CRINmail 146
In this issue:
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The UN’s failure to respond to allegations that French peacekeepers sexually abused children in Central African Republic amounted to “gross institutional failure” and allowed assaults to continue, said an independent panel in a long-awaited report on the UN’s handling of allegations of child sexual abuse by peacekeepers. Initial complaints in early 2014, the report said, were “passed from desk to desk, inbox to inbox, across multiple UN offices, with no one willing to take responsibility”. Even when the French government became aware of the allegations and sought the cooperation of UN staff, its requests were met with resistance and “became bogged down in formalities”. Crucially, the inquiry report also exonerated Anders Kompass – the whistleblower who first disclosed the abuse. He had been suspended for disclosing an internal report on abuse to French prosecutors. CRIN has produced a short summary of some of the main findings of the independent panel’s report along with the main recommendations.
Last month, the UN celebrated the international day of persons with disabilities. In her message on the day, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, Marta Santos Pais called for an end to violence against children with disabilities. There are at least 93 million children with disabilities around the world, she said. Many are considered to be a cause of shame to their families and a curse and misfortune for their community, all of which puts them at dramatically heightened risk of violence, neglect, abuse, and exploitation. In particular, she stressed that children with disabilities are between three and four times more likely to experience physical and sexual violence and neglect than other children.
To mark the international day, CRIN published an analysis of children’s rights in the work of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in which we encourage the Committee and NGOs to address the full range of rights belonging to children with disabilities.
A few days ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December 2015, UNICEF released new data showing that the number of adolescent deaths from AIDS has tripled over the last 15 years. According to the study, AIDS is the top cause of death among adolescents (15-19) in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally. The new data shows that only one in three of the 2.6 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV is receiving treatment. As a result, “adolescents are the only group for which the mortality figures are not decreasing”. In another study, specific to the Asia-Pacific region, UN agencies warn that the AIDS epidemic cannot be ended as a public health threat by 2030 without tackling the specific situation of adolescents. The report calls on governments to provide access to adolescent-sensitive HIV testing and treatment and develop better data and adolescent-specific laws and policies.
The UN marked the international day of migrants last month, remembering thousands who lost their lives in 2015 trying to reach safe harbour. The UN Secretary-General urged all countries to commit to coherent, comprehensive and human rights-based responses guided by international law and standards. He also urged States to sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, as only one quarter of UN Member States have done so.
In its statement on the day, UNICEF recalled that some 500 children have lost their lives at sea on their journey to Europe.
In September last year, CRIN published a series of discussions about children’s rights and the world’s ongoing refugee crisis in response to the policies, news coverage and aid responses which are so often made on the back of sensationalist stories; hoping to change the narrative around this crisis and bring it back to rights, not charity.
The human right to sanitation is now recognised as a distinct right, together with the ‘human right to safe drinking water’. The UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, together with the Chair of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, welcomed this explicit recognition by the UN General Assembly in a new resolution adopted by consensus. This is a significant step to address the right to sanitation on an equal footing with the right to water, Special Rapporteur Heller said, explaining that lack of sanitation has a knock-on effect, affecting the pursuit and enjoyment of other human rights. In particular, it hampers the right to education: a recent UN study found that more than 443 million school days are lost every year due to sanitation and water related issues; inadequate sanitation facilities are a common barrier to school attendance, particularly for girls.
The Committee Against Torture (CAT) reviewed six States’ compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment during its 56th session:
Austria: The Committee expressed concern over the conditions prevailing in transit reception facilities for unaccompanied children seeking asylum and over cases of unnecessary surgery and other medical treatment with lifelong consequences to which intersex children would have been subjected without their informed consent. The Committee was also concerned that children may be subject to solitary confinement for up to two weeks.
Azerbaijan: The Committee expressed concern over reported cases of ill-treatment and torture used to obtain incriminating confessions and testimonies from children and that no effective investigations have been conducted in respect of such allegations. The Committee urged Azerbaijan to enact juvenile justice legislation including age-appropriate safeguards against torture for children.
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that intersex children are subjected to unnecessary and irreversible surgery to determine their sex at an early stage.
Macao Special Administrative Region of China: The Committee expressed concern over the lack of specific programmes to address the problem of child sex tourism, despite the fact that more than half of the victims identified during the period under review were under 18 years of age.
Denmark: The Committee expressed concern over reports of unnecessary and irreversible surgery and other medical treatment with lifelong consequences to which intersex children have been subjected before the age of 15 when their informed consent is required.
Jordan: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that children are not always separated from adults in detention centres.
Liechtenstein: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that the vulnerability of asylum-seeking women and girls and female migrants may be overlooked and that they may be at risk of trafficking.
