El Salvador
Practice Relating to Rule 132. Return of Displaced Persons
In 2008, in its third and fourth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, El Salvador stated in the section on special protection measures for returning children:
Reception mechanisms are established for Salvadoran children found travelling alone in other countries. These are mediated by the various institutions involved, namely the Department of Humanitarian Management and Migrant Care (DGHAM), the Ministry of External Relations, the National Civil Police General Directorate for Migration and Aliens (DGME) and the Salvadoran Institute for Full Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA), amongst others.
In the same section, the report further stated:
The type of assistance offered [to returning children] consisted of providing:
a) Accommodation;
b) Food;
c) Hygiene products;
d) Psychological assistance, when necessary.
In 2009, in its written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning its third and fourth periodic reports, El Salvador stated with regard to the “Welcome Home” programme for returning children:
A Migrant Care Centre was set up at the La Hachadura border in July 2005 in order to furnish social and humanitarian assistance and human rights protection to vulnerable Salvadorans returning to the country. The Centre provides children and adolescents with temporary accommodation pending their transfer to ISNA [National Institute for the Comprehensive Development of Children and Adolescents] staff, as well as food, upkeep and health care.