On Friday the 30th of April a virtual round table discussion on the rights of women and children in ASEAN took place, organized by the ASEAN Studies Center of Universitas Gadjah Mada in collaboration with FORUM-ASIA and with support of the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta.
During the round table representatives of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and the Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (“ACWC”) and civil society organizations (“CSO’s”) working in the field of women and children’s rights, spoke together about the rights of women and children in ASEAN. This helps the ACWC to get a good feeling of the situation on the ground so that they are able to address the issues at hand within the ASEAN community.
For the CSO’s on the other hand, the engagement of the ACWC can create an echo of their concerns at the broader ASEAN stage. It was also discussed how the CSO’s could become more involved with the work of the ACWC on a regular basis. The answers to that question as well as the other outcomes of the round table will be presented as recommendations for the ACWC Workplan 2021-2025.
Prof. Roel van der Veen, head of the political department of the Embassy, was asked to open the meeting. The Dutch Embassy in Jakarta is supporting the work of the ASEAN Studies Center on the ACWC. For the Netherlands the rights of women and children worldwide are very important. Especially now these rights have become more vulnerable during the pandemic, advocacy of institutions like the ACWC is of great importance. For more information on the round table visit, click here.
