25 October 2006 - CRC CRINMAIL 4
___________________________________________________________
- General Comment 9: The Rights of Children with Disabilities [publication]
- Letter from Jaap Doek to Governments concerning the UN Violence Study [news]
- UNICEF position paper on a unified standing Treaty Body [publication]
- DCI Palestine invited to address the 43rd Session of the Committee [news]
- Children's Rights in the Sudan: An analysis based on the CRC reports [publication]
- Survey on the Concluding Observations for last EU countries reports [publication]
- Children’s Rights and Active Participation Training [training course]
___________________________________________________________
This list provides specific information on the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Updates are sent during CRC sessions and on an ad hoc basis. Please feel free to forward these updates to others who may be interested. To contribute, email us at [email protected].
If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.
___________________________________________________________
General Comment 9: The Rights of Children with Disabilities [publication]
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has published its General Comment number 9 on "The Rights of Children with Disabilities". It is estimated that there are 500-650 million persons with disabilities in the world, approximately 10 per cent of the world population, 150 million of whom are children. More than 80 per cent live in developing countries with little or no access to services. The majority of children with disabilities in developing countries remains out of school and is completely illiterate.
The past few decades have witnessed positive focus on persons with disabilities in general and children in particular, because of the growing attention paid to persons with disabilities in the framework of the human rights treaties and the UN human rights treaty bodies. In addition, a Special Rapporteur on Disability of the UN Commission for Social Development was appointed in 1994. Finally, a new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has recently been adopted. However, there is still a lot to do to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.
In 1997 the Committee devoted its Day of General Discussion to children with disabilities. It resulted in an elaborated set of recommendations (see CRC/C/66, paragraphs 310-339), including that the Committee should consider the possibility of drafting a General Comment on children with disabilities.
The Committee, in reviewing State party reports, has accumulated a wealth of information on the status of children with disabilities worldwide and found that in the overwhelming majority of countries some recommendations had to be made specifically for children with disabilities.
The problems identified and addressed have varied from exclusion from decision making to the severe discrimination and actual killing of children with disabilities. Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of disability. Children with disabilities and their families have the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
Children with disabilities are still experiencing serious difficulties and barriers in the full enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Convention. The barrier is not the disability itself but it is a combination of social, cultural, attitudinal and physical barriers which children with disabilities encounter in their daily lives. This General Comment is meant to provide guidance and assistance to States parties in their efforts to implement the rights of children with disabilities, in a comprehensive manner which covers all the provisions of the Convention.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10710
For more information, contact:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 9000; Fax: +41 22 917 9016
Website: http://www.unhchr.ch
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter from Jaap Doek to Governments concerning the UN Violence Study [news]
Excellency,
The Committee on the Rights of the Child wishes to refer to the report of the Independent Expert for the United Nations Study on Violence against Children (A/61/299), to be discussed in the Third Committee of the General Assembly on 11 October 2006.
The Committee welcomes the report and recalls that in its letter to the Secretary-General in 2001, requesting an in-depth global study, it urged that it should “lead to the development of strategies aimed at effectively preventing and combating all forms of violence against children, outlining steps to be taken at the international level and by States to provide effective prevention, protection, intervention, treatment, recovery and reintegration.”
The Committee commends the fact that the Study was developed through a participatory process and extensive consultations, in particular through the nine regional consultations in which representatives of States, regional and intergovernmental bodies as well as civil society organisations, national human rights institutions and others took active part. In particular it welcomes the direct engagement with children and young people and respect for their contributions in the process led by Professor Pinheiro.
As the report underlines: “Member States have already made commitments to protect children from all forms of violence. However, we must accept – from children’s testimony during the Study process, as well as reflected in research, that these commitments are far from being fulfilled. The core message of the Study is that no violence against children is justifiable; all violence against children is preventable. There should be no more excuses. Member States must act now with urgency to fulfil their human rights obligations and other commitments to ensure protection from all forms of violence” (para. 91).
The Committee wishes to strongly urge Member States to endorse the report and its recommendations, to commit themselves to fulfilling their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its Optional Protocols and other instruments and to meet the time bound key goals set in the report (see para. 116).
In particular, the Committee wishes to support the recommendation that a Special Representative on Violence against Children should be appointed as soon as possible, “to act as a high-profile global advocate to promote prevention and elimination of all violence against children, encourage international and regional cooperation and ensure follow-up to the present recommendations” (para. 120).
