A/HRC/22/55 C. Institutionalizing strategic alliances with regional organizations and institutions 42. During the past three years, the strengthening of collaboration with regional organizations and institutions and political groupings has been a cornerstone of the Special Representative’s strategy to accelerate progress in the implementation of the Study recommendations. These critical partnerships have helped to maximize the engagement with Governments and develop policy platforms to promote cross-fertilization of experiences, sustain and further consolidate national action for children’s protection from violence, mobilize support for overcoming persisting challenges and advance this critical agenda. 43. These efforts led to the adoption of strong political commitments in eight regions.1 2 They have also contributed to a growing institutionalization of regional governance mechanisms with an influential convening and mobilizing power to mainstream the protection of children from violence in the policy agenda and to promote a periodic process of review. These include the Arab Childhood Committee, the SAIEVAC Governing Board, the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, the MERCOSUR Pro-Tempore Permanent Commission of Nin@Sur, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Council of Europe Network of National Focal Points on Children’s Rights and Elimination of Violence against Children. 44. The Special Representative joined regional organizations and institutions in the organization of high-level consultations,3 including in 2012, respectively, in Kingston for Caribbean countries, Colombo for South Asian nations, and Ankara for member States of the Council of Europe. 45. First, these meetings were framed by regional analytical studies which take stock of laws, policies and institutions in place to safeguard children from violence and identify gaps and opportunities for accelerated progress. The Comparative Arab Report on Implementing the Recommendations of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children4 and the regional mappings conducted in South America and Central America are sound illustrations of this process. 1 2 3 4 More information can be found in the Special Representative’s publication Political Commitments by Regional Organizations and Institutions to prevent and Address Violence against Children (New York, 2012). Available from http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/category/document-type/politicaldeclarations. These include the League of Arab States, the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through its Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), Central American countries (Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama), the Council of Europe and the European Union, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and countries in the Asia Pacific region. Regional consultations were held in Ankara, Asunción, Beijing, Cairo, Colombo, Kingston, Manila, Marrakech, Monaco, Santo Domingo and Vienna. Secretariat General of the League of Arab States, Egypt, 2010. 11