importance or
priority that legal provisions say they must have, based on the principle of
the best interests of the child and the duty of special protection and
preferential attention for children and adolescents, their rights and
wellbeing, recognized in international human rights law and in the
legislation of the States. It is common for policies geared to children to be
relegated to a secondary plane, which in times of economic crisis has meant
that they have been very hard hit by the policies furthering cutbacks. This
situation of being relegated is also apparent when the levels of budgetary
allocations are notoriously insufficient and inadequate for complying with
the laws and codes on children.
482. In addition, policies geared to children need to be tied more closely to the
rest of State policies, especially to the national development plans and
other structural policies of the State. The lack of priority assigned to the
policies on children not only violates the laws and commitments assumed
by States in respect of human rights, but has also proven inefficient, as
more evidence has come to light on the positive returns of investing in the
rights of children and preventing violations of their rights. 247
247
United Nations, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19, “on public
budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 50. See also the statements by
the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Violence against Children
emphasizing the positive returns of investing in preventing all forms of violence against children
and adolecents, Viewpoint: The Economic Costs of Violence against Children.

C. Insufficient Allocation of Economic Resources and

Limitations on Budget Management
483. While an adequate and sustainable economic investment is among the

measures that the State is obligated to adopt to carry out international
obligations to uphold children’s rights, one of the main pitfalls facing the
operation of the national system and the application of policies, programs,
and services for children and adolescents is their inadequate financing.
484. Despite the abundance of political statements on the priority accorded

children and their rights, or the priority they should have in the public
agenda, the reality often appears to point in the opposite direction. All too
often there would appear not to be a real political will to prioritize the
issue of children, which becomes more evident in times of recession
or economic crisis, when it is common for policies for children and
social programs linked to children to suffer cutbacks.
485. The insufficiency of economic resources is impacted by several factors,

among them the need to modernize the public administration and its
management systems. Deficient administrative and financial management
systems generate ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in the allocation,
management, and spending of resources.
486. Regarding management of financial resources, the IACHR, based on the

information provided by the States, finds that interesting and promising
gains have been made, but that they need to be taken further. The gains
have involved: (i) implementing better methodologies in budgetary
processes for planning, approval, execution, and monitoring, and (ii) the
availability of more information concerning the reality of children and
adolescents and for calculating the costs of activities for children. These
gains have made it possible to improve decision-making by the political
and managerial levels regarding allocation of resources, and have bolstered
the capacity for evaluating results obtained from the budget decisions,
resulting in more oversight and more transparency. Even so, the IACHR
also notes pronounced differences among the States of the region in both
respects.
487. Specifically, the IACHR observes that the States that used “program
budgeting” and “results-based budgeting” indicate that they have
attained a better, more efficient, and more transparent level of planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of resources earmarked to
children, and that they have done so consistent with attaining the
objectives, results, and goals set in the national children’s policy. These

cost-based budget methods take into consideration the costs of attaining

the objectives, results, and goals included in the national children's policy,
and therefore they are aligned with that plan and take into consideration
both the actions and activities needed to carry it out and its costs. “Results-
based budgeting” also emphasizes establishing performance, results, and
impact indicators that help cast light on the problems and the
insufficiencies, economic and otherwise, limiting the attainment of the
objectives, outcomes, and goals. 248 The aim is to improve public decision-
making and modernize management of the public administration, boosting
effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and accountability.
488. The IACHR, based on the information collected, considers that despite the
major gains there has yet to be a profound transformation in the methods
for administering and securing the economic resources needed to be in
keeping with the mandate to guarantee all the rights of children and
adolescents, and to see to the full application of the principles of
effectiveness, efficiency, equity, transparency, and sustainability in
budgeting.
489. Among the findings of the IACHR, while the new methodologies for budget
preparation have attained greater effectiveness, efficiency, and
transparency, they exist side-by-side with traditional criteria and practices
on the allocation and use of resources that limit gains, be it due to: inertia;
lack of technical capacity in public administration, especially for
programming and budgeting; the existence of political interests; power
struggles between or among sectors and levels of government for the
allocation and use of public resources; corruption; lack of mechanisms for
gathering data that would make it possible to have complete and reliable
information on which to be able to plan the policy and design and monitor
the budget; and sluggishness in bringing about the transformations needed
for the sound conduct of public affairs, among other factors.
490. The IACHR notes that there is a need to strengthen the planning systems
that give orient and frame the decisions on allocation of budgetary
resources. Similarly, gains have been limited when it comes to defining
indicators and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation of budgetary
execution, which in turn has hampered the ability to strengthen future
program-budgeting.
248
See, Gabriel Filc and Carlos Scartascini, “El presupuesto por resultados en América Latina: un
análisis de economía política de sus determinantes” (Results-based Budgeting in National
America: A Political Economy Analysis of Its Determinants), in Reforma Fiscal en América Latina.
¿Qué fiscalidad para qué desarrollo? (Fiscal Reform in Latin America. What Tax for What
Development?), Ch. V, ECLAC, CIDOB, and Ibero-American General Secretariat, 2012.

491. The IACHR has noted that if one uses “results-based budgeting” without
putting in place the needed technical capabilities, and without modifying
the patterns of organizational culture and the traditional methods of
administration – which generally accord priority to formal deployment of
means over attaining ends – the reform towards a model more in line with
the principles of good governance will continue to run up against
challenges to its implementation. In practice, it implies that a model is
surviving that allocated constant resources, over time, to certain
institutions, programs, and services, which is at odds with what should be a
method of allocating resources based on planning and defining the results
to be attained, previously and specifically set in the public policy on
children, and periodically evaluated to make any modifications needed.
492. Intersectoral coordination is also key in budgetary affairs. It is important

for the ministries of economy and finance, which draw up the budgets (and
the competent authorities at the subnational level), do so with intersectoral
cooperation so that they can get the information they need to draw up a
proposal for financing that is in line with the objectives set in the national
children’s policy. Coordination and dialogue within the executive branch
should be reinforced, especially between the ministry of economy and
finance and the areas related to the public policies on children, with a key
role for the lead or coordinating agency.
493. It is also important to ensure that legislators at the national and

subnational levels have access to detailed and easy-to-assimilate
information on the situation of children and adolescents and that they have
a sound understanding of how the budget proposals aspire to improve
their wellbeing and uphold their rights. The budget process, due among
other things to its level of technical complexity and its duration, is not
always analyzed and debated in depth in the legislatures so as, for example,
to analyze whether the budget is going to attain the objectives that have
been set when it comes to guaranteeing the rights of children. The
legislature should strengthen its role in allocating public resources,
exercising control over the executive’s budget proposal to confirm
that the budget for children effectively contributes to carrying out the
legal framework and public policies on children. Similarly, the
Committee on the Rights of the Child has made the following
recommendations:
States parties should contribute so that members of

legislatures are adequately prepared to analyze and debate
the impact of budget proposals on all children prior to
enacting budget legislation, by seeing that national and
subnational legislatures, including relevant legislative
committees: (a) Have access to information about the

situation of children that is easy to understand and use; (b)

Have clear explanations from the executive on how legislation,
policies and programs directly or indirectly affecting children
are translated into budget lines; (c) Have sufficient time
within the budget process to receive the budget proposal,
review and debate it, and suggest amendments related to
children before the enactment; (d) Have the capacity to
independently undertake or commission analyses that
highlight the implications of budget proposals on the rights of
the child; (e) Are able to hold hearings regarding the budget
proposal with stakeholders within the State, including civil
society, child advocates and children themselves; (f) Have the
necessary resources, for example through a legislatures’
budget office, to undertake oversight activities such as those
outlined in (a) to (e) above. 249
494. The States should also establish and maintain transparent and efficient
financial and budgetary systems and practices and keep them open to
scrutiny. The information about public resources available (public
revenues), the amounts allocated, and what is spent on each policy,
program, and service, should be clear, adequate, and sufficient, easy to
access and grasp, and be available to society on a timely basis.
Transparency contributes to efficiency and stops corruption, and is a basic
requirement for making significant participation in the budget process
possible.
495. The IACHR has found that in order to improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of investment in children and to avoid corruption, the States
should pay greater attention to: (i) information systems on the link
between the level of implementation of the rights of children and
adolescents and the level of investment in children; (ii) establishing
systems for budget classification and earmarking that identify the
resources earmarked to children; (iii) establishing a system of indicators of
performance, outcome, and impact; (iv) increasing technical capabilities in
the area of budgeting and the methods of “program-based budgeting” and
“results-based management”; (v) strengthening the mechanisms of
participation of civil society and of children and adolescents in the budget
cycle; (vi) strengthening the procedures for procurement of goods and
services so as to guarantee quality and avoid corruption in contracting;
(vii) avoiding delayed transfers that do not allow for proper execution in
249
United Nations, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 19, “on public
budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4)”, para. 90.

