South Asia Coordinating Group on Action Against Violence Against Children (SACG) inaugural address
By Mr Yoshiteru Uramoto, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at the Third Technical Consultation Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children in South Asia, Thimpu, Bhutan, 26 September 2013
26 September 2013
Third Technical Consultation Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children in South Asia
hosted by the
Royal Government of Bhutan
organized by the
South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC), Regional Secretariat
in collaboration with
South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence against Children (SACG),
SAARC Development Fund (SDF), and Office of the Special Representative of Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC)
25- 27 September 2013, Thimpu, BhutanMinister of Home and Cultural Affairs,DG of SAIEVAC and Chairperson of SAIEVAC,
Distinguished Representatives of SAARC,
Dear Children, Executive Director of ECPAT,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
How happy I am to be here with you today and speak as the Chair of the South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence against Children (SACG)! Allow me to express on behalf of SACG, our sincere appreciation to the Government of Bhutan for the generous and strategic support to host this important event in Thimphu, beautiful capital city of the Royal Government of Bhutan ( or Druk Yul).
We also acknowledge the hard work of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC) – a SAARC Apex Body, for organizing the technical consultation, in collaboration with the SAARC Development Fund and the SACG and in cooperation with the National Coordinating Groups on Violence against Children (NACGs), the Children, and last but not least, the Office of my good friend, Ms Marta Santos Pais, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children,
We appreciate the growing voice of children and we commend SAIEVAC and its partners for the achievements to date and we encourage it to continue the hard work to end violence against children in this sub-region until no child in South Asia is a victim of any violence, in any place, at any time and by anyone or any institution.
At this SAIEVAC meeting, the Third Technical Consultation will focus on a number of harmful practices that constitute violence against children, in particular, Child Marriage and Corporal Punishment. Globally, almost half of all child marriages occur in South Asia and more than in any other single region. In the first decade of the new millennium, over 24 million children had their childhood abruptly terminated when they became child brides before they turned 18 years old. An astounding number, indeed. If this trend continues, another 130 million young girls will suffer the same fate between 2010 and 2030.
Corporal punishment is another form of widespread violence, which prevails in a pervasive manner across South Asia, and sadly with wide societal acceptance. Children are victims of corporal punishment at school, at home, in care-giving institutions, in workplaces and communities at large. Impunity perpetuates violence against children. Over half of the world’s children live in countries, where they are not legally protected from Corporal Punishment in schools. Millions of children around the world are not protected by legal frameworks or their enforcement, nor by other child protections measures which are supposed to monitor or stop Corporal Punishment and other forms of violence in different settings.
These harmful practices are often inter-woven in a mesh of violence in which they regenerate and perpetuate the vicious cycle to burden the children, ruin and sometimes even end their lives. I believe Child Marriage is no longer a cultural practice based on traditional norms and values. It is caused by poverty and exploitation. It ends with child trafficking or child rape, corporal punishment, child labour, or sexual abuse or exploitation. Which parents want to see their children in such situation? Violence on the frail, premature body of a child leaves lasting scars on them. Let us bring children back to their parents.
We live in the most dynamic and fast growing economic region. Sadly, however, the Asia-Pacific region also has the highest numbers of child trafficking victims. And while the region has registered significant progress in reducing the number of children involved in child labour, it continues to have the highest numbers worldwide of child labour, including in hazardous work. We all recognize violence against children needs to be addressed in a holistic manner, through a coordinated and comprehensive child protection system that converges with all necessary response mechanisms. For the ILO, this means working in close cooperation with partners like SACG, SAIEVAC and SAARC towards strengthening national systems and poverty alleviation policies for social protection, decent jobs and opportunities for skills training. This comprehensive approach will be successful with the added strengths of other UN agencies and INGOs, whom we urge to join the SACG.
Access to accurate data and information is key to identify, monitor, resolve and prevent situations of violence. Use of ITC technologies including GPS could bring about innovative approaches in monitoring. Adoption and enforcement of appropriate legislation; an active and child-friendly justice system that defends child rights and child protection with bold decisions; mechanism for referrals, recovery, rehabilitation and re-integration - all these elements require adequate resource allocation. To ensure the protection of all children, in all places and at all times, we need a comprehensive and coordinated approach. We need to work together.
SAIEVAC, with its diverse partnership is in a unique position to take this forward on the ground. Countries in the SAARC region have committed to addressing many of the issues through ratification and signing onto numerous regional and international treatises and translate those into national legislation and enforce them.
Since the 2012 Technical Consultation, the national level movement of the NACGs and Civil Society Organizations has gained momentum in all the countries. I am confident that in the coming months, the SAIEVAC partnership will be strengthened with the addition of a Regional Children’s Forum, supported by the dedicated Child Participation team. Through meaningful participation of children, their voices, ideas, concerns and issues can be rightfully ingrained in SAIEVAC’S work. We look forward to the outcome of the NACG national consultations and of the preparatory work done by the Child Participants.
SAIEVAC has a challenging mandate. But we have a clear vision and strategy. The five-year work plan is adopted. The regional and national mechanisms are being established. Now we need the courage and focus to move to action. We must apply a rigorous accountability and results framework to achieve sustainable impact on the ground that will transform the lives of children in South Asia. This alliance of diverse partners has a compelling vision: a violence-free South Asia for all its children. The SACG remains fully committed to supporting the vision, processes and partnership for achieving this.
