In this issue:
After an extremely busy March for children’s rights at the UN, April is generally a quieter time. But important discussions and decisions have still happened in the last month, and some of these - including the introduction of a UN complaints procedure for children, and child sexual abuse and the Holy See on the Committee Against Torture’s agenda - are detailed in this edition of the Children’s Rights at the UN CRINmail.
Children can now bring human rights cases to the UN
Children can now bring complaints about violations of their human rights to the UN, after a new treaty entered into force earlier this month.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (OP3 CRC) enables children and their representatives to submit complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child about abuses of rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its two other (thematic) optional protocols (one on children in armed conflict; the other on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution).
OP3 CRC entered into force on 14 April, three months after it received its 10th ratification by a State. The following States have ratified the treaty: Albania, Bolivia, Gabon, Germany, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Slovakia and Costa Rica. The Committee on the Rights of the Child will only be able to hear complaints that occurred, or are ongoing, after the treaty entered into force (i.e. 14 April 2014), and only after the victim has exhausted all domestic remedies (including complaining to the police, or using courts or ombudspersons).
Only children living in States that have ratified OP3 CRC can use the complaints procedure. Flore-Anne Bourgeois, Co-Chair of NGO coalition Ratify OP3CRC, said: “We urge all States to show their commitment to promoting and protecting children's rights by ratifying this new treaty without delay so more children can access international justice.”
Under OP3 CRC, the Committee on the Rights of the Child can hear three types of complaints:
1. Individual complaints by individuals or groups alleging rights violations;
2. An inquiry into alleged large scale abuse, which the Committee can initiate itself, and does not require a specific child or group of children to bring a case; and
3. Inter-State communications, where one State lodges a complaint against another about its adherence to children’s rights. Both States have to be party to OP3 CRC.
For more on the history, successes and limitations of OP3 CRC - and most importantly, how it can be now used to promote and protect children’s rights - see the below:
Freedom of expression concerns: repressive regimes elected to UN NGO body
The role of children's rights advocates depends on the freedom to speak out. This week, this freedom took a turn for the worst as a string of repressive regimes, including Iran, Mauritania and Azerbaijan were elected to a Committee on NGOs that determines civil society access to the UN.
The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), which works to support human rights defenders and strengthen human rights systems, is calling for more democratic governments that value civil society to run for a seat on the body, which is a standing committee of the Economic and Social Council. They say that the election of repressive States to the Committee will further restrict human rights NGOs’ participation in UN processes. Read a list of the new members.
CRIN monitors restrictions on children's rights advocates' freedom to speak out as part of our campaign to promote transparency in the appointment of candidates to the top jobs in children's rights.
Child sexual abuse: Holy See up for UN Committee Against Torture review
The UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) is reviewing the Holy See for its adherence to the Convention Against Torture on 5 May 2014 (Monday) as part of UNCAT’s 52nd session (28 April - 23 May).
A number of NGOs have called on the UNCAT to consider rape and other forms of child sexual abuse as part of the Holy See’s review.
Rape of children in the Catholic Church has been rife for decades, if not centuries, and is defined as torture under international law if carried out by, or at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence by public officials. CRIN also believes that other forms of child sexual abuse committed with the same level of consent or acquiescence by public officials are violations of the Convention Against Torture because such acts amount to cruel, inhuman and/or degrading treatment.
NGOs have called on the UN body to urge the Holy See to remove all abusive priests from the priesthood and report them to law enforcement authorities, offer full disclosure on what the State knows regarding child sexual abuse in the Church, and establish a complaints procedure for victims, among other recommendations.
For more information on this read the alternative reports submitted by the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and CRIN (a summary of this report is also available), as well as the alternative report submitted by Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). More alternative reports can be found on UNCAT’s 52nd session page.
You can follow the Holy See’s review on Monday 5 April (starting 10am Geneva time) via the treaty body webcast and #VaticanAccountability on Twitter.
The UNCAT review comes after the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child rebuked the Holy See earlier this year for its role in the Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal.
Other issues raised by NGOs as part of the Holy See’s UNCAT review include the State’s condoning of corporal punishment against children (see the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children’s alternative report). The Centre for Reproductive Rights argues in its alternative report that the Holy See’s stance on abortion and conception, as well as the State’s interference with policy reform in other countries, amounts to a violation of the Convention.
In addition to the Holy See, UNCAT will review the following States for their adherence to the Convention Against Torture: Cyprus, Lithuania, Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Uruguay and Guinea (the latter without a State report).
Read more about how UNCAT and other treaty bodies work. You can find all relevant documents for those State reviews on UNCAT's 52nd session page, and more information on NGO involvement can be found on our session page.
