Bulletin IINfancia 3 June/2017

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Luis Almagro OAS Secretary General Néstor Méndez OAS Assistant Secretary General Ricardo González Borgne IIN Directing Council President Raúl Escalante IIN Directing Council Vice President Víctor Giorgi IIN Director General Daniel Claverie Contents Coordinator Ingrid Quevedo Technical Assistant of communication ​​ Sara Cardoso Design Edition June 2017

The Inter-American Children´s Institute (IIN) is as Specialized Organization of the Organization American States (OAS) in childhood and adolescense, which assists the States in the development of public policies to be taken for the benefit of children and adolescents, contributing in the field of their desing and implementation in the perspective of the promotion, protection and full respect of the rights of children and adolescents in the region. Special assistance is aimed at the needs of the Member States of the Inter-American System and at the particularitiesof the regional groups.

Contents 8 Editorial: Víctor Giorgi – “90 years later”

90 Anniversary of Inter-American Children Institute

16 Luis Almagro – Secretary General of the

Organization of American States (OAS).

20 Marta Santos Pais – Contribution of the Special Repre-

sentative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children.

22 Esmeralda E. Arosemena de Troitiño - Commissioner

and Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child of the IACHR/OAS.

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Ricardo González – President of Directing Council of IIN/OAS.

26 Zaira Navas – Ex President of Directing Council of IIN/

OAS “The role of the IIN, 90 years later”.

28 Rosa María Ortiz – Ex Commissioner and Rapporteur

on the Rights of the Child of the IACHR/OAS.

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Sara Oviedo - Vice-President of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. “A tribute to the Institute on its 90th Annyversary”.

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32 Mary E. Young - Looking Back to the Future – Investing in

children’s early development.

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Vital Didonet – Social Participation in Policy Design for Early Childhood.

Fernando Salinas – Underpinning the fundamentals? On the

58 applicability of the attachment theory in early education.

68 Central pages 72 Mari Carmen Diez – Getting to Work.

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Lucía Pierri Aguerre – ACHIEVEMENTS, FATIGUE AND CONVINCED INSISTENCE: Coordination processes for comprehensiveness in childhood social policies.

Nuria González Martín – The Profile of a Mediator in Mexico:

100 Towards a Global Network of International Family Mediators.

Osvaldo Vázquez Rossoni – The implementation of alterna-

112 tive measures and penalties to deprivation of liberty: legal

relevance and methodological recommendations in Chile.

(Second Part).

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EDITORIAL

90 years later Víctor Giorgi

Director General - IIN

The publication of this third issue of the IIN-fancia Newsletter coincides with a highly significant date for the InterAmerican Children’s Institute: the celebration of the 90th anniversary of its foundation.

Although the IIN’s foundation process began in 1919, during the Second Pan-American Child Congress, it was on 9 June 1927, at 6 in the afternoon, at the Ateneo, in Montevideo, that the first meeting was held, attended by delegates from ten countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, United States of America and Venezuela) and the foundation charter was signed.

On that occasion, Dr Luis Morquio presented what he called the “The Child Rights Chart”, one of the most notable forerunners of the present Convention on the Rights of the Child,

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whose main theme was the situation of children in the Americas. This document endowed the new organization with content and meaning, a meaning that would permeate the IIN’s history and institutional action until the present time.

Those two parallel events, the foundation of the institute then called the International American Institute for the Protection of Childhood and the proclamation of The Child Rights Chart as its main reference document, constitute a landmark in the relationship between States and societies in the Americas and children.

In 1949, the Institute was incorporated into the OAS as a Specialized Organization for Children and since then, has been known as the Inter-American Children’s Institute.

Bearing in mind the need for inclusive language from a gender perspective, in 2004 the Institute reformed its statutes in order to change its name in Spanish from Instituto Interamericano del Niño to Instituto Interamericano del Niño, la Niña y Adolescentes.

This change preserved the continuity of its institutional identity, while incorporating the transformations deriving from both its institutionality and the new perspectives gaining ground in the region.

The IIN’s history is extensive, rich in experience that crosscuts the various moments of the continent’s social and political

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life, together with the different conceptions of childhood and policies relating to it.

Despite the profound changes that occurred at the end of the last century on the political and cultural scene, many of the ideas that inspired the foundation of a new organization to address issues relating to children in the Americas ninety years ago are still current.

Even ninety years ago, there was talk of: “a new perspective which brings us face-to-face with the need to conceive children as holders of rights; rights which are not dependent on the generosity of individuals or States, but are inherent to human beings by the mere fact of having been born.” These rights were conceived as a unit, “the realization of them all results in the right to life,” stated Luis Morquio, endowing life with a meaning that goes beyond the biological and approaches the concept of “living well”.

Since its foundation, the IIN has reflected the Americanist concept applied to childhood and youth, promoting solidarity across national borders, which is nothing more than the clear perception that together we are able to do more and do it better, due to all that unites us.

It is intended as an opportunity for coordination involving developments in science, an ethical commitment to the rights of children and a political dimension through which changes become reality.

These ideas were enhanced, reformulated and simultaneously

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reinforced by the developments which, in the second half of the 20th century, took shape in a number of different instruments of international humanitarian law. The most notable of these are: the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989), and the Inter-American Democratic Charter (OAS, 2002).

Regarding the new conception of childhood included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, two aspects were to become central to the IIN’s work.

Firstly, the rights of children are not an appeal to the good will or to the charity of the people or the States. They are obligations for those States that have signed and ratified the Convention. What sets it apart from the declarations that preceded it is that it is a legally binding document, on the basis of which rights became enforceable and, therefore, each of the States acquired the role of duty bearers.

This duty of the States’ forms the basis of the IIN’s institutional mission: “To contribute to the development of public policies which will ensure the promotion, protection and enjoyment of child rights in OAS Member States, and promote the construction of a culture of rights for children, within a context of strengthened democracy.”

A second aspect is the principle/right to participation. Children are considered to be social, full and active individuals, with the right to receive information, form opinions, express them, be heard and respected; thus opening the way to intra- and

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intergenerational dialogue.

General Comment Nº 121 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child is very clear in this regard when it states that “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, programmes and measures in all relevant contexts of children’s lives”.

Experience shows that including children requires appropriate methodologies which will allow access to information and make opportunities available for child and youth organizations to express their opinions.

This again makes it necessary for us to confront an issue which those of us who work from the perspective of child rights encounter time and again. I refer to the power structures that regulate intergenerational relations and the difficulty that the “adult world” finds in recognizing and accepting children’s capacity to give an opinion and make a contribution.

The time has come for adults to talk less about children and talk more to them; to overcome the concept of children as a problem or as victims, and think about children who exercise their citizenship and are capable of contributing to building the solutions that the region needs in order to shape an America where rights become part of everyday reality.

The IIN has taken this new perspective on board by including in its Action Plans the promotion of the right to participa1

Committee on the Rights of the Child. Fifty-first session. Geneva, 25 May-12 June 2009

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tion, as well as the production of tools and training human resources to facilitate and promote this participation. Many activities have taken place all over the continent, but as an institutional landmark, we should consider the celebration of the First Pan American Child Forum, which has, since then, been a part of the IIN’s highest governing body, the Pan American Congress, and which, to date, has been held twice (Lima, 2009 and Brasilia, 2014).

For its part, the Inter-American Democratic Charter explicitly refers to the relationship between democracy and the full enjoyment of rights. And making rights a reality requires public policies which will guarantee, promote and protect them.

One of the aspects recently incorporated among the principles that guide the actions of the IIN is the relationship between children’s rights and the gender perspective. The child-rights perspective and the gender approach are inseparable from the consolidation and strengthening of democracy, not only as a form of government but as a way of life which is respectful of the dignity of all, over and above any differences. Before they are born, children are endowed with gender role expectations, and at the moment of birth, they are received by a group of individuals who are organized according to these models. A critical review of these models and the responsibility of the male in the care and upbringing of the child are essential elements of a policy for the protection of children with a gender perspective.

A process was initiated ninety years ago which, with its breaks

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and continuities, now enables the Inter-American System to rely on an agency which specializes in the rights of children and youth. As Dr Luis Morquio indicated, children are part of our societies and their destinies are inextricably intertwined, thus strengthening the construction of citizenship and intergenerational coexistence.

In recognition of the significance of the foundation and existence of the IIN to ensure the rights of children in the region, the Permanent Council of the OAS, at its regular meeting held on 10 May 2017, adopted the designation of 9 June as “Americas Children and Youth Day” (CP/RES. 1081 (2113/17) with the following intent: “To encourage that day each year to be turned into a day of reflection and work on the situation of children and youth in the region, as well as on ongoing measures to promote and protect the rights of children and youth”.

And it stipulates in operative clause Nº 3: “That on a day close to June 9 each year the Permanent Council will meet and include this item on the order of business in order to include the voices and views of children and youth on the situation in the region”.

Thus, through the Permanent Council of the OAS, the States of the region acknowledge the work of the IIN and take this celebration as an opportunity to make occasions for dialogue available between the authorities of the organization and the children of the region.

Ninety years after its foundation, the IIN remains a valid instrument to drive the transformations which will enable us to

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move away from rights as statements towards rights as everyday realities for the children and youth of the Americas.

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90th ANNIV ERSARY

Luis Almagro Secretary General of the Organization of American States

We are celebrating another anniversary of the Inter-American Children’s Institute. However, this is not just one more anniversary; the IIN is celebrating ninety years at the service of the children and youth of the Americas.

Anniversaries are opportunities to remember our beginnings, to take a look at the path we have travelled and to project ourselves into the future That seemingly quixotic idea put forward by a group of leading figures headed by Dr Luis Morquio, of forming an International American Institute for the Protection of Childhood, resulted not only in the signing of its founding charter by ten States on

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9 June 1927, but also in its being reinforced and accompanying the history of the Americas, abiding by its principles and weathering transformations in the way we perceive children and the role of the States and societies in the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

In 1949, the Inter-American Children’s Institute became part of the Organization of American States (OAS), as a Specialized Organization for the Human Rights of Children. This was the start of its consolidation as a technical benchmark in the region in the field of childhood and youth and as a lead agency coordinating the actions of States.

From the moment of its foundation, the IIN took as its reference document what was then known as the Chart on the Rights of the Child, considered one of the most significant forerunners of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Although that document was declarative and implied no commitment on the part of the States, it contained a number of concepts which are still fully current: the Americanist perspective, the comprehensiveness of rights, concern regarding child labour, access to education, the right to happiness as every child’s inalienable and individual right.

Ninety years later, significant changes have taken place in how we view children. Rather than declarative, rights are now in the realm of enforceability and the States are obliged to guarantee them.

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A quantum leap in this process is the inclusion of children’s own words in different areas. The IIN has been working energetically and creatively in promoting child participation in the different States of the Inter-American system.

In recognition of the historic importance of the foundation of the Inter-American Children’s Institute for the children of the Americas, as well as of the work it is currently performing, the OAS, through its Permanent Council, has recently adopted the resolution of declaring June 9 to be “Americas Children and Youth Day”.

This resolution, adopted by consensus, determines: “To encourage that day each year to be turned into a day of reflection and work on the situation of children and youth in the region, as well as on ongoing measures to promote and protect the rights of children and youth.

That on a day close to June 9 each year the Permanent Council will meet and include this item on the order of business in order to include the voices and views of children and youth on the situation in the region.”

In this way, the Organization moves forward in the sense of not just talking about children and youth, but also giving them

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the floor, and listening to them. The question is no longer to think of policies focusing on children who are victims, but on citizens with their own opinions and speech, with the potential to not only be part of the problem, but also part of the solution, and fostering in adults the capacity to listen, opening up inter-generational dialogue to strengthen democracy within the framework of a culture of rights.

From the General Secretariat we extend our warmest greetings on the commemoration of these ninety years of the existence of the IIN and we recognize and give our support to its significant work. We congratulate its small, but great team for its contributions to the construction of a region in which the rights of all become a reality.

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Marta Santos Pais Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children of the United Nations

In my capacity as Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on Violence against Children, I have the honour to express my sincere appreciation to the Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) on the celebration of its ninetieth anniversary in the fight in defence of children’s rights in the Americas.

In relation to my mandate, the collaboration established with the IIN since 2009 and its distinctive role in the Americas take on a crucial importance in the context of implementation of the Global Sustainable Development Agenda – the 2030 Agenda – which proposes an ambitious possible vision of a world where universal respect for human rights prevails; a world which invests in its children and where every girl and boy grows without fear and without violence. The 2030 Agenda echoes the vision of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Global Study on Violence Against Children and has entrusted us with the mission of translating international standards into a reality for every girl and boy in all places and circumstances.

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This is an inspiring vision, but for many children around the world, it continues to be distant and illusory. Despite the progress achieved in the last two decades with regard to childhood, many children in the Americas are still the victims of violence and inequity. For example, while ten American countries now have legislation prohibiting all forms of violence against children, even in the home and in the family, according to UNICEF data, two out of three children between the ages of two and four are still victims of violent forms of discipline in their homes.

These data illustrate the sense of urgency that must guide our efforts to promote a culture of respect for children; a culture of zero tolerance of violence against children. In the process towards 2030, collaboration between my mandate and the Inter-American Institute will continue to be essential in order to support the member States of the Organization of American States in their determined action to implement the 2030 Agenda and eliminate violence against children. In the countdown to 2030, everyone counts and everyone is necessary. Every individual can be an agent of change. I am confident that in partnership with the IIN we can transform the vision proposed by the 2030 Agenda into a concrete reality in the daily life of every girl and boy in the Americas.

The sum of all our efforts will be zero. And zero can become humankind’s favourite number: zero violence against children and youth.

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Esmeralda E. Arosemena de Troitiùo Commissioner and Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child of the IACHR/OAS Over the course of its 90-year history, the Inter-American Children’s Institute, as the agency promoting a culture of rights in favour of all the children of the continent, has had a strong influence on the countries of the region, directing public policies towards a human rights-based approach relating to infancy, childhood and youth. This process involved transforming reaction responses into prevention, in order to ensure the comprehensive protection of all of the rights of the 195 million children of Latin America and the Caribbean, in conditions of dignity, equality and non-discrimination, guaranteeing their full and harmonious growth and the development of their capabilities, talents and potential.

Today, a huge challenge persists in the implementation of these national policies for the benefit of the population and the construction or reinforcement of national systems through which all of the institutions and relevant actors in the public and private sectors engage in their functions, powers and responsibilities in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

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They should have means of enforcement at their disposal, as well as the regulatory, administrative, jurisdictional and budgetary assurances which are necessary for the realization of these rights.

The IIN is a fitting forum for the political, legal, social and economic discussions which the issue of comprehensive and universal protection of children and youth demand from our governments, as a call for the continent to lead the efforts to attain the Sustainable Development Goals for the 2030 Agenda, placing children at the centre of all action.

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Ricardo González President of Directing Council of IIN/OAS The 90th anniversary of the IIN’s institutional history represents a significant moment in underpinning the observance of the rights of the child in America. These rights go handin-hand with major challenges: tackling poverty, the forcible displacement of family and ethnic groups, the elimination of sexual exploitation and violence in all of its forms are some of the nightmares that persist in our continent.

The vision and redesign of the millennium development goals in recent years pose a common agenda for the States to commit to improving people’s quality of life and sustainable development throughout the world. The institutional strengthening and consolidation of regional bodies such as the Inter-American Children’s Institute has become not just a common objective for our nations, but also a clear signal that we must achieve the targets agreed through co-operation partnerships and the continued promotion of peaceful coexistence and justice.

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The IIN’s development over the last few years, with the planning and progressive integration of the Americas, projects a journey of hope, built upon intergenerational dialogue seeking opportunities for encounters between children, youth and adults who are committed to the observance of human rights beyond all national borders.

The change towards a culture of rights, where the child’s best interest is the point of departure, the promotion of good treatment a constant, inclusion a daily practice, tolerance the prevailing atmosphere during exchanges, constitutes the horizon that drives us to continue walking ahead together. Focusing on the most genuine expressions of child participation should not be only a declaration of principles, but a constant search and, at the same time, a tool which will provide the energy and the clarity we need to continue inspiring projects, research, action, learning and, ultimately, will lead us, step by step, to reaffirming the value of humankind in this continent, where children and youth are still a majority.

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Zaira Navas

Ex President of Directing Council of IIN/OAS

T he role of the IIN, 90 years later More than 90 years have passed since the establishment of the IIN as a specialized regional organization in the Americas.

It has developed into a benchmark in matters of child rights, assisting and supporting State efforts in the design and implementation of public policies for the promotion, protection and enjoyment of child rights.

The ten countries that signed the IIN’s foundational charter on 9 June 1927 – initially conceiving it as the International American Institute for the Protection of Childhood – were forerunners in the recognition of child rights, laying the groundwork for the States to undertake commitments originating in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

The IIN’s 90 years of work, growth and development condense a wealth of strengths and opportunities for OAS member States, in their ongoing struggle to move forward in the construction of fair and inclusive societies and to strengthen

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their efforts to build a culture of child rights, in which children’s best interest and active participation can prevail.

One of the principal challenges has been the incorporation of the outlook and perspective of children and youth in the design of public policies and in State decision-making. In addition, technological advances and the new forms of social communication can be opportunities to reduce communication gaps between adults and children. In this field, the IIN has become a platform for interlocution and sharing, enhancing children’s voices and generating innovative participation opportunities between peers in different regions of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Equally significant and current are the IIN’s regular analyses of and information on the principal situations that affect the rights of children and youth. Among them: violence in its various forms, social and gender gaps the prevent equity and equality from developing among children, and migration. These studies contribute to the identification of common issues and joint actions to be undertaken by countries in different regions.

Promoting experience-sharing and dialogue on developments and challenges relating to legislation, protection systems and protection mechanisms makes it possible to identify successful experiences, lessons learned and common gaps to be overcome by the States. Therefore, its continuity in the light of the current Action Plan is still one of the IIN’s main commitments, with a view to fostering regional coordination and the effective implementation of all of the rights of children.

Beyond its status as the acknowledged, highly qualified and authorized agency for international interlocution on these issues, the IIN also provides an opportunity for institutions that advocate for child rights to support its development and to receive the support of their own States in the protection, defence and security of the rights of children and youth.

