CRC/C/SLV/CO/3-4 adequately implement and provide follow-up to the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations on the combined third and fourth periodic report. Legislation 9. The Committee notes with appreciation that the Convention has been invoked in national courts on many occasions and has been used by judges in the judicial reasoning, particularly by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court. The Committee also notes the State party’s numerous efforts to bring its legislation in line with the Convention, including the recent adoption of the Law for the Integral Protection of Children (LEPINA). However, the Committee regrets that national legislation is not yet in conformity with the Convention in some areas, for instance, with respect to corporal punishment, the minimum age for marriage, the adoption regime and the administration of juvenile justice. 10. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to harmonize its legislation in order to bring it in full compliance with the principles and provisions of the Convention. The Committee further recommends that the State party take the necessary steps, including structural, financial and institutional changes to effectively implement the LEPINA in accordance with the newly established system for national and local (departmental and municipal) integral protection of children. Coordination 11. The Committee notes with appreciation that several governmental institutions work towards the improvement and the realization of the rights of the child, including the newly established Secretariat of Social Inclusion within the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, and the Salvadoran Institute for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA). However, the Committee notes a lack of clarity and considerable overlap in the mandate of these institutions and regrets the lack of clear mechanisms to ensure effective coordination among all the bodies and agencies involved in the implementation of child rights. In this respect, the Committee notes that the LEPINA assigns to the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONNA) the coordinating functions of the new National Policy for the Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents (PNPNA). The Committee is concerned, however, that this body is not yet in place. 12. The Committee recommends that the State party promptly establish the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONNA) as foreseen in the LEPINA and ensure its effective functioning through the creation of a high level executive body with clear coordinating functions. The CONNA needs to be provided with adequate human and financial resources in order to be able to carry out its functions of coordination across sectors. In this regard, the Committee draws attention to its general comment No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also recommends strengthening the national system of integral protection, including the departmental and municipal committees (juntas), with the purpose of collaborating in the elaboration of culturally sensitive policies, monitoring their application, and ensuring participation by all concerned, including children. National Plan of Action 13. The Committee notes the existence of a main National Plan of Action for Children developed by ISNA for the years 2001-2010, and several other plans of action developed in the area of child rights and child protection, concerning, inter alia, education, trafficking and child labour. The Committee is however concerned that the National Plan has not been evaluated and that a new one has not been designed yet. 3

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