10 March 2008 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 37
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**Coming up**
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Children Have Rights Too!
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NGO Side Event: Communications Procedure for the CRC [report]
[GENEVA, 6 March 2008] – Over sixty participants, including 19 government representatives attended a briefing meeting at the Human Rights Council Session on the need for a communications procedure for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
The campaign was recently established as a Working Group of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Founding organisations include: Save the Children Sweden and UK, World Vision International, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), SOS Kinderdorf International, The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children and CRIN.
A petition calling for the strengthening of the enforcement of the CRC by drafting and adopting an Optional Protocol establishing such a mechanism has so far gathered support from over 360 organisations from almost 100 countries.
Jennifer Grant, Save the Children UK Global Child Rights Advocate, introduced the campaign by saying there was an urgent need for such a procedure to be made available to children and their advocates and that the UNCRC was the only international treaty with a mandatory reporting procedure to lack such a communications procedure. 'The time has come for enforcement, the time has come to end the age discrimination against children' she continued.
Ms Grant then went through the main arguments for the need for such a procedure and refuted the main objections previously expressed. Download the briefing paper here: http://www.crin.org/docs/HRCleafletFINAL.pdf
Gilbert Onyango from The Cradle, the Children's Foundation in Kenya, talked about the human side of the campaign by highlighting a number of cases that his organisation, which offers legal advice and representation to children, had failed in getting redress for in ational courts. 'If such cases fail in Kenya, we have nowhere to go, we need such a mechanism to be made available for when our legal systems fail our children' he said.
Mr Onyango is also leading a national campaign in Kenya for the establishment of a CRC communications procedure which has already attracted over 50 organisations. A conference provisionally planned for end of April is hoping to strengthen the campaign by gathering support from organisations from the whole region. Meanwhile, lobbying activities undertaken by Kenyan NGOs have already received the support of government officials.
The floor was then open for questions and comments – organisers were particularly intereste to hear from government representatives. Uruguay spoke first expressing their support for this campaign and the need for an in-depth debate on the issue, and reminded the audience that Uruguay, as the main sponsor of this year's resolution on the rights of the child is deeply dedicated to the issue of children's rights.
Germany said they were very interested to hear the presentations and although they could not pronounce themselves yet, they would be following the discussions closely. The representative from Liechtenstein was interested to find out whether the procedure would be individual or collective and was interested to hear what other lobbying activities had taken place.
Other government delegates present included: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.
What the campaign is calling for
The campaign is calling on Member States to:
- Support and encourage the development of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to provide a communications/complaints procedure;
- Support the establishment of an Ad Hoc Working Group to draft the Optional Protocol, ensuring it is an effective instrument for the safeguarding of children’s rights;
- Once adopted, sign and ratify the Optional Protocol, promote rapid ratification by other States Parties and work to ensure that adequate resources are provided to support the Committee on the Rights of the Child in responding to communications/complaints.
Further information:
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
1 St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6866 or 67; Fax: + 44 020 7012 6899
Email: info@crin.org
Website: www.crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=16606
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Children of prisoners: Informal meeting [report]
[9 March 2008] - An informal meeting at the Human Rights Council, organised by Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and BICE, with the help of the Swedish government, drew attention to the neglected issue of children of prisoners.
Rachel Brett, of QUNO, said: “This is an issue that has not been addressed by the Human Rights Council, and indeed nor by anyone else.”
As an example, she cited the UK, where around 18,000 children are separated from their mothers by imprisonment every year. The exact figure is not known because the information is not recorded. “We know that around the world there are thousands, possibly millions but we have no way of knowing how many, or indeed who they are,” she said.
UN guidelines often provide that a record of prisoners should always be kept. However, they do not talk of children or babies, either those who accompany them or those born in prisons. Rachel added: “If the authorities do not have that information, how can we even begin to address the issue?”
Oliver Robertson, consultant for QUNO, and author of the report 'The Impact of Parental Imprisonment on Children', then took the floor.
Thorny issue
He said: “More so than almost any other issue I have come across, this is almost impossible to know how to deal with. Having a child accompanying the mother might be the best option, but it is by no means a good option. Some practices are less bad than others, but the issue is still extremely complex.”
He highlighted the importance of looking at the situation of children both before and after prison, as well as during, noting that police or prison officials might not question what happens to the child when the mother is arrested. The mere fact of having a child may be a factor to consider when deciding whether to put someone in pretrial detention, he added.
Mr Robertson also drew attention to a recent India Supreme Court judgement, which he praised for being unusually widespread and comprehensive. The decision specified that if you have a mother in pretrial detention, judges should take into account a number of considerations, such as whether the legal process can be speeded up as a result of the special circumstances.
