MEXICAN PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX QUESADA PRESIDES OVER THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE XIX PAN AMERICAN CHILD CONGRESS

XIX PAN AMERICAN CHILD CONGRESS

MEXICAN PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX QUESADA PRESIDES OVER THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE XIX PAN AMERICAN CHILD CONGRESS

The Closing Ceremony of the XIX Pan American Child Congress, convened by the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN-OAS) in coordination with the Mexican government’s National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), was held on Friday, October 29 at the headquarters of the Foreign Affairs Secretariat in Mexico City.

The President of Mexico, Vicente Fox Quesada, presided over the ceremony. He was accompanied by Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Derbez and DIF Director Ana Teresa Aranda, as well as the outgoing President of the Directing Council of the IIN, Ambassador Carmen Bergés de Amaro, and the Director General of the IIN, Alejandro Bonasso

President Fox began his address with a quote from José Martí: “Children are the hope of the world; they are the seeds of the societies we want; they incarnate our dreams and our most ambitious plans; they are the strength that drives us to build, day by day, a world that is more just, reconciling personal happiness and collective well-being.”
President Fox added: “The reality of our continent is that there is widespread poverty, and more than 400,000 children die before reaching the age of five.

Between 15 and 25 percent of children in our region are born to teen mothers, which limits the possibilities of development available to them.

One-fourth of the population of children between the ages of 10 and 14 are already working – they are obligated to work. Half of the persons infected with HIV-AIDS are between the ages of 10 and 24. Sexual exploitation and abuse of children are particularly painful realities that hurt us all.

These are just a few of the unacceptable facts that have spurred our countries to action, and compelled our societies and governments to step up efforts and give these issues greater priority.
This has been demonstrated by this Pan American Child Congress. With the presence of prominent experts and the productive exchange of experiences and ideas, this Congress has made an important contribution in favor of our children and youth.
I celebrate the fact that the Inter-American Children's Institute has been entrusted with the task of developing instruments for the strengthening of the family.”

Ana Teresa Aranda Orozco, Director of the National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF) and incoming President of the Directing Council of the Inter-American Children's Institute, told participants: “It is remarkable how we have reaffirmed our support for the Inter-American Children's Institute as a legitimate specialized organization of the OAS, responsible for promoting the best interests of the child on our continent.

I heartily acknowledge the work of the Institute, which, under the leadership of Director General Alejandro Bonasso, has successfully placed concern for children on the agendas of our countries’ governments.

Here, we have also witnessed consensus on the urgent need to strengthen a rights-based approach as the core concept linking all of the processes of guidance and education – those intended for children themselves, as well as those aimed at the well-being of their families.”

Following the reading of the Resolutions of the XIX Pan American Child Congress, there was a clear, poignant intervention by two children representing Mexico’s Difusores Infantiles (Child Promoters) program. They presented children’s perspectives on the family, and on the indigenous cultural heritage as a key element in the relations of affection and protection within the family.