Second High Level Meeting on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific New Delhi, 23-25 October 2013 1 South-South Cooperation for Child Rights Working Paper 1 Progress review 2010-2012 of the recommendations and commitments made at the First High Level Meeting, Beijing, November 2010 September 2013 UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and Pacific (EAPRO)
2 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 South-South Cooperation for Child Rights Working Papers UNICEF ROSA-EAPRO REGIONAL OFFICE WORKING PAPERS ARE INTENDED TO DISSEMINATE INITIAL RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS ADDRESSING KEY ISSUES RELATED TO SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR THE REALIZATION OF CHILDREN S RIGHTS IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC. THE FINDINGS, INTERPRETATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE POLICIES OR VIEWS OF UNICEF. THE TEXT HAS NOT BEEN EDITED TO OFFICIAL PUBLICATION STANDARDS AND UNICEF ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS. EXTRACTS FROM THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE FREELY REPRODUCED WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) 2013 Suggested citation: UNICEF, Progress review 2010-2012 of the recommendations and commitments made at the First High Level Meeting, Beijing, November 2010. South-South Cooperation for Child Rights Working Paper 1, UNICEF ROSA and UNICEF EAPRO, Kathmandu, September 2013.
3 Progress review 2010-2012 of the recommendations and commitments made at the First High Level Meeting, Beijing, November 2010 September 2013 UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and Pacific (EAPRO)
4 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 ACRONYMS ACWC ARNEC ASEAN ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood Association for South-East Asian Nations EMIS EASAN HLM Lao PDR Education management information system East Asia Ministerial Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene High Level Meeting Lao People s Democratic Republic AADMER ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response MDGs MICS Millennium Development Goals Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey BAPPEDA Badan Perencana Pembangunan Daerah (Indonesia) MNCH Maternal and Newborn child Health CCA Climate change adaptation NGO Non-governmental organization COMMIT Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child SACOSAN South Asia Conference on Sanitation DHS DPRK DRM Demographic and Health Survey Democratic People s Republic of Korea Disaster risk management SAIEVAC SOMSWD South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (ASEAN) DRR ECCE ECD Disaster risk reduction Early childhood care and education Early childhood development SPC UNICEF Secretariat of the Pacific Community United Nations Children s Fund
5 Executive Summary The first High Level Meeting on Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific, held in Beijing in November 2010, brought together senior leaders from 28 countries to discuss opportunities to promote child rights within the framework of South-South cooperation. The meeting aimed at (i) promoting the sharing of best practices, lessons learned and experiences in the realization of child rights in Asia and the Pacific, (ii) enhancing political commitment and leveraging resources for addressing socioeconomic disparities; (iii) supporting governments and other national and regional partners to include the promotion of child rights in their international cooperation activities; and (iv) fostering stronger and expanded cooperation with and between governments on behalf of children in the region. Discussion focused on the themes of advancing child rights, child protection and child welfare systems, achieving the MDGs with equity, and children and disaster risk reduction. The meeting concluded with the signing of the Beijing Declaration on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific, which laid out specific commitments for participating countries to advance child rights. Review of follow-up to the Beijing Declaration shows that a wide range of initiatives took place including study tours; workshops and other consultation forums; technical support, training or capacity building activities; knowledge sharing based on good practices and lessons learned; initiatives to reinforce South-South cooperation mechanisms. Exchanges between countries most notably contributed to prioritize social protection and child rights as areas for deeper cooperation; support capacity development in the implementation of child rights programming; establish mechanisms for sharing experiences and promoting technical cooperation on child rights and development; and strengthen the quality of monitoring and evaluation of development programmes. Cooperation is most visible within regional and sub-regional groupings such as the Association for South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and regional networks such as the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC). Triangular cooperation, i.e. facilitated by a third party such as an agency or higher-income country, continues to play an important role. There may be opportunities to expand such inter-regional cooperation. Advancing child rights More than 70 learning events, from bilateral engagement to high level conferences spanning multiple regions, were reported on topics encompassing budgeting and governance for child rights; violence against children including trafficking; and programming across all sectors. These events aimed at showcasing innovative practices and approaches, creating space for policy dialogue, strengthening the capacity of staff in ministries and national institutions, identifying lessons learned and exchanging ideas on addressing bottlenecks and challenges. Collaborative initiatives contributed to develop the capacity in key areas of health, ECD, results-based budgeting and child and social protection systems.
