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January was a busy month at the UN. The month saw the setting up of a high-level task force focusing on the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, the launch of a regional strategy to address the arrival of refugees in Europe and a new report on children in armed conflict. Special Rapporteurs were also busy, and January saw public consultations on sexual orientation and gender identity and the Special Rapporteur on toxics’ visit to the UK.
The UN has set up a high-level task force to develop and strengthen its strategy to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse. This decision follows Secretary-General (SG) António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly in December, when taking the oath of office. On this occasion, the SG stressed that the United Nations system had “not yet done enough to prevent and respond to the appalling crimes of sexual violence and exploitation committed under the UN flag”. He also announced that he will be working closely with Member States “on structural, legal and operational measures to make the zero-tolerance policy a reality“. “We must ensure transparency and accountability and offer protection and effective remedies to the victims” he added.
Alongside Jane Hole Lute, the Special Coordinator for improving the organisation’s response to sexual exploitation and abuse, the task force is composed of holders of official positions within the UN. The SG asked it to develop “as a matter of urgency”, a “clear, game-changing strategy” to achieve “visible and measurable further improvement”.
Allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers have been an ongoing issue for the UN over the last three years. Read more about the issue in CRIN’s advocacy guide on sexual violence by peacekeepers.
A UN report has documented grave human rights violations that occurred in July 2016 in Juba, South Sudan. The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the UN Human Rights Office found that throughout the fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in opposition (SPLM/A-IO), both parties “blatantly ignored international human rights law and humanitarian law.” In their report, the UN agencies related “the complete disregard of civilians by the parties to the conflict given the serious human rights violations and abuses that were perpetrated, including the direct targeting of civilians, along ethnic lines and the extreme violence against women and children.” The report also documents serious violations of children’s rights committed by both parties: “Children were killed, wounded, raped or gang-raped, or forced to flee and live as refugees or internally displaced persons, sometimes separated from their families. The fighting also impacted children’s access to education and to medical facilities.”
The report emphasises the need for accountability and justice for all human rights violations and urges the Transitional Government of National Unity to take action to “break the cycle of violence and impunity”. The State was urged to ensure that “all victims of human rights violations and abuses, as well as violations of international humanitarian law, have access to an effective remedy, just and fair reparation, including compensation and rehabilitation”.
European response plan
The UN refugee and migration agencies launched a new strategy to address the plight of refugees and migrants in Europe. The Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan, presented by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and 72 other partners, is “expected to play a key role in ensuring more efficient operations and a better coordinated response throughout 2017”. According to the UN agencies, particular emphasis is placed “on addressing the specific needs of refugee and migrant children as well as those of women and girls”. The plan should in particular strengthen “efforts to identify and support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, and pilot projects for a more effective response to the needs of unaccompanied and separated children in Europe.”
Noting that more than 25,000 unaccompanied and separated children arrived by sea in Italy alone in 2016, UNICEF also called for urgent and special measures to protect them from trafficking, exploitation and abuse. “Apart from addressing the factors that are forcing children to travel alone, a comprehensive protection, monitoring system needs to be developed to protect them,” the agency stressed.
Preventing discrimination against Muslims
Earlier this month, in a message to an event spotlighting the growing challenges of anti-Muslim discrimination as well as hatred in various contexts, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for drawing strength from the principles of inclusion, tolerance and mutual understanding to recognise the value of diversity. “Diversity is richness, not a threat” he said, highlighting that “anti-Muslim hate crimes, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry are on the rise”.
Similarly, on the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the UN chief stressed that the world is witnessing a “deeply troubling” rise in extremism, xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim hatred. “Irrationality and intolerance are back,” he added. On the same day, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted that “education must be at the core of all efforts to combat anti-Semitism, racism, and all forms of discrimination. Although an important part of that work must be centred on schools and other academic fora, education in this sense must extend far more broadly, so that we can undo the stereotypes which generate so much injustice and prejudice throughout society” he added.
