Capacity Needs Assessment for the Protection of Child Rights in the ASEAN justice system

How are ASEAN justice systems supporting children after trafficking? Embode’s latest capacity needs assessment, commissioned by The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children ( ACWC) and supported by ASEAN-ACT, explores how six ASEAN countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand— are upholding child rights in response to human trafficking and adhering to regional and international commitments. The comprehensive ‘Capacity Needs Assessment for the Protection of Child Rights in the ASEAN Justice System in Response to Trafficking in Persons’ provides a roadmap for creating child-centred, collaborative justice and protection systems across the region.

The assessment explored the connections between justice systems and child victim support and referral services while providing actionable recommendations for ASEAN and its Member States. Embode performed a legislative review, fieldwork and key stakeholder interview and key informant interviews to capture the nuanced realities shaping national responses.