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Rosa Maria Ortiz Ex Commissioner and Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child of the IACHR/OAS The 90th anniversary of the Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) is an occasion to reflect upon the length of time that the region of the Americas has devoted to childhood and youth and where we currently stand regarding this challenge. I offer these lines with a view to encouraging this task.

I should like to begin by acknowledging and appreciating the efforts of people like Dr Luis Morquio, a Uruguayan paediatrician, who promoted the creation of the institution we now know as the Inter-American Children’s Institute, thus making it possible for States and societies in the region to respond to the needs of children through the enactment of new laws and the establishment of new institutions and practices for their protection.

In recognizing children as rights holders, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) granted the needs that are essential for the comprehensive development of children, the category of human rights. In addition, we gained a new ally, a rights holder who – though young – has a voice and is capable

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of giving his or her meaningful opinion. The Inter-American Children’s Institute took up the challenge and engaged in the task of supporting the States in this momentous transformation. It has some significant partners within the Inter-American Human Rights System, such as the Inter-American Court and the Commission on Human Rights.

Twenty-seven years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, changing the paradigm from “object of protection” to “rights holder” (guaranteeing the economic, social, cultural, environmental, civil, and political rights of all children) is still fraught with difficulty. The changes in practices that this new paradigm implies are still an uphill struggle.

We have not yet succeeded in turning the page in the region.

We still send our children to institutions, rather than creating community services to help parents in the upbringing of their children, such as childcare and day care services, places where children can find a safe and meaningful environment, cultural activities, a variety of courses, music, theatre, sports and information that is relevant to their lives. Public areas are now dangerous, the roads that children must take to school are not included in municipal public policies and organized crime takes advantage of the fact. The large numbers of children who are confined in institutions are a sign that the old paradigm is still current. The States are still addressing issues “after the fact”, when it is too late.

Together with the IIN, let us, the various stakeholders, push together for changes. Let us invest efforts and resources in local alternative measures to ensure the enjoyment of child rights. Let us learn to organize in small ways. All of our culture is ailing as a result of “separateness”. Let us put into practice the bridges that will build trust among those who are committed to the new paradigm.

Thank you, IIN, for helping us in this task.

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Sara Oviedo Vice-President of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child

Ninety years is undoubtedly a great many years, and the IIN is one the OAS’s oldest institutes. Over the course of all these years it has witnessed economic and social changes in the region and the world. In that time, humankind has matured and improved its vision of children, from a viewpoint in which they were not considered or made visible in countries’ social and political dynamics – they literally did not exist in public policy, or even in law – to this moment, when they have been declared holders of rights, as befits their status as citizens. The General Assembly of the United Nations made this declaration in 1989, with the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, thus standardizing the rights recognized for children and youth and giving a Committee the mandate of following up on its compliance in each of the countries that ratified it.

This marked a new stage in the lives of children and youth and for the whole of humanity.

The Inter-American Children’s Institute made its own way, adapting itself to the conditions resulting from these new provisions, a matter which did not prove to be too complicated for

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it, in view of the fact that the concept of child rights had been present in the Institute from the very beginning. In the region, the existence of the Convention manifested itself in a drive to make changes to child-related legislation and to identify public policy plans which would guarantee the rights of children and youth. The Institute began to be included in this process increasingly and actively, providing technical assistance and training to each of the States, so that they could fulfil the commitments they undertook when they ratified the Convention.

Ninety years mean that the IIN is a highly experienced institution, with a legacy which is already present in the results apparent in the different countries. An assessment of these results will also enable the Institute to be clear about what new paths to take and what topics to reinforce. As to the other regional institutions, this anniversary can help to encourage reflection on the lessons we can derive from the IIN’s actions. Among these, we should note: supporting coordination between the States in keeping with specific mandates in defence of child rights, despite the continuous changes and contingencies that beset the governments of the region; adapting to changing realities it has had to confront within the region, in order to keep its validity – even on its 90th anniversary – and adjusting to current challenges; providing answers to all of the extremely diverse social realities in the hemisphere, which has motivated it to learn to be increasingly flexible, adaptable and open to dialogue; undergoing a process of learning and transformation in the shift from the concept of “minor” to that of “holder of rights”, a dynamic which it supported and promoted and continues to spread on the continent for all States to actually take the rights-based approach on board.

It only remains to express my congratulations for all of these contributions and to insist that we expect the IIN to receive the decisive support of the OAS, so that it can continue providing technical assistance to the States in their responsibilities with regard to children and youth; our own present and future and that of our societies.

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Looking Back to the Future – Investing in children’s early development Mary E. Young, MD, DrP H

A major challenge for the world in the next 15 years is to assure the healthy development of all young children, as a way to achieve equity and stable societies. Childhood makes us human. Our earliest experiences, beginning at conception, shape our brain and biological functions for life. Early human development is the foundation for a country’s economic development and, ultimately, its human development. Early child development (ECD) interventions have been under way for years in industrialized and developing countries, and some have been scaled up as national initiatives. To close the gap between what we know about early child development and what we do about it, all sectors must come together and work toward a unified strategy that promotes the healthy development of children (i.e., early human development). Moreover, national policy needs to give priority to close the gap between rich and poor, thus ensuring that future generations have the capacity to create prosperous societies.

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The importance of ECD Early child development relates to human development—a fact that has been recognized for more than 30 years across the development community. The 1980 and 1990 World Development Reports (World Bank 1980, 1990) and the 1990 UNDP Human Development Report (UNDP 1990) underscored a multidimensional framework for human development that include health (nutrition), education, social development and growth at the scale of a nation. These reports put people back at the center of economic development. The recent World Bank flagship report series (2016), Poverty and Shared Prosperity: Taking On Inequality highlighted the latest estimates on trends in global poverty – children are more likely to be poor than adults and globally children account for half of the poor in 2013, but account for less than a third of total world’s population (World Bank, 2016). To tackle inequality, from the review of evidences, the report suggested six high impact strategies of which investing in a child’s early years in early childhood development and nutrition interventions was the first among the others (universal health coverage, universal access to quality education, cash transfers to poor families, investing in rural infrastructure and tax reform).

Children on the global and regional development agenda In 2000, heads of state and government, signed the Millennium Declaration. The MDG 2015 compact emphasized synergies among the many aspects of human development and placed high priority on a cluster of policies of health and education that are needed for countries to break out of the “trap” of poverty. Several of the goals address child-related aspects of health and education. In 2016, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 moved beyond goals for infant and maternal mortality to children’s right to thrive (UN

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2015). The SDGs call for equitable opportunities for people everywhere to achieve their full potential and all countries to prioritize the most vulnerable and those currently left behind.

In the LA region, the Consulta de San José 2007, modeled after the Copenhagen Consensus, convened an expert panel of nine distinguished economists and they gave first priority to ECD programs as a solution to addressing poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. The InterAmerican Development Bank in its 2015 Development report dedicated its flagship report on Early Years (IADB 2015) and offered public policy examples to improve the lives of young children in the region.

The Science of ECD An integration of genetics, epigenetics, and neuroscience has transformed our understanding of how environment and biology jointly influence an individual’s development throughout the life course. The research decisively shows that early life events link with development of the brain’s circuitry and with dynamic gene–environment interactions; programming of immune, neurological, and endocrine systems; trajectories of human development; and chronic diseases in adulthood (McCain, Mustard, and McCuaig 2011; Shonkoff and others 2012).

Our current understanding of brain development can be summarized as four concepts: • The architecture and formation of skills are strongly influenced by neural circuits that develop from dynamic interactions between genes and early life environments and experiences.

• Development of neural pathways and mastery of skills follow hierarchical rules sequentially “from the bottom up,”

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with later gains building on earlier foundations.

• Cognitive, social, emotional, and language competencies are interdependent and are shaped by early experiences.

All contribute to the formation of lifelong capabilities.

• Adaptation continues throughout life. Capabilities are formed in predictable sequences during sensitive periods (i.e., among the very young) when development of specific neural circuits is most plastic and receptive to environmental influences.

This knowledge has far-reaching implications. Clearly, “getting things right the first time” (i.e., in early childhood) is far less costly than trying to fix (i.e., remediate) them later (e.g., in adolescence and adulthood) (Knudsen and others 2006, Shonkoff and others 2012). The evidence on the importance of children’s early years to long-term health and developmental outcomes is solid. How to embed this understanding into the practices of different sectors and stakeholders who work with children remains a challenge.

The Role of Parenting—What Money Can’t Buy For healthy brain development, infants must be connected with consistently caring adults. Children build their brains through pre-verbal, back-and-forth (i.e., “serve-and-return”) interactions with adults (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2004). Both cognitive and non-cognitive, social-emotional skills develop in early childhood. Non-cognitive skills (e.g., “grit,” social sensitivity, optimism, self-control, conscientiousness, and emotional stability) are very important for success in life. They are as important as cognitive skills in predicting success, especially in post-industrial, knowledge-based economies (Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua 2006).

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As Heckman (2012) notes, “A large body of evidence suggests that a major determinant of child disadvantage is the quality of the nurturing environment rather than just the financial resources available or the presence or absence of parents.”

The correlation between poverty and a child’s cognitive and non-cognitive development is largely explained by differences in parenting style (e.g., cognitive stimulation, talking, and reading) and social engagement. Parents’ verbal communication with a child—the amount of a mother’s speech (the quantity and quality of words exchanged with her child)—correlates with children’s development (Hart and Risley 1995).

The workforce of the 21st century needs to have competencies that are more than cognitive ability. Non-cognitive factors such as interpersonal, communication, and socioemotional abilities, physical and mental health; and perseverance, attention, motivation, and self-confidence are all important capabilities for working—and succeeding—in the global market economy (Cunha and Heckman 2007; Cunha and others 2006). The human capital skills required for the 4th Industrial Revolution technology revolution and innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, nanotechnology, 3D printing, biotechnology just to name a few will put even higher demand to invest in human capabilities and to address inequalities (Schwab 2016).

Social sector policies must incorporate this understanding of the dynamics of skill formation over the life cycle and of the importance of children’s early years for overcoming inequalities and producing marketable skills for the workforce.

Early Childhood Interventions: Programs and Policies The World Bank flagship report on Poverty and Shared Prosperity, tacking inequality (2016) included Cash Transfer in addition to Early Childhood interventions and nutrition as two of the six suggestions to tackling inequality.

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Early child development programs—which, by their nature, incorporate and link health-promoting measures (e.g., good nutrition, immunization) with nurturance, participation, care, stimulation, and protection—offer the best prospect for sustained, lifelong improvements in children’s physical, social, emotional, language, and cognitive development. Quality ECD programs address key issues in early childhood, such as breastfeeding, monitoring of children’s development, early childhood care and education, nutrition, parenting, and strengthening of community or institutional capacity through training and awareness.

The lasting impact of ECD interventions for children ages 0-6 years is well demonstrated worldwide. Whether or not interventions are formal or non-formal, when they are of high quality, they promote competencies and skills that enable the children, as they become adults, to participate more fully and actively in society and the workforce (Knudsen and others 2006). The competencies and skills are not limited to the cognitive domain. They also include physical, social, and emotional skills (defined as attentiveness, perseverance, impulse control, and sociability). The interdisciplinary literature on early child development documents findings which consistently show that traits formed early in life, such as cognition, personality, and health, promote lifelong healthy behaviors and determine future success in school and the workforce.

The Latin America region has pioneered many formal and nonformal ECD programs and policies, for example in Brazil (Primeira Infancia Melhor, Program Infancia Feliz), Chile (Chile Crece Contigo), Colombia (Hogares Comunitarios, De Cero a Siempre), Cuba (Educa su Hijo), Mexico (Centro de Desarrollo Infantil). Brazil and Mexico have pioneered Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs since the mid-1990s. CCT programs have now been implemented in all countries in Latin America and in some countries in the following regions: Africa (South Africa and Malawi), East Asia (Indonesia), South Asia (Ban-

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gladesh), Middle East and North Africa (Yemen, Morocco), and Europe and Central Asia (Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Most of the CCT programs target families with young children ages 0–6 years. They reach disadvantaged young children by transferring cash to poor families and, in some programs, conditioning this cash transfer on the participation of families in services such as health checkups, growth monitoring, nutrition, and parenting education.

The governments of Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Cambodia are utilizing CCT to improve early child development. The impact and lessons learned in these experiments are variable, but the overall effect is the same—positive outcomes for children and families.

The data from Ecuador, Mexico, and Nicaragua indicate that CCT programs have a positive impact on ECD outcomes.

Targeting families with young children makes sense, for the benefits of the program can contribute to maximizing the effects of the CCT as the children age and go on to primary school (Behrman, Parker, and Todd 2005). Targeting CCT to families with young children also can free older siblings, in particular girls, from childcare chores and increase their attendance in school (Naudeau and others 2011).

Brazil’s Program Criança Feliz, was created by Law (no. 8.869) in 2016 as a policy to enable intersectoral and inter-institutional provision with strategies to support the family who are beneficiaries of the Bolsa Familia, with needed protection and care and education services for young children under four.

The “Chile Growth with You” was started in 2007 by President Bachelet, and was made law in 2009. The program is fully funded by the government. It provides universal and targeted intervention from gestation to age four years in the entire country, for population in the bottom 40% of income. The Ministry of Social Development coordinates with Ministries of Health and Education. Services begin with prenatal care

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in public hospitals and with access to maternal child primary health screening and referrals for children with developmental delay. Children under four from in family with risk factors for poor early development have access to age-appropriate stimulation and education and the families are referred to social protection services including cash transfers and home visits. To date, the program reaches 80% of the targeted population (Lancet 2016).

Colombia’s Hogares Comunitarios de Bienestar Familiar (HCBF) evolved to the “De cero a Siempre.” One lesson drawn from implementation of the HCBF is that of political economy. The Colombian experience suggests that when designing an ECD program, consideration should be given to creating groups (e.g., the ICBF) that will defend the program. In the HCBF effort, mothers and children had little political clout, but the ICBF had independent resources and a permanent bureaucracy, which enabled it to defend its own program (Urrutia 2003).

An Agenda for the Next 15 Years As global development agencies and national governments look beyond the goals they set for 2015 and on to 2030, the fate of the world’s young children must be at the forefront of their discussions. Four main tasks for the next decade and beyond are to: • Redirect social policies to focus on young children ages 0–6 years old.

• Expand public health models to incorporate the science of early child development.

• Assess outcomes of early childhood and link these to program and policy data.

• Communicate the importance of young children’s healthy brain development for populations’ competence and well-being.

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The efforts of the public, private, nongovernmental and community based organizations over the past decades have been extraordinary. All these participants deserve to be congratulated for the transformations in society that they have stimulated and underwritten. Their continued support and commitment can be the launching pad for achieving even greater transformations over the next 15 years to fulfill the hopes and expectations of many more children and their families.

As noted by Papert (1980, p. 29), “What is happening now is an empirical question. What can happen is a technical question, but what will happen is a political question, depending on social choices.” Clearly, early child development is, first and foremost, a political, or social, choice. It is no longer an empirical question, but, rather, an issue for action (Doryan, Gautam, and Foege 2002, p. 387).

Conclusion The first few years of a child’s life have a multiplier effect for society. Children who are well nurtured during this period tend to do better in school and stand a better chance of developing the skills required to compete in the global economy. Thus, investing in young children is an integral part of human development and economic development.

At the 2000 From Early Child Development to Human Development global conference held at the World Bank, Doryan, Gautam and Foege (2002) concluded: “More information is not needed to act now to support early child development.

If appropriate action is taken, future generations will know and be grateful that politicians and economists, based on scientists’ teachings, invested adequately in their children. The concept of the “tipping point” applies. That is, there is a drop that causes the glass to finally overflow, there is a moment when

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Mary E. Young MD, DrPH Is a pediatrician and specialist in global health and child development with broad experience in both developed and developing countries. For the past three decades, she worked at the World Bank, guiding efforts in international public health and child health and development. Currently, she is Director of Center for Child Development at the China Development Research Foundation, Senior Advisor to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at University of Hawaii Medical Center. During her tenure at the World Bank, she led global efforts to inform world leaders and policymakers about Early Childhood Development (ECD). Her experience spans the globe—from China, to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to the Middle East and North Africa, and to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Young’s recent publications and edited works include: Converting the science of early human development into action: closing the gap between what we know and what we do. (2015) in The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Research; Addressing and Mitigating Vulnerability across the Life Cycle: The Case for Investing in Early Childhood. (2014), for the UNDP Human Development Report; The Role of the Health Sector in Early Childhood Development (2013) in the Handbook of Early Childhood Development: Translating Research to Global Policy; From Early Child Development to Human Development (2001) (published also in Portuguese, Chinese, and Arabic); and Early Child Development—From Measurement to Action: A Priority for Growth and Equity (2007) (also available in Portuguese and on CD-Rom); Lancet series on ECD (2007).

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a friendship becomes permanent, there is a minute when a vaccine provides protection, and there is a day when the world finally “does right” by its children (p. 389).

Young, ed., From Early Child Development to Human Development: Investing in Our Children’s Future.

Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Bibliography Behrman, J., S. Parker, and P. Todd. 2005. Long Term Impacts of the Opportunidades Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Rural Youth in Mexico. Discussion Paper 122. Gottingen, Germany: Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.

Hart, T., and T.R. Risley. 1995.

Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Baltimore, Md.: Paul H. Brookes.

Black, M.M , S.P. Walker, L. CFernald, C. T. Andersen, A. M. DiGirolamo, C. Lu, D.C. McCoy, et al (2016). Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale 1. The Lancet. www.thelancet.com Published online October 4, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S01406736(16)31389-7

Heckman, J. 2013. The Economics of Inequality and Human Development. Keynote Presentation at the First National Congress meeting on Building a Legal Framework for Public Policies for Early Childhood, Brasilia, Brazil, April 16.

Heckman, J. J. 2012. Giving Kids a Fair Chance. A Boston Review Book.

The MIT Press. Cambridge, Mass.

Cunha, F., and J. Heckman. 2007.

The Technology of Skill Formation. American Economic Reviewer 97:31‒47.

Heckman, J., and D.V. Masterov.

