The Chilean Childhood Rights Council is the advisory body for the Presidency of the Republic and is in charge of one of the government's most important policy reforms: the design and establishment of a comprehensive system to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents. The State acts as the guarantor. One of the principal tasks of the Council is to generate a proposal for a new Universal Guarantee of Children's Rights Law. The law will be submitted to Congress in March 2015 on an urgent basis.

The EUROsociAL Programme of the European Union is actively supporting this process, focusing in particular on channelling international contributions.

From 1st to 7th March, a study visit was completed by a high-level delegation from the Chilean government. The purpose of the mission was to analyse the legal system and application of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This made it possible to address one of the most important international contexts and to collect evidence to enrich the upcoming debate on the new law in Chile.

The participants learned about the main elements of the Norwegian child protection system by accessing its different levels and involving numerous institutions and services: Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion; the Family Centre; municipal protection services for minors of the Bærum Community; the Ombudsman for Children (“Barneombudet”); Ministry of Justice; Supreme Court, etc.

Likewise, they gained a deeper understanding of the legal and detention system for children aged 14 to 18 convicted of serious crimes, and there were meetings with UNICEF-Norway and FORUM for Barnekonvensjonen, an organisation that brings together 50 civil society organisations and UNICEF.

The delegation from the Chilean government was headed by the Executive Secretary of the Childhood Rights Council. The mission to Norway was part of the coordination efforts the Council is making with different State bodies. For that reason, civil servants took part along with experts from this institution: the Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Executive Adviser to the National Institute for Human Rights, representatives of civil society before the Council, the National Service for Minors (Ministry of Justice). Representatives of the EUROsociAL Programme and a Chilean-Norwegian attorney specialised in the issue accompanied the visit.

The EUROsociAL Programme will continue to support the legislative process for the new Universal Guarantee of Children's Rights Law in Chile and the formulation of a multi-year plan aimed at implementing the new universal guarantee of children's rights policy. Its action in particular will be dedicated to supporting the Council in the preparation of responses to enquiries and requirements that arise during the congressional debate, responses that must be backed by international evidence.

The social policies area of the programme is coordinated by the IILA and the operational partners responsible for the activity are CISP and ADECRI.