A meeting on bullying at school and online in ASEAN was held on November 26 by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the ASEAN Secretariat, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The online conference saw the participation of representatives from the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), ASEAN specialist bodies working in education, health, information and communications, the ASEAN Secretariat, the UNICEF office in Vietnam, international organisations, and ASEAN partners.

In her opening address, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha said she highly values the cooperation and support of UNICEF, development partners, donors, specialist agencies from ASEAN, and civil and non-governmental organisations for their technical and financial support for activities to promote children’s rights in general and to protect them from bullying at school and on the internet in particular.

She suggested strengthening cooperation between ACWC and other specialist agencies within ASEAN, and between ASEAN member countries and other countries around the world, to work towards ending bullying and violence at school and online and creating a suitable environment for children’s comprehensive development.

Delegates exchanged views on bullying at school and online around the world and in ASEAN in particular.

They also shared good practice and made recommendations to relevant ASEAN bodies to address the issue.

The conference is part of the ACWC’s working plan in the 2016-2020 period, in the context of the increasing risk to children from bullying at school and online.

ACWC was established in Hanoi on April 7, 2010, on the occasion of the 16th ASEAN Summit. It works to promote, protect, respect, and implement the rights of women and children in ASEAN.