6 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 Strengthened bilateral mechanisms have led to increased activity on child trafficking, particularly the signing of memorandum of understanding, cross-border partnerships and coordination mechanisms. Several countries also recognized the need for stronger cooperation in evaluation and results based management and in the use of childfocused databases. Child protection and child welfare systems Countries reported the establishment of a network and informal mechanisms for sharing lessons learned and experiences on building child protection systems. The South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) is a good example of effective regional forum, which is tasked with monitoring governments commitments and follow-up actions. Regional conferences with the participation of children contributed to the identification of common constraints and the design of strategies to address challenges in child welfare systems. Technical workshops on legal reform and corporal punishment, and a high level meeting on legislation and law enforcement on early marriage supported governments in advocating for reforming laws and law enforcement systems. Study visits and convening of a regional resource group allowed countries to review programmes and services and provided technical assistance. Initiatives to develop curricula and training standards contributed to the development of social work as a profession in the region. Achieving the MDGs with equity Countries collaborated to improve the collection and use of data on a regional basis, through a longitudinal study on child poverty, regional study to develop child protection baselines and the development of harmonized monitoring mechanisms. Study tours were held to assess country experience with surveys and information management systems. These cooperative efforts have provided a starting point for technical support, cross-sectoral actions and other social sector interventions. They contributed to increase legislative protection of children and improve justice systems, develop standardized monitoring mechanisms and indicators for data on marginalized and vulnerable groups. Study tours and regional meetings helped to share and evaluate strategies for addressing inequities and reaching the least served. Children and disaster risk reduction (DRR) Governments are increasingly sharing information on ways to address DRR and climate change and are addressing commitments through regional intergovernmental processes. Regional and country knowledge management mechanisms and information-sharing platforms were developed and serve as repositories of information on hazard, risk and DRR. Countries have made good use of regional exchanges to share experiences and lessons learned. High level meetings provided opportunities to further mainstream child-centred DRR. There is scope for strengthened coordination and dissemination of information across the region on integrating child rights in cooperation on DRR and adaptation to climate change, including sharing technical resources, good practices, lessons learned and model policies on safe schools. Opportunities for the Second High Level Meeting Strengthen processes to monitor, track and report progress against outcomes on a regular basis, and intensify coordination around key themes. Beyond traditional information-sharing platforms and exchanges, develop a set of standards and norms on what constitutes South-South cooperation. Evaluate the quality and impact of South- South cooperation as a means of increasing knowledge understanding, enabling replication and scaling-up and enhancing transparency and accountability. Increasingly engage the private sector and a range of other partners. Establish a talent bank of qualified and validated institutions and experts, which could lead to a better matching of expertise with needs and greater inter-regional cooperation.
7 I Introduction The first High Level Meeting (HLM) on Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific, held in Beijing in November 2010, brought together senior leaders from 28 countries to discuss opportunities for mutual cooperation in the promotion of child rights within the framework of South-South cooperation. Inaugurated by the Vice President of China, and with the participation of the UNICEF Executive Director and the Regional Directors and Country Representatives from South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, the objectives of the meeting were to: promote the sharing of best practices, lessons learned and experiences in the realization of child rights in Asia and the Pacific through on-going efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); enhance political commitment and leverage resources for addressing socio-economic disparities and promoting the realization of the rights of all children in the region; support governments and other national and regional partners to include the promotion of child rights in their international cooperation activities, and foster stronger and expanded cooperation with and between governments on behalf of children in the region, taking into account internationally agreed standards. With an overarching aim to ensure that economic and social development is equitable and reaches all children, the meeting examined how South-South cooperation contributes in the four thematic areas of: 1 Advancing child rights; 2 Child protection and child welfare systems; 3 Achieving the MDGs with equity; and 4 Children and disaster risk reduction. The meeting concluded with the signing of the Beijing Declaration on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific. The Declaration laid out a number of specific commitments and recommendations for participating countries to pursue as they seek to advance child rights. In Beijing, participants agreed to hold a second ministerial level meeting in 2013 to assess progress and advances on South-South cooperation and continue to support governments and partners in the promotion of child rights in South-South cooperation activities. In preparation for this second HLM, which will take place from 23 to 25 October 2013, UNICEF facilitated a process to track progress against the commitments made in the Beijing Declaration. A short survey of the actions for South-South cooperation since the Beijing meeting was circulated to participating governments. Actions were grouped according to the four themes of the meeting. The survey aimed to capture the scope of initiatives, the results achieved, and issues and opportunities for further national-level and South- South engagement. This report documents how governments are using the Beijing Declaration to advance South- South cooperation for child rights in Asia and the Pacific. It highlights areas of progress as well as challenges, bottlenecks and remaining gaps, in order to benchmark the progress to date and inform the 2nd HLM. As the Beijing Declaration is an intergovernmental instrument, the report s focus is on government-led South-South engagement within Asia and the Pacific.
