Child Protection and Constitutionalism
“Securing the Future”
Conference Summary
24th – 26th May 2013 – Thimphu, Bhutan
Through an innovative partnership established between SAARCLAW and the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), a landmark conference and learning event was held in Bhutan at the end of May and hosted by the Royal Court of Justice and the SAARCLAW Bhutan Chapter along with the SAIEVAC Secretariat with support from the South Asia Coordinator Group (SACG) . The conference, Child Protection and Constitutionalism – Securing the Future, was attended by Chief Justices, members of national judiciaries and law students from across South Asia bringing them together with members of SAIEVAC’s extensive partner network, including international experts, regional staff and partners and children themselves, to explore and develop specific recommendations and strategies to address continued challenges and close existing gaps related to protecting children’s rights and further strengthening their protection.
The conference was inaugurated by the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bhutan, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye. Highlighting that camaraderie and solidarity amongst the legal fraternity of the region was evidenced from both interest and participation around the conference’s theme, the Hon’ble Chief Guest was also able to welcome a delegation from Afghanistan led by Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi who were attending for the first time.
Dr. Rinchen Chophel, SAIEVAC Director General, also remarked that such a historical collaboration which brings together all the Chief Justices (attending from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka) together with the wider SAARCLAW community will strengthen efforts in fulfillment of duty-bearer’s roles and responsibilities with regard to Member States commitment to children. In addition, Mr. Mark Pierce, Regional Director, Plan International, Asia Regional Office – Bangkok, also recognized the importance of the event as a means to reinforces formal cooperation between the two apex bodies of SAARC (SAIEVAC and SAARCLAW) and join forces to combat priority issues of child protection in South Asia – Child Marriage, Corporal Punishment, Child Labor, Child Sexual Abuse and Child Trafficking.
Conference sessions explored and addressed a number themes including Child Protection Issues and Mapping of Legal Provisions related to these, Defining and Addressing Harmful Practices Affecting Children based on Tradition, Culture, Religion and Superstition, Child Marriage, Child Rights and Constitutional Guarantees to the Children of South Asia, and Physical and Humiliating Punishment (Corporal Punishment) – Current Legal Settings and Challenges and Regional and National Actions for Achieving an Exclusive Ban in South Asia. Presentations and academic papers on the topics were delivered by international and regional experts, scholars, social development workers / staff with direct field experience and law students from Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Presentations and subsequent discussion generated through delivery, elaborated progress and achievements while also identifying the need for further harmonization of laws and continued efforts required to addressing gaps through proposed strategies or solutions. Many also served as a refresher on the significance and importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which has been ratified by all countries in the South Asia region and the fact that the region cannot afford to deny the existence of violence against children and the need to also address social tolerance of it.
As a result of the Conference, the Chief Justices’ in their 9th session passed a declaration, The Thimphu Declaration, further highlighting their commitment to further support the development of child protection systems (including juvenile justice systems and structures, provision of adequate rehabilitation measures for children in conflict with the law, further sensitizing and increasing awareness across multiple levels of society) and to institutionalize the SAARCLAW Chief Justices’ Conference ensuring that it is held annually. (Please see the full Declaration attached to this brief as Annex 1).
And in terms of solidifying the SAIEVAC – SAARCLAW partnership, eight auspicious recommendations related to child rights and ending violence against children in South Asia were submitted by Dr. Rinchen Chophel in his closing statement and include the following:
- A comprehensive mapping exercise of existing legal framework for child rights and protection in South Asia identify gaps and challenges and identifying opportunities for harmonization in relation to international instruments, norms and standards should be completed;
- Need to develop and ensure a proper mechanism to monitor implementation of actions by the judiciary in order to ensure activation of laws and legislation (and contribute to further strengthening of this) related to child protection;
- The issue of missing children is an area of great concern for South Asia and there is a pressing need to undertake a review with special reference to technology and crimes in cyberspace so that children can be protected in both actual and virtual world;
- Countries in South Asia should move to fulfill their commitments to explicitly prohibit the legal and socio-cultural acceptance of physical and humiliating punishment of children in the region -each country should develop and implement a plan on moving from prohibition to elimination of physical and humiliating punishment of children in all setting;
- There is also need to develop an action plan which moves from one-off or ad hoc activities to continuous and inter-related actions around child protection issues for the wider region;
- With regard to Child Marriage, Child Labor and protection for children, as highlighted here today these issues are often deeply rooted in poverty and affecting marginalized communities so the need for wider partnerships and additional action which complements the passing of legislation is also required and we hope that this is also an area we can work together to address;
- Cross-national partnerships are also of highest importance for regional learning, sharing of best practices and for sourcing expertise at the regional level and this can be done through conferences such as this and other means; and finally,
- We also call for SAIEVAC and SAARCLAW to expand and further strengthen their partnership into a meaningful commitment in order to address issues together and also be able to report tangible progress at our next gathering / meeting.
