SAIEVAC Regional Consultation on The National Action and Coordinating Groups against Violence against Children (NACG) Solidarity for the Children of SAARC Organized by the SAIEVAC Regional Secretariat with support from the SACG Hosted by SAIEVAC National Mechanism (NCWC) Bhutan Thimphu Bhutan 26-28 November 2012 Page 1 of 14
Table of Content 1 Executive Summary 2 Welcome Remarks &Consultation Objectives, SAIEVAC Institutional Mechanism and the South Asia CSO movement and the SAIEVAC Governing Board 3 Welcome Remarks by SACG Chair: Importance of partnership, cooperation and synergies between regional and national efforts to end violence against children in South Asia 4 Role of the Civil Society in contributing towards delivering child protection targets/ending violence against children 5 NACG ToR and the conceptual understanding of the composition and structure of the NACG and CSO Coalitions 6 Country presentations on NACG experiences in collaborative efforts to end violence against children and role of civil society coalitions in delivering child protection targets 7 Summary of emerging good practices and challenges in working together for child protection 8 Increasing clarity on synergies between different stakeholders and mechanisms under the SAIEVAC framework at the national and regional level, including national SAIEVAC governmental Chapters, NACGs and Children's platforms and SAIEVAC Secretariat and SACG 9 Defining criteria for the Selection Process for CSO Regional involvement in the Governing Board (group work) 10 Selection of NACG representatives on the SAIEVAC Governing Board 11 Discussing 'Way Forward' for the NACGs at the national level-next steps in consolidating and strengthening NACGs (country group work) 12 Interactive presentation of the 'Way Forward' for NACGs (gallery walk) 13 Summary and closing 14 Annex 1: Welcome remarks by SACG Chair: importance of partnership, cooperation and synergies between regional and national efforts to end violence against children in South Asia Page 2 of 14
List of ACRONYMS SAIEVAC NACG CSO MS SACG GB INGOs SDF SAARC MDG ToR UNCRC VAC South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children National Action and Coordinating Group against Violence against Children Civil Society Organisation Member State South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence against Women and Children Governing Board International Non Government Organization SAARC Development FUND South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Millennium Development Goals Terms of Reference United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Violence against Children Page 3 of 14
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 1 st Governing Board noted that the ultimate success in ending violence against children will be SAIEVAC s ability to cultivate a larger involvement of civil society organizations in the SAIEVAC movement. In order to ensure this, a National Action and Coordinating Group against Violence against Children (NACG) is currently in the process of being established in every Member State. NACGs will ultimately strive to become important strategic interventions to strengthen and contribute towards a more effective realization of the vision and goals of SAIEVAC. The purpose is also to strengthen the interagency work including with governments and children's groups to end violence against children in each Member State. A Regional NACG Consultation was held from 26th-28th November, 2012 in Thimphu, Bhutan bringing together SAIEVAC National Coordinators and NACGs, including CSO representatives of the eight member states (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). The Consultation was organized and facilitated by the SAIEVAC Regional Secretariat with support from the SACG. The Regional Consultation on NACGs had the following overall goals and expected outcomes: To create a common understanding on the role of the NACGs To increase clarity regarding the steps to be taken towards the institutional processes that will ensure involvement of all stakeholders under the SAIEVAC movement The key objectives of the consultation included: To define the ground realities at the national level for setting the institutional framework to contribute towards strengthening a larger regional movement to end violence against children To identify challenges and opportunities facing civil society at the national level To create an institutionalized process for selecting civil society representatives to the SAIEVAC Governing Board To outline a Way Forward Plan for the NACGs to reinforce the regional movement effectively on an ongoing basis through meaningful partnership with the SAIEVAC National mechanisms Through presentations, discussions and question and answer sessions the Regional Consultation provided more clarity on the role of NACGs. Participants also agreed in principle on the selection of the CSO representatives to the SAIEVAC Governing Board. Based on that agreement, the SAIEVAC Regional Secretariat with support from the SACG will present a definitive proposal and direction to the 4th Governing Board Meeting, which will be held in the first quarter of 2013. The Regional NACG Consultation held has assisted SAIEVAC in achieving this aim. Page 4 of 14