2007. The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children.

Review of Agricultural Economics 29(3):446‒93.

Cunha, F., J.J. Heckman, L.J. Lochner, and D.V. Masterov. 2006. Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation. In E.A. Hanushek and F. Welch, eds., Handbook of the Economics of Education. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

Heckman, J.J., J. Stixrud, S. Urzua. 2006. The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior, Journal of Labor Economics 24 (3): 411-482

Doryan, E., K. Gautam, W. Foege.

2002. The Political Challenge: Commitment and Cooperation. In M.E.,

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IDB Development Report 2015.

The Early Years: Child Well-being and the Role of Public Policy. Development in the Americas. Berlinski, S, and N. Schady (eds). Washington, D.C.

Schwab, K (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum. Geneva. Switzerland. www. weforum.org Shonkoff, J.P., L. Richter, J. van der Gaag, and Z.A. Bhutta. (2012).

The Biology of Adversity: Building an Integrated Science of Child Survival, Early Childhood Development, and Human Capital Formation. Pediatrics 129 (February) (2):1‒13. doi 10.1542/peds.2011-0366.

Knudsen, E., J. Heckman, J. Cameron, and J. Shonkoff. 2006.

Economic, Neurobiological, and Behavioral Perspectives on Building America’s Future Workforce.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(27):10155‒62. doi.

10.1073/pnas.0600888103.

UN (United Nations) (2015) Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sustainabledevelopment. un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

McCain, M., F. Mustard, and K. McCuaig. 2011. Early Years Study 3: Making Decisions, Taking Action. Toronto: Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation.

UNDP (The United Nations Development Programme). (1990).

Human Development Report 1990.

Concept and Measurement of Human Development. New York: Oxford University Press.

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2004. Children’s Emotional Development Is Built into the Architecture of Their Brains: Working Paper No. 2. http://www. developingchild.net

Urrutia, M. (2003). The Impact of Early Childhood Intervention on Economic Growth and Equity. In R. Moran, ed., Escaping the Poverty Trap: Investing in Children in Latin America. Washington, D.C.: The Inter-American Development Bank.

Naudeau, S., S. Martinez, P. Premand, and D. Filmer. 2011. Cognitive Development among Young Children in Low-Income Countries. In H. Alderman, ed., No Small Matter: The Impact of Poverty, Shocks and Human Capital Investment in Early Childhood Education. Human Development Perspectives. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank

World Bank (2016). Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016: Taking on Inequality. The World Bank Group.

Washington, DC. doi:10.1596/978-14648-0958-3.

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms.

New York: Basic Books. P.29

World Bank. 1980. World Development Report 1980. Poverty and Human Development. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Richter, L. M., B. Daelmans, J. Lombardi, J. Heymann, F. Lopez Boo, J R Behrman, C Lu, et al Advancing Early Childhood Development: From Science to Scale 3. Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development. The Lancet. www.thelancet.com Published Online October 4, 2016 http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)316981

World Bank. 1990. World Development Report 1990. Poverty. Washington D.C.: The World Bank

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Social Participation in Policy Design

for Early Childhood Vital Didonet

This paper is not a theoretical discussion of the meaning and significance of participation, but, rather, a reflection on social participation experiences, even those of children, in the design of public policies and action plans on issues that are of interest to early childhood. It begins with a brief rationale on the right to participation, as recognized in law. It then describes some events which have become historic landmarks for social participation and concludes by mentioning the lessons derived from these experiences, which emerge from the participatory process and have become significant lessons for further progress in this area.

I. Legal and political basis for the participation of society in debate surrounding public policies for children, as well as in their development.

Citizen participation in the public sphere is a manifestation of democracy. It is not enough for there to be formal representative institutions, such as governments elected by popular vote and political representation in venues that draft laws, such

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as the National Congress, or Legislative Assemblies in departments, provinces, states and municipalities. If the people are directly involved, then we are in the presence of democracy which is not merely representative, but also participatory.

This is what we mean when we refer to social participation in the design of public policies and plans to make them a reality through practical action.

The participation of society is not difficult to understand. But... children? Children’s right to participate in issues that affect them was analysed, debated and written about for the first time by the authors of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and adopted by the United Nations on 20 November 19891.

The practice is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and on law. There are cases in which the Federal Constitution itself establishes that participation is a social right.

In its Article 12, the CRC states: “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.

UN. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Available from: http://www.un.org/es/events/childrenday/pdf/derechos.pdf

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One year before the CRC – in 1988 – the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil enshrined the right to participation. Verbatim: “Art. 204. . Government action in the area of social welfare shall be (...) and organized on the basis of the following guidelines: I-…

II – the participation of the population, through representative organizations, in policy design and in the supervision of action at all levels”.

With regard to the rights of children in particular, Art. 227, in its paragraph 7, determines that “In relation to the rights of children and youth, the provisions of Art. 204 shall be adhered to”.

The Children’s Statute contains four references to the right to participation, but limited to cases of adoption2.

Federal Act Nº 13,257 of 2016, better known as the Marco Legal da Primeira Infância [Legal Framework for Early Childhood]3, stipulates, among other principles for the design and implementation of policies aimed at early childhood: “Article 4. Public policies addressing child rights in early childhood shall be developed and implemented in such a way that they (a) adopt participatory approaches, involving society, through organizations representing professional practitioners, parents and chilBrazil. Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente [Children’s Statute] – Federal Act Nº 8069, of 13 July 1990. Art. 28, § 1st; art. 45, § 2nd; art. 48, single paragraph; art. 51 § 1st, III and art. 100, VII. Available from: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L8069.htm 3 Brazil. Federal Act Nº 13,257, of 8 May 2016 Art. 4, with its items II and VI. Available from: http:// www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2016/lei/l13257.htm 2

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dren; and (b) include child participation in the identification of actions that affect them, in keeping with their age-related features and development.�

On that solid legal basis, the principle of participation guides popular initiative, ensures inclusion in political settings and recognition as a legitimate and necessary expression of democratic life. Before becoming a political principle of the Constitution of the Republic of Brazil, participation was experienced by the social movement, and its effectiveness was proven in practice.

II. Participation as a social practice We shall now provide some information about four manifestations of social movement, with comments to encourage further development of the participatory process in the sphere of the executive branch, as well as in the legislative power. The first is the Child and Constituent Movement, which provided the basis for the introduction of social participation in the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil; in particular of child participation, as a guideline for the design of plans and policies catering to their rights. The second is the Fundeb pra Valer Movement, which was able to achieve the inclusion of education for children between zero and three years of age in a national fund for resources in support of basic education.

The third example is the participatory development of the National Plan for Early Childhood. Finally, the social mobilization to debate, refine and adopt a draft law on public policies for early childhood, which has become the Legal Framework for Early Childhood.

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1. National Child and Constituent Movement In 1987 and 1988, the National Constituent Assembly (ANC, for its acronym in Portuguese) became the stage for intensive and extensive social participation.

At the initiative of the Ministry of Education (PortarĂ­a nÂş 449/1986), a cross-ministry commission was formed, with members of government and of civil society, in order to submit proposals to the ANC in the matter of child rights. This was known as the National Child and Constituent Commission (CNCC) and included seven ministries, eight non-governmental organizations and a multilateral organization. A similar commission was established in each of the 26 states and the Federal District. Local commissions were also formed in a significant number of municipalities. Over 600 organizations were mobilized and coordinated throughout the country in this work. They were all synchronized in accordance with an action plan, which consisted of studies, debates and the submission of proposals.

The CNCC gathered and consolidated the suggestions and carried out intensive coordination efforts with the National Constituent Assembly, especially with the senators and deputies who served on thematic committees in areas of interest to children, such as social development, health, education, labour, human rights and family. This mobilization had three goals: (a) to change the discriminatory representation prevailing in society regarding children from low-income contexts and replacing it with the concept of child citizens who are rights holders, based on a fundamental human equality, the dignity of all and the right to build real equality; (b) to have a strong impact on the National Constituent Assembly in order to develop a focus on children and that large numbers of deputies and senators should commit to making children a national priority; and (c) to submit a proposal on child rights for the new constitution.

And the mobilization included: 1. Conferences, rounds of lec-

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tures, the sharing of ideas, discussions at schools, healthcare centres and social service centres, with parents, children, teenagers and experts from different backgrounds and fields of work. 2. Roundtables and panels at the National Congress on subjects such as public policies for children and the duties of families, society and the State in relation to children as citizens and rights holders. 3. Marches through streets and squares with mothers and their babies and children and teenage students. 4. Child participation. At early childhood education centres and schools, children conducted “School Constituent Assemblies” and, imitating constituent deputies and senators, they would draw or draft the Regulations (“the Constitution”) of the child centre or school. They were key players in collecting signatures for a document calling for the inclusion of child rights in the constitution, which attained a total of 1,240,000 signatures.

A Popular Amendment signed by over 30,000 voters was produced and upheld at a plenary session of the National Congress. It proposed a text on the rights of children to be included in the new constitution.

This participation led to the inclusion of article 227 in the Federal Constitution, which became the backbone of the Children’s Statute, the Legal Framework for Early Childhood and other laws, policies and programmes targeting children and youth in Brazil.

2. “Fundeb pra Valer” Movement In 2005, after a great many participatory efforts in society, the federal government sent a proposal to the National Congress for an amendment to the Constitution creating a National Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education – FUNDEB4. However, education for children between the ages See: ROCHA, Maria José and DIDONET, Vital (org.). FUNDEB, Avanços na Universalização da Educação Básica. Available from: http://www2.unifap.br/gpcem/files/2011/09/FUNDEB_Avancos-

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of 0 and 3 had been excluded from the Fund. This meant that it would receive no financing, and in consequence, would be unable to expand and improve quality of care at the most critical age and, at the same time, the most vulnerable age in terms of development and learning. OMEP and the Interforos Movement for Early Childhood Education immediately went into action. At a conference, they drafted a letter to society, the government and the National Congress stating the reasons why the proposal should be adjusted to include education from birth. The National Campaign for the Right to Education joined in and together they were able to achieve the support of more and more organizations, promoting discussion and demonstrations all over the country, but mainly in the National Congress.

Soon, the matter had become a question of social and political interest, which was taken up by the media and debated in the National Congress.

The strategies used to convince the members of the National Congress – and also obtain the approval of the government – included articles in newspapers, debates and interviews on television, participation in public hearings, and the submission of a Popular Amendment, with 60,000 signatures, which was adopted by the Chairman of the Special Commission analysing the proposal. Parents and children also played a noteworthy social and political role.

As a result of this memorable conquest, education between the ages of 0 and 3 was given financial resources throughout the country on the same terms as education for 4 and 5-year-olds, and primary and secondary education.

-na-Universalizacao-da-Educacao-Basica.pdf

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3 – Participatory development of the National Plan for Early Childhood The National Early Childhood Network (RNPI)’s5 most motivating idea, which gave rise to the most energy during the first year of its existence – and which still strongly persists today, throughout the country – was the development, with broad social participation, of a national plan for early childhood to address all the rights of children up to the age of six, over the long term (twelve years), adopted by the National Child Rights Council and received by the government as a guideline and strategy for the comprehensive care of child rights in all of its areas of operation. This plan meets the requirements for a State Plan6.

The drafting process originated within the Network and spread to other non-member organizations, invited to contribute according to their specialties, or which submitted their suggestions, either directly to the coordinators or through the Internet.

A major challenge was to include children in the participatory process. Appropriate listening techniques were used so that they were able to take part in the drafting process, contributing significant suggestions for action, and, after its adoption, putting the contents of the Plan “into the words of children”7.

The Rede Nacional Primeira Infância (RNPI) is a nationally synchronized network of civil society, government, and private organizations, also including other networks and multilateral organizations, which acts directly or indirectly to promote and guarantee child rights in early childhood (0 to 6 years of age). In the first half of 2017 the network includes 230 organizations, some of which are networks involving thousands of other institutions, such as the case of the National Union of Municipal Directors of Education - UNDIME. See: http://primeirainfancia.org.br/ 6 For further information on the National Plan for Early Childhood; its conceptions, policy, technical and administrative guidelines, content of each area and action regarding the various rights, see: http://primeirainfancia.org.br/category/acervo/ 7 RNPI. O que a criança não pode ficar sem... – por ela mesma. Y Deixa eu Falar. Available from: http://primeirainfancia.org.br/search/Deixa+eu+falar 5

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4 – Development and political pressure to adopt the Legal Framework for Early Childhood The Legal Framework for Early Childhood originated in a draft law which needed enhancement and improvements. This was done by means of social participation. The legislative branch itself made available opportunities for debate, listening and the submission of suggestions in public hearings. The National Early Childhood Network, as well as State Early Childhood Networks in five states held seminars and meetings with experts, with the Office of the Public Prosecutor, with children and youth judges and with other social organizations, in order to propose more appropriate principles and actions to provide comprehensive care for early childhood, and actions which will ensure the fullest enjoyment of the rights of the child up to the age of six8.

On the one hand, it was in the interest of the author and the draft law to receive suggestions from society; on the other, the social organizations, experts and professionals in the field of providing care to families and children perceived that this was the time to clearly specify the inclusion of early childhood in the laws of the country and strengthen the inclusion of early childhood in public policies.

Two years of intensive participation made it possible for the draft to evolve over the course of ten versions, successively discussed and refined, until it was unanimously adopted. The contributions of society were recognized by the Executive and the Legislative Branches, which highlighted the role of the National Early Childhood Network.

There is a description of the participatory process for this law in: DIDONET, Vital – O Marco Legal da Primeira Infância e o Plano Nacional pela Primeira Infância, pages 589 to 598, in: O que grandes cidades e políticas intersetoriais podem fazer pela Primeira Infância. Ana Estela Haddad (org). Prefeitura de São Paulo, n/d

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III – Lessons arising from the social participation experience These four cases taught us some valuable lessons. I shall point to only a few which may be useful in the planning and development of social participation processes in protecting and promoting child rights and, in particular, in designing public policies for early childhood: 1. Organization. It is considered essential that many and different kinds of organizations should exist in all child-related sectors or areas of interest, with experience and willingness to act together. When issues arise, immediate action should be taken; if the problem is already in existence... there is no time to create social organizations in order to address it. The existence of many social organizations – whether they are NGOs or PICSOs9 – is an expression of democracy and of public interest in issues affecting society itself.

2. Mobilization. This means “join the struggle”; get out of the office and into the field, where the problem is growing and doing harm. Organizations and people mobilize for a specific, existing and significant cause or action. Individuals and organizations mobilize if there is a cause, a strong idea, but mobilization is broader and more expressive if there is an aesthetic element: the feeling that the fight is beautiful, that it is an expression of truth, that it dignifies those who are mobilizing.

3. Submission of a proposal for a solution. The credibility of the movement will depend on the solution it presents. Success is directly related to the quality of the proposal. People need to perceive that the movement is fighting for a just cause, that it has a good contribution to improve a project, policy or proposal for action; correct a fault; enhance the quality of something which is the target of action. Organizations participating in the social movement should produce a synthetic Public Interest Civil Society Organizations. In Brazil, PICSOs are regulated by Federal Act Nº 9,790 of 1999.

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and clear technical paper, which can pinpoint the focus of the problem and have an impact on it, with the consensus of the participants. This is key if there is to be a unified defence and conviction that this is the best way to solve the problem.

4. Strategy. It could be said that strategy is the understanding of how to achieve an objective, reach the goal. In discovering a strategy, it is very helpful to locate the source of the problem, to know who is behind it, where it emerged and what arguments are put forward in its defence.

5. Political skill and technical competence. Respecting opposing arguments and rebutting them with more consistent reasoning which is better grounded in law, in experience and in research are important requirements of political skill. The further one can go by means of dialogue, the easier it will be to achieve other points. If action takes place in the political terrain – in the National Congress, for example – political skill and technical competence are even more necessary, since this is a venue for the free expression of different conceptions and proposals for action. It is an opportunity for negotiation par excellence, on the basis of its partisan plurality and the explicit right to the free expression of thought; 6. The support of the population concerned. While the population is represented by social organizations, it is important for parents, young people, workers, students, etc. to attend public events in defence of the cause. The leaders of these organizations can legitimately represent them, but if they are accompanied by persons who are directly involved in the matter, their words and actions have more impact, resistance crumbles more easily and a more favourable attitude towards the cause is generated; 7. Child Participation. Respect for children determines the conduct that should be adopted when they are invited to be part of an action that is in their interest. It is unethical to use them; to shine a light on them in order to gain emotional

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support, so they can “look cute” and garner applause. Child participation is a right and it should be enjoyed in a way that makes children feel important. They should know what it is about and that their ideas, opinions and suggestions shall be analysed and evaluated just as those made by adults are. They should be given information about outcomes, and what was done with their proposals or remarks10.

If these conditions are met, the participating presence of children endows the struggle for their rights with a more engaging countenance; with affectivity. By thus humanizing a political activity which focuses on children, it gives it a meaning which moves beyond any formal governmental or legislative decision and emphasizes the human depth which it implies.

Good examples of child participation are the “listening” of children that took place during and as part of the development of municipal plans for early childhood. Among these: RNPI. Construindo em Rede – Plano Municipal pela Primeira Infância de Nova Iguaçu, RJ; O olhar da criança sobre o mundo, available from: http://primeirainfancia.org.br/category/acervo/

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Vital Didonet Lecturer, specializing in child education, child rights and public policies for early childhood; member of the National Early Childhood Network, Brazil.

References Brazil. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil. Available from: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/ constituicao/constituicao.htm

Dagnino, E. Sociedade civil, espaços públicos e a construção democrática no Brasil: limites e possibilidades.

In: Sociedade civil e espaços públicos no Brasil. São Paulo: Paz e Terra, 2002.

Brazil. Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente [Children’s Statute] – Federal Act Nº 8.069, of 1990. Available from: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L8069.htm

Font, Joan (Org.). Ciudadanos y decisiones públicas. Barcelona: Editorial Ariel, 2001

Brazil. Marco Legal da Primeira Infância [Legal Framework for Early Childhood] – Federal Act Nº 13.257, of 2016. Available from: http://www. planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato20152018/2016/lei/l13257.htm

Freire, Paulo. Política e Educação, coleção Questões da nossa época, 5ª edição. São Paulo: Cortez Editora.