8 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 II Background South-South Cooperation for Child Rights Economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific over the last decades has helped to lift millions out of poverty and has contributed to unprecedented gains for children. In the region as a whole, under-five and maternal mortality rates have declined by fifty per cent since 1990. The number of people living in extreme poverty ($1.25/day Purchasing Power Parity, 2005) has fallen from 1.7 billion in 1990 to 0.8 billion in 2010. More children than ever are surviving their early years, have greater educational opportunities, and benefit from stronger protection and promotion of their rights. The positive social development is due in large part to the region s substantial and sustained economic growth. A majority of countries in the region are now classified as middle-income countries with a gross national income per capita above US$1,024. Based on current trajectories, a number of countries will reach upper-middle income to high income status by the next decade. Several Asian and Pacific economies are driving regional and global growth. The combined economic output of China and India, combined with that of Brazil, is expected to surpass the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States by 2020, with much of the growth driven by trade within the South. Countries in the region have also become increasingly important sources of development assistance to other developing countries, with India and China contributing over $1 billion each per year to investments in developing countries. At the same time, the middle class in Asia and the Pacific is growing in size, income and expectations; it will comprise roughly two-thirds of the world s middle class by 20302. The sheer number of people the billions of consumers and citizens magnify the global human development consequences of actions by governments, companies and international institutions in the South. Critical gaps remain Despite progress, critical gaps remain. The region is still home to two-thirds of the world s poor, 67 per cent of the extreme poor (less than US$1.25/ day) and to 70 per cent of underweight children. Nearly 67 per cent of South Asia s population, and 30 per cent of the East Asia and Pacific population live in poverty, based on US$2/day PPP. Large numbers of children under five years of age still die every day from preventable causes. Nutrition and food insecurity continue to constitute a chronic emergency, and quality education remains out of reach for many. Rapid social, political and economic change, natural hazards and climate change are adding to child protection challenges. Children living in fragile, conflict-ridden and disasterprone environments are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, violence and abuse. Inequality, exacerbated by disaster risk, is increasing in some countries. The burdens of disease, mortality, under-nutrition, exploitation and lack of access to school are highest amongst the children, especially girls, of poorer households, and in poorer regions and rural areas. Discrimination, particularly against women and girls, continues to exclude millions from access to education and
9 health services, and to employment opportunities. The most marginalized children often experience multiple deprivations. Driven by the opportunities that the region presents, and based on the premise that there are opportunities to learn from the successes and lessons of others from similar contexts, countries in Asia and the Pacific have been pursuing South-South cooperation to use the experiences and lessons learned to advance the rights and well-being of children. South-South cooperation requires that countries share technical expertise, knowledge, technology and resources for mutual benefit. Only recently has South-South cooperation expanded from cooperation around trade and economic development to social issues. South-South Cooperation for Child Rights Building on a history of cooperation in the region, in 2010 the Government of China, assisted by UNICEF, convened the first High Level Meeting at ministerial level. This allowed countries in the region to exchange experience and explore potential areas for intra- and inter-regional cooperation to advance, promote and protect the rights of children. The Beijing Declaration endorsed by the participants focused on regional cooperation in advancing child rights, strengthening child protection and welfare systems, ensuring equity and universal access in economic and social development, and reducing the risk of disasters. These themes were selected due to their great and growing significance in Asia and the Pacific, and closer cooperation would be of value for all countries involved. The Beijing Declaration specified 13 commitments for participating countries to pursue in advancing child rights. For example, to address growing economic and social inequities and to bridge gaps in the availability of essential services for children, governments agreed to collaborate to improve the collection and use of data to increase understanding of disparities and their underlying causes. Governments also agreed to increase cooperation in practical measures for childfriendly disaster risk reduction, child protection system strengthening, and the promotion of child protection services focusing on prevention. In view of the difficulty of compiling a comprehensive account of the breadth and scope of cooperation between governments, the following section presents highlights of the progress made in meeting the commitments in the Beijing Declaration, as reported by participating Governments. A separate matrix (http:// hlmdelhi2013.org/images/beijing_declaration_ Matrix.pdf) provides a more detailed accounting of the cooperation and achievements.
