1 October 2008 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 47
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Children Have Rights Too!
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Resolution adopted on the UN Guidelines for conditions of alternative care for children [publication]
Please note, the final version of this resolution is not yet available. However, we will post the correct version as soon as it is published.
The resolution was sponsored by Brazil, which emphasised the relevant provisions in the Convention of the Rights of the Child and re-affirmed its commitment to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Brazil welcomed a further engagement by the international community in the preparation of guidelines on alternative care.
Bangladesh and Indonesia appreciated the emphasis placed on such a significant issue and provided support for the appropriateness of the guidelines. Both States raised their concern, however, that the drafting process of the guidelines had to be more inclusive, transparent and intergovernmental in the future.
The resolution was adopted by consensus.
Further information
For more information, contact:
International Service for Human Rights
Rue de Varembé 1, P.O. Box 16, CH-1211 Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 733 51 23; Fax: + 41 22 733 08 26
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ishr.ch
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18556
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UPR: Deadlines for 5th session submissions [news]
Submissions in relation to the 16 countries scheduled to be reviewed at the fifth session of the Working Group on the UPR (4 - 15 May 2009) should be sent to the above-indicated address by:
3 November 2008 for submissions on Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Yemen and Afghanistan; and
10 November 2008 for submissions on Uruguay, Belize, Chile, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Slovakia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Submissions in relation to the 16 countries scheduled to be reviewed at the sixth session of the Working Group on the UPR (30 November - 11 December 2009) should be sent to the above-indicated address by:
13 April 2009 for submissions on Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam and Cambodia; and
20 April 2009 for submissions on Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Norway, Portugal and Albania.
Stakeholders’ submissions should be sent to [email protected].
Further information
For more information, contact:
UN Human Rights Council
Website: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18549
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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography [publication]
Ms Najat M'jid Maala, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, presented her first report to the 9th session of the Human Rights Council.
She highlighted the methodology that will guide her work, explaining that it builds on the analysis of her predecessors, the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN Study on Violence against Children and her dialogues with non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, treaty bodies, and other special procedures mandate holders.
Ms Maala emphasised the importance of the participation of child victims in carrying out her mandate. She declared that in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Resolution 2001/51 of the Commission of Human Rights, she would integrate a gender and HIV and AIDS dimension into her work.
Ms Maala insisted on the importance of integrating a transnational, international and national dimension in her mandate. She also highlighted the need to consider socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors that may contribute to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Ms Maala then presented the three thematic studies she will undertake, namely child pornography, the sale of children’s organs, and the sale of children for the purpose of adoption.
Ms Maala urged the signature and ratification by all states of the Optional Protocol to the CRC, which concerns the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. She called for the non-criminalisation of child victims in national laws. She also stated that the follow-up of recommendations made by herself, her predecessors, reports by the UPR, final observations by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN Study on Violence against Children, was a priority.
Due to the limited time available, only few States took part in the interactive dialogue. Chile, on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), reaffirmed its commitment to the CRC and recommended that cultural factors be examined closely in relation to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. A number of States emphasised their domestic efforts at preventing the sale of children. Pakistan (on behalf of the OIC) asked for the Special Rapporteur’s views on areas of bilateral and multilateral cooperation to prevent sex tourism and child pornography.
[Source: International Service for Human Rights]
Further information
For more information, contact:
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10
Tel: + 41 22 917 9000; Fax: + 41 22 917 9022
Website: www.ohchr.org/english/issues/children/rapporteur/index.htm
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18557
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Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict [publication]
Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, also presented her report to the Council.
Ms Coomaraswamy declared that armed conflict generally has increased in intensity, resulting in a growing sense of despair and an immeasurable toll on life. She listed the achievements in the protection of children in armed conflict, namely the release of children in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, the upcoming release of children in the Sudan and the Central African Republic, and the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo before the International Criminal Court.
Ms Coomaraswamy stated that there are 16 States that defy the Security Council and have been added to the annexes of the Secretary-General’s report.
