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AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF BELIZE The
Inter-American Children’s Institute (hereinafter known as the “IIN”),
represented by its Director General, Lic. Alejandro Bonasso Lenguas, and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Emergency Management
Organization represented by the Hon. Godfrey Smith, hereby sign the
present agreement, subject to the following considerations and clauses:
CONSIDERING: I.
That
the IIN is a Specialized Organization of the Organization of American
States, created by resolution of the Fourth Pan American Child Congress of
1924 and founded in 1927, to promote cooperation programs among countries
of the American Hemisphere addressed
to improve the situation of children, youth and the family in the health,
education, social, cultural and legal areas.
II. That,
for the IIN, it
is a priority to search for effective solutions to the problems affecting
children, and see to the full compliance with and effectiveness of the
International Convention on the Rights of the Child.
III.
That,
since its foundation, the IIN has permanently carried out activities of
technical cooperation, information, dissemination and training on
different topics related to children in the hemisphere, as well as joint
activities with other public and private institutions in the countries of
the inter-American system.
IV. That, as part of its Information Program, the IIN has developed a set of tools intended to promote a culture of management based on reliable information, encourage horizontal cooperation between countries, and build bridges to make information an element for improving the living conditions of children and adolescents. V. That, within its agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the IIN has developed a secure Internet Site, aimed at: - Generating spaces of comprehensive information that contribute to generating processes of change in the living conditions of the children and adolescents of the Americas; -
Making
it possible to coordinate the activities among organizations from
different countries, through mechanisms and work procedures relative to
the Site, in order to monitor and watch over the rights of children and
adolescents, with a special emphasis on situations involving more than one
country. VI.
That the Ministry of Human Development on whose behalf this Agreement is being signed, is charged with the responsibility to develop people to enable them to realize their full potential and play a meaningful role in their communities. VII.
The mission of the Department of Human Services is to empower people by promoting, developing and coordinating programmes that will enable Belizeans to become self-sufficient based on the principles of social justice, equity and participation thereby contributing to the process of national development. In this regard, the Human Services Department, provides child welfare services to include child protection, child placement and child-care. By
virtue of the above, the PARTIES hereby agree to the following: CLAUSE 1 – OBJECTIVES The
objective of the present agreement is to establish the basis for the use
of the “Site for the Coordination of Activities for Children and
Adolescents” (hereinafter known as the “CA Site”). The
CA Site aims to contribute to the resolution of situations of violation of
rights, arising as a consequence of: a.
International abduction of children or adolescents by one of their
parents or by any other person in violation of custody rights; b.
Breach of support obligations by those who are responsible, and who
reside in a different country; c.
Disappearance of children and adolescents; d.
Inter-country adoption; e.
Trafficking of children and adolescents; f.
Commercial and non-commercial sexual exploitation of children and
adolescents living outside the country; and g.
Any other situation in which the rights of children and adolescents
are violated. CLAUSE 2 – TERMS1. The
IIN shall grant its specially developed user license for the CA Site to
the Ministry of Human Development, along with its manuals: the Leader’s
Manual; the Manual on Using the CA Site; the Leader’s Operating Guides. 2.
The IIN shall provide training and technical support for the proper operation of the National Site Node (hereinafter known as the “Node”). The Node is understood as the partner organization signing this agreement, which will act as a nationally visible body for this international Site. 3. The IIN authorizes the Node to use all of the currently operational tools developed by the IIN: the Legal Database (containing full-text legislation on children, adolescents and the family); the OPD (Organizations, Projects and Documents) Database; and the IIN’s website (www.iin.oea.org). 4. Through the competent services of its Legal Program, the IIN shall provide distance advisory services when requested via any means by the CA Site’s participants, for the resolution of cases involving international law. In this respect, the IIN shall assume a role exclusively in the area of technical assistance and provision of the requested information, and shall refrain from becoming involved in the power to resolve the cases handled, given that this power cannot be delegated by the national authorities participating in the CA Site. 5. Through the services of its Program for the Integral Promotion of Children’s Rights, and at the request of the Node, the IIN shall provide training on issues related to Children’s Rights and strategies for intervention in cases of violations of rights. 6. The IIN shall perform continuous evaluations of the CA Site’s operation, taking the necessary corrective steps to attain the mutually agreed objectives. 7.
The IIN agrees to use the individual information contained in the CA Site’s databases exclusively for the purposes of the quality control of data. 8. The IIN may use the CA Site’s statistical information for research, promotion and teaching purposes, in coordination with the CA Site’s partners. 9. The CA Site shall be physically located in the Internet computer facilities at the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., and shall have the characteristics of a Secure Site (https). To this end, mechanisms of protection and security shall be used to provide a maximum guarantee of the privacy and security of the data. Transmissions shall be encrypted with a 128-bit protocol and the IIN’s connection for maintenance purposes shall be in a VPN environment. 10.
Those who perform the maintenance, the corresponding backup, and all services required of the server at the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington D.C. shall not access the data administered by this site. 11. The
IIN shall provide the Node with a single password and, in later phases,
the Node shall automatically assign the national user name and password
for the CA Site. The Node shall be responsible for the security of the
passwords. 12. The IIN shall provide an operating guide for the Opening of a Case detected in the country and another operating guide for the Acceptance of a Case received from another country. 13. The IIN shall provide the minimum equipment for the CA Site’s operation in an Internet environment in the Node. 14. The Node shall be responsible for the levels of local security in the handling of information. 15. The Node shall have the minimum human resources to ensure the operation of the CA Site according to the attached guidelines. The Node and the organization signing this Agreement shall be responsible for the continuity of the services. 16.