2001

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Haddad, Ana Estela (org). O que grandes cidades e políticas intersetoriais podem fazer pela Primeira Infância. Prefeitura de São Paulo, n/d

RNPI. Quem está na escuta? Diálogos, reflexões e trocas e especialistas que dão vez e voz às crianças. Available from: http://primeirainfancia. org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ T 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 3 6 - 0 - M a p a _ i n fa n cia-000.pdf

Milani, Carlos. O princípio da participação social na gestão de políticas públicas locais: uma análise de experiências latino-americanas e europeias. Available from: http://www. scielo.br/pdf/rap/v42n3/a06v42n3. pdf

Rocha, Maria José and Didonet, Vital (org.). FUNDEB, Avanços na Universalização da Educação Básica. INEP: Brasília. 2006. Available from: http://www2.unifap.br/gpcem/ files/2011/09/FUNDEB_Avancos-na-Universalizacao-da-Educacao-Basica. pdf

Rayna Sylvie and Bouve, Catherine. Petite enface et participation – une approche démocratique de l’accueil. Edition Érès 2013. Tolouse, France.

ZICCARDI, Alicia (Org.). Participación ciudadana y políticas sociales del ámbito local. Mexico (DF): IIS/ Comecso/Indesol, 2004.

Rede Nacional Primeira Infância.

A Criança e o Espaço – a cidade e o meio ambiente. CECIP/RNPI, Rio de Janeiro, 2017. Available from: http:// primeirainfancia.org.br/wp-content/ uploads/2017/05/ebook_CriancaeoEspaco.pdf

Ziccardi, Alicia (Org.). Participación ciudadana y políticas sociales del ámbito local. México (DF): IIS/ Comecso/Indesol, 2004.

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Underpinning the fundamentals?

On the applicability of the attachment theory in early education

Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, PhD.

Women have always worked, from the very beginning of time.

However, this is not openly acknowledged, since their work has been related to procreation, an attribute of their “feminine nature”, which renders it invisible, cancels its value and identifies it as a sexual characteristic (Retana and Velázquez, in press). Gender is a social system which orders both relationships and identities, as well as the beliefs, constructions and attitudes that prevail in specific cultural spaces, about being female or male (Lozano, 2014). It is important to analyse Early Education (EE) in light of the gender perspective, since in social terms, childcare and education are linked to the private sphere and, consequently, seen as jobs for women.

Paradoxically, the existence of nursery schools can be considered one of the achievements of the feminist movement, since they have enabled mothers to enter public spaces and have places where their children1 are cared for and educated. While Recognizing the privileges which I, as a white male, enjoy, and in an attempt to separate myself from androcentric and patriarchal attitudes, I have decided to use only feminine pronouns/nouns throughout this article [Translator’s note: in the original Spanish, the author uses hijas and niñas, the feminine form of children, as the generic terms hijos or niños, are also the masculine forms, although they supposedly include male and female].

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the debate between early childhood care and education merits a whole new article, it is worth mentioning two cases that seem to be disregarding the right to education and the right to equality: 1) In Mexico, even today, nursery schools are called guarderías [a place of storage] or estancias [a place to stay] by government authorities, the result of a paternalistic, adult-centred vision, according to which the service provided by these establishments is seen as an employment benefit for mothers who “store” their children, or make their children “stay” there.

2) Although Uruguay has one of the most complete curriculum frameworks in Latin America for the care and education of children aged between 0 and 6, the National Comprehensive Care System (SNIC, for its acronym in Spanish) was created in late 2015 and it put out a call to “those who like to take care of babies and would like to work from home”, a dangerous and even involutional proposal, since Latin American experience shows that policies of this type reinforce inequality by providing low quality care – not education – and keeping women within the private sphere without adequate training or remuneration.

Over the last ten years, the number of children attending nursery school throughout the world increased to close to 40%, since in all post-industrial societies most individuals aged between 0 and 6 experience some form of group education (Brooker, 2008; Unesco, 2012). Although 52.1% of women in the labour market are wage earners and remunerated workers, nearly 40% of women in paid employment do not contribute to social protection (ILO, 2016). Back in Mexico, there are government EE schooling services in the country, as well as government semi-schooling and non-schooling services; private services and mixed and non-governmental services. Only if the mother has a formal job will she and her child be given the privilege of making use of a government school service; that is, be able to attend a guardería [daycare centre] provided by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). However, this is no assurance of quality, since in 2009, 49 children

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were burned to death at “ABC”, an IMSS surrogate guardería.

During the six-year period from 2007 to 2012, the Programa de Guarderías y Estancias Infantiles para apoyar madres trabajadoras 2007-2012 [a daycare programme in support of mothers who work] was created; a programme similar to Uruguay’s SNIC, which, at the end of January 2017, had 9,349 estancias catering to 315,993 children. This means that most of the Mexican population under the age of four attends the Social Development Secretariat’s daycare centres; that is, the government’s non-schooling services.

In addition to being alarming, these figures underline the fact that at least in Mexico, in the best of cases, children are being looked after, but not educated. How can we assess the quality of guarderías/estancias/nursery schools? There is no single right answer, since quality is a subjective, constructed and relative concept, not objective, essential and universal.

One way to estimate quality might be to study closely the type of care that children receive. This proposal can be consulted in greater detail in the book I recently published together with the National Pedagogic University: Educación inicial: apego y desarrollo sociocognitivo [Early education: attachment and sociocognitive development]; however, I shall refer to it briefly below.

Quality of care is a critical variable in child development: interactions between professional secondary caregivers (PSC)2and children are at the core of the quality process (Cárcamo, Vermeer, Van der Veer and Van IJzendoorn, 2014). The attachThe concept of care implies paying attention to, safeguarding something or someone, and is associated with a condition of responsibility. Care includes a set of essential activities and relationships required to satisfy basic needs. It is work, because it involves the expenditure of energy, as well as a “valuable” investment of emotion and time on the part of the caregiver; it implies a social (interpersonal) relationship in which several actors take part, and it transcends the sphere of private life. Referring to daycare staff as “only caregivers” is deemed inappropriate in educational settings, since it is rightly argued that it diminishes the pedagogical aspect of their work. However, the concept of caregiver was taken up by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth – the developers of the attachment theory – and referring to daycare staff as professional secondary caregivers (PSC) is consistent with their theoretical postulates. I propose using the term PSC to refer to personnel caring for children in nursery schools and acting as education agents. This designation covers both the leader of the group and his or her assistants in the room and outside the room.

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ment theory is an excellent framework of reference in which to analyse interactions, as it is a dyadic-interactive approach that studies both children and PSCs. This theory underscores the importance of evaluating the quality of the care environment; that is, the sensitivity of the PSCs, whether they are attentive to children’s signals, whether they interpret them correctly and respond appropriately (Carbonell, Posada, Plata and Méndez, 2005).

Attachment is a relatively enduring child-caregiver emotional bond, where the other is important as a unique individual and not interchangeable, and with whom a certain closeness is desired. This bond is expressed by means of an organized system of behaviours that seek to maintain the proximity between the child and one or several people emotionally close to her, who are perceived as wiser and stronger (Salinas-Quiroz, 2017).

As a result of repeated interactions between the two, these bonds are represented mentally, resulting in what is known as Internal Working Models (IWM). A key aspect of IWMs is the notion of what figures provide a secure base, where they are and how they are expected to respond (Bowlby, 1973). Secure base figures allow a child to explore the physical and social world with confidence, which is conducive to learning.

The child-PSC bond is different from the child’s relationship with her mother, since the link is formed in a different context.

The background to the quality of the child-PSC bond enables children in daycare to build IWMs with two or more attachment relationships. Forming attachment bonds in EE is a process similar to that which occurred in the relationship with the child’s mother: when a child is new to the centre, she aims her attachment behaviour, such as crying and looking for contact, towards the PSC. Once a child has been there for longer, child-PSC interactions are more organized and bonds develop. Interactive experiences between children and their PSCs enable them to predict the adult’s behaviour and use that

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to organize their social and learning environment (Howes and Smith, 1995).3 Staff rotation does not necessarily have a negative influence on the formation of secure attachment bonds, since the quality of the bonds formed by children with several PSCs has been found to be consistent (Howes and Hamilton, 1992). That is, more than a bond with only one specific PSC, it is repeated experiences with sensitive caregivers which fosters consistent relationships.

There is a possibility that children may form attachment bonds with their PSCs and represent them mentally; therefore, EE staff need to bear in mind their joint responsibility in child development and put themselves at the service of children as a secure base. In 2014, I proposed the construct of a Secure Base Early Education (EIBS) in order to identify a protective network of relationships with sensitive, available and responsive PSCs who can offer children a variety of opportunities for exploratory interactions with objects and people. This implies a shared responsibility between family and daycare staff, ensuring that children will be cared for and educated, even though certain members may not be available, on a temporary basis, for a few hours of the day.

When I returned to my own country I found that in view of the diversity of EE services available, in 2013, the Public Education Secretariat (SEP) had launched a Modelo de Atención con Enfoque Integral para la Educación Inicial [Comprehensive Approach Care Model for Early Education]. This is a paper resulting from the profound changes which occurred in 2011 and an attempt to establish a “common ground” for the different institutions. The model provides guidelines on which educational actions should be based, in order to “provide higher quality care, independently of the institution, model of care or The organization of interaction experiences, as well as the predictions that a child makes regarding the behaviour of the education agent in the daycare centre, reaffirms the importance of designating these agents professional secondary caregivers, rather than teachers/educators or subsidiary attachment figures. Subsidiarity implies the replacement of the principal figure and this is not a matter of replacing or imitating such a relationship, but of building a different bond. Finally, the word professional recognizes that these are non-family secondary caregivers, with experience and/or training in child development, who work at providing care and education to children.

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service in which it is provided” (SEP, 2013, p.9). While this is the start of a significant development in education policy, SEP is still failing to fully address the education of persons aged 0 to 3 years, since it only takes responsibility for preschool education (3 to 6 years) and up. The paper suggests three guiding principles: 1) responding to the demands of today’s society, offering quality educational services; 2) guiding and enhancing parenting practices; and 3) focusing on the development of skills (SEP, 2013).

The model includes the rights-based approach and recent research on child development as a theoretical basis for EE work. It designates a section of this research as “Emotional development, attachment and bond”, and these concepts are alluded to on several occasions throughout the paper. I shall now provide a few examples of how they are addressed and will make some observations, with the purpose of shedding light on some theoretical confusion, and in the hope that this punctilious approach and that of other researcher colleagues who are specialists in the attachment theory be used as input for future versions of this and other curriculum frameworks in the region.

On page 28, the paper indicates: “The very early separation from primary attachment bonds ... causes a distancing from mothers and fathers for several hours a day”. However, we know that bonds are not observable; they can be inferred from certain behaviours; therefore, it is not bonds that can be “separated”, but people. The persons from whom a temporary separation does indeed occur are the fathers and mothers; however: a) they are not necessarily attachment figures, and b) the separation does not necessarily have a negative impact on the bond, since the children involved may have secure IWMs, and find an EIBS centre in their daycare. On the next page, there is a reference to a “relationship or bond with an education agent external to the family setting” (SEP, 2013, p.

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29), although these terms cannot be treated as synonyms, since not all relationships are bonds. A relationship involves correspondence, while a bond is an emotional link: this is a subtle but important difference. For example, every day, a child may greet the policewoman at the door with a smile and have a cordial relationship with her, but we cannot say that an attachment bond has been formed on the basis of this simple event (even less if we remember that bonds are built on the basis of constant, daily and repeated interactions, in which the members of the dyad play an active part).

A few pages further on it is pointed out that “the attachment that children have with their parents or close relatives during their early years [...] is relevant to their development” (p. 42).

However, we know that attachments are not “had”, they are emotional bonds that are developed. Even more importantly, that small phrase paradoxically renders invisible the influence of PSCs; although they are not close relatives, they are significant figures in a child’s development, as well as potential attachment figures.

Throughout its 148 pages, the Model never once mentions or acknowledges Mary Ainsworth, who played such an important part in developing the attachment theory, as we have seen.

This omission is most common and is easily explained if we consider that science is androcentric and patriarchal, but on this occasion it is particularly jarring, since the paper expressly indicates that it is theoretically grounded in the rights-based approach. Is gender equality not one of the most important rights?

Between pages 49 and 51, there is a mingling of attachment theory and psychoanalysis which is never declared, nor explained. While I have always maintained that one should not become “wedded to” any single theory, I consider it essential to make distinctions, take a stand and situate neophyte readers so that they are not confused. Even when Winnicott, Stern and Spitz had similar lines of thought, they always based their

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work on psychoanalysis (in fact, at one time, the directors of the British Psychoanalytic Association expelled John Bowlby for his dissenting opinions). In this respect, it does not seem appropriate to use the terminology of theoretical proposals that are based on different assumptions: psychoanalytical concepts such as symbiosis (p. 50), identity formation and the capacity for containment (pp. 92 and 93) have no place in attachment theory.

On page 52, the Model’s authors speak of “generous and careful bonds”; on page 68, of “positive bonds”, and on p. 122, of “close bonds”. As far as I am aware, no serious attachment theory academic relies on such a classification. We can speak of bonds that tend towards security or insecurity; more specifically, disorganized and organized attachment bonds. Among the organized bonds are secure attachment, anxious-ambivalent/resistant attachment and anxious-avoidant attachment.

Finally, when the Model addresses curriculum organization and areas of experience, it acknowledges that children have skills that they develop and build on the basis of experience and groups them in three areas of experience: a) bond and interactions; b) discovery of the world, and c) health and wellbeing. On page 72 there is a chart showing “Capabilities which benefit from the bond and interactions area of experience”.

However, there is no reference to proximity, which is highly problematic, since a secure attachment involves a balance between the search for proximity and exploration; between “recharging one’s batteries” with attachment figures and setting out to inspect... How are we to educate autonomous children if we do not allow, encourage and reward intimate and close physical contact with their PSCs, so that they become their secure base?

Both the Mexican model and several Latin American curriculum frameworks include the attachment theory in their theoretical rationale, which seems pioneering and appropriate; however,

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the papers they are based on contain inaccuracies that need to be amended. Attachment theory has been trivialized and, unfortunately, “everybody knows about it”. However, its simplification leads to misunderstandings. The work of women must be rendered visible; care and education need to be degendered; EE, valued, and children, cared for and educated.

Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, PhD. fsalinas@upn.mx Research Professor at the National Pedagogic University (UPN, in Spanish).

Doctor in Psychology, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), of the Mexican Educational Research Council (COMIE) and the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). “Alfonso Caso” Medal 2014 awarded for university distinction, UNAM. Lecturer, undergraduate degree in Educational Psychology and the Specialization in Comprehensive Sexuality Education at UPN, as well as the master’s degree in Psychology and Education at the University of the Republic, in Uruguay (UdelaR). Secretary of the Ibero-American Attachment Network (2016-2018). Coordinates cross-cultural research projects. Has presented papers at national and international conferences, contributed to books, and written book chapters and articles in indexed journals. In 2017, his book Educación inicial: apego y desarrollo sociocognitivo was published

by UPN. Research areas: education, parenting, child and youth development, gender and sexuality.

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References Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and Loss, Vol. II. Separation. New York: Basic Books.

Reflexiones en torno a las masculinidades: Analizando los caminos hacia la igualdad de género. Mexico: Faculty of Psychology, UNAM.

Brooker, L. (2008). Supporting Transitions in the Early Years. United Kingdom: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill.

ILO (2016). Women at Work Trends 2016. Executive summary. Geneva: ILO. Available from: http://www.unesco.org/library/PDF/wcms_457094.pdf

Carbonell, O. A., Posada, G., Plata, S. J. and Méndez, S. (2005). Las relaciones vinculares: un contexto para potenciar el derecho al bienestar de niños y niñas. Cuadernos de Psicología, 1, 31-38.

Retana Fabián, E.R. and Velázquez Bustamante, R. (in press). Influencia de los estereotipos de género en la elección profesional de un grupo de educadoras de nivel inicial. Unpublished undergraduate thesis. National Pedagogic University, Mexico.

Cárcamo, R. A., Vermeer, H. J., De la Harpe, C., Van der Veer, R. and Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2014). The quality of childcare in Chile: Its stability and international ranking. Child & Youth Care Forum, 1-15. DOI: 10.1007/ s10566-014-9264-z

Salinas-Quiroz, F. (2017). Educación inicial: apego y desarrollo sociocognitivo. Mexico: National Pedagogic University.

Public Education Secretariat (SEP) (2013). Modelo de Atención con Enfoque Integral para la Educación Inicial. Available from: https:// coleccion.siaeducacion.org/sites/ default/files/files/modelo_atencion_ actualizado_26sep2014.pdf

Howes, C. and Hamilton, C. E. (1992). Children’s Relationships with Child Care Teachers: Stability and Concordance with Parental Attachment. Child Development, 63, 867878.

Unesco (2012) Education for All Global Monitoring Report, 2012: Expanding equitable early childhood care and education is an urgent need. Paris: Unesco. Available from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0021/002160/216038E.pdf

Howes, C. and Smith, E. W. (1995).

Children and their child care caregivers: Profiles of relationships. Social Development, 7, 51-77.

Lozano Verduzco, I. (2014). La colusión entre masculinidad y homofobia. In T.E. Rocha Sánchez and I. Lozano Verduzco (Comps.). Debates y

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90th ANNIV ER

On Friday, 9 June, the IIN celebrated its 90th anniversary, thus commemorating a long period of work on the protection and promotion of the rights of children and youth in the region.

The ceremony also included a special landmark: the declaration by the Permanent Council of the OAS of June 9 as Americas Children and Youth Day. These 90 years have witnessed the long history of the first intergovernmental agency in the region dedicated to children and youth, working as a technical benchmark for the region, as well as promoting and establishing opportunities for coordination among the States for the construction of a culture of rights.

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RSARY of IIN

The work being carried out by the IIN has become extremely intensive; we are present today in 26 States, where we are able to provide technical expertise, share good practices, give advice and increase our presence in the continent (...)

