CRC/C/ARG/CO/3-4
multicultural education (para. 57), the sale and economic and sexual exploitation of
children (para. 61), and juvenile justice (para. 63). The Committee also urges the State
party to provide adequate follow-up to the recommendations contained in the present
concluding observations on the combined third and fourth reports.
Reservations and declarations
9. The Committee notes the analysis on the State party reservations and declarations to the
Convention carried out by the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the
Family. Regarding the reservation to article 21, subparagraphs (b) to (e) on intercountry
adoptions, the Committee, while appreciating that the State party wishes to adopt “a
rigorous arrangement… for the legal protection of children in order to prevent the
phenomenon of the sale of children and child trafficking” (CRC/C/ARG/3-4, para. 38)
remains concerned that the system has not yet been fully addressed.
10. In the light of the long waiting lists for adoptions, the Committee urges the State
party to establish a strong legal protection system against sale and trafficking of
children in line with the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography in order to, inter alia, establish a secure system of adoption
that respects the best interests of the child and with a view to eventually withdrawing
its reservation.
11. The Committee welcomes the fact that the interpretative declaration of the State party
on article 24, subparagraph (f) regarding the concept of family planning has been rendered
obsolete in 18 of 24 provinces.
12. The Committee further encourages the State party to ensure that its interpretative
declaration to article 24, subparagraph (f) is rendered obsolete in all remaining
provinces, with a view its withdrawal.
Legislation
13. The Committee welcomes the legal reforms of the State party to bring its legislation
into line with the provisions of the Convention, and in particular Act No. 26061 (2005) on
Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents. It notes that these
reforms have progressively expanded to most provinces, given the federal structure of the
State party. The Committee notes the difficulties of fully implementing the paradigm shift
from guardianship (“patronato”) to the integral protection of the child and that such a shift
has not yet fully materialized, nor has it been translated into a new specifically designed
and appropriately resourced institutional set-up at the provincial level.
14. The Committee encourages full implementation of the legal reforms of the State
party in all remaining provinces and urges the State party to take all necessary
measures for the application of the Convention and its Optional Protocols in the
entirety of its territory. It also recommends that the State party take all necessary
measures to ensure that the appropriate institutional and administrative framework
for the implementation of Act No. 26061 is set up at the national and provincial levels.
Coordination
15. The Committee welcomes the establishment in 2006 of the Federal Council for
Children, Adolescents and the Family (COFENAF), a multisectoral and multiprovincial
body headed by the new National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family, as
the national coordinating mechanism for the Comprehensive Protection System. The
Committee is, however, concerned about the insufficient coordination at the provincial and
municipal levels.
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