timely fashion; increasing the capacity for management and absorption of

the resources allocated; (viii) improving oversight and supervision
(internal and external) of the results of the expenditures/investment made
in children; (ix) submit an annual report on investment earmarked for
children, disaggregated and easy to consult and understand, for the general
public and for children and adolescents, which, in addition to submitting
the financial information, highlights the level of implementation of the
national children’s policy and its programs; and, (x) making public the
evaluations and audits for previous years.
496. Budget information systems are especially weak and constitute one of
the main hindrances to the effective application of the new methods of
budgeting (program-based and results-based) due to the insufficient
information for planning, measuring using a system of indicators, and
evaluation.
497. The systems of classification and earmarking should also be

strengthened. The IACHR recommends that the States accede to the
internationally agreed-upon budget classification systems.
498. The implementation of robust monitoring, accountability, and

evaluation systems could well make it possible to monitor the
performance of public-sector managers as well as to identify the results
and impacts of the investment allocated and executed, making it possible to
identify problems and their causes, so as to adopt corrective measures,
thereby increasing effectiveness and efficiency, and reducing opportunities
for corruption. Publicly presenting evaluations and audits from prior
years fosters transparency; helps improve public policies and future
investment based on the lessons learned and the recommendations; and
makes possible social scrutiny of the implementation of policies and level
of investment by the State in children, facilitating debate on and social
oversight of these issues.
D. Weaknesses at the Local Level
499. Many countries of the region are known for extensive decentralization of
authority in relation to children, thus one increasingly finds the decisions,
resources, and management of actions and services happening at the
subnational levels of government (regions/department, and mainly
municipalities/counties). The local actors are also in close contact with
children and can carry out actions adapted to their contexts and that have
direct impacts on their lives. Nonetheless, the national systems are

particularly weak at the local level, in terms of both their

establishment/absence and operational shortcomings. There are also
profound disparities in the capacities of the national systems to act and
respond specifically at this level. On the one hand, there is a dynamic
process of decentralization in which decisions, resources, and management
are increasingly handled at the municipal level; while on the other hand are
the weaknesses of the system and its capacities and resources at the local
level, giving rise to differences in terms of equal access to services and
enjoyment of rights.
500. The disparities in the services earmarked for the promotion, protection,
and defense of the rights of children and adolescents, and their quality, may
be quite marked as among municipalities. This heterogeneity does not
favor carrying out the principle of equality and it poses major challenges.
At present, the fact of being born in certain parts of a country means that
children cannot enjoy the same level of services and support for their
wellbeing and integral and harmonious development, nor will they have
the same chances as other children of exercising and having assured the
rights that the laws and treaty provisions vest in them. The national
systems need to be strengthened at the local level, with respect to
which the IACHR has recommended that the human, material, and
economic resources needed to turn back these situations, which are
detected in all countries of the region, be allocated decisively and
without delay. 250 This disparities are usually more intense when
comparing urban municipalities with rural and geographically remote
ones, but one also observes contrasts when comparing sectors and
neighborhoods with uneven levels of development and investment within a
single city, especially in large metropolitan areas.
501. It should be noted, nonetheless, that the municipal authorities, given their
proximity to the population, are in a privileged position to undertake
actions to promote, protect, and defend the rights of children and
adolescents and to identify, early on, situations of risk and lack of
protection. Each municipality and locality has its own context and reality,
and experience shows that the responses are more effective and
constructive when they take into account these particularities, and
problems are addressed at the community level. In addition, municipalities,
due to proximity with their populations, can more easily integrate citizen
participation, and the participation of children and adolescents themselves
in the conduct of public affairs, in identifying the issues and possible
250
IACHR, press release, IACHR Urges Strengthening of National Systems for Protection of Children
and Adolescents, November 28, 2016.

solutions. 251 Nonetheless, the IACHR notes that, with very few exceptions,
not enough is invested in mobilizing this participation and implementing it
as a matter of public policy.
502. The bigger delays in the deployment and establishment of the

national systems occur at the municipal level, where the municipal
policy-making bodies on children and direct services have been established
slowly; they are not operational in all municipalities, even though in
general it is expressly established by statute that these bodies and services
must be created at the municipal level.
503. The IACHR has observed the lack of municipal children’s policies that
are coordinated with and contribute to carrying out the national policy, as
well as the lack of direct services for children and adolescents, with
sufficient quality and coverage, and with adequate human, technical, and
financial resources.
504. Several factors stand in the way of effective decentralization of

competences and responsibilities in respect of children, including: (i) the
scant knowledge and political commitment of many local authorities to the
effective realization of the rights of children and adolescents; (ii) budget
limitations associated with the financial capacity of certain municipalities
and the demands for social investment in light of the conditions of
vulnerability of their inhabitants, factors that vary depending on the
socioeconomic characteristics of each municipality; (iii) shortage of
personnel specialized, qualified, and trained in children’s rights, at the local
level; (iv) shortcomings in planning and coordination (horizontal and
vertical) and the lack of data; and (v) the lack of standards and indicators
on the implementation and operation of the national systems at the local
level that would make it possible to monitor them and identify
shortcomings (for example, indicators of coverage and accessibility).
505. One observes a low technical capacity in some municipalities when it

comes to designing and implementing integral, intersectoral, and
multidimensional public policies, and action more focused on violations of
rights, yet the structural and social problems are not addressed
strategically, and therefore resources are not allocated to tackle them.
There is scant specialization and technical knowledge on the rights of
children and adolescents in the municipal governments, as well as a lack of
human resources specialized in the new paradigm of integral protection,
especially in the areas furthest from the urban centers, where it is more
difficult to find professionals who are specialists in the field.
251

506. In addition, one should specify the parameters of coverage and quality
in relation to the establishment and operation of municipal services for
children that take into consideration the size of the population and the
existing needs. It is striking that some laws provide for a single service for
children for all municipalities equally, without taking into consideration
the size of the municipality or the levels of coverage, considerations which
could help ensure the quality of the service and effective case management.
507. The lack of specialized human resources in the services that engage
directly with children and adolescents and their families, and the material
limitations, of physical spaces, of resources for management and
operations (for example, for making home visits for evaluations and follow-
up), and the insufficient number of staff for serving the population, mean
that those services that can be provided are restricted to identifying cases
and referring them to other institutions (health, police, justice); yet they
are not able to effectively perform all the functions assigned to them by law
at the local level.
508. The IACHR has also identified positive measures that seek to overcome
these challenges, such as the signing of agreements between or among
municipalities to jointly provide some of the services (for example in small
municipalities in rural areas); technical support from the central level
through training, production of guides and protocols, certifications, and
evaluation mechanisms at the national level (usually done by the
coordinating/lead agency at the national level); vertical economic
transfers; cooperation agreements with universities for professional
internships; or the cooperation ties established with community
mechanisms to serve as “first point of entry” to the formal national system.
509. On the existence of mechanisms for vertical transfers of budget

resources, despite their importance, these mechanisms are not unaffected
by problems in practice, such as receiving resources late, which limits the
ability to spend them as programmed (for example, when resources arrive
at the end of the budget execution cycle), or the fact that the level of
transfers may have to be negotiated annually, and therefore are exposed to
various changing political and economic forces.
510. In some federal States in the region, due to the jurisdictional attributions,
the states or provinces are competent to decide on the establishment and
authority granted to local bodies. This has created asymmetries and
heterogeneity among the states/provinces in terms of the specific
institutional structure of the national system at the local level. This aspect,
which could be considered a strength in the construction of the system, in
practice creates gaps in the quality of care received by children and
adolescents, given that each state/province establishes organs of

protection with different parameters and competences, giving rise to

differences in degree of coverage, professionalization, interdisciplinary
approaches, and integral nature of the measures.
511. In general, it is important for the States to articulate suitable measures to

ensure that decentralization not constitute an obstacle to the protection of
the rights of children and adolescents, but rather better protection for each
and every one of them. In that regard, all the States should develop a
program of action aimed at strengthening the local system through
training, technical assistance, resources, and the definition of minimum
standards and protocols of action. The State should find the mechanisms
for ensuring the rights of children and adolescents in equal conditions,
avoiding disparities in the attainment of rights and in the services that the
State provides across the national territory.
512. One example of the negative consequences of the absence or weak

implementation of the national system at the municipal level, and that has
come before the IACHR repeatedly, is the lack of uniform treatment
accorded by programs for implementing non-custodial measures for
adolescents at odds with the criminal law. Such community- and family-
based programs should be developed at the local level, close to where the
children and adolescents are, and this is provided for in most of the
legislation that regulates such measures. Nonetheless, in practice the
weaknesses of municipal children’s policies that do not provide for or fund
such programs, and the lack of specialized technical services for
accompanying their implementation and follow up, limit their availability.
That means that even though the legislation provides for situations in
which a non-custodial measure would be applied, indeed indicating a list of
them, in practice they are not always available, which leaves the judge
without the option of imposing educational measures that promote the
social integration of the adolescents, and that work on the risk factors to
prevent recidivism. More worrisome still are the situations that have been
described to the IACHR where this has led – given the lack of other options
– to judges continuing to make excessive use of deprivation of liberty for
adolescents at odds with the criminal law.
E. Lack of Central Role for Children and Adolescents
513. The current national systems still suffer from a lack of a genuine central
and proactive role for children and adolescents themselves, even though
they are recognized as holders of rights, and despite acknowledgement of
their progressive autonomy for making decisions, in keeping with their age
and maturity, and their right to participate and for their opinions to be

given timely consideration in all matters that affect them. The national
systems, in their operations, need to grant a more proactive role to children
and should create the mechanisms for doing so. It is essential to empower
children and adolescents in the knowledge of their rights, to identify
situations of risk and situations that violate those rights, as well as to
strengthen their participation in the search for solutions and in designing,
implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the public policies geared to
them. Such strategies are not only more in keeping with the view of the
child as the holder of rights, but also increase the capacities for prevention,
early detection, and self-protection in the face of situations that violate
rights, while also giving visibility to hidden issues, and to the search for
more effective solutions. The IACHR considers it appropriate for the
national children’s policy to establish a specific objective aimed at
increasing the central role of children and adolescents in the operation of
the national systems, drawing up indicators for measuring them, and
reporting on the gains made.
F. Relegating Prevention
514. As has been noted, the IACHR has observed that in general there is inertia
in the operation of the systems, which are mainly focused on responding to
violations of rights once they have occurred. Even though the States in their
respective legislations recognize the obligation of the State to take all
appropriate measures to prevent violations of the rights of children and
adolescents, particularly those in especially vulnerable situations, it is
normal for the services and programs to focus mainly on serving the needs
of children and adolescents whose rights have already been violated, or
who are in a specific situation of risk, with primary prevention policies
relegated to a secondary role.
515. In light of the international obligations assumed by the States, they should
design public policies, programs, and services, and allocate the necessary
resources to ensure the effective exercise, enjoyment, and observance of all
rights, for all children and adolescents, and to prevent violations.
Nonetheless, the IACHR has found that the policies and programs
earmarked for primary prevention, or for addressing the structural causes
behind the situations of violations of rights, continue to need greater
attention and resources. Such policies require articulated strategies, with a
multisectoral approach, for the proper functioning of the policy-making
bodies on children, which, as indicated, are still plagued by weaknesses,
especially at the local level.