Welcome Remarks& Consultation Objectives, SAIEVAC Institutional Mechanism, the South Asia CSO movement and the SAIEVAC Governing Board Dr. Rinchen Chophel, Director General, SAIEVAC forward with the planned activities. The aims and objectives of SAIEVAC, the 5-year Workplan and the core thematic areas of SAIEVAC were introduced to the participants. SAIEVAC is led by a Governing Board and has a regional secretariat that relates to the national SAIEVAC governmental chapters and to the NACG consisting of national CSO s, INGO s and UNagencies. The SAIEVAC Governing Board consists of government representatives from the eight SAARC countries and representatives from children, CSOs and SACG. An update on the implementation of the SDF projects was also provided, followed by SAIEVAC s way The objectives of the consultation were presented: 1. To define the ground realities at the national level for setting the institutional framework to contribute towards strengthening a larger regional movement to end violence against children 2. To identify challenges and opportunities facing civil society at the national level 3. To create an institutionalized process for selecting civil society representatives to the SAIEVAC Governing Board 4. To outline a way forward for the NACGs to reinforce the regional movement effectively on an ongoing basis through meaningful partnership with SAIEVAC national mechanisms Welcome remarks by SACG Chair: Importance of partnership, cooperation and synergies between regional and national efforts to end violence against children in South Asia- Ron Powels, SACG Chair SAIEVAC exists because of partnerships and the vision of SAIEVAC cannot be addressed by one entity alone. SAIEVAC and its member states recognize that there is a common vision to end violence against children. Child support is all about partnership, cooperation and building synergies both at national as well as at a regional level. Some principles of partnership were also mentioned such as transparency, timely communication, keeping in mind a common vision and to be more interested in advancing the common vision than your own specific agenda points. It is critical that concerted effort is adequately coordinated to avoid duplication and waste of limited resources. It must be recognized that all partners bring different backgrounds and expertise to the table, with a common vision of ending violence against children. Role of the Civil Society in contributing towards delivering child protection targets/ending violence against children- Turid Heiberg, SACG Representative The Committee on the Rights of the Child underlines the primary responsibility of the state to fulfill children s rights but also the collective responsibility by children, parents, families and non-state services and organizations to contribute to this end. The Committee urges governments to give non-directive support and to establish formal and informal relationships with civil society partners. The Convention on Page 5 of 14
the Rights of the Child created common goals and led to the increase of partnership and cooperation between governments and CSOs. Civil society is a strong global force in mobilizing the public, encouraging child participation, and enriching the efforts of governments in the area of child protection. In the discussion that followed, the challenge of sustainability of CSO programs was raised. Integration of these programs into a larger strategy and long term planning was mentioned as one solution, while it was also suggested that linking up with SAIEVAC and SDF funding could assist. The present MDG does not contain a child protection goal and it was discussed to put this forward in negotiations about post 2015 goals and targets. SAIEVAC will look into the SAARC Development Goals, other SAARC recommendations and the UN process. Efforts will be taken to present a proposal to the 4 th SAIEVAC Governing Board meeting. NACG ToR and the conceptual understanding of the composition and structure of the NACG and CSO Coalitions - Rasa Sekulovic, SACG Co-chair The session ran through the content of the ToR its vision, its mission, objectives, strategies, guidance on membership and observer status and on chair and cochair as well as some general guidelines for members. The ToR presented was a template developed at regional level based on the SACG ToR and not a document set in stone. Adapting to the different contexts is required. However, these ToRs do present some minimum standards and principles of good practice. The discussion that followed addressed the potential for re-election of chair and co-chair. It was agreed that bringing in new perspectives to the positions is wise, while the option of re-election would be open. The composition of the NACG, total number of members, the possibility of establishing State / provincial level NACGs, and funding for NACGs were also discussed. Country presentations on NACG experiences in collaborative efforts to end violence against children and role of the civil society coalitions in delivering child protection targets The eight country presentations provided an interesting picture of progress made since September 2011 when a meeting was convened in Kathmandu to discuss NACGs with CSOs present at the SAIEVAC Technical Consultation. Some of the key points on emerging good practices and challenges that were extracted from the presentations are noted below: Ensuring continuity of efforts Clear linkages made with SAIEVAC and its five-year Work Plan Operational and functional aspects - Distinctive focus on prevention is inherent to all the NACGs in the making, followed by emphasis on awareness raising, contributing to response via service delivery, engaging in advocacy related to policy and legislative frameworks Page 6 of 14
