CRINmail 142
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The Human Rights Council held its 29th session from 15 June to 3 July. Here we summarise some of the developments concerning children’s rights. For more information on the Human Rights Council’s 29th session, you can refer to the detailed agenda of proceedings, view the reports for the 29th session, and read summaries of the meetings that have taken place so far. Other information can be found on the homepage of the Human Rights Council website.
A controversial resolution on the ‘protection of the family’ was adopted by the Human Rights Council last week, despite considerable discussion and opposition by States and civil society organisations. Proposed by Egypt, the resolution seeks to divert the Council’s institutional mandate, focused on the effective promotion and protection of the human rights of the individual, towards protecting the purported rights of a social institution, namely, “the family”. The resolution, presented by a group of States (Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, El Salvador, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia), was adopted, with 29 States voting in favour of the resolution, 14 States voting against and 4 abstaining. The acceptance of a paragraph on children’s rights to replace several problematic paragraphs was encouraging, however, other progressive amendments were not included. The resolution, even with the inclusion of the additional paragraph on children’s rights, remains problematic, putting the focus on the protection of the family rather than on the protection of individuals within a family and the primary responsibility of States to protect these individuals.
Encryption and anonymity enable freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age, declared the UN expert on the right to freedom of expression and opinion, David Kaye, at an event on freedom of expression and assembly. They protect individuals' privacy and security in communicating as well as in storing information and ideas on the cloud, he said. These tools are rarely discussed in relation to children but are also important in protecting their privacy as ordinary citizens and advocates of social change. Read more on children's digital rights in a special edition of our regular CRINmail later this week.
The Special Rapporteur (SR) on the independence of judges and lawyers presented her thematic report on the question of protecting children’s rights in the justice system, focusing on the fundamental role that must be played by judges, prosecutors and lawyers in protecting children’s rights. The SR noted that the “administration of justice, whether in criminal, civil or administrative processes, must [...] be guided at all times and in all matters concerning children by the overriding principles of non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life and development and the right to be heard. Creating and strengthening training and capacity-building programmes on international human rights law and jurisprudence, in particular on children’s rights, for all justice operators is an important requisite for a competent, independent and impartial judiciary and legal profession to be in a position to deliver justice to children.”
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Lavia Pansieri, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented the High Commissioner’s report on good practices and major challenges in preventing and eliminating female genital mutilation. The report noted that the practice is still far too prevalent, fuelled by social norms and harmful stereotypes about women’s sexuality and role in society. In the ensuing debate, many countries and NGOs expressed concern over the continuation of the practice. Speakers agreed that stopping female genital mutilation required a change in societal and individual thinking and its criminalisation by governments.
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The Council passed a resolution seeking to strengthen efforts to prevent and eliminate early and forced marriage. The resolution urged States to enact and uphold laws and policies aimed at preventing and ending child, early and forced marriage, to investigate, prosecute and punish violence against all children, and to tackle poverty and lack of economic opportunities for women and girls as drivers of child, early and forced marriage.
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In a resolution on the elimination of discrimination against women, adopted without a vote, the Council called upon States to promote the equal and full access, participation and contribution of women and girls in all aspects of life, including in cultural and family life, and to reject discriminatory practices and gender stereotypes. The Council had earlier held a panel discussion on the elimination and prevention of domestic violence against women. While some progress has been made in tackling domestic violence in recent years, it was agreed that numerous gender inequality issues need to be challenged in order to tackle such violence.
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The Council held a panel discussion on the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl, which focused on a broad spectrum of situations and obstacles girls face when accessing education. In the discussion, speakers underlined the need to combat obstacles to access to education for girls, including gender stereotypes and harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriage.
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The Council passed a resolution urging States to regulate and monitor private education providers and recognise the potential “wide-ranging impact of the commercialization of education on the enjoyment of the right to education”. During a session on protecting education from commercialisation and the need to safeguard education as a public good, it was stated that privatisation bred exclusion, undermining the right to education as an entitlement. In the ensuing dialogue, speakers stressed that the responsibility of implementing the right to education rested with States and not with private educational institutions, underlining the importance of free quality education for all.