On behalf of the SACG, I thank you and wish you fruitful deliberations that can inform our work. Kadinchey (=Thank you)!
hosted by the
Royal Government of Bhutan
organized by the
South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC), Regional Secretariat
in collaboration with
South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence against Children (SACG),
SAARC Development Fund (SDF), and Office of the Special Representative of Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC)
25- 27 September 2013, Thimpu, BhutanMinister of Home and Cultural Affairs,DG of SAIEVAC and Chairperson of SAIEVAC,
Distinguished Representatives of SAARC,
Dear Children, Executive Director of ECPAT,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
How happy I am to be here with you today and speak as the Chair of the South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence against Children (SACG)! Allow me to express on behalf of SACG, our sincere appreciation to the Government of Bhutan for the generous and strategic support to host this important event in Thimphu, beautiful capital city of the Royal Government of Bhutan ( or Druk Yul).
We also acknowledge the hard work of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC) – a SAARC Apex Body, for organizing the technical consultation, in collaboration with the SAARC Development Fund and the SACG and in cooperation with the National Coordinating Groups on Violence against Children (NACGs), the Children, and last but not least, the Office of my good friend, Ms Marta Santos Pais, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children,
We appreciate the growing voice of children and we commend SAIEVAC and its partners for the achievements to date and we encourage it to continue the hard work to end violence against children in this sub-region until no child in South Asia is a victim of any violence, in any place, at any time and by anyone or any institution.
At this SAIEVAC meeting, the Third Technical Consultation will focus on a number of harmful practices that constitute violence against children, in particular, Child Marriage and Corporal Punishment. Globally, almost half of all child marriages occur in South Asia and more than in any other single region. In the first decade of the new millennium, over 24 million children had their childhood abruptly terminated when they became child brides before they turned 18 years old. An astounding number, indeed. If this trend continues, another 130 million young girls will suffer the same fate between 2010 and 2030.
Corporal punishment is another form of widespread violence, which prevails in a pervasive manner across South Asia, and sadly with wide societal acceptance. Children are victims of corporal punishment at school, at home, in care-giving institutions, in workplaces and communities at large. Impunity perpetuates violence against children. Over half of the world’s children live in countries, where they are not legally protected from Corporal Punishment in schools. Millions of children around the world are not protected by legal frameworks or their enforcement, nor by other child protections measures which are supposed to monitor or stop Corporal Punishment and other forms of violence in different settings.
These harmful practices are often inter-woven in a mesh of violence in which they regenerate and perpetuate the vicious cycle to burden the children, ruin and sometimes even end their lives. I believe Child Marriage is no longer a cultural practice based on traditional norms and values. It is caused by poverty and exploitation. It ends with child trafficking or child rape, corporal punishment, child labour, or sexual abuse or exploitation. Which parents want to see their children in such situation? Violence on the frail, premature body of a child leaves lasting scars on them. Let us bring children back to their parents.
We live in the most dynamic and fast growing economic region. Sadly, however, the Asia-Pacific region also has the highest numbers of child trafficking victims. And while the region has registered significant progress in reducing the number of children involved in child labour, it continues to have the highest numbers worldwide of child labour, including in hazardous work. We all recognize violence against children needs to be addressed in a holistic manner, through a coordinated and comprehensive child protection system that converges with all necessary response mechanisms. For the ILO, this means working in close cooperation with partners like SACG, SAIEVAC and SAARC towards strengthening national systems and poverty alleviation policies for social protection, decent jobs and opportunities for skills training. This comprehensive approach will be successful with the added strengths of other UN agencies and INGOs, whom we urge to join the SACG.
Access to accurate data and information is key to identify, monitor, resolve and prevent situations of violence. Use of ITC technologies including GPS could bring about innovative approaches in monitoring. Adoption and enforcement of appropriate legislation; an active and child-friendly justice system that defends child rights and child protection with bold decisions; mechanism for referrals, recovery, rehabilitation and re-integration - all these elements require adequate resource allocation. To ensure the protection of all children, in all places and at all times, we need a comprehensive and coordinated approach. We need to work together.
SAIEVAC, with its diverse partnership is in a unique position to take this forward on the ground. Countries in the SAARC region have committed to addressing many of the issues through ratification and signing onto numerous regional and international treatises and translate those into national legislation and enforce them.
Since the 2012 Technical Consultation, the national level movement of the NACGs and Civil Society Organizations has gained momentum in all the countries. I am confident that in the coming months, the SAIEVAC partnership will be strengthened with the addition of a Regional Children’s Forum, supported by the dedicated Child Participation team. Through meaningful participation of children, their voices, ideas, concerns and issues can be rightfully ingrained in SAIEVAC’S work. We look forward to the outcome of the NACG national consultations and of the preparatory work done by the Child Participants.
SAIEVAC has a challenging mandate. But we have a clear vision and strategy. The five-year work plan is adopted. The regional and national mechanisms are being established. Now we need the courage and focus to move to action. We must apply a rigorous accountability and results framework to achieve sustainable impact on the ground that will transform the lives of children in South Asia. This alliance of diverse partners has a compelling vision: a violence-free South Asia for all its children. The SACG remains fully committed to supporting the vision, processes and partnership for achieving this.
On behalf of the SACG, I thank you and wish you fruitful deliberations that can inform our work. Kadinchey (=Thank you)!