26 March 2007 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 26
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- Disability: Special event on the adoption of the new Convention [event]
- Child Rights Caucus: Morning briefing with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories [event]
- Special Procedures: reports presented at the Plenary session [reports]
- **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_5.doc
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- Disability: Special event on the adoption of the new Convention [event]
[GENEVA, 26 March 2007] - Sheikha Hessa Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, Special Rapporteur on Disability, today warned countries that merely signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was not enough to safeguard the welfare of disabled people.
Speaking at a Human Rights Council special event on the Convention, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006, Mme. Sheikha Hessa Al-Thani said persons with disabilities should be on both the social and human rights agenda. The responsibility, she said, falls on countries to educate their people on disability issues.
Mr Monthian Buntan, President of the Thailand Association of the Blind, added more education and training in “accessible formats” is needed to teach people about disabilities.
Meanwhile, Mr Lex Grandia, Representative of the International Disability Caucus, said the rights of persons with disabilties should become a regular item on the council agenda, and should feature on the peer review mechanism.
He said: “We don’t feel like vulnerable groups, we feel like persons with capacities.”
UNICEF made a statement emphasising the vulnerability of disabled children, and argued that the new convention reinforces the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They encouraged NGOs to take part in the reporting process, and added that the Convention provides an additional framework for efficacy and planning.
Save the Children also made a statement identifying the despair experienced by children with disabilities. They quoted one child as saying: “If families have a negative view of us, how can we have help?” They praised initiatives such as the Convention, which provide children with the chance to “have a chance.” The statement added that children with disabilities must be provided with appropriate assistance, and stressed that the right to be heard must be effectively implemented. “Only by listening to the children themselves, can we get things right”, it concluded.
Further information
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Child Rights Caucus: Morning briefing with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories [event]
[GENEVA, 23 March 2007] - John Dugard, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), told delegates that children are bearing the brunt of the troubles in the OPT, with child education, health, physical safety and freedom all affected.
While emphasising his mandate is to examine human rights violations committed by Israel in the OPT, Mr Dugard also lamented the militarisation of Israeli society and the distress caused to Israeli children by compulsory military service.
He said his work within human rights in the OPT often resulted in a gravitation towards children, since they are affected disproportionately by the occupation.
In terms of physical harm, children are often the “collateral damage” resulting from Israel’s favoured tactic of targeted assassination. They are also at greater risk since children tend to stray into harmful situations, can get injured or killed while playing, and are used by soldiers as human shields.
Since Israel defines a child as being under the age of 16, many “children” as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child are detained for political activities such as participating in protests and throwing stones, Mr Dugard said. More than 300 children are currently detained, some of whom may have been exposed to torture such as electric shocks, exposure to loud noise and food deprivation.
Schools are often in the firing line, exemplified by the case of a young girl killed by a sniper while at school, and Palestinian children grow up with the sense there is no safety, even at school. Mr Dugard noted schools may be seized by Israeli soldiers for use as military bases; he recently visited such a school which had been trashed and vandalised once the military left.
Regarding health, clinics are destroyed, medicine is elusive, and vaccination is difficult to obtain and organise because of breaks in schooling and other disruptions. Ninety per cent of the population in Gaza and sixty per cent in the West Bank are dependant on food aid, resulting in high levels of malnutrition in children. High unemployment leads to poverty and is linked to violence within the family. Mr. Dugard said children had repeatedly told him they just want to lead a "normal life".
Mr Dugard also noted that within Israel, suicide bombings have killed or impacted children disproportionately, while Quassam rockets have landed into Israeli schools. However, he believes the militarisation of youth has had the biggest impact on Israeli children, and he deliberately referred to Israeli soldiers as boys and girls instead of men and women. Their lives are traumatised as a result of compulsory service, while those who refuse to serve are sent to prison, he said.
Further information
For more information, contact:
Subgroup for the Human Rights Council
Simone Ek, Convenor
Save the Children Sweden
Email: simone.ek@rb.se
Website: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/NGOCRC/subgroup-CHR.asp
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12907
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Special Procedures: reports presented at the Plenary session [reports]
Presentation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Mr. Manfred Nowak. Read the report.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (Mr. Martin Scheinin). Read the report.
More information
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**Coming up*
9 – 10AM, Room 2023: Child Rights Caucus with Paul Hunt, Special Rapporteur on Health
Note: Due to the extension of the HRC session on Tuesday 27 March to include full-day meetings from 09:00-13:00, 13:00-15:00, 15:00-18:00, the HRC Bureau Meeting with NGOs of tomorrow the 27 March 2007 had to be cancelled, and will be held on Thursday 29 March 2007 instead. NGOs are invited & encouraged to attend. The meeting will take place on Thursday 29 March in room XXI from 14:00-15:00
The full agenda is available online at: http://www.crin.org/hrc
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Subgroup for the Commission on Human Rights. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about the 4th Session is available on the CRIN website at: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12237. To submit information, contact CRIN on info@crin.org. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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