Out of around 1.5 billion people, 587 million are children under 18 years.
The countries in South and Central Asia have all ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, however ratification, is not the same as implementation.
Little emphasis has been put on the follow up of the reporting to the CRC Committee and children are very vulnerable to discrimination, poverty, political unrest, armed conflict and natural disasters.
Child rights situation analysis reveals serious gaps in the fulfillment of children’s rights in South and Central Asia. Children are the ones that suffer the most from the widening gap between rich and poor. Millions of children are worse off today than a couple of years ago.
The number of working children as percentage of ages 10-14 is very high, indicating the level of economic and educational deprivation. In Nepal 41%, Bangladesh 27%, Afghanistan 24% of the total 10-14 age group is involved in child labour.
Political instability and natural disasters hamper development. South and Central Asia is an emergency prone area with frequent torrential rains, tornadoes, cyclones, droughts and earthquakes. Three out of four persons killed in natural disasters in the world live in Asia. The link between disasters, vulnerability and failed development is well known.
Poverty continues to be challange South Asia countries and triggers migration as the big cities continue to grow. South Asia, is home to 40 percent of the world’s poor living on less than $1 a day. Lack of protection and harsh living conditions put children at great risk for abuse and exploitation.
Underlying these gaps in the fulfillment of rights is lack of awareness, understanding and application of children’s rights by all levels of society. Duty bearers fail to deliver on their responsibilities due to many reasons: lack of knowledge, lack of technical capacity and, not least, lack of political will to prioritize children when resources are scarce.
Implementation and monitoring of child rights by the government
Important steps have been taken in many countries to put in place structures and mechanisms for child rights. Not least the Human Rights Commissions can play an important role. However, even in cases when the principles of the CRC have been incorporated into the legislative framework the major obstacle remains unsolved in all countries: weak implementation of the laws.
Role and Capacity of Civil society
Democracy, development and social stability are factors that facilitate growth of a vibrant civil society. In South and Central Asia many countries are in transition or in conflict or newly developed democracies in some cases without a democratic tradition. Low acceptability for human rights as core values of society limits the mandate and possibility for civil society to act as watch-dogs for a rights-based perspective.