Manila, the Philippines, 17 January 2012

The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) convened a Consultative Meeting with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC) and CEDAW Committee experts on violence against women in Manila, the Philippines, on 16-17 January 2012. The Consultation was supported by UN Women and UNICEF.

The Consultation provided an opportunity to exchange views on a rights-based approach to initiatives designed to prevent and address all forms of violence against children (VAC) and violence against women (VAW), in the light of international human rights standards, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), both ratified by all ASEAN Member States.

The Consultation helped to highlight good practices and experiences on the implementation of laws, policies and actions aimed at overcoming the invisibility of violence, promoting an integrated agenda for violence prevention and elimination, and improving the availability and quality of data and research on the magnitude and incidence of violence against children and violence against women.

The Commission welcomed the insightful information provided by the SRSG-VAC on the process of follow-up to the recommendations of the UN Study on Violence against Children promoted in countries around the globe, and the experience gained from cooperation developed between her mandate and regional organizations and institutions aiming at building a world free from violence.

The Commission recognized the importance and potential of enhancing opportunities for dialogue and cooperation with strategic partners at the national, regional and international levels, including with the United Nations system, to accelerate progress towards the elimination of violence against children and violence against women.

The Commission and the SRSG-VAC expressed commitment to pursue collaboration in the context of the ACWC’s mandate for the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children and efforts for violence prevention and response including within the framework of the Commission’s five-year work plan in the following activities:

a. Compiling, documenting and disseminating good practices and studies on the implementation of legislations, programmes, services and strategies to address all forms of VAW and VAC in the region;

b. Conducting regional studies of legal frameworks and response strategies towards the elimination of VAW and VAC in ASEAN Member States;

c. Promoting advocacy and policy development for the prevention and elimination of all forms of VAW and VAC;

d. Promoting, in collaboration with relevant government agencies, the availability and quality of data collection and analysis concerning VAW and VAC in ASEAN Member States;

e. Launching a regional public campaign to eliminate all forms of VAW and VAC in collaboration with the relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies, civil society, religious and local leaders, private sector and other stakeholders;

f. Developing minimum standards of delivery of services to the victims and survivors as well as perpetrators of VAW and VAC;

g. Strengthening the capacity of service providers in ASEAN Member States to prevent and address all forms of VAW and VAC; and

h. Promoting dialogues with other relevant government agencies, civil society and other stakeholders aiming at improving awareness of all forms of VAW and VAC in various sectors.