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The Human Rights Council also held a wide ranging debate on the issue of migration, with a resolution put forward by Nicaragua and El Salvador addressing unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents, and an interactive dialogue on the human rights of migrants. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed his growing alarm at the failure of the international community to protect the rights of migrants. The High Commissioner stressed that in particular, the detention of children based on their migrant status constituted a violation of the rights of the child.
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Also on the topic of migrants, during the general debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, a number of civil society organisations raised concerns over the living conditions in the Tindouf refugee camp in Algeria, where harmful traditional practices against Sahraouian women and girls continues Women are unable to contest their children’s deportation to third countries because of Algeria’s refusal to integrate them into its education system. Algeria was accused of failing to respect its international obligations regarding the protection of refugees. NGOs highlighted that women are often perceived simply as child-bearing machines and that sub-Saharan women are systematically discriminated against, often having their children taken away from them.
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The Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2014 Gaza Conflict presented its report in an interactive dialogue followed by a general debate on the human rights situation in Palestine and other Occupied Arab Territories.
Mary McGowan Davis, Chair of the Independent Commission of Inquiry, said the strikes by the Israeli defence forces on homes and families in Gaza in which large numbers of civilians had been killed, including 551 children, were reflective of a broader policy, approved at least tacitly by decision-makers at the highest levels of government. The Commission found that Palestinian armed groups fired an unprecedented number of projectiles towards Israel, the vast majority of which were rockets without guidance systems aimed at major population centres. The Commission was concerned about the prevailing impunity across the board and stressed that comprehensive and effective accountability mechanisms for violations committed by Israel or Palestinian actors would be a key factor in preventing further violations.
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Delivering a nearly 500-page report, the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea described a State that rules through fear and a vast security network that reaches every level of society. The Commission documented instances where children were detained with adults in the same inhumane conditions and without attention to their specific needs. The Commission was also concerned that children under the age of 18 were forcibly recruited for military training. Citing a litany of systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations carried out with impunity by the government, the Commission called on the Council to maintain close scrutiny of violations committed in Eritrea that may constitute crimes against humanity.
The Council adopted reports from its 21st session.
CRIN is compiling children’s rights extracts and will release them next month. In the meantime, you can view children’s rights extracts from reports from previous sessions:
Kyrgyzstan: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Guinea: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Spain: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Kenya: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Guinea-Bissau: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Kiribati: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Lao People’s Democratic Republic: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Lesotho: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Armenia: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Sweden: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Turkey: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Guyana: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Grenada: first cycle children’s rights extracts
Kuwait: first cycle children’s rights extracts
You can also use our library to search for follow up reports to the UPR that NGOs have submitted, detailing whether or not the State is following the UPR’s recommendations from the first review cycle.
The UN published the final assessment report of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although significant progress has been made - for example, the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half since 1990 - about 800 million people still live in extreme poverty and suffer from hunger. Over 160 million children under age five have stunted growth for their age due to insufficient food. Currently, 57 million children of primary school age are not in school. Almost half of global workers are still working in vulnerable conditions, rarely enjoying the benefits associated with decent work. About 16,000 children die each day before celebrating their 9 fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes.
The chairpersons of the 10 UN treaty bodies endorsed guidelines on preventing reprisals and enhancing protection of those at risk, reminding States of their responsibility “to avoid acts constituting reprisals and to prevent, protect against, investigate and ensure accountability for acts of reprisals.”
“It is vital for the effectiveness of our work that people are able to engage freely with us as we monitor how States are implementing the different human rights treaties,” said Emmanuel Decaux, Chairperson of the meeting and of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Palestinian armed groups have not been included in the UN Secretary-General’s (SG) list of parties that commit grave violations of children’s rights during armed conflicts. This is despite the SG’s Special Representative on children and armed conflict’s recommendation to include the IDF and UN-documented evidence of grave violations, such as attacks on schools and killing and maiming of children, during Israel’s operation on Gaza last summer. It has been reported that Ban Ki-Moon was under intense pressure from Israel and Israel’s allies, notably the US, not to include the IDF in the list.