G. The need to Promote Social and Cultural

Transformations
516. The effective attainment of the rights of children and adolescents requires
going beyond the approach and perspective of the law and legislation. The
transformation of the legal status of children that has been brought about
with the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been fundamental for
recognizing their rights and for the State to articulate all those measures
that are required in order to respect, protect, and safeguard their rights.
Nonetheless, a considerable part of the existing gaps between the
provisions that recognize the rights of children and adolescents and their
reality is explained by the lack of social and cultural transformations in the
ways in which society relates to children and adolescents.
517. Disseminating the rights of children, promoting knowledge of these

rights among children and adolescents, and raising awareness in society as
to the special challenges children and adolescents face when it comes to
exercising their rights and as to the effects that the various forms of
violence, discrimination, and other violations of their rights have on them,
are extremely important for moving these social transformations forward.
Better information systems, qualitative and quantitative data, and
communication strategies are all needed to show evidence of and
explain the issue.
518. The IACHR emphasizes that greater knowledge and awareness on the part
of society helps to promote social rejection of the various forms of violence
and other violations of the rights of children and adolescents and increases
the chances of these violations being reported and not remaining in
impunity, thereby contributing to creating a safer, more protective
environment for children. Reports of situations in which rights are violated
by third persons is much more important for protecting children and
adolescents than it might be for adults, due precisely to their development
and the challenges they face accessing mechanisms of protection and
justice on their own.
519. The national systems should seriously consider this factor and focus their
efforts on promoting this social transformation. Following this logic, the
States should create mechanisms for collecting information and monitoring
social perceptions of children and adolescents and their rights. In
particular, it is important to take stock of the social outlook and
perceptions with respect to: (i) children and adolescents who belong to
groups that are traditionally excluded, discriminated against, and in
vulnerable situations, such as children living in the streets or children who

belong to certain ethnic groups; (ii) the exercise of certain rights that
encounter more resistance in society when they are to be exercised by
children and adolescents, such as sexual and reproductive rights, or the
right to participation; and (iii) certain phenomena that detrimentally
impact children and that are socially tolerated or accepted, such as
corporal punishment. The challenges identified should inform the
communication strategies and the design of public policies geared to
raising awareness and changing existing perceptions.
520. The IACHR considers that the national children’s policy, and the programs
and plans derived from it, should include a strategy for communication and
promotion and dissemination of children’s rights. The IACHR has
determined that these efforts are not carried out on an ongoing and
sustained basis, with a clear strategy, and measuring the results and
impacts obtained. Usually such strategies are associated with specific
programs through campaigns for a defined time, to foster awareness about
a given issue (such as the programs for tackling trafficking of children and
adolescents), or they may coincide with the commemoration of a given date
(for example, World Day against Child Labor, or Children’s Day).
521. The communication strategy and the dissemination and social education
campaigns should be sustained and should be aimed at the general public
and at children and adolescents. At the same time, some strategies for
promotion and awareness-raising should consider and be focused on the
circles closest to children and adolescents, such as the family. Strategies for
raising awareness among future fathers and mothers have yielded very
positive results for this change in perceptions, attitudes, and practices
towards children and adolescents; such strategies have been coordinated
with the health sector.
522. Children and adolescents should be included in these communication

and awareness-raising strategies, in their design and as protagonists for
transmitting messages through their own voices and in their own words. In
addition, adequate means of communication should be considered that allow
for broad dissemination, using various platforms that are accessible to a very
diverse public; in addition, messaging should be produced mindful of the
country’s cultural and linguistic diversity. The budgetary programming of the
national children’s policy should include a communication component for
carrying out the strategies proposed. The results of the communication
strategies should be monitored and evaluated to gauge the change in
perceptions and knowledge.
523. The media also play a key role in forming social perceptions, in its role
transmitting both information and entertainment. The IACHR has warned, for

example, of the stigmatizing and stereotyped media treatment generally

accorded adolescents from certain social groups in coverage of events related
to citizen security 252, at the same time as it has highlighted the media’s
potential for transforming social perceptions. 253
524. The IACHR notes the promotion and dissemination efforts among children
and adolescents themselves to get to know their rights, and the places they
can turn to for assistance or to get more information or find answers to
questions or doubts. Schools and human rights education programs as part of
the academic curriculum play a crucial role in this area, as indicated above.
525. The IACHR considers that the issue of promoting and disseminating rights
with a view to bringing about a social transformation in relations with
children and adolescents should be a key consideration in the national
children’s policy and in general in the operation of the national system.
252
IACHR, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, paras. 123, 134 and 568 to 575.
253
The IACHR is currently preparing a thematic report on media and the rights of children and
adolescents that will delve into these and other issues.

CHAPTER 6
RECOMMENDATIONS
Chapter 6: Recommendations | 195
RECOMMENDATIONS
526. As has been noted throughout this report, the new paradigm for integral
protection and the rights-based approach, ushered in by the CRC and other
international instruments, require an organizational and operational
structure adapted to the obligations that stem from the CRC as well as a
new institutional structure based on a systemic model, in addition to
principles and standards in keeping with the CRC, new working methods,
and improved management mechanisms. The IACHR values the gains made
by the States in this regard, yet it has also identified the persistence of
major challenges as well as the need to spell out the obligations for the
States. Mindful of the analysis and conclusions presented in this report, the
IACHR makes the following recommendations to the member States of the
OAS:
Legislative Adaptation
1. For those countries that have yet to do so, or whose legislative frameworks
are not fully adapted, adapt and harmonize the domestic legislation,
bringing it into line with international human rights commitments and
especially the American Convention, the American Declaration of the Rights
and Duties of Man, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, by
adopting specific laws on children, or amending existing legislation, such as
codes or special statutes, that include the establishment of a national
system, and the principles for its operations and funding.
2. Grant the highest rank (statute) to the provision establishing the

institutional framework for children with a view to making said
institutional framework sustainable over time and endowing it with
legitimacy so as to be a major actor in decisions that may affect the rights of
children.
Fundamental Principles that Should Govern the Establishment

and Operation of the National System
3. The national systems should be based on the four guiding principles of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child also recognized in the framework of

the inter-American human rights system: (i) the principle of (and right to)
the integral, harmonious, and holistic development of children and
adolescents, taking into consideration all their rights (Article 6, CRC); (ii)
the principle of equality and non-discrimination (Article 2, CRC); (iii) the
principle of the best interests of the child (Article 3, CRC); and, (iv) the
participation of children and adolescents in all matters that affect them
(Article 12, CRC).
4. In addition, in their legal, programmatic, and institutional dimensions, they

should put children and adolescents at the center, which implies:
1. Acknowledging them as holders of all civil, political, economic,

social and cultural rights, and based on the logic of the integral
development of children and adolescents;
2. Understanding the protection of their rights as a continuum and not

as a series of isolated and disjointed interventions;
3. Assuming the existence of different needs based on the evolution of

the capacities of children and adolescents and their growth, which
are accompanied by responsibilities varying in nature and intensity,
that must be assumed by the State, the family, and society in each
stage of development;
4. Respecting the autonomy that children and adolescents gradually

acquire for the autonomous exercise of their rights, mindful of their
age and maturity;
5. Recognizing and promoting their right to participate and for their

voice and opinions to be heard and taken into consideration in all
decisions that affect them;
6. Giving special attention to those groups of children and adolescents

who face special or particular challenges in the enjoyment of their
rights, so as to foster conditions to guarantee their rights;
7. Introducing the principle of the best interests of the child as a

principal consideration in all decisions adopted that affect children
and adolescents, and adopt the necessary measures to see to it that
this interest is effectively valued and objectively justified;
8. Adopting a gender perspective and an intercultural perspective;

and,

9. Considering protection for the family as a key factor for protecting

the rights of children and adolescents.
5. In addition, the national systems should be governed by the following

principles:
1. Professionalization and specialization
2. Effectiveness
3. Efficiency
4. Active transparency and access to information
5. Equity
6. Sustainability
7. Accountability
8. Social participation
9. Independent oversight and evaluation (by agencies such as the

national independent human rights institutions)
National Children’s Policy
6. Adopt and apply a national children’s policy geared to the effective

implementation of the international obligations taken on by the State in
respect of children’s rights, and see to it that it has foreseeable and
sufficient resources, and is based on a solid and reliable assessment of the
situation. The national children’s policy should be set forth in the
framework document that establishes the strategic direction of the State in
the medium and long term when it comes to assuring effective observance
of the human rights of children; it should become a matter of State policy
towards children.
7. Create the means for this policy to be integral, systemic, multifaceted,

intersectoral, and participatory, both in its design and in the process of its
implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This recommendation has
obvious implications for the institutions, since it requires certain
conditions of coordination, both horizontal (intersectoral) and vertical
(among levels of government), and an agency or office responsible for
coordination.

