The UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, also known as UNICEF EAPRO, is one of seven regional offices that support the work of the United Nations Children's Fund. Globally, UNICEF works to promote children's rights in over 150 developing countries.[1]
The East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides advice and programme support to 14 UNICEF Country Offices and other humanitarian partners across the region. It also supports these offices in their efforts to raise funds for UNICEF initiatives for children.
Helping to develop and guide UNICEF programmes across the region in health and nutrition, child protection, HIV and AIDS, education, water and sanitation, early childhood development, social policy, and emergency preparedness is a central function for specialist advisers in EAPRO.[2]
UNICEF EAPRO also coordinates region-wide initiatives and advocates at the regional level for the realization of children's rights through greater investment in children and child-centred social policies. It works closely with a range of partner organizations on children's issues, including several other UN agencies, civil society groups, bilateral and multilateral institutions, and donors.
Strengthening regional partnerships for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and realizing the rights of children defined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child are central parts of EAPRO's current agenda.[3]
Internationally, UNICEF works with governments, civil society organizations, business partners and local communities to improve children's lives. While the organization is present in 190 countries worldwide,[4] its focus is very much in developing countries where over 85 per cent of UNICEF staff work.[5] It has a major role in responding to emergencies, including natural disasters and conflicts.
Rather than relying on UN funding, UNICEF generates its own revenue through voluntary donations. UNICEF Country Offices throughout East Asia and the Pacific raise funds for their programmes through a range of means, including donations, the sale of cards and gifts, and strategic partnerships with companies.[6]
In the region, UNICEF National Committees in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea raise funds for the organization's worldwide emergency and development work.[7]
East Asia and the Pacific region
One third of the world's population, or around two billion people, live in the East Asia and Pacific region This includes over one quarter (about 27 per cent) of the world's children - around 580 million in total. Around 30 million children are born in East Asia and the Pacific every year. The region stretches from Western China to the Cook Islands, and from Mongolia in the north to Tonga in the south. The smallest country in the region, Niue, has as few as 1,700 people; whereas China, the region's largest country, has 1.3 billion people.[8]
The region is marked by considerable diversity in peoples, cultures, natural environments, economies, political systems and development potential. While featuring some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the region also includes nine of the world's least-developed countries - five in the Pacific (Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) and four in East Asia (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Timor Leste). The Pacific, with its particular characteristics, dynamics and challenges, is a distinct sub-region within the wider EAP region.[9]
UNICEF's 14 Country Offices design and implement programmes, with EAPRO's support, to advance the rights and well-being of children in 28 countries and territories across East Asia and the Pacific: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Korea DPR, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.[10]
Convention of the Rights of the Child
All of the countries in East Asia and the Pacific have ratified the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a comprehensive human rights treaty which requires State Parties to make the world safer, healthier and more respectful of children's rights. The Convention sets out universal principles and standards for the status and treatment of children across the globe, and ensures that the specific rights outlined in the body of the Convention have the status of international law.[11]
UNICEF, as the UN body responsible for children's rights under the Convention, is required to promote its effective implementation and to encourage international cooperation in support of children. UNICEF is also represented when the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child considers each country's implementation of the Convention every five years.[12]
Emergency response
The Asia-Pacific region is, statistically, the world's most vulnerable region to natural disasters, including those related to climate change. These disasters often impact most heavily on children.[13] UNICEF's primary goal, when established in 1946, was to provide humanitarian assistance to children affected by the Second World War. The organization continues to provide assistance to children affected by conflict and natural disasters and works to promote the long-term rehabilitation of affected communities to improve conditions for children.[14]
UNICEF programmes in East Asia and the Pacific
UNICEF's priority areas of work in East Asia and the Pacific include education for all, child survival and development, HIV and AIDS and child protection.
Education
Early childhood development, adolescent education, gender equality and education quality are the focus of UNICEF's education work in the region. UNICEF works to provide opportunities for all children to obtain a quality education, and to provide equal learning opportunities for boys and girls. Serious disparities remain across East Asia and the Pacific, with children from many poor and marginalized groups unable to receive a quality education – or any education at all.[15] A regional strategy on adolescent education, begun in 2009, seeks to provide adolescents who have yet to complete lower secondary school with basic livelihood, life skills and practical vocational training.[16]
Young child survival and development
Child survival is a core area of work for UNICEF in East Asia and the Pacific. UNICEF, in seeking to improve maternal and neo-natal outcomes, is working with regional governments and other partners to improve the efficiency of health systems and their delivery vital services for women and children. On nutrition, UNICEF is seeking to scale up programmes, such as exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate micronutrient supplements, that have a proven impact. Expanding access to clean drinking water and upgraded sanitation, and promoting better hygiene in schools, are other UNICEF priorities. UNICEF is also working in the region to increase access to vaccinations to reduce child deaths from preventable diseases.[17]
HIV and AIDS
Through technical advice, advocacy and funding, UNICEF works to strengthen national and regional responses to the HIV epidemic for the benefit of children. An estimated 2.4 million people in East Asia and the Pacific are living with HIV, including about 28,000 children, with Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea the countries most affected. Preventing parent-to-child transmission (the source of 90 per cent of child infections), paediatric treatment, protection and prevention – known as the ‘Four Ps’ - are the focus of UNICEF's response to the HIV epidemic.[18]
Child protection
UNICEF works to protect children from exploitation – a right enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child – including all forms of violence and abuse. Trafficking; sexual exploitation; violence, abuse and neglect; child labour; recruitment as child soldiers; institutionalization; and unlawful detention are among the most common violations against children in the region.[19] To protect children from these violations, UNICEF works with regional governments to develop comprehensive national child protection systems, much like the education and health systems that countries established decades ago. A national child protection system is supported by institutions, laws and policies that articulate when and how instances of child abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence will be addressed. The social welfare and justice systems work in concert to assist and protect a child from harm, deliver preventative services by identifying and helping children and families at risk as well as provide support services to all families.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the first and oldest specialised agencies of the UN. The ILO has 187 member states: 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with around 40 field offices around the world, and employs some 3,381 staff across 107 nations, of whom 1,698 work in technical cooperation programmes and projects.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The convention defines a child as any human being under the age of eighteen, unless the age of majority is attained earlier under national legislation.
