ACWC Spearheads Regional Action for Inclusive Climate Resilience for Women and Children in ASEAN

The initiative was supported by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through the ASEAN Multisector Capacity Building Facility under the ASEAN‑France development partnership.

The Regional Dialogue was organised by the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) under the leadership of Cambodia and Thailand in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, World Vision International and Asia Vision Institute. 

The initiative was funded by AFD through the ASEAN Multisector Capacity Building Facility, marking the first initiative supported under this new cooperation instrument between France and ASEAN, implemented by Expertise France.

The Regional Dialogue aimed to strengthen ASEAN regional cooperation and knowledge sharing on inclusive climate action, highlighting practical experiences and lessons learned from ASEAN Member States on addressing the impacts of climate change on women and children.

Placing Social Inclusion at the Heart of Climate Action

ASEAN is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, home to more than 669 million people, nearly half of whom are women and over one-third children. Climate change disproportionately affects women and children, particularly those in vulnerable situations, with significant impacts on health, education, livelihoods, food security and protection.

Through this Regional Dialogue, ASEAN Member States exchanged good practices, policy experiences and lessons learned to strengthen inclusive climate resilience across the region.

Through its support to this Regional Dialogue, AFD reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive and gender-responsive climate action, in line with France’s International Strategy for a Feminist Foreign Policy placing gender equality and the rights of women and girls at the core of development and climate policies.

A Platform for Regional Exchange and Cooperation

The two-day Dialogue brought together around 100 policymakers, practitioners, experts, youth representatives, civil society organisations and development partners from ASEAN Member States. Participants exchanged experiences, challenges and solutions to address the social impacts of climate change on women and children, with discussions structured around four key areas:

• Policy frameworks and implementation

• Prevention, education and awareness-raising

• Climate governance and resource mobilisation

• Service provision and support for women, children and vulnerable groups

ASEAN Member States shared national experiences and promising practices, contributing to a collective ASEAN reflection on scalable and replicable solutions for inclusive climate action. 

The Dialogue also contributed to strengthening regional cooperation under ASEAN frameworks, reinforcing the role of ACWC in advancing inclusive climate resilience for women and children across the region.

AFD’s Engagement in ASEAN

Opening the Dialogue, on behalf of the Ambassador of France in Cambodia, Mr. Laurent Raspaud, Deputy Country Director of AFD Cambodia, highlighted that climate change is not only an environmental challenge but also a social and human rights issue, stressing the importance of integrating women’s and children’s rights into climate policies and investments. HE Sourng Menglong, Secretary of State on behalf of HE Chea Somethy, Minister of Social Affairs Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) and member of ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (AMMSWD) Cambodia strongly supported this initiative.

AFD works closely with ASEAN institutions and Member States to support resilient, inclusive and sustainable development. Across Southeast Asia, AFD finances and supports projects in areas such as climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, sustainable cities, social protection and gender equality, ensuring that climate investments contribute to reducing inequalities rather than exacerbating them.

From Dialogue to Action

The Regional Dialogue represents an important step in documenting ASEAN good practices and lessons learned on social inclusion and climate change. The outcomes will feed into a regional publication and inform future policy design, programming and regional cooperation, contributing to ASEAN frameworks and global commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals, notably SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 16.2 (End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children). 

About the ASEAN-France Development partnership

France was conferred the status of Development Partner of ASEAN in 2020 and cooperates with ASEAN in areas covered by its three pillars (political-security, economic, and socio-cultural). The ASEAN-France development partnership is being implemented through a jointly agreed action plan for the period 2022-2026, which focuses on areas of common interest, in particular regional security, sustainable development, health, culture, connectivity, support for regional integration, and the environment. Projects are being implemented in these areas through the mobilization of different French institutions and operators, in particular Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and a France-ASEAN fund created in 2024 by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

About Agence Française de Développement 

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) implements France’s policy on international development and solidarity. Through its financing of NGOs and the public sector, as well as its research and publications, AFD supports and accelerates transitions towards a fairer, more resilient world. It also provides training in sustainable development (at AFD Campus) and other awareness-raising activities in France. 

With our partners, we are building shared solutions with and for the people of the Global South. Our teams are at work on more than 4,000 projects in the field, in the French Overseas Departments and Territories, in 115 countries and in regions in crisis. We strive to protect global public goods – promoting a stable climate, biodiversity and peace, as well as gender equality, education and healthcare. In this way, we contribute to the commitment of France and the French people to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Towards a world in common.

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