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TECHNICAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT No   001 /2004

File Nº 00004.0000294/2003-17

THE UNION, by means of the SPECIAL SECRETARIAT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, registered in the CNP J/MF under no. 05.478.625/0001-87, based in the city of Brasilia – DF, Explanada de los Ministerios, Bloque “T”, Anexo II, 4º piso, Brasilia – hereinafter the SEDH – and represented by Mr. NILMÁRIO DE MIRANDA, SPECIAL SECRETARY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, domiciled in SQS 316, Bloque C, apto. 303 - Asa Sul, CEP 70387-030, Brasilia – DF, with ID document no. M 895.158 issued by SSP/MG, and registered in the CPF/MF under no. 253.803.036-68, appointed by Executive Act of January 1^st, 2003, and the INTER-AMERICAN CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE, a specialized organization of the Organization of American States created in 1924 through a resolution adopted by the Fourth Pan American Child Congress and established in 1927, domiciles in Av. 8 de Octubre 2904 – Montevideo – Uruguay – hereinafter the  IIN – and represented by its Director General, Mr. Alejandro Bonasso Lenguas, domiciled in Av. 8 de Octubre 2904 – Montevideo - Uruguay, CEP 11600, with ID document no.º 807357-8 issued by DNIC - Uruguay, hereby conclude the following Technical Cooperation Agreement bearing in mind for any relevant purposes the contents of law no. 8.666 of June 21^st, 1993 and its further amendments, and Executive Act no. 93.872 of December 23^rd, 1986, as well as any other applicable regulatory provisions, and agree on the following terms and conditions: 

ARTICLE ONE – PURPOSE 

The purpose of this instrument is to ensure cooperation and exchange between the SEDH and the IIN for the development of policies and actions in favor of Brazilian children, adolescents and families.  

ARTICLE TWO – EXECUTION 

            For the purpose of executing this Technical Cooperation Agreement, the parties will agree on common standard actions as provided for in this instrument.  

            Paragraph 1 – In order to comply with the purpose of this instrument, any activities to be developed pursuant its provisions will be specified in its Terms of Reference, which may be designed by any of both parties and submitted for the approval and acceptance of the other party.  

            Paragraph 2 – The Terms of Reference will provide a detailed description of the activities to be developed, their timetable and objectives, as well as the identification of technical, financial, human resource and any other type of contribution for the account of each party.  

            Paragraph 3 – As far as necessary, the parties will establish working groups in order to study the nature, depth and scope of the programs and activities to be implemented as provided for. 

ARTICLE THREE - OBLIGATIONS 

I – The SEDH will be responsible for:  

1. Preparing and submitting, through the SPDCA, the Terms of Reference corresponding to its area of concern, including the definition of actions, activities and objectives to be developed during the corresponding annual period;  

2. Analyzing and approving the Terms of Reference proposed by the IIN, once the adequacy of its terms is verified;  

3. Supporting and cooperating in the activities included in the Terms of Reference as provided for in this Cooperation Agreement;  

4. Complying, either directly or through third parties, with the obligations assigned in the Terms of Reference provided for in this Cooperation Agreement; 

5. Coordinating and supporting any other relevant institutions in the country as a form of strengthening cooperation;  

6. Proposing amendments to the Terms of Reference whenever necessary;  

7. Assessing the work performed, and

8. Disseminating, together with the IIN, the actions and findings resulting from this Technical Cooperation Agreement.

II – The IIN will be responsible for: 

1. Preparing and submitting the Terms of Reference corresponding to its area of concern, including the definition of actions, activities and objectives to be developed during the corresponding annual period;  

2. Analyzing and approving the Terms of Reference proposed by the SPDCA, once the adequacy of its terms is verified;   

3. Supporting and cooperating in the activities included in the Terms of Reference as provided for in this Cooperation Agreement;  

4. Complying, either directly or through third parties, with the obligations assigned in the Terms of Reference provided for in this Cooperation Agreement; 

5. Coordinating and supporting any other relevant institutions in the Americas as a form of strengthening cooperation;  

6. Proposing amendments to the Terms of Reference whenever necessary;  

7. Assessing the work performed, and 

8. Disseminating, together with the SPDCA, the actions and findings resulting from this Technical Cooperation Agreement; 

ARTICLE FOUR – DISSEMINATION  

Any transmission or dissemination of the actions and results provided for in this Technical Cooperation Agreement, including the printing and publication of institutional material, should be approved by both parties, while also ensuring the utilization of their respective official logotypes.

ARTICLE FIVE – FINANCIAL RESOURCES 

This Technical Cooperation Agreement will not result in the transfer of financial resources between the parties.  

ARTICLE SIX - AMENDMENTS

This Technical Cooperation Agreement may only be amended by the mutual consent of both parties by means of the relevant Supplementary Agreement. 

ARTICLE SEVEN – TERMINATION 

The parties may terminate this Technical Cooperation Agreement with a prior notice of at least 30 (thirty) days, independently from any indemnity, compensation, claim, or judicial or extrajudicial notice as provided for in the legislation in force.  

