22 March 2007 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 25
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- UN experts call on States to act on World Water Day [news]
- Child Rights Caucus: Morning briefing [event]
- Intersecting Human Rights: HIV and Violence against Women and Girls [event]
- Plenary Session: Discussion on enforced or involuntary disappearances concludes [news]
**Coming up**
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Children Have Rights Too!
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Read this briefing in Word format at: http://www.crin.org/docs/HRC_Daily_briefing_4.doc
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UN experts call on States to act on World Water Day [news]
[GENEVA, 22 March 2007] - Some 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to basic water supplies. Today, on World Water Day, UN experts reminded the international community that access to water is an essential prerequisite for the realisation of human rights.
Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, and Miloon Kothari, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing said: “In a world where more than six million children die every year before their fifth birthday, including of illnesses related to the lack of safe drinking water, we call on all States to act now to stop this silent tragedy and to uphold their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to water at the national level and to cooperate at the regional and international levels in realising this right for all."
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12873&flag=news
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Child Rights Caucus - morning briefing [event]
[GENEVA, 22 March 2007] - The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit, told NGOs in a briefing this morning that his report to the Human Rights Council, which deals with organ trafficking and “disappeared children”, was a way of “knocking on the doors of governments” and calling on them to work together to combat these problems.
He said that governments need to see NGOs not as enemies, but as “sources of help.” Indeed, NGOs should not be passive in their behaviour by waiting for the Human Rights Council to act, he said, but take on a proactive role themselves.
Speaking about Special Procedures, Mr. Petit said that they are a positive mechanism for the human rights cause as a whole and NGOs should fight to retain and improve them by presenting suggestions and statements and writing to country Missions.
In terms of following up recommendations, Mr Petit said spending one or two weeks in a country does not allow him to see the whole picture, but he relies heavily on the information he receives not only from governments and NGOs, but also those working at the grass-roots level and journalists.
When asked how to raise the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on the global agenda when there are so many other issues to contend with, Mr Petit commented that communications need to improved, not only among governments, but also to raise awareness in schools and the public more generally.
Mr Petit revealed that his next report will focus on adoption.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12874&flag=news
More information
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Intersecting Human Rights: HIV and Violence against Women and Girls [event]
[GENEVA, 22 March 2007] - "Intersecting Human Rights: HIV and Violence against Women and Girls," a panel discussion organised by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership and ActionAid International, was held today with the participation of Dr. Ertürk, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
Presenting alarming figures of HIV infection, Dr. Ertürk pointed out that the HIV and AIDS pandemic poses a serious global security concern, which is often eclipsed by the threat of terrorism.
She explained that the staggering number of women who suffer from HIV are not women who represent “deviance from the accepted social norm” such as prostitutes or drug-users, but in fact, most women contract HIV in monogamous relationships from husbands who are not monogamous. It is an issue of gender inequality: promiscuity in males is still condoned, whereas women’s sexuality must be guarded.
Ertürk commented on the potential violence and stigmatisation that women face once they have contracted HIV. She said that some of the key issues of contention which have become real challenges for advocacy at the UN are a woman’s right to control her own sexuality, which is essential for her to negotiate safe sex, and access to affordable drugs.
Addressing the problems in a human rights framework, Cynthia Rotschild, Senior Policy Adviser at the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, said that HIV and violence cut across groups of rights and often involve the violation of many rights such as torture and the right to information.
She pointed out that while “stigma and discrimination” are pertinent “buzz-words,” they are not the only problems that women face. Myths also put women at risk. One of these is that of “cleansing”: the belief that sexual intercourse with a virgin will heal the HIV virus puts women and girls in a very vulnerable position. The idea held by some donors that saying no to sex before marriage can reduce the pandemic has also been destructive.
For more information, contact:
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
160 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555 USA
Tel: +1 732 932 8782; Fax: +1 732 932 1180
Email: cwgl@igc.org
Website: http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu
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Plenary Session: Discussion on enforced or involuntary disappearances concludes [news]
[GENEVA, 22 March 2007] - The Human Rights Council this morning concluded its discussion of the report of the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances and then debated various thematic issues raised earlier in the week including freedom of religion and the rights of children, women, minorities, migrants, indigenous peoples and internally displaced persons.
Read about the interactive dialogue following the discussion of the presentation of the report of the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances on the website of the International Service for Human Rights.
More information
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**Coming up*
9 – 10 AM, Room 3023: Child Rights Caucus morning briefing with Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, John Dugard
The full agenda is available online at: http://www.crin.org/hrc
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Further information about the Human Rights Council is available on the CRIN website at: http://www.crin.org/hrc/. To submit information, contact info@crin.org. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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