- Financial support dimensions are being given due attention in order to specify implications of both maintaining the NACG operational levels and investing in actions identified - Media involvement is also envisaged, so to ensure consistent promotion of partnerships and collaborative efforts - NACG consolidation processes are inclusive and aiming to involve a broad range of stakeholders, from children to governments - Planning efforts are forward looking, dwelling on mapping policies and legislation; sharing experiences; creating minimum standards for service provision; following up on UNCRC Committee recommendations and creating national data collection system - The process is increased learning and growth, providing the ground for more effective response to VAC Structural dimensions are addressing the issue of establishing Permanent Secretariats, their representativeness and effectiveness and how they address challenges of geographical spread and coverage Challenges identified include issues around coordination, duplication of efforts, sustainability, security, follow-up actions and monitoring. It remains to be explored how these challenges can be addressed while building on experiences and learning acquired, while recognizing innovative and effective practices Summary of emerging good practice and challenges in working together for child protection I. Ensuring continuity of efforts: all the countries reported on efforts building on previous actions against violence against children. NACGs are being established by linking to coalitions or working platforms focusing on child protection, while bringing the existing collaborative efforts to a new level. In that process, country specific adjustments and arrangements are made to ensure relevance of the actions for contextualized operational environments. II. Clear linkages are made with SAIEVAC and its five-year Work Plan, to secure contribution to the objectives and target of this strategic document. III. Operational and functional aspects are following the situation analysis identifying gaps in actions and legislation, informing shaping of the strategic objectives. Distinctive focus on prevention is inherent to all the NACGs in the making, followed by emphasis on awareness raising, contributing to response via service delivery, engaging in advocacy related to policy and legislative frameworks. Page 7 of 14
While challenges are being recognised, emerging good practices are being equally acknowledged. Financial support dimensions are being given due attention in order to specify implications of both maintaining the NACG operational levels and investing in actions identified. Media involvement is also envisaged, so to ensure consistent promotion of partnerships and collaborative efforts. NACG consolidation processes are inclusive and aiming to involve a broad range of stakeholders, from children to governments. Planning efforts are forward looking, dwelling on mapping policies and legislation; sharing experiences; creating minimum standards for service provision; following up on UNCRC Committee recommendations and creating national data collection system. The process is increased learning and growth, providing the ground for more effective response to VAC. IV. Structural dimensions are addressing the issue of establishing Permanent Secretariats, their representativeness and effectiveness and how they address challenges of geographical spread and coverage. Synergies with governments are ensured, both following on previous history of mutual involvement and a necessity to share information, build trust and reaffirm importance of transparency and mutual support and involvement. Government are not a part of NACGs strictly speaking, but are engaged, cooperate and invited, building national consensus around common platform to end violence against children; V. Challenges identified include issues around coordination, duplication of efforts, sustainability, security, follow-up actions and monitoring. It remains to be explored how these challenges can be addressed while building on experiences and learning acquired, while recognizing innovative and effective practices. Bhutan and India are in the process of establishing NACGs, with full recognition of their importance and building from the national level efforts towards more specific aspects of networking and collaboration. Increasing clarity on synergies between different stakeholders and mechanisms under the SAIEVAC framework at the national and regional level, including national SAIEVAC governmental Chapters, NACGs and children s platforms and SAEIVAC Secretariat and SACG. The key aspects of this discussion revolved around the SDF funds, and the relationship between SAIEVAC, NACG and Governments. An overview of the allocation of funds to member states was explained. SDF funds are negotiated between the SDF Secretariat and the SAIEVAC Secretariat. Funds are activity based rather than quarterly release. In its implementation alongside the country plan, rules and procedures prevalent in that country are to be followed. Page 8 of 14
The relationship between SAIEVAC, NACG with governments has been described as healthy but evolving. However, a proper mechanism of how the NACG will link operationally with the government is yet to be formulated. During the discussion that followed, India along with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bhutan raised their concern about the formation of national delegations without the approval of their governments. SAIEVAC offered clarification that in cases where technical consultations are required; the standard practice involves bestowing invitations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a copy to the governing board member. The other option is to send invitations directly to the concerned agencies, which will then be forwarded to the government for approval. A crucial need to explore ways to award recognition for NACGs was felt. The Director General of SAIEVAC concluded with a caution to all national coordinators to communicate and collaborate with the SAIEVAC pertaining to any SAIEVAC funded activity. Positive solution appreciated by Govt representatives and NACG representatives ' NACGs are to communicate the selection of chair and co chair to the national SAIEVAC coordinator in order for him/her to inform their respective ministries including the ministry of foreign affairs. In this way the ministry can work through the NACG chair and Co Chair when selecting Civil Society and NACG representatives to SAIEVAC under technical consultations. Defining criteria for the Selection Process for CSO Regional Involvement in the SAIEVAC Governing Board (group work) The discussion focused on defining the criteria for the selection process for CSO involvement in the SAIEVAC Governing Board. Since the beginning of SAIEVAC, it was agreed that two CSO representatives would be members of the SAIEVAC Governing Board. However, there is no proper CSO selection procedure as of now. With NACGs now established in almost all SAARC member states, there is a good foundation for CSO representation in the SAIEVAC GB meeting. CSOs will be (s)elected from the national CSO members of the NACGs and can only be (s)elected by other national CSOs. UN and INGO members of the NACG will not be part of (s)election of these national CSOs; they would be represented through the SACG chair in the GB. Page 9 of 14
