CRINmail 173:
In this issue:
We are currently assessing whether to change the current format and content of these CRINmails, or whether we should stop sending them altogether. We would greatly appreciate a few words from those who do read our newsletters about what is most useful, what should change, or if they already get similar information elsewhere. Please send us your views to [email protected]. Many thanks, and happy reading,
the CRIN team.
Fifteen new States have been elected to serve on the 47-members Human Rights Council (HRC), the principal UN body dealing with human rights, despite ongoing criticism over the transparency of the elections. Each State will serve a three-year term starting from January 2018. The newly elected members are Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain and Ukraine. Qatar was also re-elected to serve an additional term.
Criticisms were expressed about the election process itself, as in several cases there was only one candidate to vote for. There was also controversy around the election of some States, including DR of Congo and Pakistan, where the national standards for the promotion and the protection of human rights fall short of required standards as agreed in GA Resolution 60/251 which created the HRC.
In her annual report to the General Assembly (GA), the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children stressed the inadequate financing of child protection, raised concerns about labour exploitation and trafficking, addressed the opportunity of the SDGs and the advances in States prohibiting corporal punishment. The report also discussed rights violations of children accused of witchcraft, especially orphans and those with disabilities or albinism. The SRSG’s next report will focus on child migrant and refugees.
The annual report of the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict to the GA focused on the need to protect education in conflict zones, and the increasingly common trend of denying humanitarian access to children by both state and non-state actors. Her report also raised the issue of the detention of children and movement of children across borders, and identified the dynamic of children in armed conflict as a “changing beast”. Regarding her own mandate, she proposed working with regional organisations to better integrate child protection considerations into their policies, operational planning and personnel training and to invest in enhancing legal protections for children affected by conflict.
During a Security Council debate in New York, the Secretary-General (SG) and his special envoy on the issue urged countries and non-state actors to allow children access to education and healthcare during and after conflicts. A statement agreed upon by all 15 members of the Council noted that children's human rights continue to be violated “with impunity” in some countries, and stressed that the best interests of children, as well as their needs and vulnerabilities, need to be considered when making any decisions related to children in war zones. Welcoming the SG’s “enhanced engagement” with parties on the issue, the Council reiterated that protection of children should be an important aspect of a comprehensive strategy to resolve conflict and sustain peace. Addressing the Council's day-long debate, the SG noted that children around the world are suffering “enormously and unacceptably,” resulting in “global shame.”
The Special Rapporteur (SR) on extreme poverty, Philip Alston, highlighted that poorer people, including children, are disproportionately at risk of torture, arrest, early death and domestic violence, in a speech on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty celebrated on 17 October. He also stressed that their civil and political rights were being airbrushed out of the picture. “In short, people in lower socio-economic classes are much more likely to get killed, tortured or experience an invasion of their privacy, and are far less likely to realize their right to vote, or otherwise participate in the political process”. He explained how the world was ignoring violations of human rights of the poor, noting that governments, development agencies, human rights organisations, and UN bodies often focus on civil and political rights violations without dealing with the fact that these are interlinked with poverty. He called for a new approach by the human rights community, the development community and governments that gives attention to how often and how, in practice, the civil and political rights of poorer people are violated.
On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty a group of UN experts called for an end to the disproportionate impact of the death penalty on people from poorer communities. They highlighted how people living in poverty are disproportionately affected, being an easy target for the police, not being able to afford a lawyer, and because of the low quality of free legal assistance. Poverty was also compounding obstacles which vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society were already facing on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, or migration status, they explained. While applauding the growing number of countries that have abolished the death penalty, and acknowledging the overall decrease in its use in 2016, the experts stressed that death sentences continue to be imposed in violation of major international standards.
A few day later, UN experts urged Iran to halt the imminent execution of Amirhossein Pourjafar, who was 16 years of age when he was sentenced to death. The experts said Iran was continuing to execute juvenile offenders despite it being strictly prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is party. The SR on the situation of human rights in Iran also urged the Iranian authorities to abolish the sentencing of children to death, and to engage in a comprehensive process of commutation of all death sentences issued against children, in line with juvenile justice standards. Iran has executed at least four juvenile offenders since January, and at least 86 more are known to be on death row, although the actual figure may be higher.