8. The national children’s policy should be based on an integral and systemic

approach that considers the facets of: promoting rights (such as
information, dissemination, awareness-raising, and education/training);
preventing violations of those rights and addressing the structural causes
of violations; creating conditions for the effective enjoyment of all rights for
all children and adolescents; and detecting and offering a protective
response when these rights are violated, including rehabilitation,
restitution, and reparation of rights, and effective access to the justice
system.
9. Include in the national children’s policy the recommendations of the United

Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and other international
human rights bodies, such as the IACHR and the Inter-American Court, as
well as those drawn up by their respective national independent human
rights institution considering the specific actions needed to carry them out,
and present a report on what is done in this regard.
10. Include in the national children’s policy specific and attainable objectives
with respect to civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for all
children and adolescents, set out indicators and make it possible to monitor
their attainment, and adopt strategies and realistic deadlines for achieving
them. It should be a real planning tool for administrative, institutional, and
financial management, making it possible to organize in a rational,
coordinated, and realistic manner a set of material and human resources,
strategies, and actions, sustained over time, from different sectors and
institutions, seeking to attain the established ends, while also making
possible monitoring and accountability.
11. Include provisions for the constant monitoring of the national children’s
policy based on indicators that make it possible to periodically update the
status of implementation of the policy, and to guide the introduction of
variations and adjustments when necessary. Ideally, standardized
indicators agreed upon worldwide should be used, as they allow for
international comparison over time.
12. The mechanisms for evaluating the national policy should also be provided
for, with evaluations being conducted openly, periodically, in an inclusive
and participatory manner, describing the progress made, with explanations
of the possible problems and a plan for overcoming the obstacles so as to
attain the goals set. The law should provide at least two evaluations, one
halfway through the period in which the policy is in force, and second one
upon its conclusion.
13. The national children’s policy should be adopted at the highest level, ideally
with the rank of a statute, constituting a plan whose implementation is

mandatory nationwide, for all levels of government, and for the various
sectors implicated. The autonomous and decentralized governments
(states/provinces, departments/regions, and municipalities/counties)
should become involved in the design and implementation of the public
policies on children, respecting the scope of authority of each jurisdiction.
14. In addition, the subnational governments (states/provinces, regions/

departments, and municipalities/counties) should adopt their own policies
for children based on their authority and responsibilities in the area,
aligning these policies with the objectives proposed by the national policy.
15. The law should consider presenting periodic reports on the

implementation of the national children’s policy to the legislature (and, in
the case of states and provinces, to the governor, and in the municipalities,
to the mayor) as a matter of transparency and accountability. The
frequency of such reports should be established in the law and it should be
carried out; administrative sanctions should be spelled out for failure to do
so. The information should be made available to the public and to children,
it should be broadly accessible, and should be proactively disseminated by
the State in a comprehensible language.
16. The IACHR recommends that systemic strategic planning processes be

furthered and enhanced, improving the quality of the tools used for
planning, monitoring, and evaluation. The planning systems should be basic
tools for governance and management.
17. Based on the principle of equality and non-discrimination, the States

should actively identify those groups of children and adolescents who are
in a vulnerable situation in terms of respect for their rights and who
require interventions that serve their needs for protection, all with a view
to securing the effective observance of their rights. The law should
establish the mechanisms for identifying those groups; one appropriate
means of doing so is breaking down the data gathered to be able to identify
groups with particular situations of vulnerability whose rights are not
guaranteed, as well as situations of discrimination. Another measure that
contributes to this identification is direct consultation with children and
adolescents, civil society organizations, and experts and academia.
18. The national children’s policy and the programs and plans that derive from
it should include a strategy for communication and promotion and
dissemination of the rights of children with a view to bringing about a
social transformation in how society relates to children and adolescents
and to do away with stereotypes and visions of childhood not in keeping
with their rights. Children and adolescents should be included in the design

and implementation of these strategies for communication and raising

awareness.
Linkage of the National Children’s Policy with All other National

Policies
19. Ensure that the national children’s policy is linked to other national plans
and policies to guarantee that children are not relegated by the major
policies of the State, such as the policies for fighting poverty, the national
development plans, and social policies. To that end, introduce mechanisms
for ensuring that the national system, along with other systems, designs in
a coordinated fashion all those policies that contribute to guaranteeing the
rights of children and adolescents and to bringing about the social and
economic conditions for satisfying those rights.
Analyses of the Impact of Laws, Policies, and Administrative

Decisions on the Rights of Children
20. Establish in the law the need to perform analyses of the impact on the
rights of children of draft legislation, regulation, policy, budget, or other
administrative decision, geared directly to children and/or that are
expected to have a direct impact on children and adolescents, at all levels of
government, before they are adopted, and consider the impact of its
implementation over time. The projects that are considered should have a
specific section that analyzes the expected impact on the rights of children
and adolescents. There should also be an analysis once implementation has
begun on the effects, in practice, on the rights of children. Adequate
measures should be adopted to correct the negative effects, with specific
recommendations made to that end. The analyses that are conducted
should include opinions from a variety of sources, and should be made
available to the public.
21. It is desirable to undertake these analyses on the impact on the rights of

children and adolescents, even if a given provision or policy may not be
directly geared to children, when it is expected that it may have indirect
effects that are not always intended or anticipated.
Systems for Compiling and Analyzing Data and Information
22. Create and strengthen a system for generating and compiling data, and for
managing information, that answers to the needs for planning, monitoring

and evaluation of the public policies for children and the budget earmarked
for children, and allocate sufficient material and human resources. Create
reliable, diverse, quality, and standardized methodologies for data
collection.
23. These systems should be capable of generating complete, useful,

disaggregated, quality, reliable, and accessible information for drawing up
a sound assessment of the level of implementation of the rights of children
and adolescents, in line with reality, that makes it possible to design the
national children’s policy, and the policies on children regionally and
locally, as well as to be able to monitor them and the results obtained, and
to facilitate preparation of the budget for children.
24. The disaggregation of the information should be suitable and relevant for
serving the aim of overseeing and strengthening the attainment of all
human rights of all children and adolescents, and should be useful for
taking stock of and monitoring the situation of those persons, groups, and
communities in vulnerable circumstances when it comes to the exercise of
their rights, or who have suffered historically from discrimination,
exclusion, or socioeconomic disadvantage. The information should be
broken down, at a minimum, by: age, gender, ethnic or social group,
geographic location, socioeconomic status, immigration status, disability,
and other characteristics relevant to the national contexts.
25. The information system should also make it possible to evaluate the
effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of the policies, programs and services
geared to children, and of the budget, to collect evidence, and to record
good practices and lessons learned.
26. This information system should be unified and integrated, pulling together
all the information produced by the various sectors, to facilitate its
management and accessibility. At present, the information is scattered
across various sectors and institutions, such as the ministries of security,
justice, health, labor, social development, planning, and education, among
others. The law should clearly establish the authority responsible for
operating this information system and the system for measurement,
monitoring and evaluation.
27. The information and data should be easy to consult and should be available
in timely fashion to officials in the executive branch and legislators
involved in drawing up and adopting laws, public policies, and budgets,
both national and subnational, in addition to being available for civil
society, including children, with a view to facilitating oversight and scrutiny
of public policies and the budget.

28. The information system should pull together information on institutional

performance in case management to make it possible to improve care, the
flow of referrals, and coordination. Its publication and periodic
dissemination should serve as be an incentive for improving institutional
management and the operation of the services, and has a positive impact
on transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs.
29. Consider creating an observatory for children which, in cooperation with

academia and civil society, can generate information and analyze the
operation and efficiency of the national system, implementation of the
national children’s policy, investment in children, and the human rights
situation of children in general. Furthermore, using new technologies
should be further explored in this area.
30. Collect information through services that work directly with children and
adolescents at the local level related to the types of cases, consultations,
and interventions they carry out, keeping statistics. The services should
have a computerized system for recording and sharing this information in
real time. This information can be fed into the decision-making processes
of the municipal policy-making bodies on local children’s policy, for
example on the type of preventive interventions that should be
strengthened or the need to establish a strategy for addressing certain
phenomena that are highly prevalent in the municipality. Once this
information is centralized, it is very useful for having an overview of what
types of situations are coming into the system the most, by municipality,
and an overall view of the situation of children throughout the territory.
31. The IACHR considers it essential to introduce the participation of children

and adolescents in generating information, and recommends that
mechanisms for doing so be put in place, such as surveys in school settings.
Children’s voices and opinions are crucial for understanding the many
realities in which the different groups of children live, giving visibility to
issues that are hidden, and identifying solutions.
32. With a view to casting light on and reducing levels of impunity, as well as to
better understand the types of crimes committed against children and
adolescents and their characteristics, information should be collected on
the number of cases of violations of the rights of children and adolescents
reported, the prosecutions, the verdicts, and the measures of reparation
offered to the victims, broken down by type of crime, profile of the person
responsible and the victim, and where the violations occurred.
33. The IACHR recommends that a study be published each year on the
situation of children in the country, based on the information collected, to

be disseminated among the population and specifically children and

adolescents.
Systems for Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation
34. Considerable efforts need to be made in all the States to strengthen the
systems of measurement, monitoring and evaluation with a view to
allowing for effective and transparent monitoring, improving the efficiency
and effectiveness of the policies and services, and ensuring accountability.
The system for measurement, monitoring and evaluation should work
closely with the information system.
35. The law should provide for constant monitoring, of both the operation of
the national system and the national children’s policy, and the budgets, so
as to facilitate adequate, effective, and efficient implementation, have
information on progress in attaining the expected results, as well as
identifying, on time, problems, gaps, or deviations, and introducing the
corrections or adjustments needed to overcome those situations and move
towards the proposed results.
36. The law should also provide for evaluations on the operation of the
national system, the gains and impacts of the national children’s policy, and
the budgets, which should be formulated in a language that is accessible
and widely disseminated to the public at large, especially children and
adolescents. The final evaluation of the national children’s policy should
show how the objectives, results, and goals of the policy were attained, and
to what extent; draw out lessons learned; and make recommendations to
inform future public policy decisions. There should also be an exhaustive
evaluation of the scope and results of the institutional structure of the
national system, its difficulties and limitations, and of the budget allocated
to children and its capacity to guarantee the rights of children and
adolescents.
37. The evaluation mechanisms should be focused on identifying evidence and

specific results obtained, comparing this information with the planning.
Evaluations, in addition to contributing to transparency and accountability
to society, discourage corruption, and the recommendations that stem from
them increase the suitability of policies going forward, and their capacity to
ensure the exercise and enjoyment of rights.
38. In addition to internal evaluations, there should be independent

evaluations by agencies such as the national independent human rights
institutions and the supreme audit institutions (i.e. Chief Financial
Controller, Comptroller General, Auditor General) of the implementation of

the national children’s policy, the operation of the national system, and the
budget allocated to children. The conclusions and recommendations should
be made public and the State should develop a plan to monitor them.
39. The IACHR recommends that robust indicators be constructed that can
measure the gains in addition to being able to show whether the State is
abiding by the principles of equality and equity, by being able to
disaggregate the information by various groups of children and
adolescents. It is also important for the systems of measurement to
incorporate standardized indicators.
40. The IACHR considers that the States should expand the participation of civil
society and of children and adolescents in monitoring and evaluation to
ensure that their voices are heard.
Specific and Specialized Institutional Framework for Children
41. Those States that have not done so should create a specific and specialized
institutional framework to look out for the promotion and protection of the
rights of children and adolescents at the various levels of government,
establishing an unequivocal legal duty to put in place all the institutions at
all levels. The law should provide for the decision-making bodies and those
that implement policies and programs and that are in charge of services,
and designate the coordinating/lead agency.
42. The law establishing the institutional framework for children should have
the highest rank, preferably with the level of a statute, such as a Code on
Children or a Special Law on Children, mindful of the sustainability and
stability in time of that institutional arrangement. The law should clearly
attribute the mandate, competences, and responsibilities, which should be
broad and with an integral view of the rights of children, and it should refer
to the various levels.
43. A decentralized system should be adopted that provides for the

mechanisms and systems for all the institutions to work together and to
carry out the national children’s policy in a coordinated manner, under
general directions, standards, and common guidelines that guarantee
quality and the principle of equality.
44. The law should also establish the mechanisms for financing this
institutional framework so as to ensure its operational functioning,
sustainability, and establishment throughout the territory in keeping with
the quality and coverage standards that are set.

