Trafficking and child protection will be high on the agenda at the South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC) starting next week. Eight countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will assess progress and developments in the past decade of regional efforts, and identify priorities for the next five years.

The fourth ministerial meeting will set strategies and agree on commitments to ensure the protection and security of the children of the region. The meeting is being hosted by the ministry of women and child development and will focus on critical issues of child protection and violence in the region.

Home minister Rajnath Singh and women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi will attend the conference.

SAIEVAC is the apex body of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) created to bring governments of the region into active engagement for child protection against violence. SAARC made history in 1986 by installing children as a 'summit-level concern and commitment.'

The technical consultation will bring forward recommendations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on regional child protection opportunities emerging from country experiences. This will include India's positive insights from innovative measures for tracking and rescuing lost and missing children. The potential of using information and communication technology for improving these measures will also be examined.

India will showcase some of its major initiatives like Trackchild and Khoya Paya, Childline-1098 and POCSO Act among others.

(Times of India)