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Ā THE ASEAN COMMISSION FOR THEĀ PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OFĀ WOMEN AND CHILDREN (ACWC) Jakarta, Indonesia Ā Dear Excellencies: Greetings from the Child Rights Coalition ā Asia (CRC-Asia). CRC-Asia is a network of child rights and human rights organisations currently working in 8 countries in Southeast Asia since 2008. The network has a special interest in ensuring the effective and meaningful implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) in the region especially within the ASEAN. It serves as a facilitator advocating for meaningful civil society engagement with inter-governmental bodies such as the ACWC by promoting transparency and participation. The network aims to promote and ensure childrenās right to participation in all processes and decisions that have an impact on their rights and welfare. As part of our mandate to facilitate civil society interest and engagement in ASEAN affairs, CRC-Asia and its member organisations were instrumental in organising a child rights workshop during the ASEAN Peopleās Forum in September 2010 (Hanoi, Vietnam), an ASEAN Childrenās Forum civil society parallel workshop involving children and young people entitled āMaking Our ASEAN Meaningful for ChildrenĀ and Young Peopleā in October 2010 (Manila, Philippines), and in incorporating the child rights concerns in various civil society recommendation to ASEAN over the past two years especially emphasising the promotion of childrenās meaningful participation. We support the ACWCās first official meeting this February 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. We think that this meeting serves as an important platform to discuss and generate clarifications on the rules of procedure and the future programme of action. Bearing this in mind, CRC-Asia would like to put forward the following recommendations: CRC Asia wishes the ACWC a fruitful and meaningful meeting. Ā Sincerely, Ā Ryan V. Silverio, Regional Coordinator, Southeast Asia Coalition to Stop the Use of Child SoldiersĀ (SEASUCS) Eva Maria Cayanan, Regional Advisor Child Rights Governance and Protection, Save the Children Sweden Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Alberto R. Cacayan, Regional Coordinator, Terre Des Hommes Germany in Southeast Asia Muhammad Jailani, Executive Director, Yayasan KKSP Diena Haryana, Chairperson, Yayasan SEJIWA Antarini Arna, Director, Childrenās Human Rights Foundation Tran Thi Mai Huong, Vice President, Vietnam Association for the Protection of Childrenās Rights (VAPCR) Nguyen Thi Huong, Executive Director, Centre for Research and Support for Vietnamese ChildrenĀ (CENFORCHIL) Nguyen Thi Huyen, Institute for Social Studies Roldan Gonzales, Director, Gitib, Inc. / Mindanao Action Group for Childrenās Rights and Protection (MAG-CRP) Aung Myo Min, Executive Director, Human Rights Education in Burma (HREIB) Nooreen Preusser, Director, P.S. the Children Kreangkrai Chaimuangdee, Director, The Life Skills Development Foundation Ā Endorsed by the Following CRC-Asia Partner/Network Organisations: Ly Samnang, Program Manager, NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child (NGOCRC) Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director, FORUM-ASIA The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) Indonesiaās NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy (HRWG) Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) Dede Suhendri, Executive Director, Lembaga Advokasi Anak (LADA) Tabrani Yunis, Director, Center for Community Development and Education (CCDE) Banda Aceh Magdalena Sitorus, Chairperson, Sahabat Anak dan Perempuan Indonesia Think Center Singapore Disabled Peoplesā International Asia-Pacific Chalida Tajaroensuk, Peopleās Empowerment Foundation ALTSEAN-Burma Veerawit Tianchainan, Executive Director, Thai Committee for Refugees Margarita F. Gomez, Coordinator, Bantay KitaĀ