CRINMAIL 82:

Daily CRINMAIL: 7 March

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A Day in Children's Rights: 7 March

Welcome to the third of this week's special daily CRINMAIL on children's rights at the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, from where CRIN is reporting. See also: DAY 1: 5 March / DAY 2: 6 March

Full details of the 19th session here.

Sexual Orientation

A "historic moment" is how Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, labelled the first ever UN debate on sexual orientation and gender identity. She acknowledged there would be opposing views, but said when tradition and culture come into conflict with universal human rights, the latter must prevail.

The wrong consensus 

Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) staged a walkout as soon as the session opened, and other opponents to the debate soon added their voices. Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC Group, said it goes against the teachings of various religions and is "unacceptable". The European Union, along with many other States and NGOs, praised South Africa's role in bringing the discussion to the table, calling violence against LGBT persons "abhorrent".

Violence in private 

Irina Karla Bacci of the National Council for LGBT Persons in Brazil, called for more of a focus on violence in private settings, which in Brazil see the greater level of violence against LBGT persons. 

Find out other States' and NGOs' views on the issue here. 

Juvenile justice

Children under 18 should be kept out of the criminal justice system, and the need for accountability should not be mixed up with those of criminalisation, asserted Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children, at a debate on children in detention, organised by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). 

The panelist Mr Juan Fumeiro, from Defence for Children International (DCI), warned that child detainees often leave prison worse off than when they went in, blaming this outcome on the fact that in prison there is no aim to rehabilitate detainees, but is a system solely based on punishment. 

Find out what else was discussed here.

Beyond age limits

Some countries' move to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR), which they justify with claims of public security, is “a step back” for children's rights, said the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Mr Jean Zermatten, at a debate on age limits in juvenile justice systems organised by DCI and partners. He also said this denies the recognition of the different stages of criminal responsibility which determine “specific responses for offenders within certain age brackets”. 

Other issues discussed at the event included: the influence of misconceptions on children seen as criminals, the uniform treatment of offending children without any consideration of their individual socio-economic circumstances, and the consequences of a lack of birth registration for offending children.

Speaking on behalf of CRIN, Peter Newell invited participants to join a new debate on juvenile justice which gets beyond pragmatism and compromise. "We want to support those who believe the way forward is to separate the concept of responsibility from that of criminalisation – and stop criminalising children," he said.

Read more on the debate here. 

Violence against children

The universal ratification of the Optional Protocols to the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a key goal in promoting children's protection from violence, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais, said today as she presented her report to the Council.

Ms Santos Pais spoke about the regional consultations that have taken place, highlighting the consultation on violence against children within the juvenile justice system in Vienna as particularly important. She also highlighted law reform as a key component of any effective child protection system, stating that the number of countries to have prohibited all forms of violence against children is on the rise. Finally, she spoke of the challenge of tackling violence against children in schools. Read about yesterday's side event here.

The session, which also includes the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, continues tomorrow.

Exploitation: 'Protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation following humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters'
Time: 12.15 - 2pm -- Room: XXII

Juvenile justice: 'Children and the administration of justice in Latin-America - a regional perspective'
Time: 12-2pm -- Room: XXII

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