Selection of NACG representatives on the SAIEVAC Governing Board The group agreed that CSO representation in the Governing Board (GB) will be on alphabetical rotation basis. Therefore, Afghanistan and Bangladesh CSOs will be members of the 4th Governing Board while Bhutan and India will be observers. In case, Bhutan and India have not established their NACGs by the next GB meeting, CSOs from Maldives and Nepal will be observers. In principle, there was an agreement that the NACG Chair or co-chair will be the member / observer at the GB meeting. The NACG Chair and co-chair present at the meeting will need to validate this with the other NACG members in their respective countries. The SAIEVAC Secretariat will send out a letter to the NACG chairs with a copy to the SAIEVAC National Coordinator communicating these recommendations (in addition to the report that will be shared). NACG chairs will share this letter with the NACG members. Thereafter, NACG chairs will communicate back to the SAIEVAC Secretariat on their deliberations and decisions taken so that this can be presented to the 4th GB meeting. The alternative to the alphabetical rotation option may be challenging as this would require communication between NACG members and a (s)election process that has to choose between the proposed candidates which also needs to be decided who will be eligible to vote/(s)elect. Representation on an alphabetical rotation basis would be in line with the current processes in the GB: the chair rotates alphabetically and so does the children s representation. It would also avoid the complexity of who will be nominated. Choice of the NACG chairs / co-chairs ensures continuity and involvement of committed members who are fully aware and informed of SAIEVAC s work. Discussing Way Forward for the NACGs at the national level next steps in consolidating and strengthening NACGs (country group work) Country group discussions and presentations on the member states status, challenges and way forward in child protection illustrated a very positive and collective commitment in the efforts to reduce violence against children and improve child protection. The points raised by all countries included: Enhancing capacity of NACG members Placing more effort on expanding NACG / identifying new members Page 10 of 14
Learning from other countries on how they work with coalitions at State/provincial level Strengthening the existing network rather than setting up something new Involvement of media Working together as CSOs and Governments Engaging parents and children and exploring children s participation in NACG Funding for NACG could come from others than SAIEVAC Commitment of all partners Interactive Presentation of the Way Forward for NACGs (gallery walk) The interactive presentation that followed the country group discussions raised the importance of linking up with the SAIEVAC work plan also when developing NACG action plans. Coordination was discussed whereby the importance of coordination within NACG as with government and other stakeholders outside NACG was felt. On the issue of capacity building, it was agreed that it should entail advocacy, child protection issues, including violence against children, how to effectively run a secretariat of the NACG and better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the NACG. Capacity building/strengthening should be both for NACG members as well as by NACG members for others. With regard to sustainability of training, the need to plan actions at the end of the training to follow up after the training was mentioned as an emerging good practice and linking up with government training institutions to influence their curriculum was also raised. The Director General informed the participants that SAIEVAC will be conducting a Human Resource development workshop in 2013 and is exploring the establishment of a SAIEVAC academy. The discussion ended with the question of communication between NACGs in different countries. The following suggestions were made: Include information on NACGs on the SAIEVAC website. SAIEVAC websites currently being revamped; NACG will have a page on the SAIEVAC website Establish a list serve Share emails of all participants Establish a Community of Practices this of course requires adequate attention and support as it will not run on its own The Director General of SAIEVAC also spelled out SAIEVAC s way forward: SAIEVAC will finalize and share the report of the meeting SAIEVAC will send a letter to NACG chairs with a copy to SAIEVAC national Coordinators with the agreements in principle on the selection procedures of CSO Board members SAIEVAC and SACG will continue to provide technical backstopping for NACGs (and their establishment, where they have not been set up yet) Page 11 of 14
