3 September 2007 - CRIN Children and Armed Conflict 111
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THE RIGHT TO KNOW: Missing Persons - A hidden tragedy [report]
UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: 46th Session [event]
SCOTLAND: Children of asylum seekers to be granted equal access to education [news]
LEBANON/ ISRAEL: Hezbollah’s Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War [report]
COTE D'IVOIRE: UN envoy visit to strengthen protection of children under peace agreement [news]
LAW: Armed Conflict, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law [course]
AWARDS: Ending violence against refugee and internally displaced women and girls [news]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
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Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at [email protected]. Adobe Acrobat is required for viewing some of the documents, and if required can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html 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.
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THE RIGHT TO KNOW: Missing Persons - A hidden tragedy [report]
[30 August 2007] - The international community has been criticised for not doing enough to locate those missing worldwide as a result of conflicts and other violence.
The report, Missing Persons - A hidden Tragedy, by the International Committee of the Red Cross highlighted what it called a hidden tragedy.
It called on those responsible for detaining civilians to allow families to obtain information about their loved ones' condition and whereabouts.
The ICRC report, released on 30 August, coincided with the International Day of the Disappeared.
There is no exact figure for the number of missing worldwide. In Iraq, official estimates put the number of missing in conflicts since 1980 at between 375,000 and one million.
There are still more than 17,000 people missing from the wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia more than 10 years ago, the ICRC said in a statement.
Tens of thousands of people are also unaccounted for across Africa. The ICRC said about 22,000 people have been declared missing in Angola alone.
Day-to-day uncertainty
ICRC director of operations, Pierre Kraehenbuhl, said the suffering for families was immense.
"We have a figure from the morgue in Baghdad, 22,000 bodies have been brought to that morgue since early 2006. Half of those are unidentified.
"Multiply that by the number of relatives that remain without any news - you have an idea of how many people are there day-to-day facing the uncertainty of these disappearances."
Without confirmation that relatives are dead, families can live years in poverty with no access to pensions and no right to sell property.
The ICRC said that under international law, people should not go missing - deaths in battle should be recorded, detainees registered and families informed.
Mr Kraehenbuehl also insisted that political prisoners had the right to humane treatment, including contact with their families.
[News source: BBC]
"The right to know the fate of a relative is a fundamental concern of international humanitarian law and human rights law and it must be respected. The legal obligations are laid out in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, along with the new International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. International law is clear: it is illegal to make people disappear, and next-of-kin must be informed about captured, wounded or deceased relatives without delay. The challenge is to ensure that States adopt and implement such rules. If everyone respected international humanitarian law there would be no missing persons in armed conflicts." María Teresa Dutli, head of the ICRC’s Advisory Service on IHL.
For more information, contact:
International Committee of the Red Cross
19 avenue de la Paix, CH 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Website: http://www.icrc.org
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14747&flag=report
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UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: 46th Session [event]
The 46th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child will take place from 17 September to 5 October 2007 at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Committee will review Venezuela's report on its implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Sierra Leone's report was also due to be examined, but this has been postponed due to the current situation in the run-up to the country's elections.
The Committee will also review reports on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) from Bulgaria, France and Spain and reports on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) for Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Qatar, Spain and Syrian Arab Republic.
A special CRC news page devoted to the activities of the Committee on the Rights of the Child has been set up on the CRIN website in partnership with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The page provides summaries of the Committee sessions by country, UN press releases, NGO press releases, information about the Day of General Discussion, Decisions, General Comments and other activities of the Committee.
States Parties reports submitted by governments to the Committee on the Rights of the Child are available in English, French and Spanish on the website of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Word and PDF formats.
Alternative Reports submitted by NGOs to the Committee on the Rights of the Child are made available on the CRIN website in partnership with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The reports can also be searched by country, Committee session or by organisation. Note that alternative reports are posted on the CRIN website as they are received. No Alternative reports on the OPAC have been submitted for this session.
The reports can also be searched by country, Committee session or by organisation. Note that Alternative Reports are posted on the CRIN website as they are received.
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=13801&flag=event
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SCOTLAND: Children of asylum seekers to be granted equal access to education [news]
Children of asylum families are to have the same access to full time further and higher education as Scottish children under plans announced this month.
Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the Scottish government was responding to concerns raised by HM Inspectorate of Education and universities on educational prospects for young people in asylum families by:
- From autumn 2007, giving asylum children who have spent at least three years in Scottish schools the same access as Scottish children to full time further and higher education
- Working with Glasgow City Council to implement recent HMIE recommendations on providing nursery places for three and four year-old children of asylum families
Ms Hyslop said, "This government believes that regardless of where they come from and why any child living in Scotland should receive care, protection and education.