This is part of the serious and responsible work we do, which is recognized by the States for its technical quality, ethical commitment to children and rigorously planned objectives. It is the acknowledgement of this work which imbues our activities and makes these opportunities possible.

VĂ­ctor Giorgi, Director General of IN-OAS

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Attendees shared perspectives of the road travelled by the IIN; its history, developments, and the role it has played as an agency guaranteeing the rights of children.

Two teenagers were present, Valentina González and Bruno Carvallo, representatives of the Board of INAU’s Advisory and Consultative Council and members of the IIN’s Network of Child and Youth Correspondents, who thanked the Institute for promoting children’s right to participation through activities such as the Inter-American Forum.

“To the extent that we promote and facilitate the exercise of participation we are also ensuring other rights; the right to design public policies that include the voice of young people, the chance of correcting them after listening to teenagers, understanding the issues that affect their rights.”

Fernando Rodríguez, Member of the Board of INAU

“It is no longer a question of designing policies that focus on children, but of taking children into account as citizens with opinions, with the potential not only to be a part of the problem, but also part of the solution.”

Ricardo Domínguez, Director, OAS Offices in Uruguay

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“We insist that the IIN is part of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights, together with the Inter-American Commission of Women, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; these are four legs of a single chair; the Institute cannot be left out. Although each of these agencies has different functions, it is in their complementarity, in the co-operation between them that the Inter-American System is truly strengthened.”

Alejandra Costa, Director of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay.

Víctor Giorgi, the Director-General of the Inter-American Children’s Institute, gave his address at the end of the ceremony, which ended with the screening of a video film in which children and teenagers from various States reflected on Americas Children and Youth Day, the celebration of the 90th Anniversary and the significance of the IIN in the region.

To view the speech in full and the video produced together with the children and teenagers, visit our YouTube channel or click here.

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Getting to Work Mari Carmen Díez Navarro

I like coincidences; events that come together, mingle, combine, repeat... Seeing Pablo sitting in the same seat his father sat in at the meeting, yesterday afternoon. That María’s mother should phone me at the very moment when I was going to call her. Seeing ten children coming to class in orange clothes. That two best friends should lose a tooth at the same time. Or that one morning, without arranging it, Álvaro should bring me an apple and Mateo an orange, as an affectionate present.

I take these small coincidences as a nod from everyday life, as a joke, as curiosities, entertainments. And I usually remark upon them with the children (and with the adults), as well as using them as something to laugh about, or to tell a story about, or to get a good mood going. After a time, I hear my students beginning to notice any small coincidences themselves; any similarities or noticeable differences, any repetitions. Ultimately, I have developed in them a taste for these connections. As if they have become hunters of curiosities. Always tracking

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what they see around them, always alert and ready to point out, remark on and have some fun on the basis of the small everyday events that happen to spring up around us.

“Look, Javier has come with very short hair today and he’s sitting alongside Lola, who has the longest hair in the whole school.”

“All of us sitting at this table, have the letter P in our names.”

“Today it’s my turn to be ‘first’ and on top of that, I’m wearing new sneakers.”

“All of the girls except one have their hair in pigtails.”

“My mother is wearing a white scarf and so is Paula’s.”

“In this class, there are two people whose fathers were born in Brazil.”

“My ruler is 40 cm long, the same as Elena’s, and they are the longest we have...”

This is why I liked what happened today when I was reading to my students about the different periods of the painter Mondrian in his evolution as an artist. At first, he painted as a realist: landscapes, flowers, still lifes, some portraits; he used a great many colours, and mixed them... Then he began to loathe green; he tried painting in points, then with smudges of colour, like an impressionist, and from then on he began to venture into Cubist representation, until he became a wholly abstract painter with his straight lines and pure, simple colours.

As we talked about the changes that Mondrian experienced, Álvaro remarked that he too had changed a lot, because last year he used to yell and disturb the others and now he didn’t do so any longer. After that, everybody began to identify their many changes. And that’s when I realized that through the game that we enjoy so much of looking for coincidences, we

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have grown accustomed to observing others and observing ourselves too.

- I’ve changed in reading, which I didn’t know before.

- I put my toys away more, and I don’t annoy my sister so much.

- I have breakfast without dawdling.

- At least I’ve changed in not being so ‘stuck’ on the television.

- I was very rough before, jumping on the beds.

- And spitting at us and crying about everything.

- Yes, but I’ve changed and also, I’ve taught you to daydream.

- That’s true.

- I’ve changed because I used to hit people and make trouble.

- I’m a bit less bossy.

- I’ve changed in fighting with my brother; I hit him less than before.

- I hardly ever spoke before, and now I do.

- Before I never used to do what we were supposed to do in our work, and I did whatever I felt like doing, but no longer.

- Before I never screamed and now I scream, so I can defend myself.

- And you only played with your sister and now you play with us.

- I’ve changed because I’m not so short.

- Before they used to scold me for shouting, but now I don’t

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shout so much.” “I’ve also changed about eating lettuce, before it used to upset me.” “And in moving around on the chairs, and when you used to say, calm down, I couldn’t stop, and now I can.

- I eat fish now.

- I didn’t obey before and now I do.

- Before when I was a middle, I couldn’t swim, and now I can.

- I don’t hit anymore.

- Sometimes I used to hit my mother, but now I don’t.

- I’ve changed because instead of defending myself by hitting, now I dodge.

- I no long cry when I lose.

- Now I sleep in my own bed without wanting to go to my mother’s bed every day.

- I no longer cry because my daddy lives in another house.

This is why what I write today has to do with changes. I find that it is urgent to view teachers, schools and children from the perspective of change. It is urgent, even though we do it little by little, that we should start to shape a way of being and remaining in school which is more consistent with the times and with the needs of those who are involved in it.

Children today If we think about children today, we shall see that they have a number of features that lead to a lifestyle which is very different from before. These are children who enjoy many things, who have a wide range of possibilities from the outset.

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Just to name a few, they have several ways of coming into the world (normal delivery, water birth, “epidural� birth, caesarean delivery, artificial insemination...), several ways of feeding (breastfeeding, bottle, different types of milk...), several places to be (at home, at some family member’s home, at nursery school, with a caregiver...), several forms of transport (in a pram, in the family car, in a school bus...), several ways of having their health cared for (paediatrician, homoeopathic medicine...), several types of house, clothing, toys, schedules, customs... These are children who learn very quickly about telephones, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, the Internet... They are children who from the moment they are born are totally immersed in visual and auditory stimuli, in music, sounds, words, colours...

That is, they have quite enough of what they need. Although they are missing quite a few things which we lack in this world today. They lack time to play, to form relationships, to apprehend reality at their own pace and in their own manner.

They lack calm in order to grow without pressure, competition or tension. They lack containment on the part of adults, so that they can live their childhood without having to find out for themselves how far they can go. They lack the gift of a clear and affectionate no every time they need it. They lack the privilege of a yes which will help them appreciate themselves and have confidence in themselves.

They lack our forceful and hopeful invitation to live in a world that we adults do not perceive as being sufficiently peaceful...

So despite so many choices and so much abundance, we must make the best possible choice, because, as we know, one thing is not the same as another when it comes to education and parenting. Breastfeeding children is not the same as not breastfeeding them. Speaking to them calmly or irritably.

Reading to them or not reading to them. Restraining them is not the same as not restraining them. Leaving them with

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one person or another; in one place or another; feeding them some kind of food or another; vaccinating or not vaccinating.

Deceiving them is not the same as telling them the truth.

Answering their questions is not the same as giving them an evasive answer or not answering at all. Nothing is a matter of indifference, because experiences are like bricks and they go piling themselves up on top of each other to build the building that each of us will become.

In their earliest days, children need to be cared for and looked after, listened to and “chanted� to, rocked and sung to. They need to be played with, to be invited to laugh, to move, to be autonomous. They should not be exposed to tensions that they are not able to process and which will cling to their fragile psyche. Children first need to enjoy the security of their family unit and then learn to separate themselves from it. Children need to have their capabilities trusted and their excesses contained. Children need to be and to be encouraged in their brand-new identity. They need to learn with pleasure, with enthusiasm, passionately. They should have books to hand, friends, games, adults to accompany them in their adventure of discovery. They should have freedom of action to allow them to make mistakes and to create. They should have rules which will keep them from overstepping and help them respect others. They should have a school awaiting and sheltering them, which will accommodate their individual features, remain open to the worlds that surround and shape them.

Worlds inside and out. Worlds of today and tomorrow. Worlds of the one and the many.

But schools have become a little scared‌ And a little confused, lost. They seem to be frightened of this powerful post-modernity, which is capable of globalizing markets, fashion, petrol and money, to the detriment of

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individuals and their lives. And because fear paralyses... here we are... awaiting, perhaps, an injection of strength from we know not where, to enable us to escape this inertia that does not allow us to shift towards an energizing change, which is absolutely essential.

This fear sometimes causes us to repeat the things that we know and are used to. So, even when we know that at this moment in history and society, what children are going to require is creativity, innovation, flexibility, the ability to improvise, communication skills, adaptation strategies, technical skills..., we continue to offer them the task of copying or filling in drawings, learn information by heart, complete routine data sheets, and answer absurd questions (even though we do it the modern way, with the Internet...).

And even when we know that children will need to learn how to “read” themselves, to understand and express their feelings, and understand those of other people in order to achieve “entente”, agreements, respect, healthy and cordial coexistence, we continue to give priority to academic results, individual performance, standing out, getting good grades, and we see talking, sharing ideas and feelings, reflecting, learning and thinking about the lives of groups as a waste of time... And even when we know what a lot of good the cultural world gives people, with its potential for symbolization, expression and communication, with the enjoyment of beauty, and its musical, artistic, dramatic, literary contributions..., we continue to simplify what we offer children and place before them the same old toys, films, stories or songs, stereotyped and of poor quality, little variety and low calibre.

This fear leads us to assume that the double messages that the media launch at us are good, and that, on the one hand, they are an invitation to pleasure without limits, consumption without restraint, to platitudes, to not thinking, to value pleasure above everything, individuality and competition,

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and on the other we speak of solidarity, cooperation, peace, respect for diversity, environmental care... And yes, these are contradictions which give one pause and confuse, even adults, which is why we need to react and stop to think. It is only by thinking, and thinking with others, that we shall be able to see how we can contribute to changing and humanizing an educational encounter, which is becoming a kind of summation of roles, urgencies and friction.

What a school should be is a place in which to meet others.

A place of inclusion, a normalizing place. A school should be a place of people, not roles, objectives and assessments.

A school should be a place in which to share, create, make friends, find one’s own place, get to know oneself and know others. A school should be a place of enthusiasm, search and discovery. A school should be a place to which society grants again the role of learning, relationships and the law, and not the role of a large-scale babysitter, conveyor of demands, concealer of shortcomings.

It should be a matter for us teachers to get to work...

This is how Rabindranath Tagore describes a person dedicated to educating, the young guardian of a sanctuary, Satir Sandra Rabin. “...with him the boys never felt tied to a specific learning, but seemed to be able to have an input in everything. In spring, when the salt trees were full of flowers, Satir would go to the forest and there would recite to them, with feverish emotion, his favourite poems. He never felt the slightest lack of confidence in the boys’ ability and he would talk to them and read about any subject in which they were interested. His desire was to awaken their understanding and in this he was always successful. His teaching was personal and he himself was the source of it, and thus it was composed of the very

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stuff of life”.1 Ares appeared in my class a few weeks ago, as a student who wants to learn how to become a teacher. I asked my students to tell him what, in their view, a teacher needs to know, and they said: -You need to know the letters: A-E-I-O-U. -You need to know the children’s names.

-Have toys in your classroom.

-Put things up on the blackboard.

-Scold.

-Tidy up.

-Talk to parents.

-Make poems.

-Dance, sing, do theatre.

-How to do sums.

-Tell parents their children’s secrets.

-Do tasks.

-Cheer up children who are sad.

-Relax children so they can calm down.

That is: Knowledge: letters, blackboard, sums, tasks...

In: “Morada de paz (Shantiniketan)”. La escuela de Rabindranath Tagore en Bolpur. (page 28); Madrid 1919. https://archive.org/details/moradadepazshanti00pear

1

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Entertainment: play, dance, sing, poetry, theatre...

Recognize each individual’s value and differences: names, cheer up, relax...

Need for rules: tidy up, scold...

Communication with families: talk to parents, tell them their children’s secrets...

They referred to needs of the body and of the soul. More or less what Tagore said about Satir. This is, I believe, the change that the figure of the teacher needs to embrace: 1- Abandon the futile attempt to be a sage who teaches. And devote oneself to supporting children, getting to know them, listening to them and learning with them about everything that interests them. Putting them in the frame of mind conducive to discovering, finding out, taking action with regard to knowledge. Awakening understanding in them...

2- Stop attempting to be a worker who coldly fulfils his or her alleged responsibility by educating on the strength of schedules, timetables and curricula... Endeavour instead to be a person who walks and takes children by the hand, passing along to them from within the desire to live.

3- Stop thinking of oneself as someone remote, “objective”, “professional”... And devote oneself to establishing genuine relationship bonds with each child (and his or her family), in order to offer them the containment and affection they need.

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In conclusion, many changes are needed in the world of education, and it is up to us to begin to make them happen, rather than devoting ourselves to repeating what is already there.

We should venture to experience a creative school; open, human and friendly.

The kind of school which we would like to attend, be and feel, if we were very young. On our own and with others. Pleasurably and from within.

References Bassedas, E.; Huguet, T.; Solé, I. (2006): Aprender y enseñar en educación infantil. Barcelona, Spain.

Graó.

Alegret, J., Castanys, E.; Sellarés, R. (2010): Alumnado en situación de estrés emocional. Barcelona, Spain.

Graó.

Brazelton, T. B.; Greenspan, S. (2005): Las necesidades básicas de la infancia. Lo que cada niño o niña precisa para vivir, crecer y aprender.

Barcelona, Spain. Graó.

Bowlby, J. (1973): El vínculo afectivo. Barcelona, Spain. Paidós.

Geddes, H. (2010): El apego en el aula. Barcelona, Spain. Graó.

Escola El Martinet (2007): Entramados. Barcelona, Spain. Graó.

Díez Navarro M. C. (2011): Los pendientes de la maestra. O como piensa una maestra en los niños, las escuelas, las familias y la sociedad de hoy. Barcelona, Spain. Graó.

Trueba, B.; De Pablo, P. (1994): Espacios para ti, para mí, para todos.

Madrid, Spain. Escuela Española.

ARNÁIZ, V. (2005): Día a día. El oficio de crecer. Barcelona, Spain.

Graó.

Palou, S. (2004): Sentir y crecer.

Barcelona, Spain. Graó.

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Mari Carmen Díez Navarro She is a teacher, a specialist in early childhood education and educational psychologist. She has acted as educational coordinator at the Escuela Infantil Aire Libre in Alicante, and as a member of the editorial board of the Rosa Sensat Childhood Journal. At present, she is a founding member of Asmi, and regularly takes part in teacher training activities and collaborates in several pedagogical publications.

She has written several books on education: La oreja verde de la escuela, Proyectando otra escuela, Un diario de clase no del todo pedagógico, El piso de abajo de la escuela, Poesías por alegrías, Mi escuela sabe a naranja, Los pendientes de la maestra, Diez ideas claves. La educación infantil... And poetry: Caperucita Roja y los 40 ladrones, Pitiflores, La hormiguita colorá y otros versos...

The driving themes in her work are: listening to children, the teacher-student bond, including the emotional world at school, group assessment, relationships, expression and creativity. carmendiez.com

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ACHIE V EMENT S, FAT IGUE AND CONV INCED INSIST ENCE: Coordination processes for comprehensiveness in childhood social policies Lucía Pierri Aguerre

De tudo ficaram três coisas...

A certeza de que estamos começando...

A certeza de que é preciso continuar...

A certeza de que podemos ser interrompidos antes de terminar Façamos da interrupção um caminho novo...

Da queda, um passo de dança Do medo, uma escada...

Do sonho, uma ponte...

Da procura, um encontro!

Fernando Sabino.

(Heterônimo de Fernando Pessoa)

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Introduction Anyone who has acted in decision-making, design, management, or implementation of social public policies over the last decades will have frequently expressed or heard that there is a “need to coordinate” and/or will have participated in territorial networks, committees, councils, or small and largerscale programmes administered across agencies.

On the basis of this assumption, it should be said that efforts made to coordinate the work of institutions in the face of old or new social issues are extensive and have led to achievements, failures, questionable areas or challenges pending.

It is in this context that we suggest addressing certain aspects which we consider key to gaining understanding of the constraints, dynamics and requirements involved in coordination processes.

We shall focus in particular on coordination processes driven by the State, in its role as an institutional agent with the responsibility to lead and coordinate collective action in the general interest (Garnier, 2000; Isuani, 2005; Fleury, 2002; Narbondo & Ramos, 2004).

We address this task from a standpoint which we like to call “convinced insistence”, thus referring to an attitude which includes the persistence and openness to learning needed in public administration, when seeking to transform conceptions, intentions and knowledge into consistent and unified public policy actions (Martínez Nogueira, 2010; Subirats, 2001).

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Coordination: What, Why and What for?

The significance of the phenomenon of organizations or actors that are or should be coordinated because they need to solve issues which cannot be solved in isolation becomes noticeable in the conceptual developments of recent decades in relation to intersectorality, policy networks, cross-cutting administration, associative or collaborative work, vertical and horizontal coordination or network governance.

While these may be manifested independently and on the basis of different theoretical traditions, in principle, they share the intention of describing or analysing the making of public policies in a context of increasing and differentiated social demands, and where economic and cultural globalization is expanding.

All of which means that governments operate under increasing tension and constraints in the face of external funding and internal fragmentation, while their capacity for governance, planning and steering public action is challenged (MartĂ­nez Nogueira, 2010).

Thus, economic and social reform processes in the States increasingly give rise to the need for synchronization between different levels of government, between economic and social policies (or within them – targeted and universal policies), between public sector agencies, or between the State, stakeholders and society.

