A/HRC/41/42 57. There is no legally binding convention on women’s rights and violence against women in Asia. In 2010, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) established the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children. The two most important ASEAN documents on violence against women are the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (2004) and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Elimination of Violence Against Children in ASEAN (2013). In 2016, ASEAN adopted a regional plan of action on the elimination of violence against women that outlines ASEAN member States’ obligations in realizing their goal of eliminating violence against women in the region and provides practical guidance on implementing the aforementioned Declaration. C. Evolution of the mandate: from standard-setting to consolidation and implementation strategies 58. The Special Rapporteur is mandated to seek and receive information on violence against women, its causes and consequences from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, other special rapporteurs responsible for various human rights questions and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including women’s organizations, and to respond effectively to such information and recommend measures, ways and means at the local, national, regional and international levels to eliminate all forms of violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences. 59. In that context, the Special Rapporteur also transmits urgent appeals and communications to States regarding alleged cases of violence against women. Most of the communications issued by the mandate holder have been prepared jointly with one or more special mechanisms. At present, there is limited possibility to follow up and monitor developments in individual cases. 60. The Human Rights Commission regularly extended the mandate until 2008, when the mandate was subsequently renewed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 7/24. In that resolution, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was included in the legal framework under which the mandate operates. The Council renewed the mandate in 2011 in its resolution 16/7 and invited relevant civil society actors to give consideration to the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls in their respective work and to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the fulfilment of the mandate. The mandate was renewed in 2013 in Council resolution 23/25, in which the Council paid particular attention to the issue of sexual violence in conflict situations. 61. The mandate was most recently renewed by the Council in 2016 in its resolution 32/19, in which the Council encouraged regular consultations by the Special Rapporteur with, inter alia, the Commission on the Status of Women, the World Health Organization, UN-Women, the United Nations Population Fund and the Statistics Division of the United Nations on the issue of disaggregated data on violence against women and effective ways of advancing the elimination of violence against women. To date, there has been limited interaction between the mandate and those entities, and the suggested consultations have yet to take place. 62. The aforementioned resolutions established the holistic and inclusive scope of the mandate and, to date, four mandate holders have been appointed and have contributed to its evolution over the past 25 years. During that time, the mandate has become a visible, respected and credible women’s human rights mechanism to guide States, civil society actors, the international community and other relevant stakeholders on the elimination of violence against women, its causes and consequences. However the Special Rapporteur believes that the full potential of the mandate has not been fully realized, owing to the lack of a United Nations system-wide response to violence against women, and because of the limited follow-up mechanisms available for implementation of mandated thematic and country specific recommendations and communications, as well as limited budgetary and financial resources to support the mandate and its initiatives. 63. The mandate has continuously evolved over the years through the above-mentioned resolutions and the work of the respective mandate holders. The first Special Rapporteur, 12