18 March 2009 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 52
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Children Have Rights Too!
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ETHIOPIA: Side event on recent NGO law [news]
This report was compiled following a side event on a new NGO law in Ethiopia, held during the tenth session of the Human Rights Council, and an interview with Ethiopian rights activist Yared Hailemariam.
In January 2009, the Ethiopian Parliament adopted a controversial new law which could both give control to the government over NGO activities, and also criminalise the work of human rights defenders.
In light of this, Human Rights Watch organised a side event during the Human Rights Council session last week to discuss implications for civil society, opportunities for advocacy, but also bring the issue to wider international attention.
Background
Ethiopians were given a taste of things to come when, during the 2005 elections, the government adopted repressive policies and, despite widespread civil participation, the Prime Minister declared victory, banned public protests and limited freedom of expression. Members of the main opposition parties were arrested and many human rights organisations were targeted through searches and arrests.
June and November 2005 saw students taking to the streets in protest against repressive policies, and dozens of protesters were killed.
Yared Hailemariam who was working for the Ethiopian Human Rights Council at the time, explained that “because I was working as a human rights investigator, our offices were searched and myself and a colleague were arrested.
“After spending eight days in prison we appeared in court accused of having organised illegal protests and destroying public property. Thankfully they had no evidence so we were released without charge.”
Worsening State
The political situation worsened and during the protests in November hundreds of members of the opposition party and over 18,000 protesters were detained.
“At the time, I was out of the country, attending a conference in Uganda on Human Rights Defenders when the government issued a list of its 55 most wanted people. I found my name on that list and next to it read that I was being accused of treason and genocide. I have not been back to Ethiopia since.”
Hassan Shire Sheikh, from the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) explained the implications for civil society organisations under this new law which would allow the government, among other things, to:
- Decide which NGOs can be registered and which ones should be disbanded
- Subject all civil society groups to intrusive government control and surveillance.
- Bar foreign NGOs from doing any work related to human rights, governance, protection of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities, conflict resolution and a range of other issues.
- Strip Ethiopian NGOs that work on human rights issues of access to foreign funding.
- Impose criminal penalties on anyone participating in activities deemed 'unlawful'
- Fine or jail, for up to 15 years, anyone participating in meetings organised by such 'unlawful' organisations
- Prohibit all activities carried out by non-Ethiopian NGOs that relate to human rights and other identified fields
A number of Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders are trying to get the international community, particularly donor governments, to put pressure on the Ethiopian Government to scrap the law.
Yared Hailemariam is currently working for the Association for Justice and Accountability and is documenting human rights violations in Ethiopia (but based outside the country). He is preparing to take a case to the African Court of Human Rights.
Further information
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
East Studio, 2 Pontypool Place, London, SE1 8QF
Tel: +44 (0)207 401 2257
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19881
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INTERVIEWS: Young people in conflict with the law [news]
As part of CRIN's reporting activities at the Human Rights Council, we interviewed two young people who were attending the events as part of a group delegation organised by Y Care International. These are their stories.
Daniella Abbate, 20, lives in YMCA housing, for young people, in the UK. She has been in conflict with the law three times, and thinks the police are getting worse in dealing with children and young people.
I was treated differently each of the three times I was arrested. First, I was arrested for shop lifting when I was 16, which I know was stupid. I got treated quite fairly that time; they asked me whether I wanted handcuffs, to which I obviously said no!
But for the second time, they treated us horribly – they were really sarcastic and nasty. It was for being at a friend’s house when it was being raided. I got arrested at 11.30 one morning, and was only released at 4am the following morning. In the meantime they raided the house of my Mum and Gran.
When they raided the house, they forced the door down, and pushed one of my friends to the floor, and then forced us both into a room together. It made us feel like we were nothing, even though we hadn’t done anything wrong.
They have got worse over the years, and I feel really strongly about it. They always tell us to follow the law, but how can they expect us to when we they don’t?
I’m surprised that we are the only young people here! It’s great being here, as you can see all these people fighting for what they believe in. I have the feeling that there can be a big sea change just by being heard, and I want to encourage people to see that not all young people are bad.
