3-day SAARC countries' meet on children protection begins in Delhi

Delegates from the governments and civil society organizations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have assembled to assess progress and developments of the past decade of regional effort, set strategies, agree on commitments and identify priorities for SAIEVAC for the next five years.

The Ministerial meeting on May 11 is being preceded by a two day technical consultation focusing on critical issues of child protection and violence in the region. Day one of the technical meeting included an inaugural and various business sessions.

In his keynote address, V Somasundaran, Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development set the objectives for the next two days of deliberation. While emphasizing on child participation, he stated that ending violence against children is a priority and a common goal and commitment of the region.

Welcoming the delegates, Rinchen Chopel, Director General, SAIEVAC, thanked the Government of India for hosting this meeting that also marks a decade of SAIEVAC’s initiatives to counter violence against children.

"This meeting lays the ground for future advocacy initiatives in line with the Sustainable Development Goals," he said.

Stuti Narain Kacker, Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), highlighted the need for all member countries to act in a concerted, cooperative, coordinated and comprehensive manner to identify and address areas of priority such as cross border trafficking, documentation& sharing of good practices.

Closing the inaugural session, Rashmi Saxena Sahni, Joint Secretary, WCD and Governing Board member thanked everyone for the focus on the needs of children which cannot be postponed at any cost. She shared her desire to see ‘doable’ and impactful recommendations emerge for the 4th Ministerial meeting which was to follow.