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The UN General Assembly (GA) last week held a Special Session on drugs (UNGASS) aiming to assess and debate the world’s drug control priorities, marking the largest drug policy gathering in two decades. The last time a special session on drugs was held in 1998, its focus was on a drug free world. Today, the realisation that this goal is unachievable and in light of its negative consequences on human rights, many States are now pushing for a rethink of this ineffective and dangerous approach.
When the outcome document was adopted during the opening session, many States expressed their frustration with the process and content of the document. Fault lines among States opened up in particular around the continued use of the death penalty for drug offences. A majority of States, from Latin and North America to the European Union and New Zealand stood firmly against the death sentence for drug offences in opposition to Indonesia, supported by China, Malaysia, Egypt, Qatar and Sudan who retain its use.
Unfortunately, many UNGASS observers saw the debates that were taking place as little more than a formality. The outcome document fails to mention many of the key drug-related challenges facing the world today. It does not acknowledge the failure of the current drug control regime to reduce drug supply and demand, and does not fully address key issues such as harm reduction, the death penalty, criminalisation of drug users and drug market regulation. The protection of young people, the underlying thematic focus of this UNGASS appeared to be nothing more than a soundbite. However, though the outcome document was disappointing, many of the country statements were positive and some issues, like the focus on palliative care and the fact that an increasing number of States are taking more progressive positions, was encouraging.
The next opportunity for the international community to try and tackle this issue is in 2019, when the UN Plan of Action that calls for a “drug free world” will be reviewed. After the disappointment of the 2016 UNGASS process, the focus for human rights advocates must be on the 2019 process.
For more information, read the joint statement by CRIN and others for UNGASS (in English and Spanish) calling for States to commit to ending the criminalisation of children for drug use and to respect and implement access to justice standards. It also calls for UN reviews of States’ humanrights records to be used to assess the effects of national drug policies, particularly on children, and that research into the impacts of such policies be incorporated into the findings of the next ten-year plan of action.
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A UN delegation led by the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for Central African Republic is set to gather more information on fresh allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, and engage with local communities and authorities.
Meanwhile allegations of a further 108 cases of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR) have been revealed. Advocacy organisation AIDS-Free World has also received leaked information about a further 41 cases. It appears that the UN failed to make these allegations public immediately, even though MINUSCA, the UN mission in CAR, informed UN headquarters that the “integrated team” had documented the new cases. The Code Blue campaign claims these repeated exercises in evasion suggest a culture of suppressing information is still alive and well at the UN despite reforms being implemented.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 11 cases of sexual abuse by Tanzanian peacekeepers have also been revealed. A UN response team sent to investigate the cases found evidence of transactional sex and sex with minors, together with a number of paternity claims.
Presented as a “new and transparent process” by General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft, the selection of the next UN Secretary-General is under way. For the first time ever during the process, the nineofficial candidates took part in informal dialogues with the full UN membership and the public. They answered questions about sustainable development, peacebuilding efforts, human rights, the humanitarian catastrophes, and the challenges defined by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The President of the General Assembly also asked the candidates a selection of the more than 1,000 questions submitted by civil society from 70 countries worldwide. The final choice of questions was agreed on by a selection committee of which CRIN was a member. “For the first time in this Organisation’s 70-year history, the process for selecting and appointing the next Secretary-General is being genuinely guided by principles of transparency,” said Mr. Lykketoft.
CRIN will be live tweeting from a hustings in London on 3 June 2016.
Calendar of Special Procedure visits.
Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
In his latest report published in March, the UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, expresses concern with several aspects of the country’s legal framework that undermine national and international principles to better ensure fair trial standards. With Iran being one of the last countries in the world to retain the death penalty for children, protection of juvenile offenders was one of the most pressing issues highlighted. The SR is calling on Iran to immediately and unconditionally prohibit the execution of juvenile offenders, defined as individuals under 18 years of age.
Adequate housing
In a recent visit to India the SR on adequate housing raised concerns around inequality and child malnutrition. The SR focused on the need to address problems related to urban homelessness, such as the insufficient number of shelters for street-connected children and the unique forms of violence experienced by women and children in street settings.
Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
During a visit to the UK, the SR on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association warned against a series of measures resulting in the “closing of space for civil society”. In relation to children, the SR expressed concerns about the UK government's counter-terrorism strategy "Prevent", which aims to prevent children and young people from being drawn into terrorism and requires teachers, carers and others to report any behaviour deemed suspicious. “The lack of definitional clarity, combined with the encouragement of people to report suspicious activity, have created unease and uncertainty around what can legitimately be discussed in public,” said the SR. He referred to reports that families are afraid of even discussing the negative effects of terrorism in their own homes, fearing that their children would talk about it at school and have their intentions misconstrued. “It appears that Prevent is having the opposite of its intended effect: by dividing, stigmatising and alienating segments of the population,” Mr Kiai said.
Sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
The SR on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornographyreported that on her visit to Georgia, despite some positive measures and developments, serious concerns remain. The situation of children living or working on the street continues to be a major concern and cannot only be tackled by law enforcement. The SR encouraged national authorities to adopt a new plan of action on the reform of the child-care system to fully accomplish the de-institutionalisation process that began 10 years ago. She also called on Georgia to strengthen its national child protection system and to adopt legislation to regulate surrogacy, protect children from exploitation and child marriage, and to ensure the adoption process is compliant with international standards.
Persons with disabilities
The SR on the rights of persons with disabilities visited Zambiahighlighting the disparities between the rights of persons with disabilities in enjoying their rights. Traditional and cultural beliefs still play a significant role in the way disability is perceived in Zambia with multiple allegations that children with disabilities are hidden away from society by their family members. However, the SR did note that the State has taken several important steps to improve access to education for disabled children, such as through abolishing examination fees for children, making bursaries available and piloting inclusive vocational training centres.
