Since 2011, our regional office in Brazil has supported the prevention and investigation of child sexual exploitation and abuse and children who are missing throughout the Latin American & Caribbean (LAC) region.
What does ICMEC LAC do?
- Provide technical assistance to improve laws and policies on child protection, based on international good practices. Our focus is on missing children and child sexual abuse via the Internet.
- Advocate for changes in laws, treaties, and systems to protect children in the region, including championing ICMEC’s Child Pornography Model Legislation, Child Protection Model Law and Model Missing Children Framework.
- Provide training and capacity-building programs to interested organizations.
- Expand the Global Missing Children’s Network, and we promote Rapid Emergency Child Alert Systems.
- Promote egional coalitions and alliances between the financial and technology industries and the public sector, including law enforcement and NGOs.
Who are our partners in the region?
Our strategy relies on coordination and collaboration with organizations that share our goal to protect children. Some of the partners include:
- UNICEF LACRO, the Latin American and Caribbean Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund;
- CARICOM, the Caribbean Community and Common Market;
- OAS, the Organization of American States, and its IIN, the Inter-American Institute of the Child;
- INHOPE, the International Association of Internet Hotlines, a 45-country network working to eliminate online child abuse;
- GSMA, the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association, which represents mobile operators worldwide;
- INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, in Buenos Aires and San Salvador.
We also are an integral member of the Latin America & Caribbean Movement for Children (MMI-LAC), which promotes regional advocacy campaigns for child rights and accountability of governments vis-à-vis their children.
Contact our regional office at LACinformation@icmec.org
