| Country | Youth Law | Year of enactment | Declared objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Federal Council of Youth (Law No. 26227) | 2007 | Collaborate with the interjurisdictional design and coordination of youth policies, building strategic management maps that allow the construction of the concept of citizenship in values such as solidarity, equity, commitment, justice, responsibility, ethics and national identity. |
| Bolivia (Plur. State of) | Supreme Decree 2114 - Youth Act (2014) | 2013 | Guarantee to the young people the full exercise of their rights and duties, the design of the institutional framework, the instances of representation and deliberation of youth, and the establishment of public policies. |
| Brazil | Law No. 12852 on the Youth Statute (2013) Law No. 11129 creating the National Youth Secretariat (2005) | 2013 | Establish the rights of young people and the guidelines of public youth policies and the National Youth System (SINAJUVE).. |
| Chile | Law No. 19042 creating the National Institute for Youth (1991) | 1991 | Create the National Institute of Youth, as a public service, functionally decentralized, endowed with legal personality and its own assets, related to the President of the Republic through the Ministry of Planning and Cooperation (which later becomes the Ministry of Social Development) . |
| Colombia | Statutory Law No. 1622 adopting the Youth Citizenship Statute (2013) | 2013 | Establish the institutional framework to guarantee all young people the full exercise of youth citizenship in civil or personal, social and public spheres, the effective enjoyment of the rights recognized in the domestic legal system and ratified in international treaties. |
| Costa Rica | Law No. 8261 - Young Persons Act (2002) | 2002 | Prepare, promote and coordinate the execution of public policies aimed at young people. Coordinate the set of national development policies promoted by public authorities, so that they contemplate creating opportunities, accessing services and increasing the potential of young people. Promote the political, social, cultural and economic participation of young people, in conditions of solidarity, equity and well-being. Promote and execute investigations that allow to know the condition of young people and their families. Protect the rights, obligations and fundamental guarantees of the young person. |
| Cuba | Children and Youth Code (Law No. 16) | 1978 | Regulate the participation of children and young people under 30 in the construction of the new society and establish the obligations of the people, agencies and institutions involved in their education in accordance with the objective of promoting the formation of the communist personality in the young generation . |
| Ecuador | Youth Act | 2001/2011 | Reconoce las necesidades particulares de los jóvenes y promueve el ejercicio pleno de sus derechos. En 2011 se actualiza la Ley para reflejar la nueva constitución (2008), fortaleciendo la garantización real de los derechos. |
| El Salvador | General Youth Act (Decree no. 910) | 2012/2016 | Implementar políticas públicas, programas, estrategias y planes para el desarrollo integral de la juventud y su vinculación a la participación activa en todos los ámbitos de la vida nacional. |
| Honduras | Decree No. 260-2005 - Framework Act for the Comprehensive Development of Young People | 2005 | Establecer el marco jurídico, político e institucional que promueva el pleno desarrollo de los jóvenes, la definición de políticas de Estado sobre la Juventud , orientarlas acciones del Estado, la sociedad y la familia sobre esta materia, así como fomentar la participación activa y permanente de los jóvenes en su propio desarrollo y el de la nación, en un ambiente de responsabilidad y libertad, garantizado por la Constitución y las leyes. |
| Mexico | Mexican Youth Institute Act | 2012 | Promover y fomentar las condiciones que aseguren a la juventud un desarrollo pleno e integral, en condiciones de igualdad y no discriminación de conformidad con lo establecido en la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, ordenamientos legales y Tratados Internacionales suscritos por el Estado mexicano; Definir e instrumentar una política nacional de juventud, que permita incorporar plenamente a los jóvenes al desarrollo del país; Proponer al Ejecutivo Federal programas especiales orientados a mejorar las condiciones de salud y educación de los jóvenes indígenas, así como los espacios para la convivencia y recreación, sin menoscabo de las atribuciones que en estos propósitos competen a otras dependencias; Asesorar al Ejecutivo Federal en la planeación y programación de las políticas y acciones relacionadas con el desarrollo de la juventud, de acuerdo al Plan Nacional de Desarrollo; Actuar como órgano de consulta y asesoría de las dependencias y entidades de la Administración Pública Federal, así como de las autoridades estatales, municipales, y de los sectores social y privado cuando así lo requieran; Promover coordinadamente con las autoridades de los tres órdenes de gobierno, en el ámbito de sus respectivas competencias, las acciones destinadas a mejorar el nivel de vida de la juventud, así como sus expectativas sociales, económicas, culturales y derechos; Fungir como representante del Gobierno Federal en materia de juventud, ante los Gobiernos estatales y municipales, organizaciones privadas, sociales y organismos internacionales, así como en foros, convenciones, encuentros y demás reuniones en las que el Ejecutivo solicite su participación. |
| Nicaragua | Law No. 392 promoting the Comprehensive Development of Youth and its Regulations | 2001 | Promote the human development of young men and women, guarantee the exercise of their rights and obligations, establish institutional policies and mobilize resources of the State and civil society for youth. |
| Panama | Law on the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Law No. 14) | 2009 | Create the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family. Strengthen the institutional framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of children and adolescents, through the consolidation of the bases and guiding principles for the operation of the System for the Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents of the Republic of Panama. |
| Paraguay | Decree no. 262 | 2013 | Create the National Youth Secretariat (SNJ) as an institution of public law, rector and responsible for guiding the actions of the State on the set of public policies necessary to achieve the achievement of needs and expectations of youth, in addition to promoting youth participation in the decision-making processes. It replaces the National Law on Youth and Public Youth Organizations (2005), which was limited solely to the area of the Ministry of Education and Culture. |
| Peru | Supreme Decree no. 001-2008-ED | 2008 | Create the National Youth Secretariat (SENAJU) responsible for formulating State policies on youth, which contribute to the overall development of young people on issues of employability, improvement of quality of life, social inclusion, participation and access to spaces in all the areas of human development, as well as promoting and supervising programs and projects for the benefit of young people. |
| República Dominicana | General Law on Youth (Law No. 49) | 2000 | Establish the legal, political and institutional framework that guides the actions of the State and society in general towards the definition and implementation of the set of policies necessary to achieve the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of the young population of the country, as well as effective participation of young people in the decision-making processes. |
| Uruguay | Law no. 16170 Ibero-American Convention on the Rights of Young People (Law No. 18270) | 1990/2008 | Create the National Institute for Youth (INJU), which will have the responsibility to formulate, execute and evaluate national policies related to youth, in coordination with other state agencies; and promote, plan and coordinate the activities of the Youth Information Center, which will depend on the aforementioned Institute, advising and training the staff of the local information units. |
| Venezuela (Bol. Rep. of) | National Youth Law (Law No. 37404) | 2002/2009 | Regular, garantizar y desarrolla los derechos y deberes de la población juvenil venezolana, para constituiorse en el Poder Popular de la juventud, a fin de promover las condiciones para su pleno desarrollo físico, psicológico, social, espiritual, multietnico, multilingüe y pluricultural en su tránsito hacia la vida adulta, productiva, incluyendo las garantías para su capasitación, primer empleo, y su participación activa y protagónica en el proceso de desarrollo nacional mediante políticas en lo social, económico, cultural y político como jóvenes; y con la participación soliodaria de la familia y de la comiunidad organizada. |
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), based on official information reported by governments of the region.