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption.
Human rights in the Middle East have been shaped by the legal and political development of international human rights law after the Second World War, and their application to the Middle East. The 2004 United Nations Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) claimed that although Arab-Islamic tradition does hold unique importance for ideas of human welfare, History has proven that "they were not sufficiently prevalent in society to foster a culture based on a political contract, and allow for the legitimacy of differences of opinion, dialogue and transfer of power." Issues of the validity of democracy in the region and human rights are at the very centre of the challenges facing Middle Eastern society today.
Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) is a non-governmental organization working as an advocate for children's rights. CWIN supports street children, children subjected to child labour, children who are sexually exploited, and also those victimized by violence. The organization's objective is to protect the rights of children in Nepal. It was established in 1987 by a group of students at Tribhuvan University who, upon investigating the conditions of children living on the streets in Kathmandu, Nepal, recognized the need for advocacy in this area. As a "watchdog" in the field of child rights in Nepal, CWIN acts as a voice for the disadvantaged and exploited children. It does this by lobbying, campaigning, and pressuring the government to protect and promote children's rights, and to end exploitation, abuse and discrimination against children.
Street children in the Philippines was first seen in the 1980s, and is estimated to be 250,000.
UNICEF, originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The agency is among the most widespread and recognizable social welfare organizations in the world, with a presence in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters.
UNICEF UK, also known as the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF national committees based in industrialised countries. The national committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development work. In 2007, UNICEF UK raised £41.3 million for UNICEF's work with children worldwide. UNICEF UK also advocates for lasting change for children. For example, it works to change government policies and practices that are detrimental to children's rights in the UK and internationally. Jon Sparkes was appointed CEO in January 2022.
The "Faces of Freedom" photo exhibition is a collection of photographs captured by photo-journalist, filmmaker and human rights educator U. Roberto (Robin) Romano, during his travels to India, Nepal and Pakistan. Romano explores the exploitation of child labor in the production of handmade rugs in coordination with multiple international organizations, such as the World Bank, UNICEF, International Labour Organization and others to reduce the number of child laborers in that industry. The exhibit has been shown in many United States cities since its first exhibit in 2009. Faces of Freedom has been included in CNN Freedom Projects of modern slavery.
UNICEF Philippines is one of over 190 country offices of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). One of the first UNICEF offices established in Asia, it works to uphold the rights of children in the Philippines, including their right to education, healthcare and protection from abuse and exploitation. It also advocates for political change in support of children, and works with partners from the public and private sectors to create change through sustainable programs.
UNICEF Indonesia is one of over 190 national offices of the United Nations Children’s Fund. As one of the first UNICEF offices established in Asia, UNICEF Indonesia has been on the ground since 1948 to uphold the rights of children in the vast archipelago, including their right to education, healthcare and protection from abuse and exploitation. It also advocates for political change in support of children, and works with partner organizations from the public, charity and private sectors, to effect change.
According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), basic education comprises the two stages primary education and lower secondary education.
UNICEF Malaysia is one of over 190 national offices of the United Nations Children’s Fund. Since its establishment in 1954, UNICEF Malaysia has been on the ground to uphold the rights of children in Malaysia, including their right to an education, healthcare and protection from abuse and exploitation. It also advocates for political change in support of children, and works with partner organizations from the public, charity and private sectors, to effect change. It is a Malaysian affiliate of the UNICEF.
Children's rights in Malaysia have progressed since Malaysia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1995 and introduced the Child Act in 2001.
Healthcare in Belize is provided through both public and private healthcare systems. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is the government agency responsible for overseeing the entire health sector and is also the largest provider of public health services in Belize. The MoH offers affordable care to a majority of Belizeans with a strong focus on providing quality healthcare through a range of public programs and institutions.
The Republic of Palau has had a turbulent history over the last 450 years, with many states claiming ownership over them. Since World War II, the Islands came under United Nations' trusteeship and were administered by the United States. After becoming a sovereign state in 1994, Palau joined the UN and ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the optional protocol to the latter in 2013. In 2011, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2011 and other core human rights treaties were signed. These treaties are yet to be ratified.
Child labour laws are statutes placing restrictions and regulations on the work of minors.
Armenia was admitted into the United Nations on 2 March 1992, following its independence from the Soviet Union. In December 1992, the UN opened its first office in Yerevan. Since then, Armenia has signed and ratified several international treaties. There are 20 specialized agencies, programs, and funds operating in the country under the supervision of the UN Resident Coordinator. Armenia strengthened its relations with the UN by cooperating with various UN agencies and bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and with the financial institutions of the UN. Armenia is a candidate to preside as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2031.
Protection of children’s rights is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and a number of other laws. Children’s rights embrace legal, social and other issues concerning children.
Wivina Belmonte is a UNICEF staff member. She is a national of both Spain and Canada, and since 2016 she has been the organisation's Deputy Regional Director for East Asia Pacific.
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