"We recognise our responsibility for all children in Scotland, our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we are clear that the welfare and rights of all children is paramount. It is enshrined in Scots law and that is the principle of our consideration of asylum matters.
"We are determined to work with the Home Office to make progress on the key issues that affect the welfare of children like dawn raids, the detention of children at Dungavel and the review of cases of families who arrived before December 2006. I am seeking an early meeting on these matters and have already conveyed these views to Home Office Ministers.
"However, we are acting now to improve the prospects for asylum children, ensuring they are treated fairly and that their rights to care, protection and education are respected. We are moving quickly to increase access to full-time further and higher education and nursery places.
"Many asylum children and young people, through no fault of their own, are left in limbo for years awaiting decisions about their status. They and their families often become fully integrated members of the local community and should be able to contribute.
"That's why we will also talk to the Home Office about the right to work for the asylum community. We must do everything we can to bring an end to the uncertainty for the 1400 or so families coping with unacceptable uncertainty while awaiting decisions that profoundly affect their future."
Ms Hyslop also set out key issues and changes that the Scottish government will actively take up with the Home Office to improve the experience of asylum families in Scotland, including:
- Seeking full implementation of the March 2006 agreement
- Exploring the detail of the forthcoming legacy review and making it clear that the Scottish Government wants all families with children here before March 2006, other than those involved in criminal or fraudulent activity, to be granted leave to remain;
- Pressing for alternatives to dawn raids and the detention of children and their families to be explored vigorously, for example, considering use of hostel accommodation as an alternative to detention;
- Asking them to reconsider the right to work for asylum seekers;
- Looking at how Scottish legislation can protect children within UK Immigration laws.
The Scottish contribution to the UK report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was also published recently. Under the Convention, asylum children are expected to have the same rights as Scottish children (see Article 22).
There are currently around 1400 asylum families in Scotland. Most are Glasgow-based.
HMIE recently published a report looking at services for asylum children in Glasgow. Inspectors found that most people got appropriate support. The report also recommended that the Executive should consider the feasibility of responding to the aspirations among asylum seeker children to undertake degree level study.
Universities Scotland (US) have called for asylum children who attend Scottish secondary schools to have the same rights to further and higher education as Scottish domiciled students.
The agreement between the Scottish Executive and US is that US will encourage those universities affected to accept young asylum seekers with conditional or unconditional places as lower fee level students for this academic year (around 18 students) if they meet the relevant criteria.
The Executive will move to resolve the issue from 08/09, by regulating to allow any pupil who has been living in Scotland for three years or more to be classed as a "home" student. Alternative administrative arrangements are being put in place to reimburse universities the equivalent of lower level fees for the academic year 07/08 if legislation is not in place in time, and have reassurance from the Scottish Funding Council that this can be done, if necessary, through individual negotiation with each institution affected.
Immigration is a reserved matter and responsibility rests with the Home Office. Decisions on individual cases and removals are dealt with by the Border and Immigration Agency. The BIA has a Scottish office, based in Glasgow.
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14750&flag=news
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LEBANON/ ISRAEL: Hezbollah’s Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War [report]
[BEIRUT, 29 August 2007] - A new 128-page report, Civilians Under Assault: Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel in the 2006 war, criticises Hezbollah for its conduct during the 2006 war with Israel, in particular for its practice of deliberately and indiscriminately firing rockets toward Israeli civilian areas.
During its armed conflict with Israel from 12 July until 14 August 2006, Hezbollah claimed at various times that its rockets were aimed primarily at military targets in Israel, or that its attacks on civilians were justifiable as a response to Israel’s indiscriminate fire into southern Lebanon and as a tool to draw Israel into a ground war. In fact, the former claim is refuted by the large number of rockets that hit civilian objects far removed from any military targets, whereas the latter arguments are inadmissible under international humanitarian law.
