CRINmail 149
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This week CRIN is at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, reporting live from its 31st session with daily round-ups of each day’s discussions on children’s rights. We will be monitoring where children’s rights are discussed - or left out of debates - throughout the week.
Tuesday saw the reports of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on violence against children, the SRSG on children and armed conflict, the Special Rapporteur (SR) on torture and the SR on the sale of children presented to the Human Rights Council. Several side events also took place, including one focusing on the experiences of child soldiers.
Violence against children
The SRSG on violence against children, Marta Santos Pais, stated that the Sustainable Development Goals agenda calls for gender equality and empowerment, and also includes the dignity of children to grow up free from all forms of violence by 2030. However, the SRSG noted that in 2014, more than one billion children were exposed to violence. Further, she added that migrant and refugee children face abuse and exploitation and are constantly at risk of violence, while also being deprived of education, and often many other rights as well. The SRSG concluded by officially launching her initiative 'High Time to End Violence Against Children', and stressing that the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty needs political engagement and financial support.
Children and armed conflict
The latest report by the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, highlights how parties to conflicts worldwide disregard their obligations under international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. From December 2014 to December 2015, much of the Middle East and North Africa was affected by increasingly complex and widening conflicts. In Africa and Asia, many protracted and relapsing conflicts where extreme violence and deprivation of liberty are features continue unchecked.
The SRSG stressed that respect for human rights is a prerequisite for any effective response to extreme violence and added that children associated with armed groups should be seen as victims instead of being treated as offenders. She added that where children are accused of specific crimes during their association with an armed force or group, they should not be brought to trial before military courts or special courts, which often do not fully recognise the special status of juveniles before the law.
State responses and questions
State responses to the SRSGs largely focused on reaffirming the importance of the Safe Schools Declaration and Children Not Soldiers campaign, as well as highlighting their own continued efforts around information and communication technology (ICTs) and the sexual exploitation of children, cyberbullying and other forms of violence against children online.
Norway raised concerns over the recommendations of the independent review panel on sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic and the failure of the UN to appropriately respond to the incidents of sexual abuse. Norway asked what action the SRSG for children and armed conflict planned to take, and several other States asked their own questions after the first was not answered. The SRSG saved her response for the end of the session, saying that she would welcome the involvement of States via the reporting mechanism already in place.
Zambia, meanwhile, praised its own work raising awareness of violence against children and touted its summits and negotiations on child marriage as examples of its good work, but failed to mention the appointment of a man convicted of raping a child as a symbolic ambassador on gender-based violence or the subsequent revocation of his title.
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Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
The SR on torture, Juan E. Méndez, presented his annual report, this year with a particular focus on issues faced by women, girls and sexual and gender minorities deprived of liberty, arguing that there is a need for a greater focus on gender issues and gender stereotypes in this area. The report notes that the needs of women and girls is often unmet in detention settings, such as in healthcare, education, rehabilitation and visits, and they are also at increased risk of sexual assault by prison staff. The SR's report also showed how criminalisation of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) has resulted in higher levels of abuse and is against best standards and human rights principles.
The SR noted that a country visit to Georgia highlighted good progress on reducing torture in prison since the recent election and added that he would be visiting Turkey, Morocco and Western Sahara, if possible. He also pointed out that his planned visits to Bahrain and Thailand have been consistently postponed, while a visit to the United States has been pending for five years due to refusal to be granted access to all areas.
Sale of children and sexual exploitation
Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, SR on the sale of children, presented her report on tackling the demand for sexual exploitation and abuse of children. She explained that the link between ICTs and exploitation of children has been an important focus for her report and that it was important that the annual day was used to highlight emerging forms of abuse and exploitation of children. She welcomed consensus to develop a global task force to address these issues and stressed that participation and engagement from all state and civil society actors was vital for her mandate.
Her report also clarified that demand for sexual abuse and exploitation should take into account different levels of demand, including those who pay to sexually abuse children, every part of the supply chain and the social and cultural environment which tolerates such abuse. The SR maintained that States must work to address all of these factors and dissuade perpetrators, as well as ensuring accountability, rather than impunity for offenders.
State responses and questions
Some States considered discrimination against women and girls and that against LBGTI persons as "controversial issues". Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Egypt and Nigeria found that the inclusion of such issues in the report of the SR was "suspicious" and violated his mandate. Apparently, the introduction of so-called controversial issues into the mandate of the SR on torture insults the sensibilities of some in the Human Rights Council. Meanwhile, Switzerland noted that women, girls and LGBTI persons face different issues and asked the SR if he plans to publish separate reports to discuss the applicability of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to each of these groups independently.
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Side event: "Born in Battle" film projection followed by dialogue with SRSG
Yangzom Brauen presented her 20-minute film, “Born in Battle”, which is based on real testimony and stories from child soldiers, explaining she wanted to explore their daydreams and their nightmares. SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui emphasised the importance of a rights-based approach for children affected by armed conflicts. She said that children who fight in hostilities must be treated as victims, as they are too often treated as perpetrators and tortured, imprisoned or executed.
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Hearing children's voices
Susila Dharma International Association
Room XVIII, 09:00-10:00
Use of force and social protest
Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales Asociación Civil
Room XVIII, 10:00-11:00
Children in armed conflicts
Child Foundation
Room XVIII 17:00-18:00
Gender perspectives on torture
SR Juan E. Méndez
Room XXIII, 12:00
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Surprising condemnation of torture
It's surprising that Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia say they condemn all forms of torture for all human beings, yet nonetheless wind up on the list of countries where it's still legal to sentence children to death, corporal punishment and life imprisonment. Meanwhile Russia's condemnation of the report by the Special Rapporteur on torture for focusing on gender perspectives and it being a violation of his mandate was certainly befitting of the International Women's Day. And it was considerate of the United States to ask the Special Rapporteur for advice on best practices on supporting girls with mental health issues in detention. We would suggest that not detaining them would be a good start.
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