This Unified Resolution from the Twenty-First Pan-American Child and Adolescent Congress highlights resolutions, declarations, recommendations and general comments relevant to violence against children, made by various treaty bodies and general assemblies. The Resolution recognizes the legislative impact the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has had in the Inter-American System and the progress Member States have made in addressing violence against children. The Resolution also considers the imperatives and responsibilities of Member States to maintain and increase efforts to strengthen progress made, noting the achievements thus far of the Organization of American States (OAS) and its Member States and the value of the Inter-American Democratic Charter as an instrument that promotes peace and human rights, including the rights of children.
The Resolution concludes with 17 specific resolutions, including:
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inviting Member States to renew their efforts to ensure that their domestic legislation best protects children and their rights;
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encouraging Member States to assign the necessary resources to develop plans, projects and programmes to prevent, combat, and eliminate violence against children, including that related to corporal punishments in all environments (family, education system, and institutions dedicated to providing attention and care);
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inviting Member States to establish permanent mechanisms to generate information and to raise awareness on different forms of violence against children, in all the environments where they may occur, particularly with regard to sexual exploitation and trafficking and juvenile justice systems;
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and encouraging Members States to develop projects and programs that promote family living for children and adolescents, recognizing the exceptionality of the institutionalization and giving due consideration, when applicable, to the Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children, welcomed by the United Nations in 2009, and the study “The Right of Boys and Girls to a Family – Alternative Care. Ending institutionalization in the Americas”, of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.