The Node shall agree to enter and update the information pertaining to children and adolescents within the objectives of the CA Site and in accordance with legislation in force in the country. 17. The Node agrees to ensure the minimum operating conditions for the duration of the Agreement, and to guarantee the project‘s sustainability. 18. The
Node may install a set of nodes (either manually or using information
technology tools) all connected to the same Site, to facilitate the
capture of information and the resolution of cases in third-party
countries, according to the planning duly made by the Node.
19.
The
Node agrees to enter the CA Site at least three times per day on working
days.
20. Within its competencies and in accordance with the laws in force in the country, the Node shall administer the information on children and adolescents from the country, residing in the country or currently in the country, and under no circumstances shall it be authorized to handle information on children and adolescents on which it cannot assume competencies. 21. The
Node may promote research studies with the participation of the academic
sector, exclusively using data from the country and statistical data from
the Site; there shall be no access to the identity of those involved
22.
The revelation of information on the identity of children and adolescents from third-party countries, and even the release of this information to the public, may be done only in the best interest of the child and with the authorization of the competent jurisdictional or administrative body. 23.
The
IIN, the Nodes and the CA Site’s participants shall under no
circumstances be authorized to divulge the information handled by the CA
Site to third parties, with the exception of the data administered by a
Node and which involve children or adolescents in its own country, even if
they are in other countries.
24.
Those
who have access to the information are prohibited from using it for
personal benefit or profit.
CLAUSE 3 – FINAL PROVISIONS The present Agreement shall enter into force upon its signature by the parties, and shall be effective for a period of 12 months; its first renewal must be specifically agreed after valid evaluation. This
Agreement may be rescinded in writing with 90 days’ notice. In the case
of rescission, the databases and the CA Site shall continue to be the
property of the IIN; however, the information on the children and
adolescents in the country involved in the CA Site must be definitively
deleted from the Site and delivered to the Node in electronic format.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the representatives of both PARTIES, duly authorized for
this purpose, hereby sign the present agreement in two equally valid
copies on the 25th of May of the
year Two Thousand and Four. Hon.
Godfrey Smith
Alejandro Bonasso The
Director General of the IIN signs this agreement on an ad referendum
basis, subject to the approval of the IIN Directing Council. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Annex
CHARACTERISTICS
AND FUNCTIONS TO BE PERFORMED IN CONNECTION WITH THE BASIC HUMAN RESOURCES
NEEDED FOR THE CREATION OF THE AC SITE’S NATIONAL NODE
The
basic Human Resources needed in order for the site to start operating
would be the following: 1.
Local Superior Note:
The
IIN will be in charge of the General Coordination and Technical Support of
the AC Site. 1.
Local Superior Characteristics:
o He/she should have a university degree. o He/she should have at least 5 years of experience in dealing with the issue of children’s rights. o He/she should be absolutely trustworthy.
o
He/she
should be capable of working in a situation where he/she would be under o He/she should be very discreet and willing to receive permanent training o He/she should have basic computing knowledge (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Internet). o
Attorneys
or persons connected with disciplines related to the social field are
suggested. (For the initial phase this would not be a full-time task) Responsibilities:
o He/she would be in charge of detecting problems in his/her own country. o
He/she
would interact with the following: civil society, researchers, decision-makers, o
He/she would stimulate and feed the Website by selecting the
information that would be o
He/she would have a smooth relationship with the Central Coordinator in
order to meet any o He/ she would carry out maintenance tasks and analyze the impact of the tool. o
He/she
should suggest or contribute with ideas or experience for the Site’s
continuous o
He/she
should ensure continuous functioning of local services, even if the site
is not o Functions: o Incorporation of cases o Monitoring of the cases that he/she has been assigned and of those assigned to others. o Modifying those cases assigned to others. o
Stimulating
action from all the important participants who are directly involved in
the
o
Studying
the evolution of the cases in order to create opportunities for analysis, 2. An assistant for research Characteristics: o
He/she should be an advanced student or have a university degree in a o He/she should have an inclination to perform teamwork o
He/she should
have experience in connection with interviewing Responsibilities: o He/she would ensure that the information being handled is kept private o He/she would fulfill the Superior’s requirements regarding assistance. Functions: o Supporting the Superior during the process of inquiring into the cases. o Contributing to the search for information for managing the cases 3.
A General Coordinator The
General Coordinator’s functions will be performed by the Inter-American
Children’s Institute
Responsibilities:
o Ensuring that the information is kept private and safe. o
He/she
would be in charge of generally managing, organizing and ensuring the Site’s o He/she would provide an adequate link between technology and its use by final users. o
He/she
would administer, coordinate and facilitate functioning and maintenance of
the o He/she would ensure the technical infrastructure’s functioning. Functions: o Developing and directing the AC Site’s strategy o Monitoring, facilitating and coordinating the Site’s whole administrative policy and its standards o Defining the characteristics and the training required for the Site’s Superiors o Monitoring and coordinating the Site’s requirements o Managing and ensuring the fulfillment of those policies concerning access control, safety and privacy. o Managing all those tools that enable Superiors and the Web Master to maintain and update the Site’s contents. o Reading and taking the necessary measures in connection with the mail received by the Superiors and the Web Master 4.
Technical Support Functions
in connection with Technical Support will be performed by the Inter-American
Children’s Institute Responsibilities:
o
Ensuring the Site’s functioning and the programs’ maintenance and
backup o
Contributing
to the Site’s proper functioning Functions:
o Monitoring the resource assigned to the AC Site’s platform o Monitoring the Site’s technical requirements o Administering the Web Master’s tasks o Providing support and technical consultation for the Superiors and the Coordinator o Providing safe interfaces with the Site’s Databases o Implementing and monitoring the Site’s activities through the use of tools such as packet sniffers, system’s logs, audit logs, network monitor alerts and performance alerts
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