8 April 2005 - Children Have Rights Too! No 8
Child Rights at the 61st Session of the Commission on Human Rights
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- LATEST NEWS - PLENARY SESSION: Item 13, Rights of the Child
- CHILDREN'S HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS - Monitoring children's rights
- NGO SIDE EVENT: "Eliminating Corporal Punishment - the Way Forward to Constructive Child Discipline"
- COMING UP - Tuesday 12 April
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LATEST NEWS - PLENARY SESSION: Item 13, Rights of the Child
The Commission started its consideration of item 13, hearing presentations from Juan Miguel Petit, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Independent Expert leading a study on violence against children.
Juan Miguel Petit presented his report on child pornography on the Internet, which is based on information provided by Governments and NGOs after he had sent out questionnaires. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said he had focused on gathering substantive information in order to provide an in-depth, global picture of violence against children, documenting its nature, incidence, causes and consequences in the various settings in which it occurred. He had also sought information on the strategies for preventing violence against children and the responses to it.
The Commission then heared from Representatives of countries and inter-governmental organisations who spoke about their efforts to promote and protect children's rights. National delegations outlined their policies to ensure the promotion and protection of children's rights, problems affecting children in their countries and efforts to overcome them. Problems mentioned included physical violence, sexual exploitation, trafficking of children, child conscription, and child labour. The effects of terrorism and occupation and how they violated human rights of children were also raised, as were the challenges posed to children and adolescents by HIV/AIDS.
Some speakers noted the vulnerability of specific groups of children, especially migrant children, indigenous children, refugee children, and children from religious and ethnic minorities. The Commission also heard a report on the Sudan, presented by Emmanuel Akwei Addo, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan. It then heard NGO statements who highlighted their concerns about children's issues around the world. Full details can be found here.
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CHILDREN'S HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS - Monitoring children's rights
Mr. Jaap E. Doek, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Jaap Doek gave an update about the work of the CRC and an outline of upcoming projects. In terms of general highlights, four new members were elected in February, there are now new periodic guidelines for reporting, and the GA has allowed the CRC to spend more money on the two chambers examining state reports, which will begin in January. There are some General Comments being drafted, including: separated and unaccompanied children, in collaboration with the High Commission for Refugees, early childhood development and Indigenous children.
Regional workshops for follow up to the CRC have taken place, with the first one in Damascus and the second one in Bangkok. The aim is to look at some of the most important issues affecting children in the region. The next one will take place in Buenos Aires, and will include 11 countries. Participants include 3 government representatives, 2 NGO workers, and 1 member of a national human rights institution from each participating country.
In terms of guidelines for reporting: the CRC is trying to encourage States Parties to reduce the size of their periodic reports, and focus on follow up to recommendations. They will also be asked to give action points and reasons for non-action, and explain what challenges remain. They must also provide statistical data, linked to follow up to UNGASS. Many countries do not have statistics, but they must in order to assess progress and evaluate their programmes.
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NGO SIDE EVENT: "Eliminating Corporal Punishment - The Way Forward to Constructive Child Discipline"
Panel discussion for the launch of new report. Ed, Stuart N Hart, with Joan Durrant, Peter Newell and F Clark Power. Published by UNESCO. Preface by Jaap E Doek, foreword by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
Pinheiro mentioned that after talking to children, he understood that they often expect to be punished, they are educated in a manner which makes them think that they deserve it. In fact, 70 countries around the world allow reasonable chastisement. However as it is becoming more visible and talked about, he believes it is slowly becoming less acceptable. Furthermore, more and more parents are starting to ask for alternative ways to discipline their children.
Peter Newell gave a brief description of existing legislation where only 15 countries in the world have given children the same protection from violence as adults, and 70 still allow corporal punishment in schools. Children should have the same protection under law as adults, they should have their basic dignity and physical dignity respected. CP is not compatible with the CRC. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has given recommendations to about 130 countries on this issue, other treaty bodies too, and so have several regional human rights bodies, including the EU, Africa and Latin America.
Joan Durrant, explained that CP is rooted in a belief that in the relationship child-parent or child-teacher, it is the parent or teacher's responsibility to 'socialise' the child, and CP is an acceptable way to achieve this. There is a belief that CP teaches the difference between right and wrong, that it builds respect for the parent/teacher, that it contributes to making children strong, that it is a separate thing from abuse and that it works.
However, research undertaken by Gershoff, where she included all the cases where punishment did not cause severe injury and excluded all those that would. In every case, her evidence showed that it did not work. Evidence also showed that the negative symptoms that children will demonstrate (aggression, low moral internalisation, delinquency, etc.) will continue in adult life.
Stuart Hall talked about some solutions that have been collected from psychologists around the world who offer alternatives to disciplining a child (Brazil, Yemen, South Africa, Philippines) such as: reparation, rendering of services to the community, dialogue, prevention, keeping rules simple, consequences observed in detail, a chance to correct is given.
Resources available at: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org
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COMING UP - Tuesday 12 April
11 - 13, Room XIX: Human rights in Iraq, Interfaith International
13 - 15, Room XXVII: Human Rights Violations and Remedies in the HIV & AIDS Epidemic, Permanent Mission of Poland, OHCHR, UNAIDS, and Human Rights Watch.
Full agenda
Detailed session reports
This update is also available here
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Subgroup for the Commission on Human Rights. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about the 61st Session is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/chr. To submit information, contact Veronica Yates on [email protected]. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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