CRIN had reported earlier this year that senior UN officials in Jerusalem have been accused of caving in to Israeli pressure to abandon moves to recommend the inclusion of the State’s armed forces in the ‘list of shame’.
Deciding to list a government or an armed group as a grave violator of children's rights carries significant consequences for the party concerned, such as the triggering of a monitoring and reporting mechanism on violations committed by all parties to the conflict.
The issue of child soldiers was raised at the HRC in relation to the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). A number of countries urged the government to increase efforts to reintegrate former child soldiers into society. The need for free and fair elections along with greater economic stability was said to be vital in reducing the number of children becoming soldiers. Despite the recent release of hundreds of child soldiers, the consensus was that insufficient measures had been taken to protect and rehabilitate children involved with armed groups.
UNICEF and Save the Children published a new report on child labour in Syria, which has been exacerbated by the conflict. Four and a half years into the crisis, four out of five Syrians are estimated to be living in poverty and 7.6 million people are internally displaced. The report explains that “many children are now involved in economic activities that are mentally, physically or socially dangerous and which limit - or deny - their basic right to education. In its most extreme forms - such as child recruitment by armed forces and groups, or sexual exploitation - child labour is a grave violation of children’s rights.”
The Committee on the Rights of the Child held its 69th session in Geneva from 18 May to 5 June to review State party reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its optional protocols from Eritrea, Mexico, Ghana, Honduras, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Israel.
Ethiopia: The Committee expressed concern over reports of excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests and detentions by the federal forces during the April 2014 demonstrations in the town of Ambo in Oromia, causing death and physical injuries to a number of children, the brutal repression of peaceful meetings of children and young people which took place in Addis Ababa in 2014 and the lack of legislation prohibiting corporal punishment in the home and in the institutional child and day care centres.
Ghana: The Committee was concerned that reporting on children in the media at times violates their right to privacy and dignity, the practice of Trokosi (ritual servitude), especially in rural and traditional communities, is still prevalent, and children with disabilities are confined to psychiatric institutions and are being subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment due to cultural and traditional beliefs.
Mexico: The Committee was concerned about the lack of criminalisation of the recruitment of children by armed groups such as those involved in organised crime, the extensive impunity that prevails for those committing violence against children, the fact that perpetrators of rape can escape punishment if they marry the victim, and the restrictive laws on abortion in the majority of the State, which forces girls to resort to unsafe abortion.
Eritrea: The Committee expressed concern over the particularly severe restriction of the press, which seriously impacts on children’s rights to expression, participation and information, and violence at home and in educational institutions, including sexual abuse of girls in schools, food insecurity and malnutrition, and the lack of a juvenile justice system.
Honduras: The Committee expressed concern over the low levels of birth registration in border and indigenous areas, the fact that more than 70 percent of homicides of children and adolescents occur as part of organised crime and drug trafficking, the high prevalence of child marriages, in particular among girls, and the inadequate provision of mental health services to children fighting against drug, alcohol and psychotropic addiction.
Honduras was also reviewed under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC). Issues raised include: the persistence of socio-cultural stereotypes that generate tolerance in society for the sexual exploitation of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and impunity for offences under the Optional Protocol.
During the country’s review under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC), the Committee raised the issues of forced recruitment of children into the armed forces and the participation of thousands of children, some as young as seven years old, in activities carried out by military units and in installations of the armed forces.
Netherlands: The Committee expressed concern over the establishment of so-called “baby-boxes” that allow the anonymous abandonment of children, the increasing number of incidents related to child maltreatment, in particular neglect of children and domestic violence, including the witnessing of domestic violence, and the substantial increase in poverty among children.
