📋 Tender Overview
Colombia participated in the XXIII Pan American Congress of Children and Adolescents, the 4th Pan American Forum of Children and Adolescents, and the 98th Ordinary Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Institute for Children and Adolescents (IIN). The Colombian delegation was led by Dr. Adriana Velasquez, Deputy Director General of the ICBF, and had the support of the Embassy of Colombia in El Salvador and the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the Organization of American States. Colombia was also represented by two young leaders: Dahia Franco, from Buenaventura, and Lucas Shammael Jaramillo, from Villavicencio. Both young people were selected by the ICBF for their outstanding leadership in promoting the rights of children and adolescents in their communities and different inter-American bodies of the IIN.
During these sessions, intergenerational dialogues were held between representatives of the States, delegations of children and adolescents, and members of civil society around three key topics: mental health, human mobility, and early childhood. These spaces for exchange allowed the OAS member countries to evaluate their policies and processes on each topic and to hear, directly from the minors, their concerns and expectations for the protection and guarantee of their rights. In addition, during the Congress, the Omnibus resolution of the XXIII Pan-American Congress of Children and Adolescents was negotiated and approved, which is established as a guide for concrete actions by the States of the Americas to promote and protect the rights of children and adolescents in the region.
The head of the Colombian delegation presented the Colombian policy for the care, protection and integration of migrant children, adolescents and youth and shared successful experiences in the area of reestablishing the rights of children and adolescents in Colombia, such as the Mobile Migrant Response Teams (ERAM), which seek to identify and care for unaccompanied children and adolescents or those with violated rights.
This Congress reaffirms the commitment of Colombia and the States of the region to work together to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents, promoting policies and actions that respond to their current needs and challenges.
The Inter-American Childrens Institute (IIN) is the Specialized Agency on matters of children and adolescents, and assists States in the development of public policies, contributing to their design and implementation from the perspective of the promotion, protection and respect for the rights of children and adolescents.
