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PRESS RELEASE No. 28/02
RAPPORTEURSHIP
ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD CONDUCTS TRAINING SEMINAR AND PROMOTIONAL VISIT
IN PARAGUAY From
June 17 to 19, 2002, the Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hold in Asuncion, in
concert with the Ministry of Children and Youth of Paraguay, a training
seminar on the inter-American system for protection of human rights as
regards promotion and defense of the rights of children and adolescents. Furthermore, the
Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child of the IACHR, Dr. Susana Villarán,
will hold various meetings with representatives of the Government and of
nongovernmental organizations involved in promotion and defense of the
rights of children and adolescents. The aim of the
seminar is to examine the inter-American system for protection of human
rights insofar as promotion and defense of the rights of children and
adolescents are concerned. The
seminar will be attended by officials from the executive branch, public
defenders, judges, lawyers, representatives of nongovernmental organizations
and members of civil society. "This
seminar is hugely important for promoting respect for, and observance of,
the human rights of children, in both Paraguay and the rest of the
Americas" said the Executive Secretary of the IACHR, Dr. Santiago A.
Canton. These activities of
the Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child are part of the Project on
Strengthening the Rapporteurship financed by the Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB). The IACHR is a
principal organ of the OAS, whose mandate is to promote observance of,
protect, and defend, human rights in the Americas. Its serves as an advisory
body to the OAS in such matters. The authority of the Commission derives
from the OAS Charter, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of
Man, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the Statute and Rules of
Procedure of the IACHR. The
Commission is composed of seven members who are elected in their personal
capacity by the OAS General Assembly, and who do not represent their
countries of origin or residence. In
performance of its mandate, the Commission analyzes individual petitions
that allege violation of rights protected in the American Convention vis-ŕ-vis
member states that have ratified that treaty, and of rights enshrined in the
American Declaration in the case of other OAS member states. The Commission
also studies the situation of human rights in the countries of the
hemisphere, examines concrete concerns within its jurisdiction, and prepares
and publishes the relevant reports. The Commission
created the Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child two years ago;
Commission member Susana Villarán took up the post in June 2002.
The Commission
wishes to thank the Government of Paraguay for its interest and cooperation
in holding this event. Washington, D.C., June 18, 2002
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