Now that the scale and universality of the problem of violence against children, in their homes, schools, other institutions, the workplace and the community has been made more visible and placed on the international agenda, it is essential that momentum is not lost. There must be a high-level, high profile focal point for follow-up as well as appropriate coordination among key UN agencies.
The Committee appreciates that there may be some hesitation over establishing an office of Special Representative during the current period of UN reform and when the mandates of some related special procedures are under review. The Committee considers that such pragmatic considerations ignore the urgency of the situation now placed so clearly on the international agenda.
The Graça Machel Study on the impact of armed conflict on children – also requested by the Committee on the Rights of the Child - led to the appointment of a Special Representative to the Secretary-General. That Office has ensured that that particular issue has been highly visible and significant progress through monitoring and advocacy has been achieved. There is no duplication in the proposed appointment of a Special Representative on Violence against Children, who would be tasked to ensure that there was collaboration and not duplication among the various special procedures involved. The Committee on the Rights of the Child already highlights the Study and its recommendations in its concluding observations on States parties’ reports. It looks forward to working closely with the Special Representative and with key UN agencies on follow-up.
The Committee hopes that Member States will ensure the establishment of the Special Representative with an adequately resourced office. Children should not be asked to wait any longer for concerted and coordinated action to address this disturbing problem and the momentum created by the Study process in all regions must not be lost.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNICEF position paper on a unified standing Treaty Body [publication]
In March 2006, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presented a paper for a proposal for a unified treaty body, and UNICEF just released a position paper regarding this proposal.
The reform of the treaty body system is crucial for UNICEF for various reasons explained in the paper, and UNICEF has followed the ongoing debate on the reform of the treaty bodies from the Malbun meeting of 2003, to the online discussion held recently by the Office of the High Commissioner, which provided insights from a variety of perspectives.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10740
For more information, contact:
UNICEF
H-9, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, US
Tel: +1 212 824 6127; Fax: +1 212 326 7731
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unicef.org
CRIN has compiled an information and resources page on the reform of the Treaty Bodies. It provides background information and documents on the reform, lists position papers from NGOs, governments and UN agencies and provides details about related events. Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10875
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCI Palestine invited to address the 43rd Session of the Committee [news]
On 29 September 2006, a delegation from DCI/PS met with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva under exceptional circumstances. DCI/PS was invited to address the Committee during its forty third session to discuss the violation of Palestinian children’s rights by Israel outside of Israel’s reporting schedule to the CRC. DCI was allowed a special audience with the CRC in light of the urgent situation facing Palestinian children as a result of Israel’s on-going military campaign.
In its oral statement, DCI/PS focused mainly on the situation for children in Gaza under the current Israeli offensive, “Operation Summer Rain”, which began on 25 June 2006.
The statement highlighted the notable trend arising from the data systematically tracked by DCI/PS suggesting that if the death rate among Palestinian children continues to rise on its current trajectory, 2006 risks being the bloodiest year for Palestinian children since the beginning of the Israeli Occupation in 1967. Significantly, DCI/PS fieldwork also indicates that in the overwhelming majority of cases, Palestinian children were killed while not posing a threat in any way to the security of Israeli soldiers or civilians.
In addition to the acute situation in Gaza, Israel has not heeded any of the recommendations laid out by the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning Israel’s implementation of the rights of Palestinian children under its jurisdiction in its concluding observations following Israel’s initial report to the Committee in 2002. Israel has continued the following systematic practices in violation of its international human rights and/or humanitarian law obligations throughout the OPT (non exhaustive):
- Extrajudicial executions, resulting in the killing of child bystanders;
- Employment of disproportionate force against children;
- Arrest of hundreds of children without the most basic due process guarantees;
- Demolition of homes;
- Destruction of civilian infrastructure;
- Creation of restrictions to mobility which hinder the realization of children’s rights from access to education, to humanitarian aid;
- Humiliation of children and their families; and
- Construction of the West Bank separation wall despite the conclusions of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion.
Furthermore, the culture of impunity through governmental inaction to launch appropriately constituted criminal investigations for unlawful conduct by Israeli military/security personnel has been further bolstered by the amendment of the 1952 Israeli Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law which prevents Palestinians from seeking civil compensation for damages to life and property
Despite the 6 July resolution of the UN Human Rights Council to dispatch Prof. John Dugard, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to the OPT on an urgent fact-finding mission, Israel has refused permission for this visit.