10 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 III Progress since Beijing Since November 2010, there has been a high level of energy and attention to the transfer of knowledge and technical expertise, the development of policy and legislative frameworks. All countries are engaged in South-South cooperation but to varying degrees and using a range of modalities. Many of the supported activities fall under the following categories: Study Tours: Knowledge learning expeditions where a group travels to one or more countries to meet and learn from the experiences of another country. Workshops and other collaborative activities, partnerships and consultation forums: Exchanges between countries to brainstorm, collaborate and plan future cooperation. Technical support, training or supply: the bi- or multi-lateral provision of technical support or supplies to one or more countries by national or local government, institutions, NGOs, experts, and civil society. Knowledge sharing and exchange: Dissemination or transfer of knowledge based on good practices or lessons learned from one or more countries to others. Strengthening South-South Cooperation: Initiatives designed to foster or facilitate cooperation between countries with the specific intention of reinforcing a South-South cooperation mechanism. Countries have defined their cooperation in terms of geographic coverage and sectoral expertise. South-South cooperation is most visible within regional and sub-regional groupings such as the Association for South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and regional networks such as the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC). This reflects the reality of regional interdependence driven by shared social, political and economic backgrounds and geographic proximity. For example, ASEAN has established a Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. Countries of South Asia have ratified the SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia. ARNEC serves as a professional network that supports the development of interdisciplinary partnerships in early childhood development across the countries in Asia and the Pacific. The ARNEC platform provides for exchanges on early childhood development (ECD) programme and policy development. Mekong countries are cooperating on child protection issues, especially child trafficking. This reflects the trans-boundary nature of the issue and the need for stronger policy coordination. Asia and Pacific island countries are cooperating with each other on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change. There are fewer systematic examples of intra-asia cooperation, such as between island countries and countries in South Asia, but there may be opportunities to expand such inter-regional cooperation. At the sectoral level, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia have prioritized social protection and child rights as areas for deeper cooperation,
11 for which, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have provided substantial support for capacity building. Malaysia s Technical Cooperation Programme identifies South-South cooperation as a mechanism for sharing experiences and promoting technical cooperation on child rights and development. The Philippines has targeted the strengthening of quality monitoring and evaluation of development programmes as an area for South-South/North- South learning. There are a number of instances of South-South engagement beyond the Asia and the Pacific. This includes study tours, technical assistance, training initiatives and consultation forums. Examples include study tours between Malaysia and the Government of Ethiopia on Results-based Planning and Management as well as between Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam on the use of minority languages in education; and exchange visits to explore Child-Friendly Local Governance between the Philippines, Brazil and Nepal. Triangular cooperation, i.e., facilitated by a third party such as an agency or higher-income country, continues to play an important role. For example, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea have contributed technical expertise and capacity building support in the area of establishing a social work force and child protection. The following summarizes key areas of progress reported by governments in implementing the 13 recommendations from the Beijing HLM. A. Advancing Child Rights More than two decades have passed since Governments acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In that time, there has been a reduction in the region s under-five child mortality rates and an increase in children s access to school and safe drinking water. There is greater awareness about factors that restrict children s rights or protect them from violence, abuse and exploitation. The establishment of national laws and policies on child rights has strengthened the region s institutional capacity to uphold the best interests of the child, although persistent disparities and inequities are still major challenges to the promotion and protection of child rights and the improvement of overall social cohesion. Delegates in Beijing called for more sustained regional cooperation around child rights as a means of providing mutual benefits for participating countries. They identified three areas for action and follow-up: (i) Share and make accessible country experiences - both good practices and lessons learned to advance children s rights. Countries have made considerable progress in sharing country experiences. Study tours and regional conferences have been the most common modalities. Learning events ranged from bilateral engagement on specific topics (e.g. India and Bhutan on trafficking of persons), workshops between a small number of countries (e.g. a seminar on Early Childhood Care and Development attended by Singapore, Thailand, India and Bhutan (host), to high level conferences spanning multiple regions (e.g. a Theory and Practice of Child Protection System Conference hosted by India with global representation of 200 delegates from 84 countries). The South-South Symposium on Child Poverty and Development held in Beijing from the 20th to the 22nd November 2013 brought together 17 countries, including several from outside Asia and the Pacific, to present research and experiences on developing policies that address child poverty. Discussions are underway to hold a follow-up meeting