VIOLENCE: South Asia Initiative to end Violence against Children (SAIEVAC)

Submitted by crinadmin on Fri, 09/07/2010 - 07:43

The South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) is the South Asian response to the global call by the UN Secretary General to end Violence Against Children in 2005. SAIEVAC was launched as an outcome of a regional consultation held in May 2005 in Islamabad, Pakistan as part of the UN Global Study on Violence Against Children and actively supported by both Member States and child representatives from the eight countries of South Asia.

SAIEVAC represents an innovative initiative for ending VaC, driven by the commitment of South Asian governments but which also manifests as a regional network engaging a wide variety and range of stakeholders including children, INGOs, UN Agencies and civil society in an action-oriented and collaborative manner. SAIEVAC and its network of partners have the mandate to address human rights violations against children with a special focus on the elimination of violence against children in order to achieve greater impact for children across the region.

Established in 2005 as the “South Asia Forum”, the organization evolved further. In 2010, following reaffirmation of commitment from all Member States of SAARC, it was recognized as a South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Apex Body for Children. Along with its new name, the SAIEVAC Regional Secretariat (SRS) shifted from Pakistan to Nepal. SAIEVAC employs a systems-building approach to strengthen child protection across the region and addresses five key thematic areas (child marriage, corporal punishment, child labor, sexual abuse and exploitation of children and child trafficking) and activities and actions include advocacy, awareness raising, capacity building and development, implementing activities and sharing best practices in an effort to prevent and respond to violence against children in South Asia. SAIEVAC aims to facilitate a collaborative approach and further build upon both national and regional level coalitions and partnerships in order to achieve the following aims:

To ensure the realization of children’s rights as stated in the UNCRC and its Optional Protocols;
To prevent and respond to all forms of neglect, abuse, exploitation and violence against children in all settings;
To promote the adoption, implementation, and monitoring of integrated national strategies with adequate budgets and resource allocation to prevent and protect children from violence and ensure response; and,
To reinforce regional cooperation to end violence against children in South Asia.

SAIEVAC, as a SAARC Apex Body, strives to inform governments, South Asia Action and Coordination Group to Eliminate Violence Against Children (SACG) members, National Action and Coordination Groups for against Violence against Children (NACGs), children and other partners in an effort to not only ensure increased awareness related to roles and responsibilities of duty bearers and actors but to also activate them to end violence against children throughout the SAARC region.

SAIEAVC’s 5 Thematic Priorities