Consultation Workshop 1: Identification of Critical VAWG Issues in ASEAN – Experts and Governments’ Insights
Thank you Rafendi,
Professor Pangalangan,
Ambassador Manalo,
Distinguished guests,
The topic of this panel, the “Identification of Critical VAWG Issues in ASEAN”, is a tough one to assess, not only because issues vary from country to country, but because not every ASEAN Member State has a national human rights institution (“NHRI”) with which the Commission on Human Rights (“CHR”) may coordinate.
So for purposes of this workshop, I shall give an overview of the most common concerns that ASEAN Member States share in relation to violence against women and girls, culled from the various Concluding Observations issued by the Committees on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and on the Rights of the Child.
On violence against women
On violence against women, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (or “CEDAW”) has noted the persistence of cross-border and urban to rural trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls in several ASEAN Member States. This has can be attributed to the absence of anti-traffikcing legislation, or its ineffective implementation where it exists. In this regard, the CEDAW suggests the strengthening of bilateral, regional and international cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination so as to address trafficking in women more effectively.
Some of the other concerns with ASEAN Member States that the CEDAW has identified include:
the absence of specific legislation on violence against women;
the non-criminalization of marital rape;