CRINmail 145:
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Next week the United Nations climate change conference (COP21) will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on how to deal with climate change, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C. The conference is expected to attract close to 50,000 participants including 25,000 official delegates from government, intergovernmental organisations, UN agencies, NGOs as well as sponsors from the private sector.
The international political response to climate change began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the ‘Rio Convention’ included the adoption of the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This convention set out a framework for action aimed at stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to avoid “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” The UNFCCC which entered into force on 21 March 1994, now has a near-universal membership of 195 parties.
Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached yet another new record high in 2014, warning that 2015 is likely to be the warmest year on record, breaching the symbolic and significant milestone of 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial era.
According to UNICEF more than half a billion children live in areas with extremely high flood occurrence and 160 million in high drought severity zones. The vast majority of the children living in areas at extremely high risk of floods are in Asia, and the majority of those in areas at risk of drought are in Africa. Indoor air pollution contributes to 4.3 million deaths each year, and 13 percent (534,000) of these are deaths of children under 5. UNICEF’s report “Unless we act now: the impact of climate change on children” stresses that children will bear the brunt of climate change.
The report draws a climate agenda for children that includes the need to listen to and act on children’s perspectives on climate change and provide children and youth with climate change education, awareness raising and training. Children have unique perspectives on environmental issues and a greater stake in the impacts of climate change. They are important actors in taking action to address climate-related risks and promoting environmentally sustainable lifestyles.
The report stresses that the worst impacts of climate change are not inevitable; taking the needs of children into account in investments in sustainable energy and on climate change adaptation can benefit society, resulting in reduced child mortality, better early childhood development, improved maternal health, and better education.
Look out for a special edition of our English CRINmail and Children in Court CRINmail on this subject later in the month.
Norway is the second country, after Niger, to ratify the Protocol to the ILO Forced Labour Convention No 29. The new framework to fight forced labour and modern slavery will come into force on 9 November 2016, one year after being ratified by two member states. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the new Protocol, adopted in June 2014, brings the existing 1930 ILO Forced Labour Convention (no. 29), into the modern era to address practices such as human trafficking. It complements the existing Convention, adding new measures including provisions on prevention, protection and access to justice, as well as requiring public and private employers to exercise “due diligence” to avoid modern slavery in their business practices and supply chains. To promote the ratification of the Protocol, the ILO has recently launched a new global campaign to end modern slavery, in partnership with the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The 50 for Freedom campaign aims to mobilise public support and influence in at least 50 countries to ratify the ILO’s Forced Labour Protocol by 2018.
The fourth UN Forum on Business and Human Rights was held in Geneva from 16 to 18 November 2015. Children’s rights were discussed in a side event on respecting children’s rights in law and in practice: tools and approaches to fight child labour. The event, co-hosted by the ILO, the UN Global Compact, UNICEF, Save the Children and Terre des Hommes, focused on how businesses and other stakeholders are tackling child labour in supply chains. Speakers discussed practices and approaches that companies have adopted to respect children’s rights and contribute to the elimination of child labour, and to further their commitment to support children’s rights across different sectors and regions.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released a new report on the urgent need to end childhood statelessness. The report gathers the views of more than 250 people, including stateless children, their parents and guardians, and identifies the common problems it causes, including profoundly affecting their ability to enjoy childhood, lead a healthy life, and study and fulfil their ambitions. According to UNHCR, stateless young people are often denied the opportunity to receive school qualifications, go to university and find a decent job. They face discrimination and harassment by authorities and are more vulnerable to exploitation. In order to end statelessness, UNHCR is urging all States to allow children to gain the nationality of the country in which they are born if they would otherwise be stateless; reform laws that prevent mothers from passing their nationality to their children on an equal basis as fathers; eliminate laws and practices that deny children nationality because of their ethnicity, race or religion; and ensure universal birth registration to prevent statelessness.
The first UN Framework on Preventing Violence against Women was launched and discussed at the international day for the elimination of violence against women. The framework develops a common understanding for the UN System, policymakers and other stakeholders on preventing violence against women. In his message to mark the day, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon called for ending all attacks against women and girls, including domestic abuse, sexual assault, slavery, trafficking, female genital mutilation, child and forced marriages and all other forms of abuse. He stressed the impact of violent extremism on women and girls, focusing on specific abuses by terrorist groups and security services.
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief published a report focusing on “the rights of the child and his or her parents in the area of freedom of religion or belief”, recognising that children possess an independent right to freedom of religion and belief.