In view of this outlook and given the diversity of perspectives relating to analysis, nomination and phenomenic expressions that coordination can assume, it seems appropriate to share some thoughts that may increase our understanding of the

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complexity of coordination processes. i) Our starting point is the understanding that coordination in social policies implies promoting collective rather than hierarchical organizational procedures among the representatives of organizations called upon to find a solution to a multidimensional social issue, in view of the fact that they share an area of public administration. The task of coordination is far from being a simple matter of harmonizing interests among actors who are motivated to devise common objectives and/or complement their actions and resources (Repetto, 2010). Rather, and as various authors have pointed out, social policy coordination implies operating in a field where conceptions, interests and resources are disputed, even going against the tide to promote non-competitive ways of work, based on cooperation and the acknowledgement of interdependence (with the corresponding surrender of selfsufficiency or resistance), to which the organizational cultures of State sectors are not accustomed. ii) When working on issues related to coordination, it is useful to make an analytical distinction between the coordination function and institutional and administrative forms or procedures through which it is expressed or made operational (Repetto, 2010). Thus, the coordination function exercised by the State can be carried out through more or less formal and stable structures (such as councils, committees, coordination boards; composed of representatives of various State agencies or organizations), or it can be applied through specific and barely regulated interactions. This will depend on the complexity and scope of what needs to be coordinated, as well as on the State’s historical background, its attitudes towards this, the level of involvement deemed desirable when confronting social issues, and the characteristics of the existing institutions.

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iii) The acknowledgement of the need for coordination is based on several rationales which, while not expressly indicated, mark a course for what it is considered must be coordinated, and between whom. In this respect, and on the basis of a survey of the literature available, coordination is guided by reasons of democracy (considering the existence of a plurality of actors with the ability and desire to influence public policy and the advisability of making room for their participation), reasons of State reorganization (leading to conceiving it as a way to minimize overlaps, redundancies, and/or contradictions which increase the dispersion of public spending, or as a strategy to face the risk of fragmentation of public, technical and/or administrative authority caused by decentralization processes). Finally, coordination is also supported by reasons of comprehensiveness, in the face of the need to find solutions to social problems which, due to their multicausal nature and multidimensional manifestation, cannot be addressed by a single actor (Cunill Grau, 2005; MartĂ­nez Nogueira, 2010; Licha and Molina, Repetto, 2010, Fleury 1998; Peters 1998).

Comprehensiveness in coordinated social public policy: a strong presence and fragile installation As we said at the beginning, it is quite usual to hear or talk about coordination. Something of the sort occurs with the terms comprehensive or comprehensiveness, which are often seen positioned as a sort of surname for programmes, projects, systems, etc.

The prevalence of this term in documents or inter-agency agreements making the existence of coordination opportunities official has no correlation, however, with any degree of clarification given to its content. Rather, when we do find some definition, it seems to have a polysemous and diffuse

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meaning, as if it and its effectiveness in discussion were taken for granted in boosting and sustaining coordination processes, beyond its limited practical definition.

In view of this, and considering that, as we have said, many coordination actions aim to construct comprehensiveness, it is worth addressing the concept briefly. This can be justified by the fact that if we are coordinating in order to achieve comprehensive policy actions, we would expect to have the necessary conceptual or operational elements which would enable us to assess whether we are closer or further away from achieving it.

As a starting point, the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE, 23rd edition, 2014), provides the following definition: “the quality of being comprehensive”, and refers us to the term comprehensive, whose meaning includes joining, synthesizing, bringing the parts towards the whole, even when they are divergent.

A primary search led subsequently to the field of health, and particularly to the work of Araújo de Mattos (2001), who, highlighting the polysemous nature of the concept, sheds light on its lack of definition, pointing out that while comprehensiveness is the guiding principle of the organization of Brazilian health policies, it constitutes a “target image”.

Stating that target images designate the configuration of a desirable system or situation for some actors on the political stage, he indicates that they are never described in a detailed and specific manner, which he explains by the need to cover and contain a number of meanings which bring together similar “indignations” at existing situations, and different specific projects.

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In this respect, Araújo de Mattos propounds: “Whether we take comprehensiveness as a guiding principle of practices, either as a guiding principle of work organization or of the organization of policies, comprehensiveness implies a refusal to reduce, a refusal to objectify subjects and perhaps an affirmation of openness to dialogue” (Araújo de Mattos, 2001:65).

These proposals, transferred to the social plane, lead us to postulate that the concept of comprehensiveness can be restricted or broad. A restricted definition would be one that is limited to stipulating that the interventions of social programmes and projects should consider the individuals and the issues they experience, from a perspective that addresses biological, psychological and social aspects. A broader sense of the concept extends beyond this and incorporates not only operational and technical aspects, but also political ones, including the way in which the functions of the programmes and services and their organization are understood. Thus, it is considered that these should not only address the resolution of damage which is already installed, but also act preventively on the structural causes of social problems, which essentially leads to connecting with actors from other areas.

If, therefore, we assume that comprehensiveness is conceived in a broad sense, understanding it as a horizon or a mobilizing illusion, we should consider that tending towards it in the field of social policies for children implies generating changes in: i) Conceptions regarding children: considering them not only as a vulnerable group to be protected, but as a category of development or as a strategic population group, with rights and the capacity to express them, and in relation to symboliccultural, demographic-political, and productive processes (Pilotti, 2004).

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ii) Disciplinary developments that inform our understanding of child-related issues: with the view that the question is no longer about producing knowledge about a specific childrelated subject, but about opening up areas of knowledge that synchronize the micro and macrosocial causality of the needs, potential and problems of childhood. iii) Organizational and regulatory formats: comprehensiveness is a call to render visible, question and be willing to impact the multiple lines of fragmentation existing in welfare matrices (between State sectors, between the State and civil society, between the actions of the executive, legislative or judicial branches, or those performed by the market, families or communities). Likewise, overcoming fragmentation also opens up the possibility of designing policies based on the crosssectoral definition of issues and/or demands, and no longer solely on existing sectoral provision.

Psychosocial dimensions or components of coordination in social policies: is something lacking?

In an attempt to learn more about the dynamics and conditioning factors of coordination processes, and at the same time, explain the gaps between pro-coordination discourse and its actual implementation, several authors warn about the need to consider the political and organizational components, dimensions or conditioning factors that come into play in these processes (Repetto, 2006; Fleury, 2003; Klijn, 1998).

In the field of political science, the aspects highlighted are related to the type of actors involved, the formal and informal ground or institutional rules which function as incentives or barriers to collaborative work, as well as the power resources (financial, knowledge, leadership, political) which are disputed

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Chart 1. Conceptions of comprehensiveness and childhood public policies (CPP). Produced by the author.

or added to during coordination.

In addition, and at a different level, the significance of organizational formats is described, as well as the administrative processes through which coordination is made effective. In view of our present space limitations, we shall not now go into these components any further.

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At this point, we are particularly interested in giving an account of some of the arguments made in the literature on networks (Rovere & Tamargo, 2005), which link successful coordination to the existence of perceptions of interdependence, a commonwealth of meaning (Cunill Grau, 2005), a level of associativity and willingness to engage in collective work that implies postponing, resigning or modifying the individual or circumstantial interests of each participating organization, in favour of a common goal. Likewise, experience shows that people who participate in areas of coordination emphasize the importance of establishing horizontal, non-hierarchical relations, of personal commitment or of the trust established or built in those spaces, etc.

These elements, which are often rendered invisible or even trivialized, may be viewed as psychosocial features or conditioning factors, enabling us to understand coordination processes as a collective organization task, in which bonding and group dynamics are deployed.

This is far from considering that the proper functioning of coordination events can be explained by the internal attributes of people who profess certain sympathy for or allegiance to something, get on “well or badly�, or know each other well or not at all, when they come into contact with each other.

Rather, it should be noted that the relational pattern present on these occasions should be considered as producer of and produced in a social, historical, economic and cultural order, which speaks and is updated through them, setting up the daily dynamics of work in areas of coordination.

On the basis of this proposal, it can be argued that the interdependence and the confidence required for the success of coordination can be promoted.

In this context, we consider, for example, the significance of the individual who coordinates this kind of event, as an

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“associativity administrator� (Rovere, 2005). As such, he or she should be capable of operating to convene others, fostering connection and communication, identifying and promoting the realization of actions and/or outputs to consolidate a collective identity, or neutralizing the power differences perceived (arising, among other factors, from the differences between the bodies from which participants originate, in their capacity as relating to budget, social significance, status, importance of the subjects handled in the government agenda, etc.) within the coordination setting (including those arising from the very fact of being the convening individual).

Because of this, the profile of the manager or coordinator of these occasions should not be reduced to that of a good moderator or a charismatic group leader (although these should be attributes to be considered when thinking about a person to fill this position), but also requires specific attitudes, positions and knowledge which, if not met, could jeopardize the success of the coordination process.

This is very much in line with the positioning required to coordinate a space according to a network rationale, as established in the literature, where it is pointed out that from a global vision of the shared administrative area, the manager should be able to identify objectives or themes that include, but transcend individual interests, while also triggering the motivation to look beyond circumstantial pressures and constraints and project them forward in the long term (Rovere, 2005; Repetto, 2010).

In Conclusion We have attempted to convey, throughout, some keys to broaden understanding about a way to conceive and carry out public administration. In this respect, and as we said at the beginning, we have been engaged in coordination action in

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the social area for several years, in different countries in Latin America.

There are lessons to be learned in at least in two respects. On the one hand, as relating to recognizing and addressing the tensions that arise when trying to install an open and horizontal work rationale, with flexible circuits of communication, decisionmaking and implementation of the matter being coordinated, within State institutions which tend to be characterized by vertical and sectoral rationales and chains of command.

On the other, we should take particular care to prevent the failures or fatigue that these tensions produce from reducing coordination to a kind of fashion or senseless ritual, or to the illusion of believing that through these mechanisms it will be possible to solve historic debts of coverage or quality of care in every sector.

Owing to all of this, we uphold the need to exercise “convinced insistence” in order to seek virtuous, intelligent and strategic associations, and to trust that, as Norbert Lechner (1985) has said, it is no more and no less than having the capacity to “reflect upon uncertainty”.

Trust; in order to do more and do better.

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References Andrenacci, L. and Repetto, F. (2006).

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INDES-CIESU-IDB. Araújo de Mattos, R. (2001) Os sentidos da Integralidade: algumas reflexões acerca de valores que merecem ser defendidos. In Pinheiro R., Mattos RA. Os sentidos da integralidade na atenção e cuidado à saúde. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ABRASCO, UERJ, IMS. Available from: http://zl.elsevier. es/es/revista/atencion-primaria-27/laintegralidad-atencion-primaria-saludlos-sistemas-13139260-reflexionesmedicina-familia-2009.[Last consulted: 20/7/2014] Börzel, Tanja A. (1997). “Qué tienen de especial las policy networks.

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Castillo, M.; Milanesi, A. (2012). “La institucionalidad pública de infancia en el Uruguay: evolución histórica y nudos críticos para el debate”. XI Jornadas de Investigación Científica. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República, 10 to 12 September, Montevideo, Uruguay. Panel: La regulación y las transformaciones institucionales del Estado Uruguayo.

Cunill Grau, N. (2005). “La intersectorialidad en el Gobierno y Gestión de la Política Social”. A paper commissioned by the Regional Policy Dialogue of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

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Lucía Pierri Aguerre Psychologist. Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Child Rights from the Interdisciplinary Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Child Rights of the University of the Republic of Uruguay (UDELAR).

Thesis: La coordinación interorganizacional en políticas públicas sociales de Infancia: ¿Ahora se trata de coordinar? [“Cross-organization coordination in social public policies for children: is it about coordinating now?”]

Lecturer, Community Social Psychology Programme, Social Psychology Institute, Faculty of Psychology, UDELAR. Teaches and conducts research in the field of public policies, collective processes and construction of citizenship.

Institutional career: programme operator and manager for programmes providing care for street children and youth, implemented by the Children’s Institute of Uruguay (INAU); Regional Coordinator, eastern area, for the city of Montevideo, INAU; Head of the Technical Area of the National Childhood and Family Directorate of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). Director of the Territorial Planning Division answering to the National Territorial Management Directorate of the Ministry of Social Development. At present, adviser to the Presidency of the Children’s Institute of Uruguay.

E-mail: luciapierri@gmail.com Mobile: (5982) 98 204 038

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Giorgi, V (2012). “Entre el control tutelar y la producción de ciudadanía: aportes de la Psicología Comunitaria a las políticas de Infancia”. In Alfaro, J.; Sánchez, A.; Zambrano, A. (comps.)

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Dabas; E and Najmanovich,D : “Redes el lenguaje de los vínculos. Hacia la reconstrucción y el fortalecimiento de la sociedad civil”. Paidós. Buenos Aires, Argentina Peters, Guy (1998) Managing Horizontal Government. The Politics of Coordination. Canada, CCMD, Research paper N° 21.

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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Paidós. Serie Tramas Sociales.

Secretaría. Ed. Secretaría de Salud Pública/AMR, Instituto Lazarte. Rosario, Argentina.

Subirats, J. (2000). “El análisis de las políticas públicas”. In El Tabaquismo en España. Barcelona, Spain: SESPAS and CNPT. Zurbriggen, C. (2003). “Redes de políticas públicas. Una revisión teórica”.

In Electronic newsletter of the IIGOV, N° 149, June.

Repetto, F. (2005). “La dimensión política de la coordinación de programas y políticas sociales: una aproximación teórica y algunas referencias prácticas en América Latina”. In La Gerencia Social ante los nuevos retos del desarrollo social en América Latina.

Magna Terra Editores.

Repetto, F; Moro, J (2005) “La política como restricción y como oportunidad: alcances y ámbitos de coordinación de la política social”.

X Congreso Internacional del Clad sobre la Reforma del Estado y de la Administración Pública. Santiago, Chile.

Repetto, F. (2006). “La Dimensión política de la coordinación de programas y políticas sociales: una aproximación teórica y algunas referencias prácticas en América Latina”. Mimeo. Washington, D.C., USA. INDES. IDB. Rovere, M. (1999). Redes en salud; un nuevo paradigma para el abordaje de las organizaciones y la comunidad.

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T he Profile of a Mediator in Mexico: Towards a Global Network of International Family Mediators Nuria GonzĂĄlez MartĂ­n

Summary: I. Introduction; II. The profile of a mediator in Mexico; III. Towards a global network.

Abstract: In a globalized world such as ours, with an unmatched number of persons crossing borders and where the increase in family conflicts has not been slow to follow, we have an obligation to create channels for cooperation and forge unifying criteria to set in motion, coincidentally and efficiently, international family mediation as an appropriate, adequate or alternate way to resolve disputes, primarily in relation to international parental abduction of minors. In this respect, efforts aimed at the creation of a global network of international family mediators, in particular, are necessary and urgent. Collaboration between different interlocutors, from private individuals to the different agencies, is the line to follow in order to create viable and effective channels. In this brief paper we provide a short introduction to ADR and its evolution in Mexico, followed by a brief description of the profile of a mediator in Mexico in order to encourage reflection directed at efforts projected in the area of standardizing criteria, through the profile of an

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international family mediator and national and international standards.

I. Introduction The Political Constitution of the United States of Mexico, through the amendment of articles 17 and 18 thereof, in the reform of 18 June 20081, stipulates that the law shall provide alternative means of dispute resolution, as well as promote and develop them.

Mexico is a Federation, divided into 32 federal entities, and virtually every one of them enjoys legislative sovereignty in a significant number of issues, including Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), for example.

Currently, Mexico has 31 laws referring to ADR (with the exception of the state of Guerrero)2 among which is the possibility of creating an Alternative Justice Centre, as part of each state’s Supreme Court of Justice. In Mexico, mediation in judicial venues is the most widely used.

For practical reasons, in this brief paper we shall only refer to laws governing mediation in Mexico City, and, more specifically, we shall refer to the requirements for acting as mediators, the mediator profile, but we should point out that there are differences, sometimes substantial ones, in the laws in other parts of the Mexican Republic.

It was precisely because of those regulatory differences, and http://www.dof.gob.mx/index.php?year=2008&month=06&day=18.

Of the 31 federal entities with specialized institutions for the provision of dispute management and resolution services using alternative means, only one – Guerrero – is lagging behind; 27 of these federal entities have anchored their respective alternative justice policies in their legislation: Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Mexico, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas. In addition: 9 of them stipulate that operators should be exclusively restricted to mediators; 13 confer mediator powers upon operators, as well as other functions, such as those of conciliator and arbitrator; 6 refer to the operator as a specialist or use some other term; 9 provide for private mediation. Source: Alternative Justice Centre of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico City.

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owing to the real need to build concrete solutions to issues involving access to justice, that a Decree was issued on 28 April 2016, which adds a paragraph to constitutional article 73 on the settlement of disputes, leading to the enactment of a General Act establishing the principles and bases of ADR, with the exception of criminal matters.

This General Act on ADR has several goals and thus: -

Addresses the need to strengthen and foster alternative justice in Mexico,

-

A minimal platform is allowed, through which the federal entities may issue their own legislation, unifying ADR principles and bases across the three levels of government.

In Mexico, we are aware of the need to ensure the sovereignty of each of the federal entities – this is evident in the main objective of the General Act – but we are also aware of the urgent need to design unifying and comprehensive criteria for appropriate alternative justice and extra-judicial justice policy.

Thus, we may express and/or reiterate that although ADR has only recently appeared, its use has increased and it is being assimilated as part of the National System of Justice. However, as we said above, there are no minimum standards applicable and no unity of criteria in relation to certification and training requirements, among other matters, an issue which is replicated internationally.

The Explanatory Memorandum of the Presidential Initiative to reform the Constitution, the addition of a paragraph to constitutional article 73, thus granting the Congress of the Union the power to enact the General ADR Act, 5 February 20173, sets out the reasons and purpose of this reform: 3

http://gaceta.diputados.gob.mx/PDF/63/2016/abr/20160428-XXII.pdf

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• It is sought to change the paradigm of justice handed down by the judiciary and to promote more active citizen participation in terms of how people relate to one another through alternative means to court proceedings. There is a focus on personal responsibility, respect for others and the use of assisted negotiation and communication for collective development.

• Current legal systems tend to create more flexible and horizontal institutional structures, which include, of course, the use of alternative means of resolving disputes, but also institutions that foster the proactive participation of individuals in relation to these mechanisms.

