Undocumented women and children are often vulnerable to being left behind. ASEAN Member States (AMS) are making significant progress in promoting the inclusion of vulnerable groups for the attainment and maintenance of sustainable development. This is being applied by, among other actions, increasing the recognition of the legal identity of women and children, primarily through extending civil registration coverage and access to identity documentation as well as preventing statelessness and realising the right to a nationality through the implementation of national laws. These developments contribute to the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which all AMS have ratified. Still, further progress in these areas is needed if the AMS are to fully contribute to the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint¹ as well as to facilitate the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