Human rights in Somalia
After concluding his visit, the Independent Expert (IE) on the human rightssituation in Somalia called on the government to enhance the capacity of the judiciary and the police in handling cases of sexual and gender-based violence and to prohibit the handling of such cases by traditional clan elders. The IE found that traditional elders adjudicate sexual and gender-based violence cases as a result of the absence of a fully functioning criminal justice system in many parts of Somalia. He also urged the government to implement the recommendations arising from Somalia’s 2016 Universal Periodic Review before the Human Rights Council, including the adoption of a moratorium on the death penalty.
Special Rapporteur on the right to food
The SR on the right to food raised concerns regarding child poverty in Poland which is more pronounced than for the rest of the population, with 10 percent of children facing extreme poverty. Though the government is carrying out state-run feeding programmes aimed at reducing the malnutrition of children, the SR noted that children in rural areas and poor families are still heavily affected by the lack of access to adequate food and nutrition. Finally, the SR raised concerns over the lack of disaggregated data on extreme poverty.
The Human Rights Committee held its 116th session from 7 to 31 March. It reviewed seven States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Namibia: The Committee expressed concern over the reported prevalence of harmful practices against women and girls, including various sexual initiation practices, such as forcing girls to have sex with their grandfather, uncle or brother; the fact that women and children are trafficked within the State party for the purpose of forced labour and sexual exploitation, including forced prostitution; and the fact that unaccompanied or separated children are treated in the same way as adults seeking asylum.
New Zealand: The Committee expressed concern over the disproportionately high rates of incarceration and over-representation of Māori and Pasifika, particularly among women and young people, at all levels of the criminal justice process; and the significant number ofchildren who suffer physical and psychological abuse and neglect.
Rwanda: The Committee expressed concern over the lack of access for women and adolescent girls to reproductive health services; the need to take the necessary measures to provide alternatives to the institutionalisation of children in street situation, including their placement in family-based settings; and the high proportion of children who are not registered, particularly among immigrants, refugees and people seeking asylum.
Slovenia: The Committee expressed concern over the lack of adequate protection provided to unaccompanied minors, instances of child and/or forced marriage among the Roma community, and the fact that the proposed amendments to the Family Code to prohibit corporal punishment were rejected in a referendum in 2012.
South Africa: The Committee expressed concern over the legality and practice of corporal punishment in the home and schools; the lack of funding allocated to community diversion programmes; and the over-use by courts of placement in Child and Youth Care Centres, where children in need of care are reportedly not always separated from children in conflict with the law.
Sweden: The Committee expressed concern over reports of Romachildren’s limited access to education and health care, child sexual abuse the failure to account for a large number of unaccompanied minors who entered Sweden and have gone missing in recent years, and about the possible trafficking of these minors.
The report on children’s rights in the concluding observations following the review of Costa Rica will soon be available here.
Fourteen reports from the Universal Periodic Review’s 23rd session were adopted during the Human Rights Council’s 31st session. CRIN is uploading children’s rights extracts of the reports.
Nauru was urged to pass legislation increasing the legal age of marriage to 18; take immediate measures to improve the physical conditions and security situation in detention and processing centres for asylum seekers, especially for women and children; and release all children from immigration detention as a matter of priority.
Micronesia was urged to prohibit all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including at home, raise the minimum age of consent to marriage for girls to 18 years, and adopt concrete measures to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities in the private sector and in access to services such as health and education.
Georgia was urged to prohibit all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including in the home; establish a system for birth registration that covers all children without discrimination by reason of race, ethnicity or nationality, sex or religion; improve the accessibility and quality of education, and increase the enrolment rate in education of vulnerablechildren, including girls and children of ethnic minorities.
Lebanon was urged to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; adopt laws to increase the age of criminal responsibility; and prohibit all corporal punishment of children, including in the home.
Rwanda was urged to implement urgent measures to guarantee birth registration for all children born on its territory; eradicate all forms of violence against girls, boys and adolescents; and effectively prevent and prosecute those responsible for sexual violence against children.
Australia was urged to ensure that incidents of violence against women and children are thoroughly investigated and perpetrators of violence are brought to justice; prohibit corporal punishment of children in the home and all other settings; and put an end to racism and racial discrimination, in particular against indigenous people, including the enforced sterilisation and adoption of indigenous children.
Myanmar was urged to adopt measures to end the recruitment and participation of children in military activities; ensure effective registration of all children born in the country, regardless of their ethnic origin and without any discrimination; and ratify the Optional Protocol on the involvement ofchildren in armed conflict.
Saint Kitts and Nevis was urged to ensure that its programmes to combat domestic and sexual violence include measures that target violence perpetrated against men and boys. Saint Kitts and Nevis rejected recommendations to abolish corporal punishment of children in all settings and raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 18.
Saint Lucia was urged to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home; continue efforts to ensure that all cases of child sexual abuse are reported and properly prosecuted; ensure that complaint procedures are effective, easily accessible and of a confidential nature for the victims; and adopt additional measures and programmes to prevent child labour.
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Closing
Joint Special Rapporteur statement on UNGASS
The Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Special Rapporteur (SR) on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, SR on torture and the SR on the right to health made a joint statement stating that the UNGASS outcome document fails to sufficiently articulate the binding nature of human rightsobligations in the context of international drug control and continues to embrace the harmful concept of a ‘drug-free world’. They noted that it also fails to explicitly address the needs ofchildren incarcerated for drug crimes, children living in the streets, children experiencing drug-related violence, childreninvolved in the drug trade, children in families coping with drug dependence, and children who already use drugs for whom services remain inadequate.
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