• To the extent that access to these alternative mechanisms is expanded and this model is adopted for the settlement of disputes, we shall be contributing to the consolidation of peaceful coexistence.

• There are no minimum standards applicable and no unity of criteria regarding training and certification requirements for mediators and conciliators, or the effects of agreements resulting from these alternative mechanisms. This situation makes it difficult for a common language to be shared in the country with respect to such dispute resolution mechanisms.

• Standardization procedures should be applied to the principles governing them, as well as to the proceedings, the minimum stages they include, the definition of their legal nature, the requirements to be met by persons who act as mediators, facilitators or conciliators, and even the regulation of mechanisms used to address community disputes. This standardizing process is one of the objectives of the General Act for Alternative Dispute Resolution, a standardization which should be reflected and developed in local laws.

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In view of this situation, the Draft General Act for Alternative Dispute Resolution, with 79 articles and 10 transitory articles, drafted and dated, for the time being, 15 February 2017, and which must be completed and issued five months later, does not specifically develop the matters which the objectives of the constitutional reform should address, which is why, in theory, a legal framework which would make it possible to achieve the objectives and targets expressed in the explanatory memorandum of the presidential initiative will not be established.

We trust that the adjustments that are still being conducted may lead to a satisfactory result, bearing in mind the social demand for an everyday justice; that is, justice which is closer to the people, and that this should, in fact be a priority or preference4.

II. The profile of a mediator in Mexico5

A. Requirements.

There is no general rule in Mexico in relation to who can act as a mediator. Most states only require these facilitators to be trained in how to conduct mediation proceedings. However, in other federal entities, such as in Mexico City, there are some more specific requirements6. In order to become a public meSee the work carried out through the Everyday Justice Forum, led in the first instance by the Centre for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE, in Spanish), followed by the Institute of Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (IIJ-UNAM), and the government of the Republic, among others, through which the real need was discerned to devise specific solutions to the problems of access to everyday justice. http://imco.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ Documento_JusticiaCotidiana_.pdf 5 González Martín, Nuria, “El ABC de la mediación en México”, Vega Gómez, Juan (Coord.), Temas selectos de derecho internacional privado y de derechos humanos. Estudios en homenaje a Sonia Rodríguez Jiménez, Mexico, IIJ-UNAM, 2014. 203-245 pp; González Martín, Nuria, “Mexico and Civil, Family and Commercial Mediation: A Search for Complementary Routes to the State Courts” in Esplugues, Carlos and Marquis, L. (Eds.), New Developments in Civil and Commercial Mediation. Ius Comparatum- Global Studies in Comparative Law 6, Springer International Publishing AG, 2015, pp. 475-510.

6 For example: Aguascalientes: requires its mediator-conciliators to hold a degree in Law, Sociology, Pedagogy or any comparable social science; it also provides for private mediators. Baja California: Specialists (mediators) must have a bachelor’s degree; no field of knowledge is specified. Baja California Sur: Provides for public and private mediators. Campeche: Mediators may be public or private and must have professional qualifications in social science or the humanities.

Chiapas: there are public and independent specialists. They must have a professional degree in social science (arbitrators are required to have a bachelor’s degree in Law). In Jalisco, there are 4

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diator for the Alternative Justice Centre of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico City (TSJCDMX), article 18 of the Alternative Justice Act of the TSJCDMX, establishes the following requirements:

“Public mediators attached to the Centre must: I. Be Mexican citizens in full exercise of their civil and political rights and be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of their appointment; II. Be in possession of professional qualifications and a bachelor’s degree certificate in Law Derecho7, as well as a minimum of two years’ demonstrable professional experience, in any of the subjects of the Centre’s jurisdiction.

III. Compete in and pass the relevant selection process, sitting for examinations and training and capacity-building courses (...)” .

It should be mentioned that the post of public mediator is a position of trust; that is, mediators do not belong to the Court union. Mediators remain in office for three years and in order to be confirmed for a further equal period they must pass a labour competency examination. The Council of the Judiciary of Mexico City is the body which ultimately decides whether a mediator shall remain in his or her post or not.

The directors of the Centre, as well as the Court’s clerk actuaries who meet the legal requirements and are duly trained public and private mediators and they are only required to have professional qualifications, without specifying which. Tamaulipas: No university degree required, but they must prove that they have trained in mediation. Public and private mediation also exists. Yucatán: Mediators must have professional qualifications, but no particular field is specified; there is public and private mediation.

7 An issue which we have been calling into question repeatedly in our writings, as it has become irrelevant in the face of the globalization and overwhelming number of border crossings in which we are immersed, is that this professional certificate should still be required, in this case in point, a document which is only issued for degrees earned in the Republic of Mexico, specifically, for the Bachelor’s Degree in Law, and which implies long-drawn-out application processes, tedious and incomprehensible and unattainable save under writ of constitutional protection.

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may register as mediators. Their status as public mediators must also be confirmed every three years and will cease if they leave the Centre or no longer act as clerk actuaries of the Court, as appropriate.

In addition, private mediators also exist; they are duly trained private individuals who can serve as mediators and who are also authorized to act in good faith in the celebration of mediation agreements. In order to carry out their duties they must be duly certified and registered by the Alternative Justice Centre in their state.8 They must, essentially, meet the same requirements as public mediators, including the need for a bachelor’s degree, but, as from the reform of August 20159, this degree does not necessarily have to be in the field of law. In addition, according to the same article 18 of the Alternative Justice Act of the TSJCDMX, they must meet the following requirements: “(…)

III. Be persons of good repute and recognized integrity; IV. Not have been convicted by judgement that may only be appealed to the Executive for a wilful offence; V. Sit for and pass an examination on their knowledge of job competencies; VI. Satisfactorily complete the training courses required for certification and registration; See the recent “Agreement of the Council of the Judiciary of the Federal District of 29 October 2013, which comprehensively amends the rules governing private mediators”, published in the Boletín Judicial [Judicial Newsletter], Issue Nº 199, of Tuesday, 19 November 2013.

9 Amendment of August 2015 to the Alternative Justice Act of Mexico City.

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VII. Comply with the required practice hours at the Centre, as specified in the rules”.

The certification and registration granted by the Centre is valid for three years. In order to renew their certification and registration, they must sit for and pass the examination on job competencies and comply with the provisions on this subject established by the Rules and Regulations.

We should point out that the legal reform of 19 June 2013 to the Alternative Justice Act of the TSJCDMX contains a commendable innovation in that public mediators who cease to be public servants of the Court may be certified and registered as private mediators.

Private mediators may not handle criminal cases.

It is regrettable that the opportunity was not taken in Mexico City to make use of the updates to mediation in the amendments we mentioned and do away with certain requirements which are now outdated – and even discriminatory – in the face of globalization and the crossing of borders by professionals, leading to applications for Mexican citizenship and requests for a Mexican professional licence.

B. Selection.

In Mexico City, public mediators submit their qualifications for the position they wish to fill. They take a course and are examined both by the Institute of Judicial Studies of the TSJCDMX and its Alternative Justice Centre. The final decision regarding who shall join the Centre as a mediator is up to the Council of the Judiciary of Mexico City, at the proposal of the Centre’s Director-General.

Public mediators deal with the users of the service in turns;

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that is, the parties do not select a mediator, but they can reject him or her if they are aware that the facilitator has a conflict of interest in the matter.

In regard to private mediators, they attend a 147-hour diploma course organized by both the TSJCDMX’s Alternative Justice Centre and its Institute of Judicial Studies. This is not actually a competition, since if all applicants pass the course and examinations, they may be certified and registered by the Alternative Justice Centre of the TSJCDMX. They are evaluated and in addition they must complete 40 hours of practice under the supervision of public mediators.10 According to transitory article 5 of the decree amending, adding and repealing a number of provisions of the Alternative Justice Act of the TSJCDMX, published on 19 June 2013, in order to retain their registration, private mediators who have been duly certified and registered by the TSJCDMX shall be required to undergo training and updating procedures.11 The choice of private mediator is free. The parties may choose the mediator they prefer from an official list which is published by the Judicial Newsletter of the TSJCDMX.12 Finally, we should not forget to say a few words about the supervisory activities currently carried out by some Alternative Justice Centres in relation to private mediation services.

They include: 1. the administration of mediator registrations and records; 2. supervising and randomly checking the mediation services provided, ex officio or as a result of a complaint against the private mediator; 3. reviewing and, if relevant, registering mediation agreements; 4. detecting the need for 10 Between 2009 and 2012, instead of the diploma course mentioned above, there was a course of approximately 120 hours and 10 hours of practice at the Alternative Justice Centre of the TSJCDMX 11 See the final call for the “Training and Update Course for Certified Private Mediators”, published in the Boletín Judicial. Órgano Oficial del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal[Judicial Newsletter. Official Mouthpiece of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Federal District], Volume CXCII, No. 152, 10 September 2013, pp. 9-10 12 On the issue of a mediator’s duties in Mexico, see the author’s work cited in note 3.

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psychological support for mediators when, owing to their constant exposure to human conflict, they should require it for their own emotional stability and to recommend appropriate care when necessary, and conducting surveys among the mediated persons who are celebrating their agreements, regarding the quality of the services they receive.

III. Towards a global network The work carried out by international and universal agencies and, in specific cases involving international family mediation, The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), its Permanent Bureau, and international non-government organizations, such as International Social Service (ISS), is commendable. That is, the cooperation between agencies of different origins and nature, as a guiding principle to join forces, visualize and give shape to real and feasible criteria with which address the need for urgent collaboration is indicative of developments that are moving in the right direction.

Proof of this is the final report of the Conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 21 to 23 October 2015, “Cross-border Child Protection: Legal and Social Perspectives 2015”13, organized by HCCH and ISS. As a result of its final recommendations and the need expressed by the Central Authorities, ISS is currently drafting some “Country Reports”, which will gather information on national systems for child protection and parental responsibility. In addition, concurrently to the conference, a professional survey was organized on international family mediation, and a final outcome published in the “Charter of International Family Mediation Processes. A Collaborative Process”14, continuity is provided to these issues through the meeting organized by ISS on 7-9 May 2017, the www.hcch.net.org Final Report on Conference: “Cross-border Child Protection: Legal and Social Perspectives 2015 http://www.ifm-mfi.org

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focus of which is the formation of a global network of international family mediators, and through the next Special Commission on The Hague Conventions of 1980 and 1996 in October 2017, organized by HCCH. Personally, because of the field we are developing in relation to international family mediation in cases of international abduction of minors by one of their parents, we deem it essential to lay a solid foundation to create the appropriate channels and thus identify guiding principles or criteria in order to unify, on the basis of cultural, religious, linguistic and other types of diversity, an international practice for family service, assistance and protection, which is urgent and of paramount importance.

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Nuria González Is a Senior Researcher C, PRIDE D, at the Legal Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

She graduated as a Doctor of Law from the Autonomous University of Tlaxcala, Tlas., Mexico, on 25 August 2000, with a thesis on Políticas de acción positiva por razón de raza en los Estados Unidos de América y respectivo breve panorama europeo [“Affirmative action policies on the basis of race in the United States of America and corresponding brief European outlook”]. Honorary Mention and Doctor of Law from Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain, 19 December 2003, with a thesis on Adopción internacional y Convenio de La Haya de 29 de mayo de 1993: la práctica mediadora y los acuerdos bilaterales (especial referencia a las relaciones hispano-mexicanas) [“International adoption and The Hague Convention of 29 May 1993: mediation and bilateral agreements (especially with reference to Hispanic-Mexican relations)”].

Summa cum laude by unanimous decision.

Other specific training includes a Specialization in Criminology, from the Department of Criminal and Procedural Law at the University of Seville, academic year 1989-1990, and a Diploma in “Ethnicity, Ethno-Development and Human Rights”, from the Institute of Legal Research of UNAM, from March to September 1996.

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T he implementation of alternative measures and penalties to deprivation of liberty: legal relevance and methodological recommendations in Chile (Second Part) Osvaldo Vázquez Rossoni

Chile’s experience1 Latin American experience in the design and implementation of the range of enforcement alternatives is varied. In the case of Chile, after the enactment of Law Nº 20,084 on Juvenile Criminal Liability (LRPA, for its acronym in Spanish), a specialized justice system was created in order to try, judge and punish persons older than fourteen and younger than eighteen.

The LRPA distinguishes between the following types of penalties applicable to adolescents: • Deprivation of liberty: confinement in a closed centre and confinement in semi-enclosed centre. Both cases include social reintegration programmes.

• Non-custodial penalties: special probation, probation, community service, reparation of the harm caused, fines and reprimands.

The model proposed is based on the Technical Guidelines for the operation of the Programme on Services for the Benefit of the Community prepared by Chile’s National Service for Minors, as well as on the Programme on Service to Benefit the Community conducted by Corporación Opción in Chile.

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• Accessory penalties: inter alia, prohibition to drive motor vehicles and obligation to attend rehabilitation treatment in situations involving drug abuse.

The purpose of these penalties2 is to ensure that adolescents assume responsibility for crimes committed, so that the penalty becomes a part of broad socio-educational intervention aiming at full social integration.

Alternative measures arise from the application of article 27 of the LRPA, which the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure make applicable in a supplementary manner; they are contained in Article 237 and following articles. These measures are beneficial to adolescents accused of offences, as they suspend criminal prosecution. They are in line with the principle of opportunity, conditional suspension of proceedings and compensation agreements.

The LRPA applies the principle of the rules contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure for Adults. The preventive measures laid down in the Code may represent non-custodial preventive measures. That is, “subject to surveillance by a specific person or institution, who shall regularly report to the judge”.3 Their aims involve “ensuring the success of steps taken in investigations or the security of society, protecting the victim or ensuring the appearance of the accused in the proceedings or execution of the sentence”.4 In Chile, the State’s OCAs (Accredited Collaborating Bodies) implement the range of non-custodial measures. Programmes are financed by the State through Law Nº 20,032, which regulates the transfer of resources to private, non-profit institutions, recognized as collaborating with the State. Deprivation of liberty penalties are executed directly by the State through the National Service for Minors.

Ley de Responsabilidad Penal Adolescente N°20.084 [Juvenile Criminal Liability Law No. 20,084]. (Art. 20) Chile, 2007 Code of Criminal Procedure. Art. 155.b. Chile, 2000.

4 Ibid.

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As a private, non-profit institution which collaborates with the State, Corporación Opción has been implementing and developing programmes for adolescents in conflict with the law since 1993. Since 2007, Opción has been implementing programmes in line with the diverse range of non-custodial measures and penalties. In this task, the corporation has sought to adapt its designs and methodologies to the guidelines set forth in the CRC and other international instruments relating to rights in this field, respecting the dignity of juveniles, encouraging them to take responsibility for the acts they have committed and promoting their constructive social inclusion. At the same time, it engages in research and innovation, in order to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of programmes, with a view to fulfilling the aims established by law.

In the following paragraphs, we shall describe Opción’s experience in the implementation of programmes for adolescents in conflict with the law: preventive measures, alternative measures and non-custodial penalties.

The experience of Corporación Opción in Chile5 Non-Custodial Preventive Measures (Medidas cautelares ambulatorias, or MCA) Non-custodial preventive measures consist in supervising adolescents by establishing a relationship with a delegate in a socio-educational context which promotes appropriate conditions in underage persons and their environment, for the fulfilment of preventive measures and the confrontation of criminal proceedings by underage persons and their surroundings, so that negative impacts on their development are kept to a minimum6, and avoiding provisional detention.

In developing these measures, the programme’s principal obIn the Appendix we include the outcomes of the processes implemented by the programmes described below.

Technical Guidelines on MCA Programmes. National Service for Minors. Chile, 2010

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jective is to ensure that juveniles are present at all stages of the criminal proceedings and at sentencing hearings. In addition, efforts should be made to ensure that adolescents are aware of and understand the consequences of criminal proceedings, as well as to encourage the development of social and cognitive skills so that they can take an active part in them. Providing adolescents with access to the resources of the network and their environment is also an aim.

The duration of this measure is a maximum of six months, with the possibility of extending it for a further two months.7 Should the period established by law be exceeded, the adolescent’s defending counsel (with whom the programme should maintain permanent communications) should be informed of the fact.

As presumption of innocence is a prime consideration, and the determination of criminal liability in relation to the offence with which the adolescent is charged is pending, the programme operates with restrictions regarding the intervention, in order to ensure that the measure does not become a covert or anticipated penalty. These restrictions specifically imply refraining from addressing aspects related to the adolescent’s responsibility and respecting the voluntary nature of the actions proposed, in order to safeguard the exercise of rights.

Interventions involve face-to-face meetings with adolescents, at which the general features of the process are explained, as well as the consequences of non-compliance and the provisional nature of the measure, and conditions are established for the support provided by the delegate during the process.

At the same time, and respecting confidentiality, it is sought to understand the needs of adolescents, and suggest actions to provide care and support them when they gain access the services they need. Opción implements strategies to facilitate the exercise of adolescents’ rights by including them in formal education, training for employment and other social networks.

7

Juvenile Criminal Liability Law N° 20,084. Article 38. Chile, 2007

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Also included in this process are the significant adults in adolescents’ surroundings, endeavouring to incorporate them in various policies and services.

When programmes have local offices within adolescents’ and their families’ own environment, it is beneficial for the synchronization of networks and the inclusion of minors and adults who accompany them in their own social environment.

These strategies are developed by professionals – psychologists and social workers – in keeping with a standard that requires one operator for every twenty adolescents, although teachers and educational psychologists are mainly included, depending on the needs identified.

Alternative measures Reparation agreements Reparation agreements are among the measures that the prosecution may suggest in the criminal prosecution of offences.

In relation to this measure, Corporación Opción uses an innovative methodology in which the agreement is the result of a restorative meeting between victim and offender. For adolescents, meeting the victim and reflecting upon the act they committed, understanding the harm caused and addressing the need to repair it has constructive effects in their development and social reintegration.

The process begins with the referral of cases from the prosecutor to the implementing programme.