During the review of Netherlands under OPAC, the Committee raised issues related to the lack of explicit prohibition of the recruitment of children under the age of 18 years by non-state armed groups and the lack of national policy or regulation that specifically prohibits the export of arms to countries where children are known to be, or may potentially be, recruited or used in armed conflict and/ or hostilities.
Israel was reviewed under the OPSC. Issues raised include insufficient programmes specifically targeting children in vulnerable and marginalised situations, insufficient measures taken to effectively prevent and combat child sex tourism abroad and the low number of investigated cases.
Lao was also reviewed under the OPSC. Issues raised include the lack of specific national legislation which explicitly prohibits child sex tourism, the fact that child victims of trafficking and prostitution are often treated as offenders instead of victims, and that their privacy and safety are not guaranteed during the criminal justice process.
During Lao’s review under OPAC, the Committee raised issues relating to the remaining risks faced by children of being killed and/ or maimed by mines and unexploded ordnance, and the absence of clear modules on human rights education and international humanitarian law in the curricula of primary and secondary schools.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reviewed seven States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during its 55th session, including:
Ireland: The Committee expressed concern over the increase in the number of children living in, or vulnerable to living in,poverty; the admission of children with mental health difficulties to psychiatric facilities for adults; and the discrimination faced by children with disabilities, migrant children, children belonging to a religious minority, Traveller and Roma children in education.
Kyrgyzstan: The Committee expressed concern over the situation of children of Kyrgyz migrant workers in the care of other persons whilst their parents work abroad, who are frequently subjected to sexual abuse; the prevalence of domestic violence against women and children; the significant number of children exploited in labour, including in its worst forms in tobacco cultivation; and that children in boarding schools are reportedly subjected to forced labour.
Mongolia: The Committee expressed concern over the persistence of child labour, particularly in rural areas and in agriculture and private businesses; the prevalence of domestic violence against women and children; and the fact that many schools are not accessible to children with disabilities, especially in rural areas, many of whom do not attend school.
Thailand: The Committee was concerned that child labour is still widespread, including in agriculture, fishing and the informal economy, many children continue to be exploited in the child sex tourism industry; 10 percent of families in urban areas live in informal settlements and are vulnerable to forced evictions and encounter major problems in accessing basic services, the rate of teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions is relatively high, and adolescents have limited access to sexual and reproductive health education and services.
Uganda: The Committee expressed concern over the persistence of early marriage and forced marriage especially in rural areas, the large number of children aged 6-13 years engaged in labour activity, the high rate of teenage pregnancy, the inadequate sexual and reproductive health care services and education to adolescents as well as the limited supply and use of contraceptives.
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Committee Against Racial Discrimination: 13 July for the review of Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Suriname and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
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Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: 31 July for the review of Brazil, Gabon, Kenya, Mauritius, Qatar, Ukraine and the European Union.
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Committee on Migrant Workers: 10 August for the review of Cape Verde, Guinea, Seychelles, Timor-Leste
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Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: 30 August for the review of Burundi, Greece, Guyana, Iraq, Italy, Morocco, Sudan.
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Human Rights Committee: 25 September for the review of Austria, Benin, Greece, Iraq, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Suriname.
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The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons will visit the Philippines from 6 to 15 July.
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The Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances will visit Sri Lanka from 3 to 12 August.
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The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography will visit Japan from 1 to 10 September.
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The Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice will visit Hungary from 1 to 11 September.
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Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will visit Peru from 1 to 10 June and Sri Lanka from 3 to 12 August and Turkey from 16 to 20 November.
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Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association will visit Chile from 21 to 30 September.
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Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants will visit Australia from 16 to 20 November.
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Closing
"The Human Rights Council needs to send an unequivocal message: States must promote the human rights of all members of every family. Protecting and promoting the rights and needs of individuals must be States’ primary concern."
The International Commission of Jurists and Amnesty International's joint statement released prior to the adoption of the resolution on “protection of the family” during the 29th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council.
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