45. The law should provide for the establishment of the organ or mechanism
for deliberation, coordination, and design of policies and programs at the
national level and give it a high level in the administration to guarantee its
decision-making capacity, and to be able to articulate a systemic model that
connects and links all the sectors involved in child-related matters.
46. The law should also establish its multisectoral or interagency composition;
determine the sectors which, at a minimum, should be part of and
participate in such bodies, at the different levels; and expressly provide for
the participation of civil society organizations specialized in children’s
rights on those same bodies. Their main functions and competences should
include negotiating and adopting an integral national public policy for
children; designing plans, programs, and action strategies at the national
level that derive from this national policy; drafting bills on children’s
matters to be introduced to the legislature; and being responsible for
monitoring the implementation of the national children’s policy, and for
evaluating it.
47. In addition to adopting policies, programs, and services for children, the
policy-making bodies on children should be vested with at least the
following functions: (i) annually evaluate the investment made in children
and the results obtained; (ii) draw up the budget for the next year; (iii)
monitor compliance with the children’s policy and the rest of the programs
and services and periodically evaluate their implementation; (iv) compile
and analyze the information related to the situation of the rights of children
and adolescents; (v) identify and propose those vertical economic transfers
needed for the adequate operation of the national system; and, (vi) present
an annual report on the situation of children and adolescents to the
legislature, or to the legislative organs of the state and the mayors, as the
case may be. All these documents should be accessible to the public and
drafted in an easy-to-understand language, and arrangements should be
made to ensure their dissemination.
48. The law should also provide that these types of organs be replicated at
subnational level, in states or provinces (in federal States), and in regional
and municipal governments, with a mandate to adopt, respectively, the
state/provincial/regional and municipal children’s policies, consistent with
the national children’s policy.
49. It is recommended that the national policy-making body on children be

chaired by the president of the republic or by the chairperson of the council
of ministers, that all relevant cabinet ministers be included, and that the
state/regional bodies on children be chaired by the respective governor
and at the municipal level by the mayors.

50. Link the national policy-making body on children, as well as the regional
and municipal policy-making bodies on children, to formal and institutional
mechanisms for child participation, such as the children’s and adolescents’
consultative or advisory councils.
51. Convene national forums or conferences, with broad social participation, to

design and to evaluate the national children’s policy, feeding into the
activities and mandate of the national policy-making body on children, and
hold these forums or conferences on a decentralized basis.
52. Establish, by law, a space or mechanism for cooperation and coordination

among the local and regional governments with the objective of
coordinating policies on children nationwide and to ensure the principle of
equality and a minimum of services delivery, and quality, especially in
federal States and those that are highly decentralized. The IACHR also
recommends that such mechanisms be created with respect to the
municipal level.
53. The law should also provide for the institution or institutions in charge of
implementing and carrying out the policies and programs. At the same
time, the State should organize the institutional framework and specific
operational arrangements for providing direct services to children and
adolescents and their families, as well as for case management and special
measures of protection in response to violations of rights and the
imperative of restoring them.
Coordination
54. The law should clearly designate the coordinating/lead agency of the entire
national system, with clear and broad powers and a rank that enables it to
articulate effectively both horizontally (intersectorally) and vertically
(among levels of government). It should be vested with a clear role of
political and technical coordination, and articulation with other systems
(such as social protection, health, and justice, among others), and with civil
society, in addition to seeing to the integral operation of the national
system.
55. That coordination requires establishing a coordinating/lead organ that is

high-ranking in political-administrative terms, and that is the highest-level
authority of the system for integral protection of children, strengthening its
role of political and technical coordination, and establishing it as a focal
point for engagement with all sectors of government and with the other
systems. The IACHR notes that in some countries this function is attributed
to the national policy-making body on children, with the characteristics and

functions just described. The IACHR values this model, at the same time as
it recommends, in these cases, endowing the national policy-making body
on children with the necessary structures, such as an executive secretariat,
well-endowed with human, material, and financial resources, so as to be
able to serve this dual role, and in particular the managerial tasks. In other
countries, this function is vested in autonomous institutes, or a secretariat
or office of a given ministry; the IACHR notes challenges as regards rank
and the lack of sufficient resources to be operational.
56. The coordinating/lead agency should draw up proposed guidelines that

make possible the effective implementation, operation, and coordination of
the entire national system at all levels, while also drafting the technical
guidelines for implementing the action plans to carry out the national
children’s policy and coordinating to ensure they are carried out.
57. It is important that the coordinating/lead agency be vested with technical

authority for designing proposed operational guidelines, technical
standards, codes of conduct, and guides and protocols for acting and for
referring cases to the authorities and officers, and to public and private
organizations that work directly with children and adolescents at the
various levels. In its capacity of technical specialization, it can advise the
national policy-making body on children and draw up draft legislation and
policies for analysis and discussion in this national body.
58. Mindful of the weaknesses observed in the operation of the national system
at the local level, the IACHR recommends that the coordinating/lead agency
draw up a strategic plan to support the implementation of the national
system at all levels, especially at the local level, and provide technical
assistance to the municipalities for creating and strengthening the
municipal children’s committees and the municipal centers and offices for
providing direct services to children and adolescents, and case
management. Among other things, it should have a mechanism for training
and ongoing exchange with authorities and public officials. The IACHR
recommends, with a view to ensuring the quality of care provided by the
municipal services, that the coordinating/lead agency assume a greater
role monitoring them.
59. At the same time, it is important to draw up technical guidelines for the
establishment and operations of the children’s and adolescents’
consultative/advisory councils, fostering their establishment at various
levels, and ensuring that they have all the human, material, and technical
support required for their operations.
60. Keep a record of the institutions and agencies that provide services to
children, such as the centers that take in children without parental

caregivers and shelters, or that take in victims of violence, both public and
private, unless the legislation expressly places responsibility for this aspect
in another agency; issue the authorizations for these centers to start up
their operations; supervise compliance with the operating regulations; and
investigate possible irregularities or violations of the law, and impose
corrective measures and sanctions. The center in question may even be
closed. Generally, it is also assigned the functions of monitoring the local
services working directly with children and adolescents and supervising
their compliance with quality standards.
61. The IACHR also recommends that its main functions include giving impetus
to and ensuring the deployment and installation of the information and
data systems, as well as the monitoring and evaluation systems provided
for in the law, ensuring that the mechanisms, instruments, methodologies,
and guides needed to do so are in place, in addition to ensuring that the
information is collected and made available. It should also establish a
strategy for transparency and accountability with respect to the operation
of the entire national system, which includes seeing to it that the various
reports and evaluations produced are published and disseminated.
Federal States
62. Take appropriate measures to ensure adaptation and harmonization of

legislation and regulations in all the states/provinces to guarantee
recognition and effective observance of the rights of children and
adolescents in all jurisdictions.
63. Ensure that the states/provinces create the institutional framework of the
national system at the state/provincial level, adopt the state/provincial
policy, and contribute the resources needed, based on the principles that
apply to the State as a whole.
64. Provide for in the legislation, and establish, a space for consensus-building
and coordination at the federal level (federal children’s council), bringing
together the state/provincial and federal authorities, led by the
coordinating/lead agency, to ensure and accelerate the adaptation of the
state/provincial systems, and to ensure that the legal frameworks are
harmonious with and respectful of the rights, principles, and guarantees
enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and with a view to
attaining greater homogeneity in policies for children and in the programs
and services to make it possible to advance in territorial equity and to
guarantee a minimum of parity, promoting technical and financial
assistance the organization and operations of the national system.

65. The IACHR recommends that common standards be agreed upon among
the states/provinces in the context of the federal children’s council, or
similar bodies, with the aim of avoiding asymmetries and heterogeneity
among the states/provinces as regards the institutional expression of the
national system and quality of services.
66. Establish the mechanisms for transferring economic resources vertically

(between the federal government and the states/provinces), and among
the states/provinces, to finance the installation of the national system. The
law should establish mechanisms for distributing budgetary funds to carry
out the objectives of the national children’s policy throughout the national
territory, with a view to facilitating transfers to areas with less financial
capacity and equalizing the levels of protection afforded children’s rights.
67. The IACHR recommends that the federal children’s councils be made up of
representatives of the existing policy-making bodies in each of the
states/provinces, if possible at the highest level (governors).
68. The IACHR recommends that those non-federal (unitary) States that have a
high degree of decentralization to the regions, departments, or other
subnational territorial divisions, establish coordinating councils among the
different political-administrative levels of government through a
mechanism for vertical articulation. In addition, similar spaces should be
created that bring together the principals of the local policy-making bodies
on children with the principal of the respective province or region.
The Local Level
69. The law should design a decentralized national system, providing for a
deliberative body that determines the municipal children’s policy and
monitors its implementation as well as the institutional arrangement or
services responsible for carrying out the policies, for providing direct
services to children and adolescents and their families, and for case
management. The law should be clear in providing as mandatory the
establishment of the municipal policy-making body on children and the
direct municipal services, establishing the authority responsible for
creating them.
70. Draw up the municipal children’s policy adapting the priorities and
strategies of the national policy to the reality and specific situation of each
municipality, but without losing sight that they must contribute to, be
guided by, and conduct their activities within the national children’s policy
and the attainment of its objectives, results, and goals.

