Today the IIN celebrates 60 years of its integration to the
Organization of American States (OAS)

On April 22, 1949, the then International American Institute for the Protection of Children, founded in 1927 (now Inter-American Children’s Institute-IIN) signed an agreement with the Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) through which this international agency is integrated as Specialized Inter-American Organization.  

The OAS is the principal multilateral forum in the region for democracy strengthening, the promotion of human rights and the fight against shared problems such as poverty, terrorism, drugs and corruption. It was established in April 1948 when 21 nations of the Western Hemisphere have adopted the Charter of the OAS, reaffirming their commitment to common goals and respect for the sovereignty of others. Since then, it has expanded to include the nations of the English-speaking Caribbean and Canada. The predecessor organization of the OAS was the Pan American Union, founded in 1910, that emerged from the International Union of the American Republics, established at the First International Conference of the American States in 1889-90.

The agreement signed in 1949 gave the Institute an inter-American scope and placed it on a greater importance and commitment level with the Member States of the hemisphere. Since then, the IIN has increased and strengthened its articulating role within the inter-American system, aimed to the search for government consensus and commitment, and the status of technical referent on child-related issues at regional level, thus contributing to the promotion and protection of children’s rights and the improvement of their living conditions.

The integral link with the inter-American system, in particular with the institutions related to the promotion and protection of Human Rights and cooperation with the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights, has represented a necessary area of opportunity for the realization of the IIN vision. The Institute's proposal also aims to appreciate the hemispheric context and the sub-regional diversity of the Member States, and of the children and adolescents themselves, each time it assumes as indispensable value the active participation of children and adolescents in the region.
 
It is to underline that resolution CD/RES. 07 (83-R/08) adopted by the Directing Council during the 83rd Regular Meeting, held in Ottawa in October 2008, marks the commemoration of 60 years of integration of the IIN as a Specialized Organization of the Organization of American States, as one of the topics of the XX Pan American Child Congress, and this decision is reflected in the draft agenda for this Congress. The XX Pan American Child Congress will be held from 22 to 25 September 2009 in Lima, Peru.

Agreement IIN – OAS, 1949
Photo – Agreement Signature