C.3. Rights of the child 269. The Court has emphasized that cases in which the victims of human rights violations are children are particularly serious, 320 because children are holders of the rights established in the American Convention, and also require the special measures of protection established in its Article 19, which must be defined according to the particular circumstances of each specific case. 321 The Court has affirmed that any State, social or family decision that entails any constraint to the exercise of any right of a child must take into account the principle of the best interests of the child and be rigorously adapted to the relevant legal provisions. 322 In this regard, the Committee on the Rights of the Child had indicated that the failure to register a child “can impact negatively on a child’s sense of personal identity and children may be denied entitlements to basic health, education and social welfare.” 323 C.4. Obligation to adopt domestic legal provisions 270. With regard to the obligation to adopt domestic legal provisions established in Article 2 of the Convention, the Court has indicated that this provision imposes on the States Parties the general obligation to adapt their domestic law to the provisions of the Convention in order to ensure and make effective the exercise of the rights and freedoms recognized therein. 324 The Court has affirmed that this entails the adoption of two types of measures, namely: (a) the enactment of laws and the implementation of practices leading to the effective observance of these guarantees, and (b) the elimination of laws and practices of any kind that result in a violation of the guarantees established in the Convention, 325 because they fail to recognize those rights and freedoms or they prevent their exercise. 326 271. As the Court has indicated on other occasions, the provisions of domestic law that are adopted to this end must be effective (principle of the practical effects or effet utile), which means that States are obliged to adopt and to establish in their domestic laws all the measures required to ensure that the provisions of the Convention are truly complied with and implemented. 327 C.5. Application to this case 320 Cf. Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al.) v. Guatemala. Merits. Judgment of November 19, 1999. Series C No. 63, paras. 146 and 191, and Case of Veliz Franco et al. v. Guatemala, para. 133. 321 Cf. Case of Fornerón and daughter v. Argentina. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of April 27, 2012. Series C No. 242, para. 44, and Case of the Pacheco Tineo Family v. Bolivia, para. 217. 322 Cf. Juridical Status and Human Rights of the Child. OC-17/02, para. 65, and Case of the Pacheco Tineo Family v. Bolivia, para. 218. 323 United Nations, Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 7 (2005) “Implementing child rights in early childhood,” CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1, 20 September 2006, para. 25. 324 Cf. Case of Albán Cornejo et al.. v. Ecuador. Merits reparations and costs. Judgment of November 22, 2007. Series C No. 171, para. 118, and Case of Norín Catrimán et al. (Leaders, members and activist of the Mapuche Indigenous People) v. Chile, para. 175. 325 Cf. Case of Castillo Petruzzi et al. v. Peru. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of May 30, 1999. Series C No. 52, para. 207, and Case of Norín Catrimán et al. (Leaders, members and activist of the Mapuche Indigenous People) v. Chile, para. 175. 326 Cf. Case of Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago, para. 113. 327 Cf. Case of “The Last Temptation of Christ” (Olmedo Bustos et al.). Judgment of February 5, 2001. Series C No. 73, para. 87; and Case of Osorio Rivera and family members v. Peru, footnote 332. 89

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