71. The law should provide for the establishment of direct municipal services
that are permanent, free of charge, and multidisciplinary, that ensure that
children and adolescents and their families will receive specialized care in
their communities. Such services should contribute to the promotion,
protection, and defense of the rights of children and adolescents at the
municipal level.
72. Guarantee the effective accessibility, availability, adaptability, and quality

of the local services and programs. The services should also be culturally
relevant, offered in the different languages spoken in the country, and be
easy to access physically in terms of their location and in relation to the
removal of architectural barriers. They should also be adapted for children
and adolescents of different ages, without discrimination.
73. Spell out the parameters and standards of coverage and quality in relation
to the establishment and operation of the municipal services for children to
ensure similar attention throughout the national territory, and to allow for
monitoring and identifying shortcomings.
74. In addition, the IACHR recommends adopting protocols and guidelines for
care and case management that are clear and that take into account the
rights of the child and the best interests of the child, as well as the codes of
conduct for the professionals who provide these services, and appropriate
sanctions in the event that these are breached.
75. Establish mechanisms of cooperation between the schools and these

services for early identification of cases of lack of protection and their
referral. Such mechanisms of cooperation should also be established with
health services.
76. The IACHR underscores the need for the operation of the national system at
the municipal level to be truly integral in protecting all rights of all
children, and that the services provided not focus solely and exclusively on
certain groups of children due to their particular circumstances of
vulnerability, or be limited to serving only certain issues and certain
violations of rights. The IACHR also recommends that greater attention be
given to the functions of promoting rights, guaranteeing rights, and
prevention strategies.
77. All the services should have mechanisms for filing complaints or
grievances. These complaint or grievance mechanisms should be widely
known, simple, adapted to children and adolescents, safe, reliable, flexible,
and effective. They should be accessible to all children and adolescents and
to adults under the jurisdiction of the State, with no discrimination
whatsoever; they should be adapted to the age, be sensitive to gender,

language, disability, and other conditions; and their availability should be

ensured for children and adolescents in a situation of special dependency
on the State, or of vulnerability. The IACHR also recommends that free 24-
hour phone lines be put in place.
78. The law should establish the duty to ensure that the direct municipal
services are allocated the human, material, and economic resources
needed.
79. It is also recommended that institutional and financial mechanisms be

provided to overcome the inequalities and inequities, which are
particularly pressing at the municipal level, and that originate in the mix of
local situations. Specifically, heeding the principle of equality, the State
should articulate the mechanisms for calculating and effectuating the
transfers among the various levels of government and it should explain to
the public what they entail and how they tie in specifically with the
attainment and enjoyment of the rights of children and adolescents
nationwide, overcoming conditions of inequality in the exercise of rights,
and bolstering the capacity of the State to provide protection.
80. In general, it is important for the States to articulate suitable measures to

ensure that decentralization not become an obstacle to the promotion of
the rights of children and adolescents, but rather a means of providing
better protection for each and every one of them. Accordingly, all the
States, through the coordinating/lead agency, should develop a program of
action aimed at strengthening the local systems through training, technical
assistance, resources, definition of minimum standards, and protocols for
action.
81. The direct municipal services should submit periodic reports to the
municipal authorities, and one annual report, on their activities and the
results of their interventions as well as the statistics of cases, which should
be public and easy to access and consult.
Civil Society Participation in the Institutional Structures
82. Increase and strengthen the mechanisms for civil society participation in
the conduct of public affairs related to children. The law should recognize
its participation in the operation of the national system, especially on the
policy-making bodies on children, at the various levels, ensuring that this
participation is broad, diverse, legitimate, and inclusive, and that it has the
capacity to effectively impact debates and decision-making.

83. The IACHR recommends that the law regulates the number of
representatives of civil society organizations working on children’s issues
who will participate in the policy-making bodies on children, at the various
levels. One of the possibilities is establishing parity participation of civil
society, facilitating a plural and diverse debate and dialogue that
incorporates various perspectives, experiences, and realities that affect
children.
84. Social representation cannot be decided upon by the executive; it is

recommended that this situation be changed, and that mechanisms and
processes for selecting representatives of civil society organizations be
adopted that are democratic, transparent, consensus-based, and
participatory. With respect to diversity and non-discrimination, the
particularities, characteristics, and needs of the indigenous and Afro-
descendent peoples should be respected, as well as of any other socially
and culturally diverse population group.
85. The States that already have such legal provisions should review their laws
and practices to effectively guarantee this plurality, diversity, and
inclusiveness of visions and points of view. At the same time, it is necessary
to prevent forums for participation from being controlled by organized
interests that reproduce social exclusion; and adequate measures need to
be taken if the civil society organizations are, in a given country, the main
implementing agencies for the services of the national system, for their
independence may be impaired and their monitoring and oversight role
may be cast in doubt.
86. In addition, the IACHR recommends that the law includes other spaces that
provide a real opportunity to make constructive contributions with
proposals for improvements, such as forums, hearings, debates, and
consultations, without limiting participation solely through the formal
policy-making bodies.
Participation of Children and Adolescents in the Institutional

Structures
87. The legal text that creates the national system should provide for the
establishment of the permanent institutional structures to ensure the
broad and representative participation of children and adolescents in the
context of the national system, at the various levels, which should be
serious, accessible, and adapted to the different ages.
88. In addition, efforts should be made to ensure that participation is broad,

plural, diverse, representative, and inclusive, ensuring that children and

adolescents from different backgrounds, ages, and social groups, among

others, are represented. To that end, the text should provide for the means
of ensuring representativity, the requirements for members of the
children’s and adolescents’ consultative/advisory councils, and the number
of representatives; consideration should be given, among other aspects, to
geographic distribution, age, gender, socioeconomic conditions, minorities,
cultural and linguistic diversity, ethnic origin, and disability, among other
aspects.
89. Guarantee the conditions for the effective participation of all children and
adolescents, without discrimination. Some groups of children and
adolescents, such as very young children, children and adolescents with
disabilities, migrant children and adolescents, and those who belong to
marginalized or underprivileged groups, and those from ethnic, cultural,
and language minorities, who experience greater difficulties and obstacles
to exercising their right to participate, should receive appropriate
measures of support.
90. Directives, guidelines, protocols, and practical guides should be adopted on

the participation of children and adolescents in the children’s and
adolescents’ consultative/advisory councils, with a view to promoting and
adequately guaranteeing this right, and establishing the conditions for
doing so, in keeping with what has been indicated.
91. The legal text should provide for the way in which children’s and
adolescents’ opinions and recommendations will be taken into account by
decision-makers, and also report on this aspect, so that it can be said that
participation is serious and not merely symbolic.
92. The State should ensure that all documentation regarding the national
policy is widely accessible to them in an understandable language, as well
as the evaluations and other accountability documents, and the information
on the budget, with a view to facilitating active and meaningful
participation in the process.
93. In addition to the children’s and adolescents’ consultative/advisory

councils, various means and mechanisms should be provided to this end,
such as forums, consultations, focus groups, opinion polls, and self-
perception surveys, among others, that directly draw on the opinions and
experiences of children and adolescents. In every case the State must
guarantee that the participation processes are serious, genuine, respectful,
and capable of promoting significant and proactive participation of

94. The IACHR considers that the States should conduct an evaluation of the
current status of children’s participation in the country, including
legislative recognition and identifying existing spaces and mechanisms for
children and adolescents to participate in the design, monitoring, and
evaluations of the public policies that affect them, at the various levels of
government. This document should identify the main gaps in the
establishment of the children’s and adolescents’ consultative/advisory
councils, or similar bodies, and establish a short-term action plan to
effectively guarantee this right, establishing appropriate goals and
strategies, and reporting annually on how much has been achieved.
95. The IACHR recommends to the States that they adopt, in the national
children’s policy, a strategy specifically aimed at promoting and increasing
children’s and adolescent’s opportunities to engage in social participation,
and to earmark resources to that end. Among the measures for doing so,
the States may provide support to the organizing and associative processes
of children and youth, and support the processes of empowerment of
children and adolescents with a view to the exercise of this right.
96. Set aside funds for securing the participation of children and youths in the
national systems, without the lack of resources being used to justify the
breach of the immediate duty of the State to guarantee the right of the child
to participate, and for children’s opinions to be taken duly into account in
the design, monitoring, and evaluation of the policies, programs, and
services that affect them.
97. The IACHR considers that better use could be made of the opportunities
that schooling offers for promoting the right to participate among children
and adolescents; it could be a basis for ushering in more participation of
children and adolescents in the children’s and adolescents’
consultative/advisory councils, at the same time as measures should be
taken to promote the right to participation of those children and
adolescents who are not in school. The IACHR has not received sufficient
information on this aspect beyond the information on the participation of
children and adolescents in schools’ participatory and governing bodies.
98. Invest in initiatives to educate on and raise awareness of aspects related to

the participation of children and youth, especially for parents and other
caregivers, professionals who work with and for children and adolescents,
policy-makers, and decision-makers.
99. These recommendations should be given special consideration and

implemented at the municipal level, where the IACHR has detected the
greatest shortcomings.