Hezbollah forces in Lebanon fired thousands of rockets into Israel, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian structures. Hezbollah’s means of attack relied on unguided weapons that had no capacity to hit military targets with any precision. It repeatedly bombarded cities, towns, and villages without any apparent effort to distinguish between civilians and military objectives. In doing so, Hezbollah, as a party to an armed conflict governed by international humanitarian law, violated fundamental prohibitions against deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
This report focuses on Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on Israel. It is based on on-site research and a review of documentary evidence. Human Rights Watch (HRW) have addressed other aspects of the conflict - including violations by Israel in its conduct of hostilities—in other reports. HRW addresses additional aspects of the conflict, including allegations that Hezbollah repeatedly used civilian “shields,” in a forthcoming report, Accounting for the Dead: Civilian Deaths in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. At all times, HRW seek to measure each party’s compliance with its obligations under the laws of war, rather than measure it against the conduct of the other party. To criticise one party for violating international humanitarian law does not excuse or mitigate the violations committed by the other party.
Hezbollah rockets killed 43 civilians and 12 soldiers inside Israel during the course of the 34-day conflict. Thirty-three civilians suffered serious physical injuries, 68 suffered moderate physical injuries, and 1,388 suffered light physical injuries, according to official Israeli statistics. Hospitals also treated 2,773 civilians for shock and anxiety.
Rockets killed and injured Israelis in their homes and workplaces, and on the streets of villages and cities. Rockets struck hospitals in Nahariya, Safed, and Mazra, an elementary school in Kiryat Yam, and a post office in Haifa. Such attacks on civilians and civilian structures were often the foreseeable consequence of Hezbollah’s attacks, and, as its statements indicate, were at times intended.
Israeli authorities acknowledged that Hezbollah was targeting military objects in northern Israel part of the time. However, citing national security, they have not disclosed details of such attacks or allowed independent monitors to visit those locations. HRW thus cannot say with certainty how often Hezbollah rocket attacks hit military targets or landed in the near vicinity of such targets, or how the number of such attacks compares with the number of rockets that hit civilian areas.
However, the legality of attacks under international humanitarian law must be measured attack by attack, so the fact that some attacks may have hit military targets does not in itself justify other attacks that did not.
Hezbollah rockets repeatedly hit populated areas in Israel. In some of those cases, HRW could find no evidence there had been a legitimate military target in the vicinity at the time of the attack, suggesting it was a deliberate attack on civilians. In other cases, HRW found that there had been a military object in the vicinity but, even assuming Hezbollah had been intending to hit the military target instead of civilians, the unguided rockets it used was incapable of distinguishing between the two. At the time of attack, Hezbollah also failed to take all feasible precautions to minimise loss of civilian life, such as by issuing “effective advance warning...of attacks which may affect the civilian population.”
Based on an assessment of numerous declarations and 89 wartime communiqués issued by Hezbollah about its attacks in Israel, HRW also conclude that, although Hezbollah leaders and spokesmen often expressed support for the principle of sparing civilians on both sides from attack, they both repeatedly threatened to attack Israeli towns and settlements and claimed responsibility for specific attacks on Israeli towns and settlements, alongside the claims they made of hitting specific military targets inside Israel. Hezbollah’s attacks in violation of the laws of war, when combined with such statements indicating criminal intent, is strong evidence that some Hezbollah members and commanders were responsible for war crimes.
For more information, contact:
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299, USA
Website: http://www.hrw.org
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14751&flag=report
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COTE D'IVOIRE: UN envoy visit to strengthen protection of children under peace agreement [news]
[NEW YORK/ ABIDJAN, 4 September 2007] - Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will be visiting Côte d’Ivoire from 4 to 7 September 2007.
The aim of this field mission is to ascertain first hand the situation of children and to increase cooperation with stakeholders to ensure greater protection for children as the implementation of the Ouagadougou Peace Agreement gets underway.
Ms. Coomaraswamy will pay particular attention to the follow-up of action plans aimed at releasing children from armed groups and reintegrating them into their communities. She will also address the issue sexual violence against children in the aftermath of the conflict.
The UN Special Representative will meet with the Government as well as relevant non-State actors, members of civil society, NGOs and children affected by conflict.
The mission will follow-up on the recommendations of the Security Council based on the Secretary General's report on the situation of children and armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire and Security Council Resolution 1612 (2005).
Submit news and reports on child rights in Cote d'Ivoire here
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=14674
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LAW: Armed Conflict, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law [course]
Date: 17 September - 16 December 2007
Location: Distance-learning
Armed conflicts, in their various forms, remain rampant in today's world. Old wars and new wars, including the 'war on terror', continue to be fought, and armed violence from Iraq to Darfur impacts on the lives of civilians. Does law offer protection in armed conflicts? And does it allow us to answer questions such as: when is a war illegal? Which conduct is unlawful in an armed conflict? What are non-combatants? What are crimes against humanity? What protection exists in civil wars? What can be done to prevent the use of child soldiers? What are the duties of an occupying force?