She expressed concern about the ‘terrorist problem’ facing many States, which has led to the mobilisation of children and even their recruitment for suicide bombings. She spoke of sexual violence, making particular reference to the sexual violence against boys, a practice that has become prominent in Afghanistan. Other concerns included military detention of children without an adequate judicial process, human trafficking, the drug trade, the arms struggle, mineral exploitation, conditions in camps for internally displaced persons, the recruitment of children in these camps, and impunity. She urged the Council to deal with the accountability of non-State actors.
Ms Coomaraswamy introduced her intention to work closely with Special Advisors to the Secretary-General and present a report to the General Assembly in January 2009. She concluded that children are especially vulnerable and deserve enhanced protection, and that violators of their rights should be held accountable.
States welcomed the positive developments identified in Ms Coomaraswamy’s report, and some delegations outlined domestic measures their Governments had implemented to prevent the recruitment of children to the armed forces. Some of the more significant proposals discussed included: improving coordination throughout the international system between mechanisms working on children’s rights; mainstreaming children’s rights in the work of the Council; harnessing the UPR mechanism to discuss the issue, and to monitor the fulfilment of recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child; encouraging States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; devising a Council resolution dealing specifically with the protection of children in armed conflicts; strengthening the human rights monitoring capacity of peacekeeping operations, in cooperation with the OHCHR; and improving cooperation with the UN Peacebuilding Commission.
Norway identified what it considered a ‘troubling dichotomy’ – the advancement of international norms regarding children’s rights, and the concomitant pattern of continued violations against children. States raised a variety of other ongoing concerns, including: the challenges faced in ensuring that non-State actors abide by international standards regarding children during armed conflict, impunity, and the prevalence of sexual- and gender-based violence. A robust discussion elaborated on further steps that could be taken to improve the situation of children in armed conflicts. Most notable among these were the following: combating the small arms trade, reintegrating children into communities, making systematic use of UN Security Council resolution 1612 on children in armed conflict, according equal importance to each of the six categories of violations specified in the UN Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict, addressing the role of corporate actors, particularly those that deal with the weapons trade, and mainstreaming the issue of treatment of children into the work of UN peacekeeping missions.
[Source: International Service for Human Rights]
Further information
For more information, contact:
Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
United Nations, Room S-3161 H, New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.un.org/children/conflict
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18377&flag=report
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Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery [publication]
Ms Gulnara Shahinian, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, presented her first report to the 9th session of the Human Rights Council.
The mandate was established during the 6th session of the Council, and Ms Shahinian has taken up her mandate in May 2008. She stressed that slavery is a problem that impacts both genders and all age groups. She felt it is almost ‘unbelievable’ in this day and age that slavery still persists.
She presented three main areas on which she intends to focus: forced labour, domestic labour, and child labour. Ms Shahinian stressed that cooperation is key to effective development of strategies to combat slavery at national, regional and international levels, in conjunction with raising awareness and enhancing knowledge of the modern forms of slavery.
Ms Shahinian also commented on the importance of country visits as a ‘unique opportunity’ to engage in direct dialogue with different stakeholders. She has requested such visits to Uzbekistan, Brazil and Bangladesh. Additionally she recommended ‘stronger political will’ from governments to enforce laws, and to develop rehabilitation programmes for victims of modern day slavery.
Egypt (on behalf of the African Group) expressed its support for the new mandate. However, it seemed to express some disappointment with the way the Special Rapporteur has set her priorities. In particular, it stressed that child labour was a priority, but questioned why forced prostitution has not been included as a focus area. It urged Ms Shahinian to include prostitution in her focal areas and demanded that she ‘redress this anomaly’.
Morocco highlighted the need to give particular attention to education and sensitisation of children, and to create a greater awareness of risk situations. Armenia, of which the Special Rapporteur is a national, suggested that Ms Shahinian needs to find ways to not duplicate existing mandates and welcomed the proposed cooperation with mandates of a similar nature.
[Source: International Service for Human Rights]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18558
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