Uruguayan Network for the Right to Family and Community Life: three days of meetings with key actors from the civil society and the government

The launch of the Uruguayan Network for the Right to Family and Community Life was an event of great importance for RELAF. Firstly, due to the value of launching an initiative of this kind, which emerges as an opportunity to mobilise the actors involved in the care of children and to set an example for other countries of the region. Furthermore, because it provided a suitable environment to hold important meetings over the course of three days.

Within a framework of advice and cooperation, RELAF representatives met with specialists from UNICEF and with members of the Board and programme managers and advisers of INAU (Institute of the Child and Adolescent of Uruguay). The objective was to accompany the process of reform of the childcare and protection systems carried out by INAU with cooperation from UNICEF.

The meeting focused on analysing the experiences of cities in other countries of the region, such as Asunción (Paraguay), San Luis and Misiones (Argentina). While work focused on specific cases of the reform of child protection policies and the closure of children’s institutions, the experiences discussed also made it possible to reflect on the entirety of the system for the protection of children deprived of parental care or at risk of losing it.

On the other hand, RELAF gave a lecture to operators of the various programmes of INAU, with the participation of people from all the municipalities of Uruguay and from different areas of work, such as foster care and adoption, among others. In this context, experiences were shared of the adaptation of the practices that aim to provide care and support for children without parental care in the region. Then, an exposition on specific deinstitutionalisation experiences took place. In addition, other issues were discussed, such as the financial components of a new protection system and the reallocation of the staff of children’s institutions.

Finally, a meeting was held with Jorge Ferrando, the director of INAU, and advisors of the Institute. The participants reviewed the work done during the previous days and made contributions regarding the reform of the child protection policies

The activities came to prove the value of UNICEF’s cooperation, how important it is for the government to make the decision to reform and adapt the child protection policies, and the value of the Uruguayan Network in the advancement of the country’s public policies.

Impact on the media

The interest in the right to family life brought by the launch of the Network could be seen in the local media. The Brecha journal published an article informing on the situation of children placed in institutions, which also includes an interview with Matilde Luna, the RELAF Project Leader. You can read the article here.