September 7, 2017) The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the General Secretariat of the Central America Integration System (SG-SICA) inaugurated the Regional Forum "Diagnostic and guidelines for effective social inclusion of teenagers and young people in conflict with the criminal law in SICA countries". The opening ceremony was attended by ISNA Director Elda Tobar, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation at San Salvador Marco Falcone, Inter-American Development Bank Representative Carmiña Moreno, Hefer Morataya, Director of Democratic Security of SGSICA and Dr. Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, representing the Secretary General. Marco Falcone recalled in his speech that in justice sector, Italian Cooperation (AICS) allocates 8 million dollars in El Salvador and other 3 million to regional projects. He also took the opportunity to make public the commitment with IADB/SICA allocating another 2 million dollars to the extension of the project "Strengthening social inclusion programs for young people in conflict with criminal law". During the meeting in Acajutla, town of the southwestern part of the Sonsonate department in El Salvador, has been presented a complete mapping of the situation of centers of attention and social inclusion programs for teenagers and young people in conflict with the criminal law in the region, under the project "Strengthening social inclusion programs for young people in conflict with criminal law", funded by the Italian Cooperation with 1 million dollars in coordination with the Department of Democratic Security of the Secretariat General of SICA, which is part of the ESCA's rehabilitation, social reintegration and security component of the Central America Security Strategy (ESCA).

The mapping data was collected in Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic during about 50 days of observation by visiting 31 detention centers for teenagers and young people with no liberty who represent 75% of the centers throughout the region. To cover 100% of the centers, various information gathering tools were used: through the assistance of the Prison Social Climate Survey (PSCS), focus groups, semi-structured interviews and quantitative interviews were conducted, trying to make a detail analysis of the type and quality of human relations that exist in detention centers to encourage rehabilitation programs and subsequent inclusion in society. All this information will be discussed this week by directors and technical teams of care systems for teenagers and young people deprived of their liberty, and will serve to identify and define regional guidelines to improve attention to young people and adolescents. 

ABOUT/THE FORUM

The Forum was attended by delegations from the 8 SICA member countries, delegates of international technical cooperation, Italian experts from the LIBERA and Antigone Associations, for a total of more than 75 invited, all bonded to the state institutions of juvenile justice and responsible for the centers of social inclusion for teenagers and young people deprived of freedom. Part of the purpose of the event is to share the mapping results, and exchange experiences from the region and from Italian experts.