In light of this refusal, DCI/PS called on the Committee on the Rights of the Child to conduct a country visit to OPT to assess violations of the rights of Palestinian children by Israel. Such a mission would ensure that the plight of Palestinian children is not overlooked.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10463
For more information, contact:
Defence for Children International - Palestine Section
PO Box 55201, Jerusalem, Israel
Tel: +972 2 240 7530
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.dci-pal.org
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children's Rights in the Sudan: An analysis based on the CRC reports [publication]
The next CRC report from the Sudan to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is due in September 2007. In order for Save the Children Sweden to get a better understanding of the process up to now, an analysis of the previous State and alternative reports to the UN Committee was conducted. This study shows that scarce economic, material and human resources due to years of civil war, drought and famine have seriously limited the authorities’ capacity to ensure the rights of Sudanese boys and girls.
However, the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005 brought promising possibilities and prospects to the war torn country, as well as enormous challenges and expectations. In this new era of peace building the forthcoming CRC report will be prepared. Learning from the previous reports and the recommendations of the UN Committee, there are four key issues that appear as crucial to consider when preparing the next CRC report:
- the importance of inclusive participation in the reporting process;
- the need for accurate and current data;
- the significance of an inclusive report, which incorporates all aspects and all regions of the Sudan; and
- the wide distribution and availability of the report once it is finalised.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10528
For more information, contact:
Save the Children Sweden - Eastern and Central Africa Region
PO Box 19423, 202KNH Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20 2711 282
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.rb.se
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey on the Concluding Observations for last EU countries reports [publication]
During its Semester of EU Presidency (1 January to 31 June 2006), Austria decided to hold a meeting on Childhood in Europe on 2nd May 2006 in Vienna. For this event, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection entrusted ChildONEurope (the European Network of National Observatories on Childhood) with the mandate of carrying out the survey on the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the last national reports discussed by the 25 EU Member Countries, two EU Accession Countries (Bulgaria and Romania), and two Candidate Countries (Croatia and Turkey).
The overall objective of the survey was to support the discussion about mainstreaming children's rights in the policies implemented at the national level within the 25 EU Member Countries and the four EU Accession and Candidate Countries on the basis of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this framework, the aim of the comparative analysis of the 29 Concluding Observations is to identify the issues most frequently examined by the Committee, the points of strength and of weakness of the CRC implementation in the EU Countries policies.
This survey does not make a comparison of the national policies on child rights, but a comparison of the identified specific issues. This analysis aims, on the one hand, at sharing best practices on the identified points of strength and on the other at pointing out the issues on which the EU Countries can improve their intervention policies.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10708
For more information, contact:
European Network of National Observatories on Childhood, ChildONEurope
c/o Italian National Childhood and Adolescence Documentation and Analysis Centre
Istituto degli Innocenti, Piazza SS Annunziata 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.childoneurope.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Rights and Active Participation Training [training course]
North South Projects provides ad hoc training to raise awareness of children’s rights and active participation. It is available as either a two-hour introductory taster session, or as a stand-alone one- or two-day training workshop.
The 'Children’s rights and active participation training' offers the following learning outcomes:
-
Knowledge of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and child rights programming as a framework from which to work
-
An understanding of the values, ethos and principles of involving all children and young people
-
An understanding of the importance of participation as a process and tool for empowerment
-
Development of simple plans of action that can be integrated into participants' ongoing programmes and projects
-
Identifying and experiencing fun activities that participants can use with their own clients.
'Children’s rights and active participation training' explores the legislative and theoretical frameworks for the importance of children and young people’s participation. It also explores in more detail children’s participation within particular settings and ways in which the participation agenda can be best moved forward.
The training makes use of a number of interactive exercises and case studies as well as information input sessions. It is constructed around the topics highlighted above, but also aims to cover organisations’ individual training needs.
The training has been developed from working with a number of different audiences, including local authorities and national organisations working with children and young people. It is primarily focused at youth workers, teachers or policy/strategy makers, but can be adapted to meet particular client needs.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10865
For more information, contact:
Duncan Little: [email protected]
Elana Friedman: [email protected]
Website: http://www.northsouthprojects.co.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Committee session: 44th Session (15 January - 2 February 2007)
Chile, Honduras, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Suriname
OPSC: Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan
OPAC: Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan
___________________________________________________________
The CRC CRINMAIL is an electronic mailing list of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). CRIN does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to the CRINMAIL. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view list archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
___________________________________________________________