Manfred Nowak, the expert leading the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, warned the General Assembly that a lack of funding continues to hamper its progress. After taking numerous questions about the Study from Morocco, Germany and Switzerland, Nowak said it could not be completed without sufficient funding. He stated that the Study had huge potential to advance the discussion of children who had been deprived of liberty, noting the impact of previous UN global studies on children. He underscored the need to involve States in collecting data on children who had been deprived of liberty, adding that agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR, as well as UN field offices, could support countries in that pursuit. Evidence-based measures could be developed based on the data, and recommendations that outlined alternative ways of addressing juvenile offenders could be provided.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) released its latest report on the State of World Population in which it highlights, among other findings, how inequality in accessing sexual and reproductive health amplifies inequalities. The report outlines that too many women and girls do not have access to sexual and reproductive health care, which means they are unable to receive family planning services or antenatal care, and may be forced to give birth in unsafe conditions. It adds that these girls and women, pressured into motherhood early, or repeatedly, are more prone to maternal injuries, disabilities or even death. They are less able to finish their education or enter the paid workforce, leaving their families poorer and their children with bleaker futures. The report stresses that having the information, power and means to decide whether, when and how often one becomes pregnant is a universal human right. It urges States to meet all their commitments and obligations to human rights, as agreed in international treaties and conventions, including by tearing down barriers that prevent young women from accessing sexual and reproductive health information and services.
Launching a new action plan for HIV prevention together with the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and other partners, UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, explained why adolescent girls were extremely vulnerable to HIV infection, sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. “In many places, lack of access to education, lack of agency and lack of autonomy over their own bodies keep adolescent girls from claiming their human rights”, Kanem noted, adding: “And the poorest girls have the least power to decide whether, when or whom to marry and whether, when or how often to become pregnant”. The HIV prevention 2020 strategy contains a 10-point action plan that lays out immediate, concrete steps for countries to accelerate progress. It also encourages countries to develop a 100-day plan for immediate actions, including setting national targets, reviewing progress made, reassessing national prevention programmes and taking immediate remedial action.
Presenting his first report to the GA, the Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, warned that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people were suffering horrific violations of their rights around the world. Vitit Muntarbhorn noted that these include killings, rape, mutilation, torture, arbitrary detention, abduction, harassment, physical and mental assaults, lashings and forced surgical interventions, bullying from a young age, incitement to hatred and pressures leading to suicide. Muntarbhorn called for the removal of all laws criminalising same-sex relationships, as well as the death penalty for all cases related to the criminalisation of sexual orientation, gender identity and related gender expression. Effective measures to investigate alleged violations, redress for victims and accountability for alleged perpetrators were also needed, he added.
States must step up their work to protect migrant children from sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation, two UN experts said, presenting their joint report to the GA, warning that many children currently suffer sexual and labour exploitation amid “ineffective” action by countries around the world. Children fleeing conflict and disasters face high risks of exploitation - with unaccompanied children facing particular dangers - said the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children and the SR on trafficking in persons, adding that States are falling short in their duty to protect them. They urged States to adopt proactive protection measures for children affected by conflict and crisis, such as family and community based solutions, creating safe child-friendly spaces. They also advised training the professionals working with migrants and refugees to identify international protection entitlements as well as indicators of sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
The SR on the rights of persons with disabilities presented her annual report to the GA, showing how States were failing to protect girls and young women with disabilities from the pain and irreversible harm of unnecessary medical procedures, some irreversible, under the guise of “best interests”. The report looked at how sterilisation, hysterectomies, estrogen treatments and other procedures were being carried out against their will at the request of and with the consent of judges, health care professionals, family members or legal guardians. She also added that sex education and health services has to be accessible to all women and girls with disabilities, to increase personal feelings of control and facilitate autonomous decision-making.
