3 February 2010 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 56
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- Human Rights Council: Session 13 [event]
- SEXUAL VIOLENCE: Annual Debate on the Rights of the Child [event]
- UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW: 7th session [event]
- Special Procedures: List of Vacancies and Upcoming Visits [news]
- HAITI: Separated children risk being sold, trafficked or kept in slave-like conditions [news]
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Children Have Rights Too!
If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.
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Human Rights Council - Session 13 [event]
The 13th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) will be held from 1 to 26 March 2010 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
CRIN will be providing daily updates from the HRC session from 8 - 12 March (2nd week of the session)
Timetable / Order of the day - To follow
Annual debate on the rights of the child
This year, the debate is on sexual violence against children - see below
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NGO participation
Information note for NGOs - including information on accreditation and NGO parallel events
Written statements
NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC may submit written statements relevant to the
work of the Human Rights Council.
The HRC Secretariat wishes to draw the attention of NGOs to ECOSOC resolution
1996/31, which authorises written statements of: a) 2,000 words for NGOs in general
consultative status; and b) 1,500 words for NGOs in special consultative status and on the
roster.
NGO written statements are to be submitted in accordance with the guidelines for the
submission of NGO written statements:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/guidelines.htm
NGOs may submit their written statements to the Council Secretariat electronically to
hrcngo@ohchr.org.
The deadline for the submission of written statements is Friday 15 February 2010.
OHCHR Civil Society Unit
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Telephone: + 41 (0)22 917 9656
Email: Civilsocietyunit@ohchr.org
Contact information, as well as the NGO liaison office location accessible during the session will be communicated at a later stage.
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NGO Working Group for the HRC
The Working group for the Human Rights Council, of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, brings together NGOs willing to promote the rights of the child at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The WG’s aim so far has been to ensure that the Human Rights Council addresses the specific rights and situations of children worldwide in its regular work and sessions on human rights. By advocating for the inclusion of its concerns into the Council's Resolutions, the NGO community has ensured better support and coherence between international politics and local realities affecting the realisation of children's rights.
For more information, contact the co-convenors of the WG:
Alan Kikuchi-White, SOS-Kinderdorf International
Email: KikuchiA@sos-kd.org
Or Veronica Yates, CRIN on email: vyates@crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21698
Further information
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SEXUAL VIOLENCE: Annual debate on the Rights of the Child [event]
Date: 10 March 2010
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
The aim of this discussion is to raise awareness about the question of sexual violence against children, reaffirm existing standards and commitments, highlight good practices and lessons learnt from work over the years, identify key challenges and anticipate future work.
The discussion will build upon core international standards and commitments and draw upon the work of human rights bodies and mechanisms and the experience of other key actors. The context of the discussion will be the recent (CRC), the 10th anniversary of the , the process of follow up to the recommendations of the UN and the follow up to the Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents.
The discussion will build upon core international standards and commitments and draw upon the work of human rights bodies and mechanisms and the experience of other key actors. The context of the discussion will be the recent 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the 10th anniversary of the first two Optional Protocols, the process of follow up to the recommendations of the UN Study on Violence Against Children and the follow up to the III World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents.
The day will be divided into two panel sessions. The first one will focus on manifestations of sexual violence against children, and the second, will focus on the prevention of sexual violence and respsonses. Each session will hear from a number of experts and will be followed by a debate during which States, Independent Human Rights Institutions and NGOs can make interventions.
Panellists are not yet confirmed but will most likely include: Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. She will also be presenting her first report to the HRC on 11 March, where we are expecting her to present the strategic direction for her mandate.
Other panellists should include the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Ms. Najat M’jid Maalla, and Radhika Coomaraswamy, Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. There will also be NGO representatives on each panel as well as a representative of UNICEF.
As in previous years, NGOs with the appropriate accreditation can attend and submit written submissions and deliver oral statements. It is strongly recommended that NGOs coordinate their efforts and prioritise on joint statements as there is never enough time for all statements to be presented.
Two NGO working groups are coordinating joint activities for this session: the Working Group for the Human Rights Council and the Working Group on Violence Against Children. Both groups function under the umbrella of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Find out more here: http://www.childrightsnet.org/
Other events will include:
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21699
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UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW: 7th session [event]
Date: 7 to 19 February 2010
Countries to be examined include: Qatar, Nicaragua, Italy, El Salvador, Gambia, Bolivia, Fiji, San Marino, Kazakhstan, Angola, Islamic Republic of Iran, Madagascar, Iraq, Slovenia, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the new Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this new mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur.
Have you considered submitting an NGO report for consideration during the UPR? Find out how with the child rights UPR toolkit for NGOs
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=21701
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Special Procedures: List of Vacancies and Upcoming Visits [news]
The following positions of the current mandate holders of Special Procedures will come to an end in June 2010:
- Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (Member from the Group of Latin America and Caribbean States) More here.
- Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitary executions - More here
- Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights - More here
- Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief - More here
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education - More here
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - More here.
- Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi - More here
See also the Upcoming Visits of Special Procedures for 2010: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=21669
For more information, contact:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21697
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- HAITI: Separated children risk being sold, trafficked or kept in slave-like conditions [news]
GENEVA (2 February 2010) – “There is an increased risk of unaccompanied children in Haiti, including orphans and restaveks*, being abducted, enslaved, sold or trafficked, due to increased insecurity in the country,” a group of UN human rights experts warned Tuesday**.
The experts, who are mandated by the Human Rights Council to monitor slavery, sale of children, trafficking and violence against children, stressed that “protection of children must be at the heart of the relief operation in Haiti.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Independent Expert on Haiti have also emphasized the critical need to protect children in the chaotic aftermath of the earthquake, and in light of the particular dangers posed by thousands of gang-members and other criminals who escaped from prisons damaged by the quake.
“Unaccompanied children are particularly vulnerable and it is essential, wherever possible, to register, trace and reunite children with their families,” the UN experts said, adding that “during the evacuation efforts, it is imperative to avoid the unnecessary separation of families which may place children at higher risk, aggravate their trauma and distress and hinder their recovery and reintegration.”
The group praised the UN’s establishment of a ‘Child Protection Sub-Cluster,’ which is geared to safeguard children’s rights and prevent violence, abuse and exploitation, and highlighted the efforts of this body to set-up a rapid registration system for unaccompanied children. “One of their key goals is to register children under five, and older girls, children and youth with mental disabilities or serious injuries, as well as restaveks that have been separated from their ‘employers,’” the UN experts said. “We welcome this vital initiative.”
They also urged the international organizations and governments assisting Haitians “to ensure that the work on child protection remains a priority and continues to be properly funded and coordinated under the umbrella of the United Nations.”
(*) Restavek means “staying with” and refers to the Haitian system under which parents who cannot support their children send them to live with more affluent relatives or strangers from whom they are supposed to receive food, shelter and education in exchange for work. The Restaveksystem is prone to exploitation and sometimes leads to children being kept as virtual slaves.
(**) Ms. Gulnara Shahinian, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery; Ms. Najat M’jid Maalla, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children; and Ms. Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children.
[source: OHCHR]
Further information
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