100. The national system not only should include the participation of children
and adolescents in its structures and processes, but at the same time
should promote participation as a right of children and adolescents in their
different pursuits, thereby helping to advance recognition of this right in
the family, school, and society in general.
Economic Aspects
101. The IACHR recommends that the States introduce an express legal
provision on the duty to invest the resources needed to comply with their
international obligations to protect the rights of children. The law should
clearly set the minimum standards, in keeping with the American
Convention, the American Declaration, and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, that the State should observe in the process of allocating
resources to children, referring to the different levels, i.e. national,
subnational, and local. Specifically, the States should mobilize, allocate, and
spend resources in a manner in keeping with their obligations to provide
special protection for children, and with a view to the best interests of the
child and the principle of equality and non-discrimination in the exercise of
the human rights of children and adolescents.
102. The States should establish a well-defined financing mechanism that is

stable and sufficient, and that identifies and binds the funds required by the
national children’s policy and the operations of the national system, and
ensure the annual budget needed for the operations of the entire system.
This requires calculating the cost of financing the entire institutional
framework that constitutes the national system, at the national and
subnational levels, as well as the cost of the public policy, programs, and
services.
103. Establish in the legislation the duty to allocate the maximum resources
available for the attainment of the rights recognized to vest in children and
adolescents, and that the budget for children be protected by the principle
of non-regressivity and progressivity, according to which the budgetary
allocation cannot be less than in the previous period. Regressive measures
may only be adopted if the State can show that the measures are necessary,
reasonable, proportionate, non-discriminatory, and temporary, and that
the rights negatively impacted will be re-established as soon as possible. In
particular, the State must show that the most vulnerable children will be
the last ones impacted by the cutbacks.
104. To ensure the establishment and normal operation of the national system
and its institutional structure in conditions that allow for its sustainability,
as well as to implement the national children’s policy, the IACHR

recommends that the law establish a specific minimum percentage for the
operation of the national system and for carrying out the policy, and that
investment in children be protected through express mention of the
principles of non-regressivity and progressivity in the law.
105. Introduce and apply the budget rules and budget principles of
transparency, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, sustainability, accountability,
participation, and in general the principles of sound management of public
affairs, in addition to articulating measures against corruption, at all levels.
106. It is important that the States weigh the effects of the legislation and
policies associated with mobilizing resources and general revenue (e.g. tax
policy) on the rights of children, and not only the effects of measures
related to budget allocation and expenditures.
107. It should be assured that the policies and formulas for dividing up public
revenues among the various State entities, both vertical (among the various
levels of the State) and horizontal (among sectors at the same level), favor
and improve guarantees for the rights of children and adolescents and
equality among the different geographic locations. In addition, mechanisms
should be established that support intersectoral and interinstitutional
coordination and cooperation, within the national system and with other
systems, for more efficient and articulated spending.
108. The States must be capable of showing that the best interests of the child
have been taken into account in decision-making on budgets, how this
principle has been taken into account in light of other considerations, and
how the budget decisions that have been made have improved the situation
of children, showing the specific results attained.
109. The States should publish the information on revenue mobilized, budget
allocations to children and amounts actually spent, including the different
levels of government. The level of investment made in children should be
stated in relation to the total State budget and compared to other sectors.
This information should show and explain the possible mismatches that
may have occurred between the budget approved and the budget executed,
and should tie this investment to the attainment of the objectives set in the
national children’s policy. Doing so should serve the interests of
transparency and accountability, and justify that the maximum resources
available have been allocated to children.
110. The States should analyze the repercussions that the budget decisions have
actually had on children and adolescents. These evaluations should include
consultations with children and adolescents, their families and caregivers,
and those who work directly with them or on behalf of their rights, to learn

more about how budget measures have affected children and adolescents.
This information should be widely accessible to the public and to children
and adolescents in a clear, easy-to-understand language.
111. The resources allocated specifically for children need to be adequately

earmarked and classified to be able to account for them. Moreover, the
State should have disaggregated information at the very least on the
amount of resources invested in children and adolescents in each of the
geographic zones of the country, by age, gender, ethnicity, and by various
conditions of vulnerability previously identified in the national children’s
policy. The information should show the level of investment specifically
earmarked for these groups of children and adolescents, and the States
should continuously evaluate the results in different groups of children and
adolescents to determine where more effective promotion and greater
investment is needed, and the specific result sought.
112. Ensure that the collection and transfer of resources is done in timely
fashion so that they can actually be spent, and ensure the capacity for
spending.
113. The States should have internal control processes and independent
external audits performed by supreme audit institutions (i.e. Chief
Financial Controller, Comptroller General, and Auditor General) that ensure
respect for the applicable technical principles in the areas of budgeting and
accounting. This scrutiny should also be contemplated and facilitated for
other actors, such as the legislature and the national independent human
rights institution (ombudsperson).
114. The States should actively promote access to information on public

revenues, allocations, and expenditures related to children, and the results
obtained from this investment, as mechanisms of transparency and to
facilitate the participation of civil society and particularly of children and
adolescents in designing and overseeing the public budgets.
115. The IACHR recommends that the law provide that in times of economic
crisis the minimum essential levels of all rights and the basic or strategic
programs shall be armored, while maintaining the institutional framework
that ensures the operational conditions for guaranteeing the rights of
children and adolescents. The IACHR understands basic or strategic
programs to be those that are geared, among other things, to guaranteeing
life, humane treatment, and health programs, and to confronting child and
adolescent malnutrition, whose disruption could seriously endanger the
wellbeing, integrity, and lives of children and adolescents with lasting,
including irreversible, impacts.

116. The IACHR recommends that the States improve the systems of
administrative and financial management that generate ineffectiveness and
inefficiencies in the allocation, management, and spending of resources;
that they tie economic decisions to implementation of the national
children’s policy; and that bolster efforts to invest in technical training for
the public servants whose job it is to design and adopt the budget, at all
levels of government.
The Subsystem of Protection from Violence, Abuse, Exploitation,

Neglect, and Abandonment
117. Integrate the national subsystem of protection for children and adolescents
from violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, and abandonment fully into the
national system. While the national system and its programs and services
may give important specific weight to special protection from these
phenomena, due to the scope of the issue, a restrictive view of the national
system that focuses primarily on the subsystem for protection from
violence poses major challenges, even when it comes to confronting and
preventing violence itself, since it is crucial to put in place holistic,
multisectoral, and multifaceted actions that respond to complex
phenomena in order to tackle and prevent violence.
118. The IACHR recommends adopting legislation that expressly and clearly
prohibits all forms of violence against children, and explicitly those forms
of violence that continue to be socially tolerated, such as corporal
punishment, psychological violence, and exploitation such as domestic
child labor (criadazgo, restavek) or the use of children and adolescents for
microtrafficking of drugs. Equally important is that policies, programs, and
services be guaranteed for preventing and eradicating all forms of violence
with a view to promoting social changes in relation to perceptions and
behaviors that legitimize and reproduce forms of violence against children
and adolescents. Such efforts should constitute a suitable and sufficient
measure for effectively protecting children and adolescents from violence
and for guaranteeing their rights.
119. Adopt effective measures to fight the high rates of impunity for crimes
against integrity.
120. Eliminate those responses from the State that are more to be expected from
the paternalistic and welfare-type model, with a major emphasis on
institutionalization and separating the child or adolescent from his or her
family; it is necessary to adopt an integral approach, with a robust national
system based on a holistic and multisectoral view of the issues that affect

children, and to promote interventions through social policies for

protection of the family and social development.
121. When adopting measures of protection, establish mechanisms for offering

adequate and suitable protection to children and adolescents at risk, or
who have been victims of violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Based
on the circumstances these measures of protection may also be exceptional
and presuppose the temporary or permanent separation of the child from
his or her family on grounds of protection.
122. Offer specialized responses to the various situations of lack of protection

that affect children and adolescents that consider and are respectful of
their rights, promote their effective observance, and address the
socioeconomic causes and structural nature of situations of lack of
protection through social policies and social services.
123. Avoid taking into court – so long as it is not contrary to the best interests of
the child – the social problems that underlie the situation of violation of
rights when these problems can be addressed more efficiently and
appropriately using social policies for protecting and supporting the family,
in particular when the backdrop to many of the measures of protection is
poverty, social exclusion, and the consequences for the families.
124. Ensure that the principle of legality prevails in relation to regulating the
procedure in the context of which decisions are made that affect the rights
of children, in addition to ensuring the procedural rights and guarantees
recognized in the American Convention. In addition, guarantee that any
action that affects a child must be based on an evaluation by professionals
from multidisciplinary teams; reasoned as per the law objectively,
sufficiently, and in keeping with the best interest of the child; and subject to
verification of suitability and legitimacy through follow-up by teams of
experts.
125. Regulate clearly, and in keeping with international standards, the

competent authority and the principles and guarantees that apply for the
determination, application, and review of an exceptional measure of
protection involving separating a children from his or her family and
ordering his or her care in alternative family spaces or in specialized
centers for protection, taking into account that separation from the family
should always be a measure of last resort and, insofar as possible, for the
shortest possible time, applicable only in those situations specifically
provided for by law, and, consistent with international and inter-American
standards, subject to judicial review.

