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.
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