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Summary: Twenty-five participants representing various Save the Children organisations, their partners and other NGOs, civil society organisations and government representatives in South and Central Asia came together at the Regional Workshop on Demystifying Accountability to Forward Child Rights in South and Central Asia in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The objective of the workshop was threefold: The workshop highlighted that accountability is a key requirement of Good Governance. In order to be accountable, an individual or group has to be answerable to those people (including children) who will be affected by their actions and decisions. The other principles of Good Governance such as transparency and the rule of law were also emphasised as vital for the enforcement of accountability. State accountability is definitely derived from international standards and legally binding conventions – obligating the State to enforce the treaties judicially. With this, the workshop also created a general understanding of the principle of accountability based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and on Child Rights Programming (CRP).
The concept of accountability with reference to NGOs was demystified using a general framework of transparency, participation and inclusion, evaluation, and complaint and response mechanism. Although this framework may concern civil society organisations, it can be applied to the way the State makes its decisions responsive and public/open to its constituents especially to young girls and boys.
Practical examples of holding the State accountable were presented during the workshop such as litigation, state budget analysis with a focus on children, the UN Study on Violence against Children, the use of CRC reporting mechanisms and the Concluding Observations from the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the use of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. With proper knowledge and capacity, NGOs can use these mechanisms to make certain that the State fulfils its obligations. The workshop nonetheless stressed that civil society organisations or non-government organisations also have the responsibility not to take over the role of the government but to lobby and pressure the government to fulfil its commitments.
All sectors of society from the level of international institutions to individuals in the family and the community also have the responsibility to recognise and implement the rights of boys and girls. Therefore when demystifying accountability it is imperative to outline the duty-bearers and stakeholders clearly, this includes children in both categories. The corporate sector and the media are also duty bearers but their liability towards the community and most importantly to children is indifferent.
The workshop also looked at obstacles to accountability of NGOs, the State, UN agencies, corporate sector and media. Participants identified ways to strengthen accountability in all these areas. Children’s role in strengthening accountability in all these sectors was also highlighted. Responsibility of donor agencies also came out strongly. Participants also drew country action plans which focused on incorporating accountability principles to their on-going programmes and works.
At the regional level Save the Children Sweden is committed to strengthening ties with organisations working on accountability. Focus will also be on finalising the regional discussion paper on accountability. Other areas of work include strengthening ties with regional forums like SAARC. The Regional Programme will also bring in an accountability perspective in its current area of work such as corporate social responsibility, academia and media.