126. Adopt clear protocols for the services that care for children, on managing
the cases they receive of children and adolescents in need of a measure of
protection. These protocols should include, at least: the guidelines for early
identification of violations of rights; the means for the multidisciplinary
teams to make a determination as to the situation of the child and his or her
family; the requirements for referring a child to other mechanisms (such as
health, social services) when required, or to bring the case to the attention
of the judicial authorities; and consider the steps necessary for determining
and implementing the intervention most in keeping with the best interests
of the child based on the design of an integral plan for restoration of rights
coordinated with other mechanisms or entities.
127. Make a proper record of all interventions with respect to children and
adolescents that are handled within the services of the national system.
Provide for periodic review or audit mechanisms of how the cases are
managed, to be done by the coordinating/lead agency or other
administrative mechanisms or offices, in their role of guaranteeing the
adequate operation of the national system in keeping with the applicable
protocols, guidelines, and rules, and adopt corrective actions that are in
order.
128. In addition, one should provide for the possibility of the office of the
national independent human rights institution reviewing whether the
protection cases are generally managed in way that follows the protocols
and is consistent with the applicable provisions, and making relevant
recommendations.
Access to justice for Children and Adolescents
129. Articulate all measures needed to ensure children and adolescents access
to effective justice, giving special consideration to the particular conditions
of children and adolescents and the challenges and specific barriers they
face due to their circumstances, and strengthen the articulation between
the national system and the justice sector, with a view to them jointly
creating a strategy to ensure children and adolescents effective access to
justice and to services for physical and psychological recovery,
rehabilitation, reparation, and restitution of their rights.
130. Specifically, take the following actions with a view to overcoming some of
the main barriers and obstacles: promote knowledge of their rights on the
part of children and adolescents, including information about the
possibility of filing complaints, how to do so, and where to turn; ensure that
mechanisms for pursuing grievances are accessible and safe, eliminating
formalities or other limitations and/or demands that unjustifiably restrict

the ability of children and adolescents to access justice; eliminate

limitations on standing to sue of persons who can file actions before the
courts for violations of the rights of children and adolescents, allowing
children and adolescents themselves to file complaints, unless it is an
exceptional case in which it is clearly contrary to the best interests of the
child; provide for longer limitations periods for crimes committed against
children and adolescents, considering the most serious crimes
imprescriptible; provide legal counsel and independence and specialized
legal representation, free of charge, for children and adolescents, to more
effectively defend their interests and rights.
131. Grant broad and clear authority to the direct services of the national
system that exist at the municipal level to examine the complaints made by
children and adolescents who turn to those services, provide them with
legal orientation, and support then in gaining access to the judicial system.
132. Adapt the judicial procedures to children and adolescents so that they are
flexible, accessible, appropriate, and comprehensible to them, ensuring that
they have sufficient information about the procedures under way that may
affect them, in a comprehensible and adapted language. The processing of
matters should be diligent, ensuring prompt consideration and resolution
of their cases.
133. Deploy all mechanisms to facilitate the right of children and adolescents to
be heard in the context of the procedures under way that affect them, and
establish mechanisms for evaluating and documenting their best interests.
134. Guarantee access to adequate compensation for child and adolescent

victims, and the measures necessary for their recovery and rehabilitation,
and the integral restitution of their rights.
135. Adopt measures to protect the privacy and wellbeing of child victims and
witnesses at all stages of the criminal justice process, ensuring they not
suffer revictimization from participating in criminal proceedings, for
example by limiting the number of interviews, using video-recordings and
rooms fitted with one-way mirrors. In that connection, draw up protocols
for obtaining and weighing evidence in a manner that is respectful, and that
takes into account the best interests of the child.
136. Establish and ensure the operation of specialized courts for children’s
rights throughout the national territory.
137. Establish as a matter of law the duty of those professionals who have
contact with or work with children and adolescents to report cases in

which there is a suspicion or risk that they may be victims of some

situation that violates their rights.
138. Organize periodic trainings for judges, prosecutors, police officers,

teachers, social workers, health services personnel, and other professionals
regarding the rights of children and adolescents, including their right to
access the justice system.
139. Draw up protocols or “road maps” that provide guidance to public servants
and authorities, from the receipt of the report, during the judicial
proceeding, and regarding any attention and treatment required, which
involves the authorities of both the national system and the justice sector,
and, if relevant, the health sector as well, to ensure integral attention.
140. To the extent possible, design integral and integrated services for children
and adolescents who are victims of crimes that include legal, psychosocial,
and medical assistance, among others, avoiding to the greatest extent
possible requiring them to go to different offices to obtain different
components of the integral attention that they need.
141. The IACHR recommends that the competences of the national independent
human rights institution be reviewed, to give it as broad a mandate as
possible, and specifically that it be able to receive reports, examine
individual complaints and petitions, carry out the respective investigations,
and have the authority to provide support by turning to the courts of
justice, as well as submitting, in its own name, the cases of problems
affecting children, in addition to intervening in judicial cases to inform the
court about the human rights issues involved.
142. Periodically the State should evaluate implementation of the right of access
to justice for children and adolescents, identify the obstacles that persist,
and adopt a plan of measures to overcome them, with a view to reducing
the high rates of impunity that exist currently in violations of the rights of
children and adolescents, which helps prevent their repetition.
143. Related to the foregoing recommendation, draw up indicators on access to

justice for children and adolescents including data such as the number of
cases detected by the child care services; the number of complaints filed;
the number of judicial resolutions and their outcome (conviction or
acquittal); and the rate of impunity in crimes against children and
adolescents, by type of crime. Cross-reference these data with the data
produced by other sectors such as those from the national system, health
services, police, as well as the surveys on victimization done with children
and adolescents and information from civil society organizations and
research centers.

Community Structures for Promotion and Protection of the

Rights of Children and Adolescents
144. The IACHR believes it is important to recognize the valuable contributions

of the community structures in various aspects related to the promotion,
protection, and defense of the rights of children and adolescents such as:
raising awareness and social mobilizing in the communities and families to
get them to assume a more active role protecting children and eradicating
deeply-rooted social practices that are at odds with the rights of children
and adolescents; promoting knowledge of rights; the prevention strategies
implemented from these community structures; implementing and
improving the system for early detection, notice, and referral to the formal
mechanisms of the national system of children and adolescents who are
victims of violence or other violations of their rights; training for children
and adolescents about their rights and various issues related to self-
protection; and promoting the participation and recognition of children
and adolescents as social actors, among others.
145. The IACHR has observed that in the areas with the least implementation of
the national system these mechanisms may represent the “gateway to the
national system,” the first point of contact. Nonetheless, these community
services should have an adequate linkage with and support from the formal
structures of the national system, especially the local direct services for
children and adolescents and from other public institutions with a mandate
to protect children (health, education, police) to be able to make timely
referrals in those cases in which it is called for to ensure adequate
treatment.
146. The IACHR recommends legislating the mechanisms of coordination and

formal collaboration between the community structures and the structures
of the national system, with a clear determination of the formal limits of the
national system, its functions, its competences, as well as its capacity to
articulate with the community structures, with a clear definition of the
scope and limits of this coordination with the community structures in
order to determine the responsibilities of the State that derive from this.
Provision of Services by Private Institutions
147. Adopt rules to regulate the establishment and operation of the public and
private institutions that provide services of attention, care, and protection
for children and adolescents, and create the records of service delivery
agencies.

148. The law may provide that some of the functions and services assigned to
the national system may be provided by duly registered private agencies
and/or non-governmental organizations, using services delivery contracts.
149. The rules should include the minimum standards for the delivery of
services in keeping with the principle of the best interests of the child and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and include the requirements
and procedure for the licensing, prior authorization to operate, and
registration of the centers that provide services to children and
adolescents, with special care regarding centers for foster care and centers
for special protection.
150. The rules should also establish the mechanisms of supervision, oversight,
and inspection of these public and private institutions, and provide for civil,
administrative, and criminal sanctions, as appropriate, in case of breach of
the conditions for the delivery of the service and/or violations of rights. To
this end, the States should create a registry of service providers involved in
caring for and protecting children and adolescents.
Dissemination of this Report, and Implementation and Follow

up of its Recommendations
151. The IACHR recommends that the States widely disseminate this report and
its recommendations to all branches of government (legislative, executive,
and judicial), all levels of government, all government structures, as well as
public agencies and entities. In addition, it recommends that it be
disseminated to civil society, academia, the public at large, and to children
and adolescents in versions adapted to and with a language appropriate for
their ages. It is recommended that the recommendations be translated into
the relevant languages (indigenous and other languages, and in media apt
for persons with disabilities).
152. It is recommended that the State draw up a plan to follow up on and

implement the recommendations contained in this report. These plans
should not in any way be seen in isolation, but rather incorporated into the
already-existing national plans and strategies for children. The IACHR
recommends having civil society organizations and children and
adolescents participate in the preparation of the plan to follow up on the
recommendations and that they also be included in the mechanisms to
follow up on the implementation of the recommendations contained in this
report.

Fulfillmentrights Children 0

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fulfillmentrights Children 0

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fulfillmentrights Children 0

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cover Art Concept

The mere legal recognition of the rights of children is insuﬃcient

Cover design: Fer Cozzi / IACHR

INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Towards the Effective Fulfillment

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Towards the Effective Fulfillment of Children’s Rights: National

v. ; cm. (OAS. Official records ; OEA/Ser.L)

1. Children’s rights--America. 2. Children--Legal status, laws, etc.--America. 3.

Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli

Margarette May Macaulay

Esmeralda Arosemena Bernal de Troitiño

José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez

Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva

Assistant Executive Secretary of Cases, Petitions, and

Assistant Executive for Monitoring, Promotion, and Technical

María Claudia Pulido

CHAPTER 2 | FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING NATIONAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 3 | CONOMIC ASPECTS OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS FOR

CHAPTER 4 | CENTRALITY OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS 109

CHAPTER 5 | PRINCIPAL CHALLENGES 157

CHAPTER 6 | RECOMMENDATIONS 195

A. Introductory Remarks: Relevance and Importance

3. The legislative commitment undertaken by the States when it comes to

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

measures like vaccination programs; and declines in malnutrition levels as

4. As part of its mandate, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Organization of American States | OAS

of situations of vulnerability linked to poverty and other social causes,

6. In addition to the above issues, which are well-known and which

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

8. Given the context described, it is clear that mere legal recognition of

Organization of American States | OAS

protocols and standards for actions and service delivery as well as

9. With respect to the foregoing, in addition to recognizing the rights of

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

12. As far as terminology is concerned, these operational models and

Organization of American States | OAS

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

interest shown by high-level authorities on children and adolescents to

B. Scope and Objectives of the Report

18. The instant report is intended to engage in a deeper examination of the

19. Because the topic is so wide-ranging and a number of different models

Organization of American States | OAS

challenges and gaps existing in practice. In addition, the IACHR issues

C. Limitations of the Report

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

D. Concept and Terminology

Organization of American States | OAS

23. In Declarations issued in successive Ibero-American Conferences of

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

E. Methodology for Drafting the Report

Organization of American States | OAS

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

Commission thanks the organization for having shared the voluminous

F. Structure of the Report

Organization of American States | OAS

assigns to families in protecting children, as a major aspect that must be

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR

FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING NATIONAL SYSTEMS