Recommendations

Dear all,

I am happy to share with you the Recommendation of the 2nd Civil Society Forum to the 5th Meeting of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), Jakarta 2-3 July 2012. Today, 4 July 2012, we have an Open Session with ACWC at 1100AM to 0100PM at the ASEAN Secretariat.

Recommendations

2^nd Regional Civil Society Forum to the 5^thMeeting of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC)

Jakarta, 2-3 July 2012

1.     We, members of civil society organizations from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Philippines had gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia for the 2^nd Regional Civil Society Forum to the 5^thMeeting of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) on 2-3 July 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia. This was organized by Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Kalyanamitra Foundation, KKSP Foundation, Child Rights Coalition-Asia (CRC-Asia) and Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN (Women’s Caucus). We welcome the initiative of ACWC to have an Open Session with children and with civil society organizations on July 4, 2012 as a part of the agenda of its 5^th Meeting.

2.     In this Open Session, we expect to dialogue with ACWC on the following issues: Civil Society Engagement with ACWC; Five-year Work Plan of ACWC; “ASEAN Declaration on Violence Against Women and Children”; ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the ratification of international human rights instruments related to child rights.

3.     We welcome ACWC’s openness to enhance its understanding of violence against women (VAW) and the violence against children (VAC). We have varied and substantial knowledge and experience in working with communities and families on VAW and VAC. We seek an opportunity to participate and contribute to the work of ACWC.

Civil Society Engagement with ACWC

4.     We welcome ACWC’s first open session with civil society. In recognition of our rights, strengthen the meaningful participation of civil society by instituting measures that provide for the conduct of regular dialogues and consultations. In order for meaningful participation of CSOs to happen, ACWC must facilitate the provision of resources for participation. Realizing the need for more civil society representation, we ask ACWC to allow national and regional organizations and networks to select their own representatives to the ACWC activities, following their own criteria and guidelines and emphasizing multi-disciplinal and multi-sectoral representation, with special opportunity given to marginalized women and children in need of special protection.

5.     We encourage efforts of ACWC to be open and transparent in their decision-making processes and procedures, including agenda-setting, planning and other relevant deliberations. ACWC should ensure that information on its programs and work plans are made available to the public to generate wider awareness and support.

Institutional Strengthening of ACWC

6.     We urge ASEAN to provide a dedicated secretariat and a fixed annual contribution from member states, bearing in mind the principles of transparency and accountability in financial management.

7.     In recognition that the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children is a shared social responsibility, cooperation and partnerships of all public, private and civil society organizations is welcome.

8.     In accessing external support for its operations and activities, ACWC must ensure that it tap sources which have no record of human rights violations.

,

9.     We are aware that some ACWC representatives will end their term in April 2013. We reiterate our call for open selection processes arrived through regular CSO consultations that set clear criteria as basis for selection and that are adequately supported by member states.

10.  We urge ACWC’s to productively engage with national machineries of women and children and national human rights institutions by raising awareness, information exchange, capacity-building activities.

Five-year Work Plan of ACWC

11.  We commend ACWC’s work plan that addresses a wide range of relevant issues to women’s and children’s protection. We would like to propose several measures that ensure the effective and timely implementation of this work plan.

12.  We urge ACWC to take the necessary measures for the elimination of discrimination and stereotyping of women and children especially persons with disabilities, women and children living with HIV and AIDS, migrant workers and LGBTs.

13.  ACWC must uphold the principle of climate justice in the design and framing of any of its plans and strategies to address the socio-economic impacts of climate change including gender-responsive adaptation, mitigation and financing. Moreover it must insist the review of the safeguards policies of International Finance Institutions (IFIs) on gender and environment.

14.  We urge ACWC to lead in the development of integrated child protection systems by ensuring the harmonization of national legislation with international human rights standards. ACWC can provide opportunities for the sharing of experiences and good practices in the implementation of comprehensive programs for child protection and in the development of systems for data collection and management to monitor progress.

15.  We urge ACWC to assist ASEAN member states’ compliance with due diligence measures following international human rights standards. It must take necessary steps to remove barriers to access to justice by women and children victims and survivors of violence and other human rights violations.

16.  We also note that in some countries in the region, women still have no equal access to own property and land. ACWC must take the initiative to correct this through the harmonization of national laws regarding property and economic entitlements and opportunities with international human rights standards.

17.  We reiterate our recommendation from the 1st Civil Society Forum to the 3rdMeeting of ACWC in Solo, in September 2011 to develop an ASEAN-wide cross-border mechanism to address trafficking, migration, refugees, statelessness, VAW and VAC over the cyberspace, its systems for information sharing; the common indicators for national reports for CRC and CEDAW and other treaty bodies and mechanisms for the popularization of ASEAN human rights systems.

ASEAN Declaration on Violence Against Women and Children

18.  We request clarification on the purpose of the proposed “ASEAN Declaration on Violence Against Women and Children”, noting that there are existing declarations on women and children.

19.  We ask ACWC to consider the following recommendations:

a.     The title of the declaration must reflect the specific and varied perspectives and contexts of VAW and VAC. Instead of the use of the term “VAWC,” we propose to use term “VAW and VAC”.

b.     The declaration must be free from any reference to the “balancing between rights and responsibilities”. We reiterate that the state is the primary duty bearer and that individual rights can only be limited to prevent transgression of the rights of others.

c.     We urge the use of both terminologies of “victims” and “survivors” in identifying women and children who have experienced violence.

d.     We ask ACWC to recognize and address the emerging forms of violence such as in the use of new ICTs to perpetuate violence in cyberspace.

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

20.  Noting that there are concerns on the relationship between ACWC and AICHR, we reiterate that ACWC insist on their active and meaningful participation in ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) in terms of the drafting process and substance.

21.  ACWC should consider the various submissions made by civil society organizations on the AHRD.

22.  ACWC must recommend that AICHR:

a.     Ensures that the AHRD adds value to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; conform to international human rights standards especially CEDAW and CRC including the Optional Protocols; and recognize the changing contexts of human rights violations.

b.     Release the AHRD draft to the public

c.     Organizes meaningful, inclusive and participatory consultations with CSOs and communities at regional and national levels between now and before the finalization of the AHRD.

23.  ACWC must support the integration of the rights of women and children in the AHRD especially those around the basic human rights principles of non-discrimination, substantive equality and meaningful participation of women and children; VAW and VAC in all spheres, including cyberspace; sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI); migration and children on the move; citizenship; and right to development.

24.  ACWC must support the civil society’s opposition on “public morality” as a ground for “Limitation of Rights” as it has been used to undermine human rights especially those of women and girls.

Adoption and Compliance with the Convention of the Rights of the Child

25.  We ask ACWC to recommend ASEAN Member States to ratify three Optional Protocols to the convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on a communications procedure.

26.  We request ACWC to encourage ASEAN Member States to ratify the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) to establish safeguards to ensure that inter-country adoptions take place in the best interests of the child.

27.  We call for ACWC to act as ambassador for the ratification of international child rights instruments in their respective member states.

Jakarta, 2-3 July 2012