A group of UN experts has responded to Donald Trump’s ‘travel ban’, a set of restrictions on movement between the United States and seven Muslim-majority countries. The UN Special Rapporteurs on migrants, racism, counter-terrorism, torture and freedom of religion issued a joint statement to say that the move, enacted by Executive Order, “breaches the country’s international human rights obligations, which protect the principles of non-refoulement and non-discrimination based on race, nationality or religion”. The Executive Order stops the entire US refugee programme for 120 days, indefinitely bans Syrian refugees, and halts the planned entry of more than 50,000 others fleeing conflict or persecution. Since the order there have been numerous accounts of children being detained, with the President’s press secretary Sean Spicer claiming that children could pose a securitythreat regardless of their age when answering questions about a handcuffed five-year-old. The UN experts added that the policy could see people from the affected States travelling to the US returned without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, potentially resulting in torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement on child refugees that might be affected by the new US policy. “The needs of refugees have never been greater. Worldwide 28 million children have been uprooted by conflict, driven from their homes by violence and terror. They need our help,” the statement said.
In her annual report to be presented to the next Human Rights Council, Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG), urges Member States and parties to conflict to take immediate action to end persistent grave violations against children. According to the report, girls continue to be victims of rape and sexual violence in armed conflicts and 40 percent of children associated with armed groups are girls. The SRSG highlights the needs to make appropriate services available for the reintegration of girls who have been forcibly recruited, married and suffered sexual violence. With an increasing number of operations countering terrorism, the screening of civilians, including children, fleeing armed groups, has emerged as a greater concern in 2016. The SRSG notes that the practice has led to children being deprived of their liberty, in some cases due to the presumption of association with the armed groups they are fleeing.
A new UNESCO report found that an estimated 246 million children and adolescents experience school violence and bullying in some form every year. According to the data from 19 low and middle-income countries analysed in the report, 34 percent of students aged 11 to 13 have reported being bullied in the previous month, with eight percent reporting daily bullying. All children and adolescents are at risk of school violence and bullying, the UN agency reported, but bullies target vulnerable factors, such as poverty or social status associated with ethnicity, linguistic or cultural differences, migration or displacement. Children who have a disability or look different, or young people whose sexual orientation, gender identity or expression do not conform to traditional gender norms are also at increased risk of school violence and bullying.
The report recommends priority actions to address school violence and bullying, including engaging children and adolescents, building education staff capacity and establishing reporting systems.
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Vitit Muntarbhorn, the Independent expert (IE) on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), held a two-day public consultations to discuss his mandate, set priorities and develop effective strategies for the years ahead. Taking part in the discussion were States, regional human rights mechanisms, UN agencies, civil society activists and others. Many participants highlighted that the purpose was not to define new international standards but instead, making sure that the existing ones are being implemented. The IE explained that sexual orientation was “how we feel towards the others” and that the gender identity was what “we feel inside ourselves”. “Everybody has a SOGI”, he said “but people who have a different one are being persecuted”. To address the challenges of violence and discrimination, especially their multiple, intersecting and aggravated forms, based on SOGI, the IE set out five linchpins in order to help frame the priorities of his mandate: decriminalisation, destigmatisation, legal recognition of gender identity, cultural inclusion with gender-and-sexual diversity and empathisation.
During his three-year mandate, Muntarbhorn will submit annual reports to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly. His first report will be an introductory one, and will be presented in March. He will also undertake country visits, with the first taking place in Argentina from 1 March to 10 March 2017. Finally, the IE will receive communications of allegations of violence and discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Read more on LGBTI children who are particularly vulnerable to violence and discrimination.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics, Mr. Baskut Tuncak, highlighted how children and other vulnerable groups continue to be threatened by toxic air at the end of his official visit to the United Kingdom. Tuncak said that there was “an urgent need for political will by the UK government to make timely, measurable and meaningful interventions” in reducing toxic pollutants in the interest of children being able to achieve the highest attainable standard of health. He also noted that some UK businesses are failing to conduct adequate due diligence on the impact of their activities abroad when it comes to toxic chemicals, pollution and waste. He noted that some British companies have been linked to the sale of untested consumer products that have killed children and young women in South Korea as well as a highly hazardous pesticide, Paraquat, which is prohibited in the UK and approximately 40 other countries. Lastly, Tuncak called on the UK to ensure that leaving the EU does not impact the protection of human rights, stating that Brexit should not be seen as an opportunity for deregulation, and that it could pose “a threat of regression from existing standards of protection.”