in South Africa. Learning exchanges have been used to develop capacity in key areas, for example in health systems strengthening, early childhood development, results-based budgeting, and reinforcing child and social protection systems. After an exchange on curriculum development and education standards, Pakistan and Sri Lanka established a memorandum of understanding on the issue, while Pakistan showed an interest in replicating Sri Lanka s technical and vocational education framework. Yemen, Qatar, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka signed an agreement to cooperate in health policy and medical curricula development. Study trips by the Myanmar Human Rights Commission to India and Indonesia, and Myanmar s Parliamentary Committee to Viet Nam and Indonesia contributed to strengthened child rights issues in legislation in Myanmar. Other examples include a workshop on models to support children with HIV/AIDS in South Africa between Viet Nam (host), South Africa and Rwanda; a high level study tour on results based planning and management between Malaysia (host) and Ethiopia, and an exchange visit to explore Child Friendly Local Governance between the Philippines, Brazil and Nepal. A workshop on social protection held in Pakistan helped to strengthen the empirical evidence on social protection policy choices and models. Exchanges have delivered real results for children. Several countries have initiated social budgeting
12 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 activities and strengthened inter-ministerial dialogue on public finance for children since attending a high level conference on Public Finance, Social Policies and Children, hosted by the government of Viet Nam. Following a regional workshop on Developing Stronger Policies and Laws on Infant and Young Child Feeding in the ASEAN Region and Beyond, hosted by the government of Viet Nam, the government of Mongolia agreed to revise its national Advertisement Law to ban marketing of breast milk substitutes for infants under six months old and improve workplace protection of mothers. Following a study tour to Lao People s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) to learn about the National Programme on Decentralization and Local Governance, Nepal modified its resource allocations for children in the government s block grants to local bodies. Study tours to national nutrition programmes in Viet Nam and China contributed to the promotion of the baby-friendly initiatives and the establishment of baby-friendly hospitals in Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Strengthened bilateral mechanisms have led to increased activity on child trafficking, and the development of policy briefs, for issues such as nutrition investment. They have also made it easier to carry out regional studies such as a report on ASEAN Best Practices in Eliminating Violence Against Women and Violence Against Children. The development of informal learning networks has allowed practitioners, policy makers and academics to share knowledge and lessons learned on such issues as child protection systems and mother tongue-based bi-lingual education. A child rights training course for Pacific island countries (including Papua New Guinea) improved awareness of child rights in the public and private sectors. The Skills Movement Scheme in the Pacific allows countries to request skilled workers in nursing, medicine, teaching, finance and law from countries involved in the Scheme. Several countries have identified evaluation and results based management as areas for stronger cooperation. The Philippines held an evaluation workshop for senior departmental officials, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development of Myanmar. There may be opportunities to expand cooperation in this area given the importance monitoring and evaluation for learning and policy and programme development. Countries are working through regional networks or institutions to advance cooperation in key areas. Inter-Ministerial events such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the 13th Conference of the Ministers of Justice of the Portuguese-Speaking Community on International Protection of Children in the Community contributed to declarations and action plans to combat human trafficking. Through the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT), three liaison offices on cross-border trafficking have been set up in Myanmar and four in Viet Nam. Joint antitrafficking campaigns have been conducted in both countries. While there are several examples of South- South engagement between countries in Asia and the Pacific and in other regions, there are comparatively fewer examples of inter-regional engagement involving Pacific island countries. These typically engage in SSC with other Pacific nations or in triangular cooperation with Australia or New Zealand. There are opportunities to expand this cooperation to other countries beyond the Pacific. (ii) Support the establishment of a central database for sharing knowledge on regional efforts to advance child rights, to make country experiences more accessible Several child-focused databases have been established to facilitate data sharing and information exchange. Examples include the SAARC Gender Info Database, which provides gender data for policy and programme development in South Asian countries; India s Track-Child ; and the Strategic Information Response Network, which collects trafficking data from six Mekong countries. Substantial attention has been given to establishing baseline data on children through targeted research. The Malaysian Government, with assistance from the ASEAN Secretariat, is developing a compendium of ASEAN Best Practices in Eliminating Violence Against Women and Violence Against Children as a means of identifying successes and gaps in the response. Eight countries are participating in a baseline study for the establishment of sustainable genderequitable urban policies and systems. This is part of a broader safe and friendly cities initiative to prevent violence against children. The Philippines, Brazil and others have shared tools on childfriendly community assessments to track progress against child development indicators. Through the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in South Asia workshop, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are cooperating to strengthen coordination on information and communication technology.
