The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and its partners are proud to publish the findings and recommendations of the 17th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights on “Human Rights and Children” (ASEMHRS17) held on 7-9 November 2017 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The 17th Publication is based on the outcomes of the working group discussions that were held during the seminar. Furthermore, it provides the reader with a comprehensive background on human rights and children, starting from a general introduction on children’s rights in Asia and Europe and finishing by focusing on emerging issues that are affecting children and their enjoyment of human rights today.
The Seminar working groups concluded that it is vital to take a holistic approach to safeguarding the often-fragile concept of children’s rights across Asia and Europe and emphasised 4 fundamental pillars:
Recognition of children rights at local and international level.
Participation of children in decision making processes that directly affect them.
Protection of children through a strong legal framework of children rights.
Empowerment of children is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of rights.
Further key recommendations and conclusions on how to better safeguard the rights of children can be found in this publication.
The 17th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights was organized by ASEF, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (nominated by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. It was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria and the State Agency for Child Protection, Bulgaria.