IACHR calls on States to consolidate the community-based dimension of child protection systems

November 20, 2025

Washington, DC—On World Children's Day, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) stresses that strengthening the community-based dimension of systems to protect children and adolescents is of crucial importance. World Children’s Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and invites reflection about the essential role of communities to build safe, inclusive, and protective environments.

In its report Towards the Effective Fulfillment of Children’s Rights: National Protection Systems, the IACHR noted that efforts to safeguard rights must be made on the ground, close to the affected child, and that national protection systems must integrate families, communities, local actors, and social organizations as integral components.

The report stresses that working at the community level enables the detection of rights violations and the activation of immediate responses. Similarly, public policies at the community level are crucial to strengthen families and prevent rights violations before any judicial or administrative intervention.

In the Americas, child protection has made progress in terms of this territorial focus. At least 20 countries have legislation in place that provides for shared responsibility by the State, the community, and the family. Further, at least 15 of those States have formally created local public structures that are operational at the municipal or community level.

This regional convergence is reflected in legal frameworks and local mechanisms that facilitate coordination between the State and communities, including councils, ombudspersons’ offices, boards, and municipal protection services. In several countries in the Americas, there are also programs in place to promote prevention and strengthen families through community-based actions aimed at coordinating local resources, supporting families, and reducing abuse or maltreatment. These experiences show that the first point of entry to access the protection system must lie in the community.

However, challenges persist, including fragmented protection at the local level, a shortage of specialized staff, poor coordination between the national, local, and community levels, and insufficient decentralized budgets to enable constant activity in the various territories. This is compounded by the need to increase effective participation by children and adolescents within their community environments and the need to transform cultural practices that normalize violence, discrimination, or exclusion.

The IACHR calls on Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), national, federal, and local authorities, communities, and civil society to strengthen the community-based dimension of protection systems. The community level must ensure an effective presence by the State across the relevant territory, with adequate human and financial resources and mechanisms that enable coordination with municipal authorities, schools, grassroots organizations (including faith-based organizations), and local protection networks.

It is also essential for communities to create platforms for sustained, effective (rather than merely consultative) participation by children and adolescents, and for community-based mechanisms to contribute to strengthening the progressive autonomy and citizen identity of those children and adolescents. Active listening and child leadership in these contexts are crucial tools to prevent violence, discrimination, and exclusion and must be central in all public policies focused on protection.

The IACHR stresses its commitment to helping States in the Americas strengthen their protection systems. These systems must effectively integrate the community-based dimension, because strengthening citizenship since childhood is a shared responsibility and an essential pillar to promote and protect human rights.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the OAS whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 237/25

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