13 Given the breadth of national and regional knowledge and data sharing efforts, a central database may still be needed to coordinate and systematically disseminate information. To implement the Beijing recommendation on improving the collection and use of data, it will be necessary to explore in more detail the mechanisms and resources needed to operationalize such a database. (iii) Support the development of a regional strategy for South-South cooperation programmes for child rights. The Beijing Declaration called for a shared vision on advancing South-South cooperation for child rights in the region. Several recent initiatives and agreements implicitly promote such cooperation. SAARC members have developed a five-year regional work plan with national action plans for the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children. They have also produced regional guidelines on nutrition as well as monitoring and evaluation guidelines for a regional strategic framework on children affected by HIV/AIDS. ASEAN countries are developing an ASEAN Roadmap for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour and an ASEAN Strategic Framework for Social Welfare and Development. Pacific island countries have established a Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability, which provides for the development of national policies and the production of a report to track and assess progress on improving disability programming in each country. Other regional initiatives are in development. SAARC is in the process of drawing up a youth charter, setting up a Gender Policy Advocacy Group, and developing a regional strategy on early childhood care and education (ECCE). While these initiatives promote cooperation in many key areas, a specific regional strategy for South-South cooperation programmes for child rights has yet to be developed. Further analysis is needed on how best to move this recommendation forward. B. Child Protection and Child Welfare Systems Across the region there have been unprecedented levels of legislative, policy and institutional reform on a broad spectrum of child protection issues. National child protection systems have been established or strengthened. Social work is increasingly treated as a profession. But, despite the best efforts of governments to provide effective protection, vast numbers of children face serious risks and exposure to violence, abuse and exploitation. Recognizing the complexity and interconnectedness of child protection issues, delegates in Beijing focused attention on strategies for preventing violence against children in the first instance, and then establishing comprehensive and adequately resourced national child protection and welfare systems and mechanisms. (i) Explore the possibility of establishing a regional forum on inter-country exchange on inter-sectoral delivery of child protection services across technical disciplines (e.g. social welfare, law enforcement, justice, health and education) A number of meetings were held to exchange experiences on child protection challenges. A global conference in India led to the establishment of a network and informal mechanisms for sharing lessons learned and experiences on child protection system building. ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste held a conference to enhance understanding and knowledge of strategies, capacity development and resources for child protection. ASEAN s Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (SOMSWD) and Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children identified violence against children and child protection systems as a focus of their workplans. This is helping to advance regional and inter-sectoral coordination in the development of national policies and laws. For example, Timor-Leste approved an expansion of inter-sectoral and inter-ministerial child protection referral networks and is developing a child protection law, which will clarify the roles and responsibilities of concerned ministries and agencies. As a result of regional consultations for the UN Study on Violence Against Children, the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) has been tasked with monitoring governments commitments and follow-up actions. The SAIEVAC National Action and Coordination Group provides a forum for collaboration and the exchange of technical expertise. Through this process, SAARC members have developed a fiveyear regional work plan based on national action plans. These plans take a holistic approach to child protection, focusing on access to services, the improvement of policies and legislation, the strengthening of the capacities of families and the promotion of community-based responses. Significant attention has been devoted to linking initiatives for social protection. Nine senior officials
14 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 from the Government of Thailand visited the Social Security Agency of the Ministry of Social Development of South Africa to learn about their child support grants and how they relate to the wider system of child protection and welfare. Thailand and Pakistan held a two-week training course for policy-makers and practitioners to strengthen capacity in social transfer programmes, such as safety nets and cash transfers. The 2011 Third Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood focused attention on issues such as social and child protection and cash transfers. Mongolia organized a training course on Alternative Child Services to explore issues relating to alternative care for children and residential care. Following this progress in South-South collaboration, there are new opportunities to establish a sustainable forum for regional engagement in child protection. It will be necessary to define the scope of such a forum and whether it should be based in the Asia and Pacific or led by SAARC and ASEAN. There is also a need to take account of the inter-sectoral dimension of child protection services, including links with early childhood care and development. (ii) Develop a regional dialogue on approaches to child welfare and child protection services which focus on prevention and encourage the mobilization of local resources and cultural assets. In line with the development of regional mechanisms to promote dialogue and develop plans of action for child protection, SAARC members held a technical workshop on legal reform and corporal punishment, and a high level meeting on legislation and law enforcement on early marriage. This will put them in a stronger position to advocate for reforming