This course offers an introduction to the law or armed conflict, or international humanitarian law, as it is known. It critically examines the role of law in armed conflict and demonstrates how law can guide the conduct of hostilities, mitigate the consequences of the use of armed force, and protect civilians in both international and non-international armed conflicts. It puts the law of armed conflict in a political context, traces recent developments in this particular area of law, discusses the role of international criminal law, the convergence between human rights and humanitarian law, gender and law, and the protection of vulnerable groups such as children. It examines situations of occupation and the impact which the 'war on terror' has on the law of armed conflict.
The course is less concerned with the application of technical rules of warfare, but explores the potential and limit of law as a protective force in times of armed conflict. It is based on the understanding that knowledge of the three fields of international law which are relevant for today's armed conflicts (international humanitarian law which guides the conduct of war and protects combatants and civilians alike; human rights law, the application of which in times of armed conflict still presents many questions; and the emergence of international criminal law, which aims at deterring and remedying atrocities in armed conflicts) is imperative to analyse the conduct and consequences of armed conflicts.
During the 12 weeks of the course, participants will acquire basic knowledge in the field of international humanitarian law, as well as human rights law and international criminal law applicable to armed conflicts. Case studies will allow for in-depth discussions and the application of knowledge. The course instructor will provide information in form of on-line reading material, including web-casts and videos, and in weekly "mini-lectures". The course involves approximately 60 hours of reading, on-line working groups, assignments, and interaction among students and the instructor, and is offered over a 13-week period beginning on 17 September 2007. The course will integrate active and participatory learning approaches within activities and assignments, with an emphasis on reflective and collaborative learning. Participants will do the required reading, prepare interim and final project assignments, including case studies, and participate in group discussions.
The maximum number of course participants is 25. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Participation. It is also possible to audit the course.
Course outline
Week 1. The (il)legality of war
Week 2. The legal nature of war
Week 3. The law applicable in armed conflict
Week 4. The conduct of hostilities
Week 5. Internal armed conflict
Week 6. Combatants and non-combatants
Week 7. Open week
Week 8. Protection of civilians
Week 9. Women and war
Week 10. Occupation
Week 11. War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide
Week 12. Child soldiers
Week 13. Terrorism, 9/11, and the law of armed conflict
Due to the high level of interest in this course, Human Rights Education Assocatiate (HREA) are offering multiple sessions of this course.
Please apply by Monday, 10 September 2007
For more information, contact:
Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.hrea.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=13282&flag=event
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AWARDS: Ending violence against refugee and internally displaced women and girls [news]
Voices of Courage Awards 2008: Accepting Nominees
Each year, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children holds a luncheon to honour individual refugee women and young people who are working on behalf of other refugees.
They are now seeking candidates for the 2008 Voices of Courage Awards to be bestowed at their luncheon on 6 May 2008. The theme of the luncheon is “Ending Violence against Refugee and Internally Displaced Women and Girls.”
They will honor individuals in the United States and overseas who have been key players in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls displaced by armed conflict.
Some of the criteria are:
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Candidates should be refugees or internally displaced women or youth who work or have worked to provide innovative, successful programmes that address and reduce violence against refugee, internally displaced and/or returnee women and girls.
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Candidates should be passionate advocates against violence against women and girls in all of its forms, including rape, sexual exploitation and abuse, genital mutilation and domestic violence.
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Candidates must be able to travel to New York for a week in May (the luncheon is Tuesday, May 6) to accept their award (all travel and housing expenses will be paid).
To nominate a candidate for a Voices of Courage award, please send a letter of nomination and the curriculum vitae, résumé or biography of the nominee, as well as the names and email/phone/fax of at least three references.
Deadline: 15 October 2007
Send your nomination to:
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
Attn: Voices of Courage Nominees
122 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168-1289, USA
Or by email to: [email protected]
By fax: +1 212 551 3180.
Website: http://www.womenscommission.org
PLEASE NOTE: Only applications in English can be considered.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14578
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
Thailand: No One Is Safe - Insurgent Attacks on Civilians in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces (Human Rights Watch, August 2007)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14635&flag=report
Israel-OPT: Ban on paper set to hit Gaza schools (IRIN, 30 August 2007)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14630&flag=news
Children and Armed Conflict: International Forum on Armed Groups and the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, August 2007)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14666&flag=report
Sierra Leone: Forced marriage - a war crime? (Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 30 July 2007)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=14216
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