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AGREEMENT
BETWEEN |
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The
Parties, the Inter-American Children's Institute (“IIN”), a
Specialized Organization of the Organization of American States
(“OAS”), and the National Secretariat for Children and Adolescents
(“SNNA”), in its capacity as the Secretariat of State of the Executive
Branch of the Republic of Paraguay, CONSIDERING: That
the IIN’s objectives are to promote awareness of the issues affecting
children and adolescents in the Americas, to cooperate with the Member
States of the OAS in establishing systems for the integral protection of
the human rights of children and adolescents enshrined in domestic and
international legislation, and to improve living conditions in areas such
as health and education as well as social, legal and cultural aspects in
general. That
the SNNA, established by Paraguay’s Child and Adolescent Code, is the
body responsible for executing the social policies and programs for
children and adolescents in Paraguay
created
by the National System for the Promotion and Protection of Rights. That
the SNNA has the legal capacity for the management of the technical and
financial assistance of international organizations such as the IIN. That,
since 2003, the two organizations have been carrying out activities
together within the framework of the IIN’s Program for the Integral
Promotion of Children’s Rights (PRODER) and Inter-American Child and
Family Information Program (PIINFA). That
on August 1, 2004, a tragedy occurred at the Ycuá Bolaños shopping
center in the city of Asunción, Paraguay, leaving 400 persons dead, half
of them children and adolescents, as well as indirectly victimizing close
to 1,500 children and adolescents.
Among these victims, there are approximately 180 children who require
urgent, specific assistance due to the health and socio-family crises that
have resulted from this disaster. That
both Parties recognize the need to provide as much cooperation as possible
for the child and adolescent victims, in accordance with the laws in
force, protecting their rights and restoring those rights that have been
violated as a consequence of the tragedy. That
various organizations involved in the response to the Ycuá Bolaños
emergency as well as private Paraguayan companies have stated their
interest and willingness to provide financial cooperation to the SNNA for
the victims, through the technical and administrative work of the IIN. DO
HEREBY AGREE:
CHAPTER
I
ARTICLE
I Execution
of the Project: Comprehensive Assistance for the Child and Adolescent
Victims of Ycuá Bolaños (“The Project”) 1.1
The purpose of the Project is: To
provide comprehensive assistance to the child and adolescent victims of
Ycuá Bolaños, to ensure, as much as possible, equal opportunities and
the protection and restoration of rights violated as a consequence of the
disaster of August 1, 2004. 1.2
The specific objectives of the Project are: a.
To identify, as precisely as possible, the direct and indirect
child and adolescent victims of this disaster, to locate them and to
include them in a central database (to be supplied with existing SNNA
databases). b.
To attend to and remedy the tragedy’s after-effects on the
physical health of the child and adolescent victims. c.
To attend to and remedy the tragedy’s after-effects on the mental
health of the child and adolescent victims. d.
To attend to and resolve family problems caused by the disaster. e.
To attend to and resolve cases of children left without a home and
without a family, through the legal procedures in force, for their
adoption by families or their temporary accommodation in foster homes
located in the community. f.
To find employment options for families who have lost the head of
the household or whose family income has been diminished as a consequence
of the disaster. g.
To ensure that school-age children enter and stay in school. h.
To ensure that the child and adolescent victims whose schooling has
been interrupted as a consequence of the disaster re-enter and remain in
school, and receive any remedial instruction that may be necessary. i.
To mobilize and sensitize the community in order to consolidate the
chains of solidarity which comprise the framework of social coexistence of
the victims and their families, and publicize the activities of the
project. j.
To provide legal protection mechanisms to link the situations to be
remedied with the legal framework in force and the reforms that must be
encouraged for these purposes. k.
To provide judicial protection mechanisms to link the situations to
be remedied with the judicial system and all its components. l.
To link sectoral services (education, health, labor, etc.) with the
Project’s targeted services in order to boost efforts and prevent
duplication. m.
To link the shared responsibilities of the state, the community and
the family for protecting and guaranteeing the rights of children and
adolescents. n.
To consolidate a comprehensive, targeted effort capable of becoming
self-sustaining within a period of two years. ARTICLE
II 2.1.
The IIN will provide the SNNA with its technical cooperation services for
the Project and will administer the funds provided by donors for the
execution of the Project, which will be deposited in a specific account in
the name of the IIN at the headquarters of the OAS in Washington, DC. 2.2.
For the execution of the funds assigned to the Project, the IIN will use
the regular mechanisms of the OAS and, when necessary, will transfer
budgetary items to the Office of the General Secretariat of the OAS in
Paraguay for this Office to act as the paying entity. 2.2.
The IIN will identify the donors in respective and successive appendices
to the present Agreement. ARTICLE
III 3.1.
The SNNA will be responsible for ensuring that all the activities that are
planned and executed comply with the legal framework in force and are part
of Paraguay’s National
System for the Promotion and Protection of Child and Adolescent Rights.
3.2. The SNNA will be responsible for the
technical coordination of the services provided in the seven components of
the Project, as they are progressively implemented. 3.3.
The SNNA will provide personnel under its direction as required for the
sustainability of the activities of the Project. 3.4.
The SNNA will report, to the IIN’s administration, the expenses charged
to the Project account.
3.5. The SNNA will inform the
National Child and Adolescent Council of all activities and results of the
Project, for approval by this body. ARTICLE
IV 4.1.
The present Agreement will enter into force upon its signature by both
Parties and shall remain in effect for a period of 24 months (signed on an
ad referendum basis pending the approval of the Directing Council of
the IIN). 4.2.
The Parties may renew this Agreement, following evaluation by the IIN as
it deems necessary or advisable, with at least one evaluation per year.
The renewal of the Agreement for the stipulated period must be in writing,
through a supplementary document to the present Agreement signed by both
Parties. 4.3.
The present Agreement may be unilaterally terminated by either Party,
which must provide written notice 90 days before the date of termination.
Once the Agreement is terminated, the IIN must present an administrative
balance sheet stating the use of the funds in the Project account, in
order to proceed in accordance with OAS standards. 4.4.
The present Agreement may be modified by the Parties, in writing, in two
equally valid originals signed by the legal representatives of both
Parties.
4.5. The representative authorized to
sign the present agreement on behalf of the IIN is the Director General of
the IIN. The representative authorized to sign the present agreement on
behalf of the SNNA is the Minister of the SNNA. All communication and
information required under the terms and conditions of the present
Agreement must be in writing, signed and sent by the representative of one
Party to the representative of the other Party. These communications may
be sent electronically.
The authorized representatives of the
Parties hereby sign the present agreement in two equally valid originals
in the city of Asunción on October 27, 2004. Mercedes
Brítez de Buzó
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.
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