Statement of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) on the Support to the High Time Movement

WE, the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), on the occasion of the 12th ACWC Meeting,

UPHOLDING the goals, purposes and principles of ASEAN as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and Blueprints 2025 of the ASEAN Political-Security Community, Economic Community and Socio-Cultural Community;

REAFFIRMING the commitments of ASEAN Member States in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Elimination of Violence Against Children in ASEAN that was adopted at the 23rd ASEAN Summit in October 2013 and the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence Against Children that were adopted at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015;

REAFFIRMING FURTHER the commitments of the ACWC to eliminating violence against children as one of the priority areas in the Work Plan 2012-2016;

RECALLING that 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Study on Violence against Children to which ASEAN Member States have contributed;

WELCOMING the adoption of the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development and the start of its process of implementation in 2016 towards the elimination of all forms of violence against children as foreseen in Target 16.2;

RECOGNISING the rights of children to protection from all forms of violence without discrimination of any kind as a fundamental right guaranteed by the Convention on the rights of the Child that all ASEAN Member States are parties to;

ACKNOWLEDGING that the elimination of violence against children is a challenge in all countries and in every society, race, class and culture;

DO HEREBY AGREE TO:

1. Implement our commitment to the elimination of all forms of violence against children in ASEAN Member States as set forth in the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Children;

2. Cooperate with and seek technical assistance from UN agencies and other relevant offices within the UN system in the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence Against Children, especially the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC) which is in line with the agreement of the ACWC and the SRSG-VAC to pursue collaboration as reflected in their Joint Statement issued on 17 January 2012 in Manila, the Philippines;

3. Express our support to the High Time Movement promoted by the SRSG-VAC and a wide range of partners across regions, which aims to galvanize political will and mobilize wide social support and actions for the protection of children from violence, leaving no child behind;

ADOPTED in Jakarta, Indonesia, this Nineteenth Day of February in the Year Two Thousand and Sixteen, in a single original copy, in the English language.

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