High-Level Meeting on Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific Region, 4-6 November 2010, Beijing
Welcome to the webpage for the High-Level Meeting on Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific Region, which the Government of China will host in Beijing from 4 to 6 November 2010. The meeting is being convened with the support of UNICEF’s Regional Offices for South Asia and East Asia and the Pacific. The meeting will bring together senior representatives from 28 governments from across the Asia Pacific region to discuss and explore opportunities for mutual cooperation in the promotion of child rights, within the framework of South-South cooperation. Regional and international organizations with a strong record in promoting intra-regional cooperation, including Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), will be participating in Beijing. While the Beijing High-Level Meeting seeks to build on the series of earlier regional high-level consultations that began in 1991, these consultations also represent the beginning of a more intensive effort for participating countries to share their experiences in seeking to strengthen child rights, and to establish effective mechanisms to support ongoing exchange and cooperation for the benefit of children across the Asia Pacific region. Ratification by participating countries of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is universal, and most have ratified its two Optional Protocols - (i) on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and (ii) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. Participating governments in Beijing will exchange notes on their respective achievements, as well as lessons learned and future challenges, in managing three main thematic issues for the High-Level Meeting: (i) A Systems Approach to Child Protection and Child Welfare in the Asia Pacific Region; These three conference themes represent issues of growing importance to countries of the Asia Pacific, and areas where there would be significant advantage in greater intra and inter-regional cooperation. We are looking forward to discussions in Beijing, and the potential gains to be made in advancing child rights in the Asia Pacific region from more regular and closer cooperation. Conference Background Papers UNICEF has commissioned the preparation of four (4) conference background papers on each of the major conference themes, to help inform and stimulate discussion in Beijing. These papers will be posted on the web page as they are finalised. As hard copies of the papers will not be circulated in Beijing, participants to the High-Level Meeting should download the papers from the following links: (i) South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific region; (ii) A systems approach to Child Protection and Child Welfare in the Asia Pacific region; (iii) Children and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Asia Pacific region; & (iv) Achieving MDGs with Equity: the Experiences of Countries in the Asia Pacific region. Country panel presentations These consultations in Beijing have been structured to maximise the opportunities for the 28 participating governments to: (i) share their experiences in seeking to strengthen child rights; and (ii) provide their views on the value of further intra and inter-regional cooperation for child rights, and how they can contribute to this. Of the 28 governments that will be participating in the Beijing High Level Meeting, 14 have agreed to deliver panel presentations during the major plenary sessions. The scheduled panel presentations are from: (i) India, Nepal, Singapore and Thailand on the Philosophy and Practice of South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific Region; (ii) China, Malaysia and Pakistan on Child Protection and Child Welfare in the Asia Pacific Region; (iii) Cambodia, China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam on Addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with Equity: Country Experiences in the Asia Pacific Region; and (iv) Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands on Children and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Asia Pacific Region. Panellists were selected on the basis of known good practices in the region. These panel presentations will be important in stimulating wider discussion and debate in each session. Once country presentations have been delivered, there will then be an opportunity in each plenary session for informal interventions from the floor and discussions with the panel. Each of the countries making panel presentations will also submit supporting papers in Beijing to provide further detail on their experiences and achievements in advancing child rights within the relevant session theme that could usefully be shared, and their views on how South-South cooperation can contribute further in strengthening children's rights in the region. These supporting papers will be posted on the High Level Meeting web page, as they become available. Presentations in Beijing Session 1: The Philosophy and Practice of South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region Presentation by Mr. Sudhir Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development, India
Comments by Hon. Mr. Sarv Deo Prasad Ojha, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare, Nepal
Presentation by Dr. Qin Geng, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Health, China
Comments by H.E. Ms. Adina Othman, Deputy Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports, Brunei Darussalam Session 4: Addressing the MDGs with Equity: Country Experiences in the Asia Pacific Region Session 5: Children and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Asia Pacific Region Session 6: Regional Perspectives and Partnerships
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