Further information:
UN treaty body reform resolution passes
After a long and difficult process, the UN General Assembly finally passed a resolution (A/68/L.37) earlier this month that aims to “streamline and harmonise the work” of the 10 UN treaty bodies.
UN treaty bodies are comprised of independent experts who periodically review how countries implement the human rights conventions they have ratified. Examples are the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee Against Torture and the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Read more about treaty bodies and how they work in our guide to the UN.
What has become know as the “the treaty body strengthening process” started in 2009 because of the strain put on the UN system by an increased number of human rights conventions and growing State ratification.
The resolution provides for an additional 20 weeks meeting time per year for treaty bodies, increased technical assistance from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to support States in meeting their treaty obligations, and more videoconferencing. However, interpretation and translation will be reduced to a maximum of three languages from the current six (with a fourth provided in exceptional circumstances).
While broadly welcoming the resolution, some NGOs following the process have criticised States for using the process to attempt to weaken treaty bodies - rather than strengthen them - and have highlighted where the resolution falls short, such as a lack of strong language condemning reprisals against human rights defenders and no reaffirmation of the obligation on States to provide people with access to treaty bodies.
“We welcome the adoption of this modest but important resolution,” says Madeleine Sinclair, Legal Counsel at the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR). “Despite the fact that the treaty body system is facing real and grave challenges, the process was marked at times by the efforts of some States to attack and weaken these important bodies,” she continues, referring to suggestions from States to infringe the independence of treaty bodies, such as imposing a code of conduct.
Treaty body update: April session outcomes
As mentioned in the last edition of this CRINmail, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (6th session) and the Human Rights Committee (110th session) held sessions in March and concluding observations have been released.
Germany and the Netherlands were reviewed for the adherence to the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (CED) during CED’s 6th session.
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CED recommended Germany enact specific legislation to outlaw crimes stated in the treaty, including the wrongful removal of children, and the falsification, concealment and destruction of documents regarding a child’s true identity.
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For the Netherlands, CED noted its deep concern that, despite previous recommendations by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to prevent disappearances of unaccompanied children from asylum centres, reports shows that in 2011 a large number of children left such centres “without a trace”. The Committee urged the Netherlands to thoroughly investigate the disappearances of these children. CED also expressed concerns about illegal adoptions in the Netherlands.
Extracts from the recent Human Rights Committee concluding observations are currently being uploaded to our website, with Chad pending (in French).
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held its 11th session between 31 March and 11 April, and Azerbaijan, Costa Rica and Sweden were reviewed. The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families was also in session between 31 March and 11 April (20th session), with El Salvador, Mali, Philippines, and Uruguay under the spotlight. Children’s rights extracts of these concluding observations will be on our website shortly.
Honduras: UN expert urges State to protect children from sale and sexual abuse
The number of children subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse, sale, trafficking, early pregnancy and child labour have increased in the two years since the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Najat M’jjd, last visited the country, according to the UN expert after her April visit.
Despite some attempts made, Ms M’jjd has urged Honduras to immediately adopt measures to protect all children from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation. One area of concern for Ms M’jjd was a government initiative called “Guardians of the homeland” which tasks armed forces with training vulnerable children in values. More on this story.
Upcoming events and advocacy opportunities
In addition to the Committee Against Torture (see above), the 52nd session of Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is currently underway (28 April - 23 May). A host of States are up for review: Armenia, China, China (Hong Kong), China (Macau), Czech Republic, El Salvador, Indonesia, Lithuania, Monaco, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The following special procedure visits are due during May:
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Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination will visit Comoros between 8 and 16 May.
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The Special Rapporteur (SR) on the human rights of internally displaced persons will visit Azerbaijan from 18 to 24 May.
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The SR on the human rights of migrants will visit Sri Lanka between 19 and 26 May.
Universal Periodic Review - 19th session preview
The UPR’s 19th session is taking place between 28 April and 9 May, with the human rights records of the below States under the spotlight (the links below are to the countries’ pages in the Children’s Rights Wiki, which include persistent violations of children’s rights by the States). You can see our session page and the UPR’s 19th session page for more details.
Call for information - reprisals against human rights defenders
The Secretary-General is preparing a report for the Human Rights Council’s September 2014 on reprisals against persons cooperating with UN human rights mechanisms. A call for contributions has been put out, and the deadline for submissions is 23 May. Further information, including what to submit and how.
UN theatre
In an ironic turn of events at the UPR, Saudi Arabia and Russia - two States with more than questionable human rights records - have criticised Norway for its adherence to human rights.
Saudi Arabia accused Norway for failing to protect its Muslim citizens and the prophet Mohammed and for “increasing cases of domestic violence, rape crimes and inequality in riches”.
Russia called for Norway to step up efforts against expressions of religious intolerance and criticised the country’s child welfare system. More on this latest piece of UN theatre.
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