SRSG Maalla M'jid visit to Jakarta - The commitment I saw across the leadership of Indonesia will help accelerate progress in the Decade of Action for the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development

Jakarta, 9 March 2020 - SRSG Maalla M’jid praised the strong leadership of the President of Indonesia in addressing violence againats children during her five day visit to the country. In her official visit, the SRSG held discussions with senior government officials, the United Nations system, business and political leaders, local government, civil society organizations, bilateral donors, and children and young people, on how to further strengthen the protection of violence against children.

The SRSG met with the Ministers of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Education and Culture, and Development Planning - ministries that are key to the prevention and response to violence against children in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s integration of ending violence against children into the country’s national economic development plan 2020-2024 is an indicator of its commitment; the SRSG encouraged the Government to continue its implementation of this strategic innovation. In all her meetings with the Government, the SRSG stressed the need to allocate adequate resources to increase the number and capacity of local level social workers in Indonesia, noting that they are the frontline in tackling violence against children.

The SRSG began and ended her visit to Indonesia with children and young people. On Monday, 2 March she and Billy and Belva - two of the seven young millennials who advise the President of Indonesia - joined members of the National CSO Alliance on Ending Violence against Children (Aliansi PKTA) and the Inclusive and Innovative Network on Adolescent Girls in Indonesia (Jaringan AKSI) for a lively discussion with the SRSG on aspects of violence children in Indonesia face, including bullying and cyberbullying, violence in and around schools, sexual violence online and offline , child marriage and FGM. They emphasized the need to translate commitments and policies at the national level into concrete action at the local level.

At the end of her visit to Indonesia on 6 March, the SRSG learned from children in Semarang city in Central Java about how the “Roots” programme, an innovative peer-to-peer antibullying initiative is being implemented at their school. Later she and the Governor of Central Java held a moderated discussion with children and CSO’s from across Semarang province on how to act effectively at the provincial level to end violence against children. 

The SRSG highlighted the important role of civil society in supporting implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in meetings with Joining Forces, an affiliation of  international NGOs working in Indonesia, and with the Center on Child Protection and Wellbeing (PUSKAPA). She encouraged them to continue to focus on strengthening the capacity of locally-based CSOs and social mobilization to support efforts to prevent and respond to violence against children.

“Putting into action Indonesia’s new national development plan 2020-2024 will be a crucial contribution towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to violence against children”, the SRSG noted at the close of her mission. “The commitment I saw across the leadership of Indonesia, and its innovations in the social and education sectors, along with the mobilization of civil society and the active engagement of children, will help accelerate progress in the Decade of Action for the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development. I look forward to sharing and bringing to wider attention the progress being made in Indonesia towards the realization of the right of all children for protection from all forms of violence”, she added. 

During her visit to Indonesia, the SRSG also held discussions with the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Kung Phoak, on the collaboration between her office and member states in supporting implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Eliminating Violence against Children, as well as the newly adopted Declaration on the Protection of Children Online.