This call to action was issued by the Center of Excellence for Children in Latin American (CEN - el Centro de Excelencia por la Niñez), a joint initiative of RELAF and Hope and Homes for Children, in response to a fire that killed 41 girls and injured 15 others in a children's home in Guatemala in March 2017. The Call to Action aims to promote or expand and strengthen initiatives (depending on the progress achieved in each country); put an end to residential care for children whenever this does not meet the necessity and suitability principles outlined in the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children; and to promote a protection system that allows the replacement of mass residential care with mechanisms to support families and communities, within a public policy framework that contributes to a gradual process of deinstitutionalisation. The Call to Action outlines a course of action for governments and international civil society.