For more information about the 72nd session of the General Assembly taking place from 12 September until 12 December in New York, click the links below:
- programme of work,
- resolutions,
- summaries of the meetings.
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Conducting an official visit in France, the SR on disability rights, Catalina Devandas, expressed serious concern about the high number of people with disabilities living in residential institutions, including approximately 100,000 children. Stressing that there is no such thing as a "good institution", she explained that “they all segregate and isolate individuals from their communities, deny their choice of and control over living and support arrangements, and significantly restrict their day-to-day decisions”. The SR urged the government to close all institutions as soon as possible and to switch to community-based services. “The de-institutionalisation of children with disabilities should be a political priority”, she said, stressing that most children in residential institutions did not receive quality education and recommending that authorities consider a moratorium on new admissions.
The SR on toxics, Baskut Tuncak, visited Denmark in order to assess the country’s human rights record in relation to the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. The UN expert commended the government for its good practices to minimise the exposure of children and women of reproductive age to harmful chemicals. He underlined the Danish leadership in research related to endocrine disrupting chemicals and other chemicals such as phthalates, BPA, parabens and PCBs and their effects on the development of children. Tuncak also highlighted the research on the combined effect of daily exposure of young children to a mixture of chemicals but regretted that this research has slowed dramatically over the last couple of years. Although he underlined the ability of the Danish authorities of stimulating economic growth alongside environmental protection, the expert raised concern over the double standards between what companies are allowed to do inside Denmark versus what they can do abroad and called on the authorities to extend its best-in-class protections at home to operations of all its companies’ activity abroad.
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The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) held its 76th session from 11 September to 29 September and reviewed the compliance of six countries with the Convention on the Rights of the Child: North Korea, Denmark, Ecuador, Moldova, Tajikistan, Vanuatu. The CRC also reviewed the compliance of Guinea, Tajikistan and Vanuatu with the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the compliance of Cyprus, Guinea, Tajikistan and Vanuatu with the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. For more information, consult the main page of the Committee's session.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) held its 62nd session from 18 September to 6 October and reviewed the compliance of six countries with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Colombia, Mexico (postponed), Republic of Korea, Moldova, Russia. For more information, consult the main page of the Committee’s session.
The Committee on Migrant workers (CMW) held its 27th session from 4 September to 13 September and reviewed the compliance of three countries with the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: Ecuador, Indonesia and Mexico. For more information, consult the main page of the Committee’s session.
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) held its 13th session from 4 to 15 September and reviewed the compliance of two countries with the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance: Gabon (in French) and Lithuania. For more information, consult the main page of the Committee’s session.
Call for inputs on the draft Guidelines on Human Rights and the Environment: deadline 11 November 2017.
Call for comments from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the draft General Comment on the right of persons with disabilities to equality and non-discrimination (Article 5): deadline 15 November 2017.
Questionnaire for the report of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights: deadline 30 November 2017.
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: 31 January 2018 for the review of Sudan, Oman, Slovenia, Nepal, Seychelles, Russian Federation and Haiti.
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THE LAST WORD
Ending poverty must go hand in hand with the realisation of human rights
The International Day for the eradication of poverty is celebrated every year on 17 October. Freedom from poverty is not explicitly recognised as a human right in any international human rights treaty, but poverty can prevent the realisation of a full range of children’s rights: economic and social rights such as the right to health, the right to an adequate standard of living (which includes housing and food), the right to education, but also civil and political rights, such as the right to a fair trial, political participation and security of the person.
“Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” has been set as Goal number one of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The realisation of this goal must take into account the corresponding rights of children. Any action to end child poverty should look at the structures that create poverty and go hand in hand with action to realise all children's rights.
Read more in CRIN’s submission for the Child rights report for the review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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NOTICE BOARD
According to a new UNICEF report, about 300 million, or three-quarters, of the world’s two- to four-year-old children experience either psychological or physical violence, or both, by their caregivers at home.
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