There were no mentions of violations of children’s rights in China’s concluding observations.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) reviewed six States’ compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination:
Lithuania: The Committee expressed concern over the high illiteracy rate of Roma children who continue to face problems such as language barriers, early school drop-out and absenteeism, and limited access to secondary and higher education. The Committee recommended that Lithuania take effective measures to prevent human trafficking, in particular of women and girls.
Slovenia: The Committee expressed concern over Roma children’s access to education, the high drop-out rates of Roma children and the prevalence of forced and early marriage among the Roma population.
Turkey: The Committee expressed concern over the difficulties faced by Roma children in accessing education and the limited access to education for Kurdish children including in their mother tongue.
There were no mentions of violations of children’s rights in the concluding observations of Mongolia, the Holy Sea and Egypt.
The 23rd session of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group unfolded in Geneva from 2 to 13 November during which the human rights records of 14 States were examined: Micronesia, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nauru, Rwanda, Nepal, Saint Lucia, Oman, Myanmar, Austria, Australia, Georgia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Sao Tome and Principe.
The final outcome of the session will be adopted during the Council’s 31st session to be held from 29 February to 24 March 2016.
Major reforms of the woefully deficient procedures for appointing a new Secretary-General are now firmly under way at the UN Security Council. With the next Secretary-General to be appointed in 2016, a campaign led by the organisation 1 in 7 billion has resulted in a more transparent appointment process and inclusive procedures being undertaken this time around. The letter sent to governments marking the beginning of this process takes forward General Assembly Resolution 69/321 by soliciting candidates for the post and by outlining some selection criteria. The President of the General Assembly announced that at present, two candidates have been nominated: Vesna Pusic, Foreign Minister of Croatia, and Srgjan Kerim, the former Macedonian Foreign Minister. Current and potential candidates can be found on the 1 in 7 billion campaign website.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child opened its 71st session this week to review the record of 14 countries: Senegal, Iran, Latvia, Oman, France, Ireland, Peru, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Maldives, Zambia, Benin, Brunei and Kenya.
Since the previous session Somalia has ratified the Convention, bringing the total number of ratifications to 196. During the same period, Bahamas, Kiribati and Micronesia have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Two countries – Bahamas and Kiribati – have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Six countries – Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Mongolia and Peru – have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on a communications procedure, bringing the total number of ratifications to 24.
The 24th session of the UPR will be held in January to review the human rights records of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Palau, Paraguay, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands and Somalia.
The theme of this year’s Human Rights Council’s annual day on the rights of the child in March will be “Information and communication technology and child sexual exploitation". CRIN will report live from the event as usual and make sure all rights receive adequate attention.
In April the UN General Assembly (GA) Special Session on Drugs, which will take place in New York, will turn its attention to youth. A pressing issue will be the continued funnelling of children who use drugs into the criminal justice system rather than health services. Will this also be the year the GA adopts the Convention on the Rights of the Child as the framework for evaluating drug policy towards young people?
The Committee on Migrant Workers and the Committee on the Rights of the Child are developing a Joint General Comment on the human rights of children in the context of international migration. They are calling for submissions to be sent by 29 February 2016.
- Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: 28 January 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: 12 February for the review of Costa Rica, Namibia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden.
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: 22 January for the review of Czech Republic, Haiti, Iceland, Japan, Mongolia, Sweden, Tanzania and Vanuatu and the list of issues prior to reporting for Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Canada, Estonia, Honduras, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Antigua and Barbuda.
- Committee on the Rights of the Child: 1 March for the review of Bhutan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Malawi, Qatar and Serbia.
- Committee on Migrant Workers: 17 March for the list of issues prior to the presentation of the initial reports of Bangladesh, Guyana, Indonesia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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Closing
Position: UN Secretary-General
Applications: Not welcome
Job description: None
Eligibility: Have friends in high places
Preferences: Demonstrated ability to follow instruction from China, Russia and the US; backbone discouraged
Climate change. A global refugee crisis. Conflict and terrorism. The world is a mess and more than ever we need a strong UN, led by an inspiring, highly-qualified Secretary-General. A new one will be appointed in 2016, but just five countries - the permanent members of the Security Council - will decide who it will be behind closed doors.
The world’s seven billion people deserve better, and it’s time to demand it. We need a fair, open, inclusive, and merit-based process that puts the needs of the world ahead of the needs of the powerful. That allows all States to select from the world’s best women and men - not just rubber stamp whoever gets through the Security Council’s horse-trading. We need a leader, not a lackey.
Visit www.1for7billion.org for more info or www.1for7billion.org/sign-up to sign up as a supporter
PS: Know anyone for the job? Email [email protected]. Applications from qualified applicants will be forwarded to the President of the UN General Assembly.
This spoof advert published by the 1 for 7 Billion campaign was printed in the Economist in September 2015.
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