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incidence of child labour, child marriage and violence against children showed the gap
between rhetoric and action and the lack of enforcement of legislation. For instance, while
36 out of 52 countries set the marriage age at 18 years or older for both sexes, according to
the report 3 in 10 children in Africa were married before that age.
71.
Both Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040 are
aligned with the 2030 Agenda, including target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
72.
Fourteen countries in Africa have undertaken comprehensive household surveys to
document the magnitude, nature and impact of violence in childhood. Information from
violence against children and youth surveys has supported multisectoral government policy,
planning, programming and budgeting, as well as the enactment of legislation to prevent
violence and protect child victims.
73.
The Special Representative continued to collaborate with the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of the Rights of Women and Children on the implementation of the 2015
ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Children. The plan
promotes national action within ASEAN towards reaching the Sustainable Development
Goals targets that address violence.
74.
In 2018, during her annual dialogue with the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion
and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, the Special Representative urged the
Commission to seize the opportunity provided in 2019 to accelerate action for the
protection of children from violence. The Commission adopted her suggestion to undertake
a midterm review of the Regional Plan of Action, building upon the significant baseline
study conducted by UNICEF in collaboration with ASEAN member States and ASEAN
Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children
representatives. The midterm review of the Regional Plan of Action will be completed in
2019.
75.
In the framework of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children,
protection from violence was further strengthened by the implementation of the regional
plan of action for the prevention and elimination of child labour for 2016–2021 in South
Asia, and the development of a regional strategy and action plan to protect children from
sexual abuse and exploitation, including online.
76.
The regional action plan on child marriage was extended for a further five years
(2018–2023) and its implementation pursued through the development of national plans in
Afghanistan and Nepal and a multimedia campaign in Bangladesh.
77.
A regional platform for religious leaders to promote children’s rights was launched
in September 2017 in Kathmandu, contributing to their increased involvement at the
national level. In Bhutan, a 2017–2022 national strategy and plan of action for the
protection of children in monastic institutions was developed.
78.
The South Asia Parliamentarian Platform for Children, which convened in Dhaka in
May 2018, brought together legislators from across the region to safeguard children’s rights,
including their right to protection from violence.
79.
The Special Representative continued her cooperation with the Organization of
America States (OAS). The resolution adopted by the OAS Inter-American Children’s
Institute, on violence against children, 22 reaffirmed member States’ commitment to violence
prevention and elimination in all settings, while calling for the sharing of good practices
and experiences, especially on children’s protection from sexual exploitation and on the
minimum age of criminal responsibility, and for greater use of alternatives to children’s
deprivation of liberty.
22
12
See https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/sites/violenceagainstchildren.un.org/
files/regions/engcd_res_08_92-r17.pdf.
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