During the initial stages, interviews with the adolescents and their responsible adults are sought, and strategies to include the persons affected are initiated. The first interviews with the adolescents make it possible to contextualize the measure,

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its operational characteristics, benefits, implications and legal consequences. With regard to the family or responsible adults, as well as inviting them to participate, explaining to them the characteristics and consequences of the measure, their perception of the event is evaluated and examined.

In relation to victims and their families, the first contact is carried out in the form of a home visit. Their general experiences in relation to the crime are compiled, the characteristics of mediation and the importance of their participation in the process are explained, and containment features are provided in order to prevent the victim’s actions from solidifying. Before planning the mediation, the victims’ capacity to meet the adolescent is rigorously evaluated, as well as their real chances of identifying their interests and needs, the personal and social resources they have access to, and other considerations.

The outcomes of these initial interviews are embodied in a report on the background gathered and, mainly, on adolescents’ willingness (or lack of it) to take part in the process, and submitted to the prosecution and the supervisory court.

The implementation stage includes the following steps: Preparation The initial objective of this phase is to prepare the parties for the implementation of the reparation process through mediation.

It is particularly important to build up in adolescents and their families the communication skills they need for the meeting between victim and offender. To this end, techniques such as role play are used and there is a focus on empathy, by attempting to “put oneself in someone else’s place”. At the same time, families are encouraged to boost their support during the process and help the young person to seek solutions to repair the harm caused. The process with the victims entails address-

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ing emotional content related to their victimization experience, and supporting their visualization of alternative measures in order to repair the harm caused, which could be suggested to the adolescents.

Meeting held with the parties Mediation is implemented by considering procedural aspects that prevent the stigmatization of adolescents and the revictimization of the persons offended, and promote the participation of the parties. During this process: • The mediator lays out the situation and explains a few basic elements involving respect, which must be complied with by each of the parties.

• The parties are requested to introduce themselves, adding a few personal elements.

• Both parties are prompted to give their account of the event in question, describing the situation that gave rise to the process.

• The offended person is asked to describe how he or she considers that the offence could be repaired.

• The adolescent reacts to the reparation suggested by the victim.

At the end of the mediation, an agreement of reparation is drawn up, which is signed by both parties and the person in charge of mediation. This agreement contains the principal items to be met by the adolescent according to what was agreed during the process. The document is submitted to the relevant supervisory judge. If the conditions for remission are acceptable, a report on the process is attached and sent to the prosecutor’s office.

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After the reparation protocol has been sent to the prosecution, the process for the fulfilment of the agreement of reparation or alternative measure is initiated. This process (which takes approximately three months) is supervised by the programme’s professional operators. Throughout its development, the adolescent is given support in order to strengthen his or her reflection and commitment.

Once the agreed reparation has been performed, the parties are convened in order to evaluate the process, and the experience and level of satisfaction of each participant is noted.

After the agreements have been fulfilled and the report has been forwarded to the prosecution, the case is dismissed or closed definitively, in keeping with the general rules. Should no agreement be reached and the mediation process fail, the supervisory judge and the prosecution are informed of the fact and criminal prosecution must then continue.

Conditional stay of the process The conditional stay of proceedings is an instrument that makes it possible to dispense with full criminal prosecution in cases in which it is not considered advisable to apply a penalty. This measure is consistent with what the juvenile justice system establishes regarding deviation. A wide range of programmes must be implemented in order to deal with it, adjusted to the needs of adolescents and the features of the offences with which they are being charged.

In order to facilitate discontinuance, it is necessary to study the causes of the alleged offending conduct, which implies considering psycho-social aspects, while bearing in mind the limits of due process, so that adolescents’ procedural guarantees are not affected.

In Chile, the conditional stay of proceedings is administered through alternative measures programmes (PSA, in Spanish),

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which adolescents join only when they voluntarily accept the conditions laid down by the prosecutor and with the advice and support of their defending counsel.

These programmes implement various intervention modules adapted to the characteristics of each adolescent (needs and resources) and of the offending behaviour, which in this case implies considering, in accordance with the principle of the presumption of innocence, the underlying reasons which brought the juvenile into contact with the criminal justice system. These modules usually develop strategies to strengthen adolescents’ competencies and skills, increase protective factors, encourage access to opportunities in society and promote the enjoyment of rights, with a view to reducing the risk of being readmitted to the system.

OpciĂłn develops methodologies validated by applied research, such as Sexual Violence Control (CAS-R, in Spanish) or Violence Control (CV). In addition, it conducts community services with a restorative approach and pedagogical strategies to ensure that adolescents do not abandon formal education.

Since the CAS-R8 and CV programmes are voluntary for adolescents, they operate according to the principle of confidentiality, and, therefore, the issues addressed and worked on with the young people are not reported to the judicial authorities and not used in criminal prosecution. Only the formal content of the assistance is reported.

Penalties Community service orders The Juvenile Justice System (SRPA, for its acronym in Spanish) establishes the provision of services to the community as one of the penalties applicable to adolescents who have been 8

http://opcion.cl/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ManualCAS-R-Doc4.pdf

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found liable before the law.

This penalty, based on the principles of restorative justice, consists in adolescents carrying out tasks in their social and community settings, with the aim of redressing the damage caused and restoring the norms of social coexistence which were shattered by their unlawful act. Unlike remunerationbased community work, the main feature of this penalty is the restorative process which takes place as a result of the meeting between the community agent and the adolescent, during the service rendered. The community agent represents the victim, symbolically, or, more directly, the public asset affected.

It is as a result of this encounter, and not in the execution of the service, that the educational, accountability-inducing and restorative aims of the penalty are met.

For adolescents, this penalty represents an opportunity to repair the harm committed, promote a positive self-image, identify with their community and increase their social worth, which facilitates their reintegration to the community. In this respect, it is particularly significant to prioritize the implementation of this penalty within the habitual setting of adolescents and their families, promoting their integration to the context where they feel a sense of belonging and facilitating the engagement of the community in the resolution of conflicts that affect it.

In view of all of this, the purpose of the Community Services programme is to: 1. Foster the active and reflective participation of adolescents, through a process that enables them to establish a link between the community service and the offence committed.

2. Foster the implementation by adolescents of services that enable them to experience their redress activities in the context of collaborative relationships with members of the community.

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3. Encourage public and private agencies in the community to become involved and cooperate in the social integration of adolescents.

4. Facilitate access to resources in the social network for adolescents and their families, which will promote their development and the full enjoyment of rights.

In carrying out this penalty, ongoing coordination with the justice systems helps the system’s stakeholders to gain access to information on the programme, fosters and speeds up referrals and facilitates the enjoyment of rights and safeguards throughout the process. A further significant aspect is crosssectoral management and the links to the community which the programme sets up. This makes it possible to include a greater number of appropriately placed community agents to strengthen commitments to processes involving adolescents and have a wide range of alternative measures in place which respond to the needs of adolescents. In particular, they can provide implementation schedules compatible with school timetables, or work, or other activities related to the development and exercise of the rights of young people.

The main focus of work carried out with families is their role in providing support so that the service to be carried out by adolescents is fulfilled. While not enforceable, this support is considered a positive factor, above all in the case of younger teens. In this respect, attempts are made to involve families or significant adults from the moment of joining the programme, providing information on its scope and the commitments undertaken by the adolescents.

The process begins with a diagnosis to determine which service or activity is the most suitable to implement the penalty, bearing in mind the characteristics of the adolescents, the nature of the offence and the capacity of the community to become a restorative agent under the principles of restorative justice. Owing to procedural conditions and other reasons relating to the adolescents’ consent to implementing the service,

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the content of the penalty (time and place) is determined once the ruling is handed down, on the basis of background and diagnosis.

Identifying the service to be rendered implies choosing activities that avoid gender bias or other forms of impairment to the integrity and dignity of adolescents. Similarly, the nature of the activity should be considered, bearing in mind that it should be of social use, non-profit and not paid work, prioritizing activities that are contained within adolescents’ and their families’ community area. In addition, the activities chosen should tend to promote in adolescents an understanding of the consequences of their infringing behaviour; that is, they should be meaningful owing to their relationship or closeness to the offence. At the same time, activities should consider adolescents’ prior competencies and skills, while also promoting the development of their potential, interests and personal growth, as well as stimulating further reflection. Should adolescents require any specific skill or competency for the implementation of the service, without extending the penalty beyond what was stipulated by the court, it is feasible for the programme to offer some brief and voluntary coaching and then support adolescents in developing and strengthening the necessary skills.

Once all of this has been decided, a commitment of service provision is drawn up with the adolescents, giving rise to the appropriate conditions to begin the activity. These conditions entail actively exploring their activities with the adolescents and establishing conditions for fulfilment, both practical (place, times, schedule, programme interviews, contact person or community agent, description of the tasks to be carried out, etc.) and judicial, relating to the consequences of compliance or non-compliance. The commitment is submitted to the supervisory judge for the purpose of monitoring implementation.

During the implementation, the programme maintains permanent contact with adolescents, through interviews and direct supervision in the field. During these contacts, it is sought

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to provide reflective guidance with regard to the experience involved in fulfilling the activity, a process which is also constantly conducted by the community agent in charge. Meetings with families focus on strengthening their commitment to the guidance and support they provide to adolescents. The facilitator needs to be alert to any problems that may come up during the implementation phase. In situations involving specific non-attendance and inappropriate behaviour, the facilitator must check the facts and set in motion reflective guidance actions with a view to renewing adolescents’ commitment, in addition to exercising judicial control by reporting unexcused non-attendance.

Upon conclusion, the execution of the services for the benefit of the community is assessed together with the adolescent, with a review of the meaning of the activity. At the same time, the facilitator provides a global vision of the outcome of the intervention. Using all of the background information collected, he or she provides feedback for the process and concludes the intervention. On occasion, depending on the case, closure could be effected on the field, together with the person in charge of support from the agency where the service was rendered, the family or responsible adult and the community agent. Finally, an implementation report is submitted to the appropriate judge, giving an account of the completed activity.

Probation and special probation This penalty involves a programme in which adolescents are put in charge of a delegate and between them they draw up an individual intervention plan (PII, in Spanish), which must be approved by the court. This PII includes school attendance, and attending therapeutic, educational, rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes, or of whatever kind are deemed necessary, depending on each young person’s situation.

Special probation is more intensive. Juveniles take part in a socio-educational and social inclusion programme at commu-

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nity level, which must include formal education, job training, opportunities to attend drug-addiction treatment programmes and the strengthening of bonds with their families or adult caregivers. The penalty’s intensive features are reflected in the number of actions implemented as well as in the nature and frequency of monitoring In order to determine the intervention’s levels of complexity, Opción has developed an instrument called SIED-AJ,9 which weighs the areas of greater complexity so that they may be directly addressed in the intervention. Based on this instrument, the programmes design various methodologies in order to fulfil the objectives of this penalty, thus making it more effective.

The length of this penalty may be up to three years. It is implemented by teams of professional operators including psychologists, social workers, teachers and educational psychologists, with a standard of care involving one professional delegate per fifteen adolescents. This ratio is enhanced by the professionals who make up the support team.

The areas or components of the socio-educational process are based on the purpose of the punishment and, as a principal underlying factor, on the generation of a significant bond between the delegate and the adolescent. Inasmuch as it is the authorities who demand the penalty, this last aspect is central to the effectiveness of the process, as it encourages the adolescent’s own involvement in the activities and actions suggested.

The purpose of the penalty is consistent with liability, by encouraging juveniles to take responsibility for the impact caused by their infringement of the rights of other people; to experience empathy and develop respect for the social agreement that they have broken. Reparation encourages adolescents to integrate, in affective terms, the experiences they have encountered in their contact with the criminal justice system.

Rehabilitation and social reintegration develop pro-social skills 9

http://opcion.cl/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SIED-AJ.pdf

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and competencies that aim to build a life project fostering responsible autonomy. Finally, social reintegration motivates juveniles to become part of the school or work context and address the requirements which may emerge so that they may fully exercise their rights.

Conclusions and final remarks After ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, Chile has conducted a large number of reforms to its juvenile justice system, starting in 2007 with the Law of Adolescent Liability. As is the case in many countries in the region, this process is incomplete and full of challenges.

The importance of developing non-custodial measures and penalties, which fully comply with the provisions of the CRC and other instruments of international law is demonstrated by the harm caused to the careers of young people who have been involved in detention systems, either awaiting trial and a penalty or subsequently, after they have been sentenced. In the case of Chile, the preference for this type of measure is a reality and the figures speak for themselves. In this continent, Chile has the second lowest homicide rate after Canada (3 per 100,000 inhabitants) and the fourth highest deprivation of liberty rate, according to figures provided by ILANUD. The system’s tendency to implement detention-based penalties defies the development and promotion of innovations in the field of non-custodial measures and penalties, which, bearing in mind the challenges pertaining to human rights and the safeguards due to juveniles in conflict with justice, respond effectively to the requirements of the judicial authorities, providing meaning to the penalties proposed by law.

These meanings, within the framework of rights and safeguards, involve the deployment of psycho-social strategies, methodologies and techniques, so that the penalties may fulfil the purpose of social responsibility and reintegration. The ju-

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venile justice system thus entails a multidisciplinary and theoretical supervisory legal model, in which criminal law has a leading, though not exclusive, role. A number of fields of endeavour catering to the age of development and the special status of adolescents in conflict with the law, their families and the communities they belong to must come together.

Amongst the innovations proposed by OpciĂłn, preventive measures represent a formal alternative in Chile and the region to preventive detention. Preventive detention is one of the aspects that is least addressed in Latin American specialized justice systems, and involves numerous breaches to the rights of adolescents.

In relation to penalties, OpciĂłn has embarked upon a course that aims to incorporate restorative justice and its benefits in the juvenile justice system. This incorporation is facing numerous obstacles arising from ignorance and distrust of the system, a situation which has hampered the development of repairing the harm as a penalty, for example.

However, the experience of including restorative principles is promising for the different stakeholders in the system, inasmuch as it involves both victims and the community in resolving the conflict, as well as in promoting adolescents’ responsibility and social inclusion, thereby contributing to social peace.

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Source: SGDI Opción

TOTAL JJ PROGRAMMES

COMPLEMENTARY NON-CUSTODIAL PENALTY PROGRAMMES

JUVENILE CRIMINAL PENALTIES, NON-CUSTODIAL

PRE-CONVICTION MEASURES

APPENDIX: Results at discharge

322

3

PAS11

59

S/D

8

14.998

S/D

PRE10

2.822

2.361

6

9

PLA7

4.707

PIL9

7

SBC5- RD6

1.568

12

6

PSA2 (AR3-SCP4)

3.218

Children Admitted 2011 – 2015

PLE8

8

Number of Projects

MCA1

Type of Programme

62,7%

69,4%

S/D

S/D

50,1%

54,2%

47,8%

76,1%

78,6%

Level of achievement at discharge*

With no further charges, has complied with attendance requirements and 50% or higher goals achievement in PII (Individual Intervention Plan) approved by the relevant judge, throughout the term of the measure or penalty.

*

Non-Custodial Preventive Measures (Medidas cautelares ambulatorias) 1

2

Alternative Measures Programme.

3

Reparation Agreements.

4

Conditional Stay of the Process.

5

Community Service Orders

6

Reparation of Harm.

7

Probation Programme

8

Special Probation Programme

9

Employment Intermediation Programme

10

School Re-Enrolment Programme

Programme for Children and Youth engaging in Sexually Abusive Behaviour 11

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Osvaldo Enrique Vázquez Rossoni

He is a psychologist and graduate of the University of Buenos Ai- res (U.B.A.). He holds a diplom in Russian scientific psychology, he is a psychologi the University of Chile; and is pursuing a doctoral de psychology (U.B.A.).

Chile, 1991/1995: Coordinated the project on Animación tural Carcelaria, with juvenile offenders, Puente Alto Pri- so and the Proyecto Defensoría Jurídica providing psychosocial support to juveni of liberty, Ministry of Justice. Section Coordinator at a Specialized Deprivation of L “Comunidad Tiempo Joven”, SENAME.

1995 to the present: Director of Probation Projects and national coordinator of juven ects: Legal Advocacy, Proba- tion, Community Services, Reparation for Victims, Altern Non-Custodial Preventive Measures, Corporación Op- ción.

2005 to date, Assistant Professor, School of Psychology, post- graduate education, UD and researcher at se- veral universities in areas related to childhood and adol In Chile’s Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, he takes part in the pre-legislative and for Law Nº 20,084, the Juvenile Criminal Liability Act, and its assessments and imp

He is a teacher and consultant for UNICEF, Chile and has de- veloped specialization c ber of countries: Chile, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica and P

Academic Director and teacher providing training for professio- nals on sexual assa public agencies and NGOs in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Urugua Panama and Guatemala. IIN/OAS consultant in the field of Ju- venile Criminal L Latin America and the Caribbean (2013/2014).

Consultant for the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO), Brusse ROSOCIAL project, Handbook on Justice and Restorative Practices, trainin secondary and tertiary preven- tion, infringement, adolescents and you people in Colombia (2014-2015). ovazquez@opcion.cl

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Code of Criminal Procedure. Chile, 2000.

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DD. He is a teacher lescence. d legislative stages ple- mentation.

Dünkel, F and Castro, A., Sistemas de Justicia Juvenil y Política Criminal en Europa. http://justiciainfancia.udp.cl/wp-content/ uploads/2013/08/D%C3%BCnkel-Castro.pdf In SRSG on Violence Against Children. Promoting Restorative Justice for Children. United Nations. 2013 Ley de Responsabilidad Penal Adolescente N°20.084 [Juvenile Criminal Liability Law No. 20,084]. Chile, 2007 MCA Programmes Technical Guidelines. National Service for Minors. Chile, 2010.

courses in a numPanama.

Palummo, J., Justicia Penal Juvenil Situación y perspectivas en América Latina y el Caribe. UNICEF. Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. Panama, 2014.

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United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, “The Beijing Rules”. United Nations, 1985.

els, EUng in ung

Vázquez, Cillero, et al. “Modelo Regional de Política de Justicia Juvenil”. Eurosocial ll.OIJJ. 2015

A paper presented at the International Seminar on: “Children’s rights, public safety and non-custodial measures from a socio-legal and communication perspective” UNICEF Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, UN. Montevideo, 30 August 2016.

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