CRIN prepared a paper to highlight some areas we feel deserve more attention to ensure consistent and adequate recognition of children’s independent right to freedom of religion. These include pressing for an education which increases children’s respect for those who do not share their religion; and protecting children from violations on religious grounds, particularly in relation to apostasy and non-consensual, non-therapeutic male circumcision.
Read CRIN’s paper.
Find out about Special Procedures’ upcoming country visits.
The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will visit Chile, Cyprus, Romania, Tunisia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique and Niger in 2016.
The SPT’s role is to prevent and eliminate torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment of detainees, and it has a mandate to visit all States that are parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). OPCAT came into force in 2006 and has to date been ratified by 80 countries.
During a country mission, the SPT delegation visits places of deprivation of liberty. At the end of each visit, the SPT communicates its recommendations and observations to the State by means of a confidential report. State parties are encouraged to request that the SPT makes these reports public.
Find out more about the SPT and the Optional Protocol.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reviewed seven States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during its 56th session, including:
Burundi: The Committee expressed concern over the definition of homosexuality as a crime in the Criminal Code and by Ministerial Order No. 620/613 of 7 June 2011, whereby children may be refused schooling on the grounds of their sexual orientation. The Committee also raised the need to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in the home and ensure access of all children to the education system.
Greece: The Committee expressed concern over the low enrolment rate of children with disabilities and the incidence of child labour, including forced begging and informal and dangerous work on the streets.
Guyana: The Committee expressed concern over the high mortality level of infants and children under five years of age, the low quality of education owing to the shortage of trained and qualified teachers and the insufficient integration of indigenous cultures in school curricula.
Iraq: The Committee expressed concern over the maintenance of the provision in the Penal Code that exonerates rapists should they marry the victim, as well as other provisions that allow mitigated sentences for violent acts against girls and women committed under the pretext of family honour. The Committee also raised the need to take all measures necessary to reintegrate children affected by the armed conflict into the educational system.
Italy: The Committee expressed concern over the significant increase in child obesity, the high rate of child poverty and the persistence of physical barriers in schools and at the absence of training targeted at teachers and other education professionals on inclusive education.
Morocco: The Committee expressed concern over the increasing number of child and forced marriages in the country, the poor quality of public education and the de facto discrimination against Amazighs, especially in terms of access to education and employment.
Sudan: The Committee expressed concern over the barriers, including language barriers, experienced by asylum seekers and refugees in accessing health care and education, the very low ages of marriage for boys and girls, of 15 and 10 years respectively, and the fact that provisions criminalising female genital mutilation have been removed from the Child Health Act.
The Human Rights Committee reviewed seven States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights during its 115th session, including:
Austria: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that legal counsellors representing unaccompanied minors, who are not yet assigned to a provincial reception facility, do not need to have any training or skills in counselling children or determining their best interests. The Committee also raised the need to combat child trafficking.
Benin: The Committee expressed concern over the persistence of female genital mutilation and the fact that children are not always held separately from adults in detention, that few people, including children, are assisted by a lawyer during criminal proceedings.
Greece: The Committee expressed concern over the discrimination faced by persons with disabilities, in particular with regard to access to education, employment and health services and further regrets the impact of the economic crises and austerity measures on their situation. The Committee also raised the issue of trafficking in persons, including children, for purposes of labour and sexual exploitation.
Iraq: The Committee expressed concern over reports of early, “temporary” and forced marriages and the grave crimes under international law perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and affiliated groups, including killings, abductions, enslavement, rape, torture, recruitment of children, and forced marriages.
Republic of Korea: The Committee expressed concern over the lack of any mention of homosexuality or sexual minorities in the new sex education guidelines and the detention of migrant children who should not be deprived of liberty, except as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, taking into account their best interests.
San Marino: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that article 3 of Law No. 15/1990, which provides for mandatory military service including for minors from the age of 16, remains in force.
Suriname: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that children born to irregular migrant parents are often not registered at birth due to a fear of arrest and/or deportation, putting children at risk of statelessness and hindering their access to essential social services such as health care and education. The Committee also recommended Suriname to take practical steps, including through legislative measures, where appropriate, to put an end to corporal punishment of children in all settings.
- Committee on Enforced Disappearances: 1 December 2015 for the adoption of lists of issues prior to the review of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia. 12 February 2016 for the review of Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia.
- Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: 28 January 2016 for the review of Canada, Kenya and Namibia and the list of issues prior to reporting for Bulgaria, New Zealand and Spain.
- Human Rights Committee: 18 December 2015 for the adoption of lists of issues prior to the review for Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Jamaica, Morocco, Slovenia. 12 February 2016 for the review of Costa Rica, Namibia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Slovenia, South Africa, and Sweden.
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