ARTICLE EIGHT – DURATION 

This Technical Cooperation Agreement will have a duration of 24 (twenty-four) months as of its signing date, and may be extended through a Supplementary Agreement by mutual consent of both parties.  

ARTICLE NINE – PUBLICATION 

An extract of this instrument will be published in the Union’s Official Journal with 20 (twenty) days alter being signed and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Office of the President of the Republic will be responsible for any expenses thereof.  

ARTICLE TEN – LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

In order to solve any dispute arising from the execution of this TECHNICAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT which could not be solved through administrative mediation, the parties accept the jurisdiction of the Federal District Justice in accordance with paragraph I in Article 109 in the Federal Constitution.  

In witness thereof, both parties sign two equally valid copies of this instrument in the presence of the undersigned witnesses.

Brasília,   March  9 , 2004

 WITNESSES:

NAME:
RG:
CPF:

NAME:
RG:
CPF:

NAME:
RG:
CPF: 

 Last page of  Technical Cooperation Agreement between SEDH and the Inter-American Children’s Institute – Process N° 0004.0000394/2003-17 

FIRST TERM OF REFERENCE –2004

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL CHILD, ADOLESCENT AND FAMILY INFORMATION NETWORK  AND

CREATION OF THE NATIONAL CHILD, ADOLESCENT AND FAMILY INFORMATION CENTER

TECHNICAL COOPERATION BETWEEN THE INTER-AMERICAN CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE AND THE SPECIAL SECRETARIAT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

TCT No.    001/2004

1.  SUMMARY OF THE COOPERATION AGREEMENT

            On   March 9, 2004, the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Office of the President of the Republic (SEDH) and the Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) signed Technical– TCT no.   001/2004 for the purpose of developing policies and actions in favor of Brazilian children, adolescents and families. Both organizations explicitly recognize the need for establishing and consolidating national and regional information systems providing data on the status of children and adolescents that will support decision-making, policy definition and assessment, and public disclosure.  

Besides sharing similar approaches as to the need of creating the above mentioned “information systems”, both the SEDH and the IIN have already dealt with these aspects within their respective working areas through the development of projects addressing the systematization of information on children and adolescents. Examples of such actions are the Child and Adolescent Information System – SIPIA – and the Information Network on Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents – RECRIA –, implemented and supported by the SEDH/Secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of Children and Adolescents (SPDCA), and the Inter-American Child and Adolescent Information Network – RIIN –, coordinated by the Inter-American Children’s Institute. This new form of cooperation is one further step in the projects developed by both organizations.

2.  JUSTIFICATION AND PURPOSE OF THE FIRST TERM OF REFERENCE

Paragraphs 1 and 2 in Article Two, as well as Article Three in the Technical Cooperation Agreement, provide for the preparation of Terms of Reference by both the IIN and the SPDCA.

This Term of Reference is aimed to the creation of the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Center – hereinafter the Center – that will become a focal point of the Inter-American Child and Adolescent Information Network - RIIN – and will perform as the Coordinating Center of the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Network to be established in Brazil as of the Center’s creation, thus coordinating other existing efforts and organizations in the country related to the production, systematization and dissemination of information on children, adolescents and families.  

3.  INTER-AMERICAN CHILD AND ADOLESCENT INFORMATION NETWORK - RIIN

            The Inter-American Child and Adolescent Information Network – RIIN – started operating in 1987 as part of the Information Program of the Inter-American Children’s – PIINFA. Several projects are implemented within this Program’s framework for the collection, analysis and dissemination of information on various child-related areas. Such strategy is developed by well-known institutions in each country that are invited by the IIN to act as Focal Points of the Network and in turn coordinate their action with other national organizations that will also become a part of the Network in their capacity as Focal Sub-centers.

The purpose of the RIIN is to select, analyze and disseminate documentary information on child, adolescent and family-related institutions and projects, thus promoting the culture of information use in the Americas. The Network presently covers 18 countries and includes 60 Information Centers.

The RIIN beneficiaries are children and adolescents in a situation of extreme poverty and social vulnerability throughout the continent. The users of its services and projects cover a wide range of decision-makers, public policymakers, professionals, academics, educators, and public and private care institutions for children and adolescents.

The Network promotes the democratic access to and use of information in the Americas, as well as the horizontal exchange of experience.  

The main RIIN information products include:  

• The Yellow Pages: a specialized directory of institutions working with children and adolescents in the Inter-American System. They may be accessed at the IIN web page: http://www.iin.oea.org ;

• The Green Pages: a listing of innovating projects in the Americas. It may be accessed at the IIN web page.

• Database: formed by 75,000 documentary references, 1,000 projects and 11,500 institutions.

