A/HRC/19/64 Santo Domingo Declaration, Follow-up meeting for Central America, Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, December 2011 We, the governmental and state authorities, representatives of the civil society and national human rights institutions, children and adolescents and international organizations from Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic; as well as representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, have met in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on 1 and 2 December 2011 during the Central American Chapter Follow-up Meeting to the United Nations Study on Violence against Children, organized by the Government of the Dominican Republic as host country and by the Latin American Chapter of the Global Movement for Children (GMC), in close collaboration with the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Ms. Marta Santos Pais. Five years after the presentation of the Global Study on Violence against Children and its recommendations before the United Nations General Assembly, the participants of the Central American follow-up meeting have decided to drive a process to communicate and evaluate the implementation of the Study recommendations, including the development of a mapping of the advances promoted by states, the celebration of this sub-regional meeting in Santo Domingo; as well as, support for the establishment of national and regional monitoring of the execution/accomplishment of these recommendations. The meeting provided an opportunity to disseminate the Study on Violence against Children and to track prioritized Recommendations 1, 2 and 11at regional and national levels, renewing the political commitment of the participating States, promoting the exchange of experiences and the reinforcement of sub-regional cooperation areas, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all participating States. During the presentations, panels and group work were identified the challenges, opportunities and future actions to develop strategies, policies and national programs that prioritize the prevention and prohibition of all forms of violence against children and adolescents and the creation and implementation of national systems of data collection, information and research. In particular, the involvement of children and adolescents has provided important inputs so the right to a life without violence can be a reality. This statement will be complemented by the guidelines for a regional roadmap in light of the priorities identified by participating countries, whose value is to support the regional process, the debate and the formulation of national roadmaps. These roadmaps will be appropriate to the contexts and structures of regional institutions and specific to each State, and prepared with the active participation of all stakeholders. We recognize that the elimination of violence against children is a major challenge, which requires a sustained and coordinated effort from governmental institutions, legislature, civil society, international agencies, and independent human rights institutions as well as from individual children and adolescents in order to be achieved. We recognize the importance of facilitating and supporting opportunities for dialogue and coordination at national and regional levels that can help meet the goals established in the United Nations Global Study on Violence against Children. 26