A/70/289 A. Consolidating regional commitments 28. Over the past year, significant strides have been made in the process of consolidating regional commitments. In the Americas, the twenty -first Pan-American Child and Adolescent Congress of the Organization of American States on the theme of “Childhood: building environments of peace,” hosted by the Government of Brazil, was devoted to the protection of children from violence, including in the context of juvenile justice, and from sexual exploitation. The Congress reiterated the commitment of the continent to using the United Nations study on violence against children as an indispensable reference for action, including securing strong national laws, plans and programmes; mobilizing adequate resources; consolidating data; strengthening awareness-raising initiatives; and greater investment in violence prevention. 6 29. In May 2015, the MERCOSUR Permanent Commission on Children agreed to develop a regional policy for the promotion of positive discipline and prevention of violence. In July 2015, the Caribbean Community Task Force on child rights and child protection developed a regional strategy on the prevention and elimination of violence against children for the period 2015-2020, to reinforce the protection of children from physical, emotional, sexual and online-related violence. The Central American Integrated System (SICA) initiated the drafting of a regional convention to address sexual violence against children, informed by a cross -regional discussion process supported by the Special Representative. 30. In East Asia, the Commission on the Rights of Women and Children of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is preparing a regional plan of action on the elimination of violence against children for the period 2015 -2030 to promote the implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Children in 2013. The plan reiterates the regional commitment to ending violence against children, identifies key priorities for action and provides a solid foundation for implementation of the post-2015 agenda for sustainable development. 31. In the Pacific region, the President of Fiji hosted the first region -wide conference on ending violence against children, with the participation of senior government officials, community and faith-based organizations, child protection experts and donors from 15 Pacific island countries. Welcoming the support of the Special Representative, the conference reviewed strategies and programmes to prevent and respond to violence against children, includi ng good practices in service delivery and increased resource allocation, and the establishment of family courts and of networks for referral and response across the health, education and social welfare sectors. The participants called for strengthened laws and policies and committed themselves to promoting violence-free families and societies for children in the Pacific nations. 32. The South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children spearheaded a regional action plan to end child marriage and the Ka thmandu call for action to end child marriage, to accelerate progress in ending the practice, including through the urgent review of the compatibility of relevant legislation with human rights __________________ 6 10/25 See the unified resolution of the Congress, available from xxi congresopanamericano.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/CPNNA-RES-1-XXI-14-Draft-UNified-Resolution-XXI-PCC-ENG.pdf. 15-13244