According to the RIIN working dynamics, national Centers and Sub-centers collect and select information to feed local databases by using a common tool provided by the IIN on a free basis – the OPD software (Organizations, Projects and Documents) – which ensures the application of the same systematic approach in the classification of the information. The Sub-centers periodically convey their data to the Centers via Internet, and they are in turn sent to the Coordinating Center based at the Inter-American Children’s Institute, which disseminates them throughout the Network, thus transferring the updated database to National Centers. 

Besides Information Centers and Sub-centers, National Networks also count on User Centers where information is made available to the public through a consultation mechanism based on keywords, for which a glossary is available that contains about 600 terms that is used for classifying documents and other information. This glossary is currently available in English and Spanish.  

4.  FEATURES OF THE NATIONAL CHILD, ADOLESCENT AND FAMILY INFORMATION NETWORK AND CENTER

            During 2004, the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Network that will be established in Brazil as of the application of this Term of Reference will consist of the following basic elements:  

·         01 National Information Center: managed by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights/Secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - SEDH/SPDCA.

·         01 Focal Sub-center: managed by an institution selected by the SEDH/SPDCA.

·         01 User Center: managed by an institution selected by the SEDH/SPDCA. 

During this period or during subsequent periods in the following Network’s development stages, other Focal Sub-centers and User Centers may be implemented under the coordination of the SEDH/SPDCA. 

The National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Center will be the first step of the National Network and will be responsible for:  

• collecting, selecting and systematizing all child, adolescent and family-related information and documentation produced in Brazil concerning the legal, social, educational, drug-addiction prevention, and health areas, using the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a reference framework;
• collecting, selecting and systematizing any background information on related institutions, projects and events;
• disseminating in Brazil domestically produced information on children, adolescents and families and what may be obtained through the RIIN, as well as documentation from sources other than those in the Inter-American System that may directly or indirectly contribute to improve the living conditions of Brazilian children, adolescents and families;
• periodically conveying the information and documentation collected by the Center to the IIN Information and Coordination Center for the purpose of updating common databases and making them available to all the users of the System in the Americas;
• as of the second half of 2004, providing to the RIIN users, either in Brazil or in the other member countries of the Network, copies of the original documentation collected by the Center.

5. IMPLEMENTATION

5.1. Step 1: General Planning 

Objective: to identify the methodological steps and the logistics of actions required for creating the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Center and the establishment of the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Network.  

Product: approval of the First Term of Reference. 

5.1.1. Remittance of this draft Term of Reference to the IIN for the analysis of the corresponding Work Plan; 

5.1.2. Meeting of SEDH/SPDCA and IIN technicians to analyze, adjust and approve the Term of Reference. 

5.2. Step 2: availability of operational requirements 

Objective: fulfillment of physical, material, technological and human requirements prior to the creation of the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Network and Center.  

Product: definition and availability of resources in each party.  

5.2.1. The SEDH-SPDCA will be responsible for: 

• allocating adequate premises; 

• defining the Center’s coordination and work team;

• providing the adequate hardware, and

• determining its partnership with the institution that will become the Focal Sub-center at national level.

5.2.2. The IIN will be responsible for: 

• providing technical IT support, and

• conducting a training program for the Coordinator of the National Child, Adolescent, and Family Information Center (Montevideo – Uruguay).

5.2.3. Shared responsibility 

• translation of the Glossary of Keywords and the OPD software from Spanish into Portuguese.

5.3. Step 3: establishment of the National Center

Objective: to start the activities of the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Center and Network.  

Product: establishment and trial operation of the Center.  

5.3.1. The SEDH/SPDCA will be responsible for:  

• undertaking the collection, selection and systematization of documents and information;

• starting the OPD operation, feeding the database and carrying out connectivity tests for their transfer to IIN, and

• concluding an agreement with a national partner (Focal Sub-center) for data migration from the RECRIA to the RIIN.

5.3.2. The IIN will be responsible for:

• installing the OPD software, and

• providing technical support and on site cooperation in the initial activities of the National Center (Brasilia-DF).

5.4. Step 4: establishment of the Focal Sub-center and the User Center.  

Objective: to provide the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Network with the necessary operational conditions for its adequate performance.  

Product: establishment of the National Network’s basic requirements and verification of its proper operation.  

5.4.1. The SEDH/SPDCA will be responsible for:  

• concluding an agreement with a national partner for creating the RIIN Focal Sub-center and the User Center;

• regularly conveying to the IIN the contents of the national database, the Yellow Pages and the Green pages, as well as several hard copies of its original files, and

• establishing contacts for extending the Network in Brazil through the creation of additional Focal Sub-centers and User Centers.

5.4.1. The IIN will be responsible for:  

• providing technical IT support, and

• making available on a regular basis the contents of the updated databases of the other Centers in the Network.

6.  EVALUATION

Objective: to cooperate in the establishment of the National Child, Adolescent and Family Information Center and Network by identifying their strengths or weaknesses in order to provide useful information for decision-making.     

Product: Evaluation Report 2003/2004.

To be prepared by: the SEDH/SPDCA and the IIN.

ACTION PLAN