1 REPORT OF COLOMBIA TO THE NINETEENTH PAN AMERICAN CHILD CONGRESS Inter-American Children’s Institute – IIN Mexico City, October 2004 THE FAMILY: BASIS FOR THE INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

2 NATIONAL REGULATIONS Political Constitution of 1991 “ The family is the core of society; it is constituted by natural or legal bonds, by the free decision of a man and a woman to marry or by the responsible disposition to form it.” Code of minors 1989 “Every child has the right to grow within a family. The State shall foster by every means possible the stability and well-being of the family as the core of society.”

3 Colombia has a population of 43,834,114 inhabitants 36 percent of the population is under 18 years old The birth rate is 22.4 per 1,000 and the fertility rate is 2.6 children per woman Life expectancy at birth: 72.2 years General mortality rate: 4.4 per 1,000 Size of household: dropped from 4.1 children in 1995 to 2.6 in 2000 Households headed by women increased from 25% to 28% during the same period National rate of reports of domestic violence is 184 cases per 100,000 inhabitants A FEW DATA…

4 National Policy of prevention and attention to domestic violence Actions of education and strengthening of families Attention to infancy Attention to preadolescents and adolescents Attention to families of ethnic and rural groups Attention to families in a situation of forced displacement Processes of training of leaders and educational agents Families in Action Program Actions of Protection Attention to the elderly STATE POLICY AND ACTION

5 THE MEDIA AND THE CULTURE OF RIGHTS The Colombian State has carried out different actions aimed at ensuring that both adults and children are familiar with the principles and provisions of the Convention. State regulation with regard to the media. The policy of “promotion and furtherance of a culture of children’s rights,” which has translated into strategies and actions in the areas of education, communication and research. Communication Project for Childhood The Community Educational Project and the media’s commitments to children’s rights.

6 CONCLUSIONS Realistic view of the situation and the composition of today’s family The State should create the conditions to guarantee the right of children to have a family The State’s attention focuses more on actions in the area of Prevention Actions of protection should be directed toward attention in the family environment

7 CHALLENGES Continue to deepen and broaden understanding of family dynamics in today’s world and the search for alternative models of attention. Support and effect reform and legislative updating efforts that raise awareness of and highlight the essential role of the family in the guaranteeing of rights and its need for protection and state promotion. Recognize and highlight the joint responsibility of society and the State to protect the family with political, economic, social and legal measures. Discourage institutionalization and promote attention in the social and family environment.