NACGs, if not already done so, should identify their Chair and Co-Chair and formally communicate this to the SAIEVAC National Coordinator and the SAIEVAC Regional Secretariat There are several SAIEVAC events coming up for which it requires support from NACGs and Governments: - Meeting on child participation, Dhaka, 3-4 December - Meeting on the girl child, Kathmandu, 17-18 December - Advocacy and communication workshop, 16-21 January 2013 - HR development workshop, date and venue TBC Development of National Action/Work Plans based on the SAIEVAC Workplan (the strategy meetings planned in each country following transfer of SDF funds will provide a useful opportunity to do that) Summary and closing - Dr.RinchenChophel The Director General of SAIEVAC thanked all participants for contributing to the support mechanism for the children of SAARC. He commended the participants for coming up with a concrete outcome of the meeting. He informed the meeting that commitment and steps have been agreed upon and will be followed up meticulously. This has been an opportunity to acknowledge the collective and individual level of commitment for child protection in South Asia. For power point presentations (country presentations) click: NACG Bhutan 26-28 Nov 2012 Page 12 of 14
Annex 1 Welcome remarks by SACG Chair: Importance of partnership, cooperation and synergies 1 between regional and national efforts to end violence against children in South Asia Ron Pouwels, SACG Chair 26 November, 1045 1100 Welcome everyone to this crucial meeting of almost all partners of this unique movement to end violence against children in South Asia. Apart from children, all other partners Government, CSOs, INGOs and UN agencies are present. As has been recognised from the start of SAIEVAC, partnerships are critical to deliver results for children and to realize their rights. Child rights/protection is all about multi-agency, multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary cooperation. It is obvious that the very nature of SAIEVAC, SACG and NACG is all about partnership, about working together, cooperate and build synergies both at national level but also at regional level and between the regional and national level. The composition of these entities exemplifies that: - SAIEVAC consists of governments, children, national civil society organizations as well as international agencies through SACG; - SACG are consisting of INGOs, UN agencies as well as other actors engaged in child rights and child protection at a regional level; and - NACGs consist of CSOs, including children s and young people s groups, (I)NGOs, UN agencies and other multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies. Partnerships are also reflected in the mission statements of SACG and NACGs which start with to work together with [SAIEVAC, SACG/NACG, children and other stakeholders] and in the objectives, strategies and suggested activities. Why is working together so important. Let me name a few reasons: - The magnitude of the violence against children in the region cannot be addressed by any entity alone and requires a concerted effort by all relevant actors. Different actors bring their complementary mandates, skills, resources and perspectives which lead to improved outcomes and enhanced ownership of the parties involved. This was also recognised by the 1 st SAIEVAC GB meeting which stated that the ultimate success in ending violence against children will be SAIEVAC s ability to cultivate a larger involvement of civil society organizations in the SAIEVAC movement. It critical that that concerted effort is adequately coordinated to avoid duplication and waste of our already limited resources. Coordination is a government responsibility which should also allow for quality assurance, oversight, standard setting etc. - It can lead to stronger advocacy for children s rights and child protection and mobilises actors to catalyse policy change. Speaking with one voice to address violence against children will help to raise awareness of the issue with a much stronger impact - Partnerships often contribute to the introduction of innovative approaches to programming 1the extra energy, power, success, etc. that is achieved by two or more people or companies working together, instead of on their own Page 13 of 14
- Partnerships contribute to better knowledge sharing and expertise and to creating a stronger knowledge base - Partnerships can leverage resources. Donors and developing countries have committed themselves to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action to enhance the effectiveness of their cooperation. More and more donors are also requesting us to work together. Therefore partnerships also play an important role in attracting financial and other resources for children When we talk about partnerships we also need to take into account some principles: - Equality. To treat each other as equal partners and treat each other with respect - Inclusiveness. To ensure that all relevant stakeholders are included (or at least invited to be part of this work) - Transparency and mutual consultation, which also requires regular and timely communication and consultation - Complementarily rather than duplication - Keeping in mind a common vision and best interests of the child - Give credit where credit is due and be more interested in advancing the field than your own specific agenda points - Be clear about the different roles and responsibilities. All partners come with their different backgrounds and expertise, but we can all contribute in our own ways as long as we contribute and are committed to the common goal These 2 days will be important in our continued work to strengthen the partnership and the movement to end violence against children in the region. It will strengthen one more building block of the work we are all doing: that of the role of NACGs at national level which will contribute both to results at national as well as regional level. I trust that we will all have more clarity at the end of this meeting so that we can to advance our vision and mission together. Page 14 of 14