There is massive variation in terms of practice, he continued. In some states, children must be removed from prison aged 30 days, while in others they may be five or six. A huge problem for children is acclimatisation when they leave prison. They may be scared of dogs, trees, cars or even men. There is the need to make sure that the prison environment is as similar as possible to the outside world, he added.
Mr Robertson also spoke of a decision in South Africa, where the court ruled that if the Convention on the Rights of the Child is to have legal effect, then this should also be considered when a parent is sent to prison. The child's best interests must be taken into account.
He finished by emphasising that: “Regardless of what the mother has done, or is accused of doing, the child is not the one that has done the crime and should not have to suffer because what other people have done.”
Shortage of policies
Enyo Gbedemah, of BICE in Togo, noted that even where it is illegal, there are still children in detention with their mothers because it is tolerated in practice by prison officers. He said there is often a lack of hygiene, very little access to healthcare and poor nutrition. The psychosocial support is practically non-existent. “There is little prospect for the future of these children”, he said.
In Togo for example, in most cases children are sent to children's centres while their mother is in detention.
He said: “Very often our biggest problem is that there is no real policy on behalf of the state – that is often the source of all the other problems.” He added there was also a dearth of information. “People don't necessarily know if policies do in fact exist.” He said information programmes need to be set up so police and social workers can know the international law.
Matthew Naumann, from QUNO, has been working on the issue in Kyrgyzstan. He said that unlike many other countries, the prison population had actually been declining. A number of laws have been enacted dealing with the issue of women and children in prison, he said. For example, a woman sentenced to less than five years in prison should not actually go to prison if they are a mother, although this is on condition of her taking appropriate care of the child.
Other laws seem quite progressive, he said, such as the rule saying that the court must, as part of its judgement, state what will happen with the children of a mother sent to jail.
However, he said: “The problem with this law is that the judges don't seem to know about it.”
Another huge issue, which he said the researchers found especially disturbing, was that children disappear from prison, whereas “lots of women in prison we spoke to did not know where their children were.”
There are also cultural problems, he said. When women get sent to prison they are often abandoned by their partners. They often don't want the children to see the mothers again. With men, however, their partners usually stick by them.
Recommendations
Rachel Brett concluded the presentations by putting forward some suggestions. Firstly, she said, there was a lack of information. She also highlighted:
1.The need for systems that will identify caring responsibilities so this can be considered when someone comes into contact with the criminal justice system.
2.The need to look for alternatives to both detention before trial and imprisonment. These should only be as a last resort.
3.Because situations are so different within countries and between parents the decision to imprison has to be taken on a individual basis in relation to the best interest of the child. Is there another parent or person who can take care of the child? What are the conditions in prison?
4.The fact that if children do go to prison, it is vital they are registered. Babies born inside prison must also be registered.
5.The need to consider who will take care of the child if a mother is imprisoned.
6.The need to think about how to maintain contact with parents in prison
7.The importance of preparing a child for leaving prison.
8.The need for much more information on good practice.
She said she wanted to see these issues highlighted in the resolution on the rights of the child, adding: “We are convinced there would be a real benefit in a day of general discussion on the subject.”
Among the comments from the floor, a representative from the ICRC noted prison is not the right place for the child. Meanwhile a representative from Penal Reform International drew the panel's attention to the issue of children of immigrant detainees. Children and parents might be kept together, “but that may be in what effectively amounts to a high security prison”, she said. And Roberta Cecchetti, of Save the Children, asked: “Where are the fathers in all of this?”
For more information, contact:
Quakers United Nations Office
13, Avenue du Mervelet , 1209 Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 748 48 03; Fax: + 41 22 748 48 19
Email: quno2@quno.ch
Website: www.quno.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=16616
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Summary from the plenary [news]
Reports of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, of the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, of the Working Group on arbitrary detention, of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, of the Special Rapporteur on toxic and dangerous products and wastes and finally of Juan Miguel Petit, the Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography were presented.
Mr Petit noted that in trafficking cases, there is a prority on perpertrators rather than victims. Victims often get no assistance, and may be vulnerable to other offences similar to those already suffered. Read the full report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children here: http://www.crin.org/docs/saleofchildren.pdf
Read a report, compiled by CRIN, of the mentions of children in the reports of the Special Procedures here: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=16504&flag=report
For a full report from the plenary, visit the International Service for Human Rights' daily updates: http://www.ishr.ch/hrm/council/dailyupdates/index.html
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**Coming up**
Tues 11 March 2008
13.00 to 14.00, room XXI: Child Protection Challenges and the Special Procedures System
Wed 12 March 2008
09.00 to 10.00 Room E3025: Support to Victims of Trafficking, including Asian Perspectives
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group Subgroup for the Human Rights Council. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about child rights at the Human Rights Council is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/hrc. To submit information, contact us on info@crin.org. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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