laws and law enforcement systems. The first Asia-Pacific Council on Juvenile Justice, which took place in Thailand, allowed countries to review their experience on juvenile delinquency and prevention programmes. Through the COMMIT, participating countries have developed bilateral agreements and national programmes on children and youth, exchanged good practices and information, and strengthened their capacity to prevent child trafficking. Countries participating in the SAIEVAC, have established a national action coordinating group and a child rights and child protection training p rogramme. Formal bilateral agreements have been signed regarding trafficking in women and children (India, Bangladesh), disability (Afghanistan, India), birth registration (Afghanistan and Bangladesh) and juvenile justice (Thailand and Timor-Leste). A number of countries have made study visits to review social welfare policies. For example, Myanmar and Nepal visited the Philippines to learn about alternative care for children and social welfare policies and legal frameworks. The visits allowed the countries to review programmes and services, the standards and processes for the licensing and accreditation of social welfare and child-caring agencies, as well as government casemanagement and coordination mechanisms and budget processes. The Philippines Inter-Country Adoption Board provided technical assistance to Cambodia s Inter-country Adoption Committee and Inter-Country Adoption Administration. This included a review of Cambodian laws and procedures and technical support for the development of operational guidelines and manuals for alternative care. Fiji and Vanuatu have developed a regional resource group for the Pacific, which can help to develop social welfare policies for the Solomon Islands and Kiribati. Following a study visit to learn about New Zealand s child protection system, Timor-Leste has begun to revise its Family Code. To strengthen the regional evidence base on child welfare and to better inform policies and preventative measures, there has been considerable attention to reforms in systems for civil registration and vital statistics. A high level meeting on these issues in Asia and the Pacific helped to mobilize political support for the reform of birth registration systems. Countries are working with the Brisbane Accord Group, through the 2011-2014 Pacific Vital Statistics Action Plan, to increase their capacity to record, compile, analyze and disseminate vital statistics. Children have participated in regional forums, such as the Fifth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), the SAIEVAC, the ASEAN Children s Forum and the Mekong Youth Forum. There are other opportunities to expand their engagement. The 2012 Pacific Forum leaders meeting focused on developing a Framework for Youth Development, and led to a commitment to implement national policy actions to promote gender equality in programmes and policies. While countries are cooperating through bilateral initiatives, one common regional dialogue has yet to emerge. It may be that bilateral engagement is sufficient, however this requires further analysis. (iii) Enhance inter-country exchange and the sharing of good practices in the development of a social work force and their critical role in multi-sectoral approaches to preventing and
15 responding to child protection concerns within a systems-based approach Several initiatives are underway to develop curricula and standards for social worker training. In India, the International Association of Schools of Social Work is supporting curriculum development for social work professionals. Viet Nam s University of Labour-Social Affairs collaborated with the Philippines University of Women to develop a master s degree programme on social work; over 30 people from universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations have taken part in the course. There are several examples of triangular cooperation in the development of standards for child protection systems and training curricula. This includes a partnership between Afghanistan, the European Commission and the United States and Hunter College in New York, USA. The Royal University of Phnom Penh established a master s degree programme in social work in collaboration with the Graduate School of Social Welfare at Ewha Woman s University in the Republic of Korea. Malaysia invited Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Viet Nam to share experiences on the development of national competency standards for social work practice and its Social Workers Act. Papua New Guinea and other Pacific islands are sharing good practices in social work to prevent and respond to child protection concerns. Considering the significant progress in the development of social work as a profession in the region, especially in the development of capacity and training curricula, there is now potential to bring together the various initiatives into a coherent multi-sectoral approach. C. Achieving the MDGs with Equity Though economic progress in many countries in Asia and the Pacific has been remarkable, economic inequality has also increased. The incomes of the better-off are increasing faster than those of the poor, and rural-urban differences are growing. While access to health and education services has expanded for many, their quality is often of substandard and expensive, with hidden fees and costs. Governments have developed a wide range of effective responses to these challenges, for example providing universal access to health care and comprehensive social protection systems, but too often these responses are applied for a specific sector and do not maximize cross-sectoral linkages. Noting the overarching imperative of achieving the MDGs with equity and the potential role of interand intra-regional cooperation in channeling human and financial resources towards measures that address disparities, delegates in Beijing committed themselves to exchanging experiences and sharing knowledge in the creation social safety nets for the poor. (i) Engage in collaboration on how to improve the collection and use of data and evidence that will increase understanding of disparities and their underlying causes. In Asia and the Pacific, countries have been able to the collection and use of data on a regional basis. Through the Young Lives Initiative, Viet Nam, India Ethiopia and Peru participated in a longitudinal study on child poverty. Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu collaborated on a regional study to develop child protection baselines,. The study has helped to increase legislative protection of children and improve justice systems. Through the South Asia Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN IV) network, countries are working to develop standardized monitoring mechanisms and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene data on marginalized and vulnerable groups. The South Asia Data Pocketbook provides equity analysis for the South Asian Countries, with regular data updates. Study tours have been held to assess country experience with Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for replication (e.g. Mongolia, Lao PDR, and Thailand) and information management systems. Timor-Leste s Ministry of Education is developing a multi-year master development and improvement plan for an education management information system (EMIS) based on Cambodia s experience of such systems. Data from countries situation analysis of children are providing the evidence base and justification to focus interventions and leverage national efforts and resources on the most deprived populations. While there are other opportunities to further strengthen the evidence base and data management systems and to improve the understanding of the structural drivers of regional deprivation levels, the collection of data through existing efforts has provided a starting point for technical support, cross-sectoral actions and other social sector interventions. (ii) Formally assess, present and promote successful country experiences, and examine successful experiences elsewhere in reducing
16 PROGRESS REVIEW 2010-2012 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMITMENTS MADE AT THE FIRST HIGH LEVEL MEETING, BEIJING, NOVEMBER 2010 disparities to assess the feasibility of adapting and replicating them. Countries have used study tours and regional meetings to share and evaluate strategies for addressing inequities and reaching the least served. A visiting delegation from Brazil shared experiences on Brazil s National Zero Hunger Programme and National Food Security Council to assess the feasibility of replicating them in Pakistan. Malaysia is facilitating study visits by the Dayak Bidayuh National Association and Sedidik (a subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation) to Viet Nam and Thailand to learn about the development and use of minority languages in the education system. National studies have been shared for replication in other settings. For example, some countries used the Bhutan s Two-Stage Child Disability Study as a basis for estimating the prevalence of childhood disabilities. Mother tongue-based and bi-lingual education initiatives have proved effective in improving retention and learning outcomes in a number of countries and research results are now available from Thailand, Viet Nam, and the Philippines. Decentralized approaches to monitoring through traditional and innovative survey methodologies have proved useful for collecting data on hard-to-reach populations. The Reaching Every District and Soum strategy in Mongolia is enabling the government to plan the delivery of basic health and social services to hard-to-reach target groups. The strategy has led to better identification and registration of poor families, unemployment rates, and food security and housing issues. This has directly contributed to improved health among the poor. Major regional conferences have provided opportunities for countries to share experiences and advance good practices in addressing disparities. Examples include the East Asia and Pacific Conference on Public Finance, Social Policies, and Children in Viet Nam in 2012; the Child Poverty Conference held in Beijing; and the Third East Asia Ministerial Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene in Indonesia. Based on the experiences shared at EASAN 3, governments have agreed to adopt communityled total sanitation as an approach to scale-up rural sanitation. Participation in the Dubai High Level Meeting on MDGs 4 and 5 led to some countries developing national plans and policies on Maternal and Newborn Child Health (MNCH) and targeting their least developed areas (e.g. Pakistan Coordinated Country Plan for MNCH). Several countries evaluated their national programmes, sharing the findings and lessons learned with other countries and for adaptation and possible replication. In some cases, study tours focused on developing specific capacities in monitoring and evaluation. Staff from Indonesia s Badan Perencana Pembangunan Daerah (BAPPEDA) visited Australia to learn how to improve planning, monitoring and evaluating development activities, with a focus on the most vulnerable populations. (iii) Encourage regional-level research studies to examine and review in detail relevant data and literature in support of initiatives designed to reduce disparities. Research and surveys have strengthened the evidence base on the patterns and causes of disparities and inequities. The Out-of-School Children s Initiative and the School Grants Study have helped to highlight key barriers and bottlenecks which prevent children from accessing quality education. ARNEC and the University of Hong Kong are assisting countries in the region in the development of standards for early learning and development. This will provide a common regional framework and facilitate international exchange, knowledge sharing and technical cooperation for early childhood development (ECD). Thailand and Myanmar have launched an inter-country study on language, education and social cohesion, focusing on mainstreaming issues of social cohesion in education sector plans and peace-building efforts. ASEAN is establishing ASEAN Guidelines for a Non-Violent Approach to Child Rearing and Child-Caring in Various Settings, and is supporting a regional framework for Social Protection in which knowledge-sharing is a core component. (iv) Explore the possibility of establishing a regional repository of knowledge, expertise and data on equity issues While there has been good progress in generating research and knowledge, a regional mechanism or common portal is needed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and help to identify areas for further exploration (e.g. a common research agenda to prioritize needs and support resource mobilization in key areas). There are several initiatives along these lines. ASEAN is renovating its software systems to increase regional online information exchanges. The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) is promoting exchanges of experience, knowledge, information and data