In the UK, even just being dressed in a tracksuit can mean that the police will harass you. My friends were waiting in a queue recently, and some police went by and said hello. My friends nodded, and so the police starting asking “don’t you speak English or something?” People get stopped just because they don’t look or sound right.
Thandawani Ndlouy, 22, from South Africa, was arrested for being associated with a criminal when he was 17. He was detained for five months in jail awaiting trial.
The conditions were bad. I was in a cell with much older adults, and there were 80 of us in a cell. I had to sleep on the floor.
I was given no information about the case at all. They had no witness, and the victim did not appear to give information, or to identify me. But this experience was quite common.
I was studying marketing and business at the time, and so of course I was not able to continue properly with my studies. It is so hard to get a job if you have a criminal conviction, because there is always a criminal conviction section of the form you have to fill in. The stigma is still always there.
I also had no rehabilitation or anything, or advice. I was just supposed to meet with the parole officer every so often so they could check up on me, and that was it.
The media only report on the bad stories about young people - they are not interested in the positive stories.
Being here, it feels like you are among people who want to address the issues. It is a very good opportunity for me, and I believe it is possible here to make a difference.
Further information
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
East Studio, 2 Pontypool Place, London, SE1 8QF
Tel: +44 (0)207 401 2257
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19880
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SPECIAL PROCEDURES: Reports
Read reports presented to the Human Rights Council, and addressing children's rights, from the:
For more reports to the Council, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/10session/reports.htm
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INTERVIEW: Damon Barrett, International Harm Reduction Association [news]
Damon Barrett was presenting a joint IHRA and Human Rights Watch statement as part of an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture at the Human Rights Council. The statement called attention to the “list of human rights abuses committed in the name of the war on drugs” and how the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) “has never once condemned any of these abuses… [or] taken action to address them”. The CND, under ECOSOC recently adopted a new political declaration that will set the tone for international drug policy.
The declaration is very weak on human rights and does not mention harm reduction interventions aimed at reducing HVI transmissions relating to drugs. This is a big problem. There are an estimated 15.9 million injecting drug users around the world, outside of Sub Saharan Africa, 30 per cent of HIV transmissions are related to drug injection.
We have learnt nothing from last ten years. It is difficult for us to lobby and to advocate for Human Rights and harm reduction because the Commission focuses on restrictive law enforcement based drug policies.
In some countries, children as young as 12 begin to inject drugs. This is very dangerous. Yet, hardly no programmes are aimed at children and young people. UNAIDS estimates that the majority of newly infected people are under the age of 25.
People would rather turn a blind eye. The message is always: kids should not use drugs. But the reality is they do!
Prevention does not work for children who are already using drugs. When they talk about the best interest of the child and drugs, it's still from a moralistic, ideological and zero tolerance point of view.
A lot of children use drugs because their friends do, because it's fun, or to suppress hunger. Some are surrounded by drugs because of their parents or other ... it is not a deviant behaviour but something normal in their life.
At the international level, there is little focus on children and drugs. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the only Treaty that mentions drug use [Article 33]. The ILO Convention 182 refers to drugs but only in relation to trafficking.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child recognises this in their General Comment on HIV and AIDS, but where programmes are designed to prevent transmission due to drugs they don't tend to target young people. The Concluding Observations are a bit formulaic on this. This the fault of governments and NGOs who are not reporting properly.
Children should be seen as victims not criminals, but there is not much focus on what that means. Children are never consulted in relation to how policies are developed, especially children who use drugs.
Many children are too afraid to talk to their parents. Children should be able to access confidential advice and information without without parental consent.
Saying that advice and information encourages drug use is a myth. I think it is sometimes used to make the argument for zero tolerance. The CRC must say something more nuanced and complex.
With drug trafficking, our solution to war is war. Children are pushed into this because of their situation. And how do we respond? With greater violence.
Further information
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
East Studio, 2 Pontypool Place, London, SE1 8QF
Tel: +44 (0)207 401 2257
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19882
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