Three UN experts have called on Iran to halt the potentially imminent execution of a man sentenced to death for a crime he allegedly committed as a child in 2012. Sajad Sanjari claims that he had acted in self-defence, stabbing a man following a rape attempt when he was 15, but Iranian courts recently upheld his death sentence, finding that he had sufficient “mental maturity” to understand his crime. The experts, including Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, said they had received evidence that Sanjari’s trial did not meet international standards, adding: “Any death sentence undertaken in contravention of a Government’s international obligations is unlawful and tantamount to an arbitrary execution”. Iran remains one of the small number of countries to allow the execution of child offenders despite its obligations under international human rights law prohibiting the use of the death penalty against anyone under 18. According to the experts, at least five juvenile offenders were executed in Iran during 2016 and, to date, more than 78 juveniles are reported to be on death row.
The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent have backed a US school district which removed an “offensive” textbook on slavery from classrooms. The group said the example set by the school should be followed across the US and other countries. The book was being studied by children aged nine and ten until officials removed it on the grounds that its depiction of slavery was inaccurate, simplistic and offensive. The book says slaves in Connecticut were often treated like family members, and were “taught to be Christian” and sometimes how to read and write. “The chapter discussing the history of slavery in Connecticut is a distortion of the true nature of enslavement,” said human rights expert Ricardo Sunga, who currently heads the expert panel set up by the Human Rights Council to study racial discrimination worldwide. “Enslaved people in Connecticut, like those in the American South before the civil war, were trafficked against their will, had their fundamental right to life, liberty and property taken away from them, faced similar levels of exploitation, and were subjected to the most dehumanizing treatment imaginable,” Mr. Sunga said.
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The Committee on the rights of the child (CRC) held its 74th Session this month reviewing the reports of nine countries on their compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Estonia, Georgia, Malawi, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Serbia.
Opening the session, Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasised the Committee’s achievements in 2016, including the adoption of two General Comments, on public budgeting for the realisation of children’s rights, and on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence; as well as the holding of the Day of General Discussion dedicated to children’s rights and the environment. She also recalled the adaptation by the Committee of its methods of work, including - among other measures- by adopting a shorter format of concluding observations that identify urgent measures, offering the Simplified Reporting Procedure to a first group of States and offering States the opportunity to give their inputs on the advance versions of draft General Comments. The launch of the global study on children deprived of liberty led by Manfred Nowak was also highlighted by Gilmore who stressed that the voluntary contributions by Member States for the study were inadequate so far, with the exception of Switzerland.
Turning to ratifications, a representative of the Secretariat said that the total number of ratifications of the Convention remained at 196, and the number of ratifications of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography at 173. One new country – Pakistan – had ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, bringing the number of ratifications to 166, while Georgia had ratified the Optional Protocol on Communications Procedure. With the two new ratifications - by Paraguay and the Liechtenstein - that took place in January 2017, the third Optional Protocol now has 31 ratifications and 50 signatures.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) will hold a Day of General Discussion on 21 February 2017 on the draft General Comment on “State Obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Context of Business Activities”. See CRIN’s submission on the draft General Comment here.
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Call for inputs for the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on "human rights in the administration of justice, including juvenile justice": Deadline 1 March 2017
Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities: 27 February 2017 for the review of Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Honduras, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kingdom of Jordan, Republic of Moldova
Committee on the elimination of racial discrimination: 3 April 2017 for the review of Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Kenya, Republic of Moldova.
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Closing
Protecting whistleblowers
Welcoming the commutation of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year sentence for leaking classified military secrets, the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, called on all Governments to protect whistleblowers instead of persecuting them. “Many whistleblowers (...) have served the cause of human rights and (...) are still in prison in many countries throughout the world,” he said. “It is time to recognise the contribution of whistleblowers to democracy and the rule of law and to stop persecuting them”, he added, recalling his proposition to adopt a charter on the rights of whistleblowers.
The right to access information is an essential tool for the public’s participation in political affairs, democratic governance and accountability. Whistleblowers are individuals who inform on a person or organisation engaging in unlawful or immoral activity and who make access to information possible. They play an essential role in highlighting cases of malpractice, wrongdoing and abuse, which would often remain unchallenged and uninvestigated and, as such, deserve the strongest protection in law and in practice. Read more on CRIN’s campaign for transparency and the protection of whistleblowers.
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