30 July 2008 - CRIN Children and Armed Conflict 121
___________________________________________________________
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
___________________________________________________________
To view this CRINMAIL online, visit: http://www.crin.org/email/crinmail_detail.asp?crinmailID=2861
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.
___________________________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: Courting History - The landmark ICC's first years [publication]
[THE HAGUE, 11 July 2008] – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made notable progress in bringing justice for the worst crimes despite mistakes in policy and practice, Human Rights Watch said in a report released this month that assesses the court’s first five years. Human Rights Watch urged greater international support of the ICC to meet the political and financial challenges ahead.
The 244-page report, “Courting History: The Landmark International Criminal Court’s First Years,” examines the ICC’s accomplishments and shortcomings since it began operations in 2003. The court was created to bring justice to the victims of gross human rights violations; so far the court has issued arrest warrants against suspects in four countries, though none have yet been tried.
“The International Criminal Court has made real headway in bringing justice to the victims of horrible abuses in the face of daunting obstacles,” said Richard Dicker, International Justice Programme Director at Human Rights Watch. “But the court should tackle real shortcomings so that its work resonates in the communities most affected by major international crimes.”
In addition to progress in investigations, Human Rights Watch identified the court’s viable witness protection programs and efforts to provide meaningful support to defendants and to implement a complicated system of victims’ participation in proceedings as illustrations of the court’s achievements to date.
Human Rights Watch also found that in establishing an unprecedented judicial institution, ICC officials have made mistakes. Recently, the trial chamber suspended the trial of Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord accused of enlisting, recruiting, and using children as soldiers, because of the prosecutor’s inability to turn over potentially exculpatory information to the court. Other shortcomings include the court’s slowly evolving approach to outreach and certain problematic investigative policies of the prosecutor. The report makes recommendations to address these and other concerns.
Human Rights Watch’s field work with members of affected communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Uganda, and eastern Chad revealed many issues and perceptions about the ICC’s work among these communities. In some instances, such as in Congo, there is legitimate criticism of the prosecutor’s strategy for selecting cases.
“Moving forward, we look to court officials to learn from their slow start and to improve their interaction and engagement with communities most affected by the crimes in the court’s jurisdiction,” said Dicker. “These are, after all, the communities that the ICC was created to serve.”
17 July 2008 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Human Rights Watch emphasised that the international community should provide the ICC with the diplomatic support it needs, including enforcing its arrest warrants. The group also emphasised the need for States parties to continue to provide the court with the necessary financial support.
“Ten years ago, 120 States made a pledge that victims of the worst atrocities could find justice at the world’s first-ever permanent criminal court,” said Dicker. “It is now up to the court’s States Parties and to the UN to throw their weight behind the court so that it can meet the challenges ahead.”
Background
The ICC prosecutor has opened investigations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Based on those investigations, 12 arrest warrants have been issued.
To date, four of these defendants are in ICC custody in The Hague, including Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Congo, in relation to alleged crimes committed in the Central African Republic.
Further information
For more information, contact:
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor, New York, NY 10118-3299, USA
Tel: + 1 212 216 1837; Fax: + 1 212 736-1300
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.hrw.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17830
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLOMBIA: ICC asked to investigate child soldiers [news]
A Colombian NGO asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to start an investigation about the recruitment of children by illegal armed groups in Colombia.
The International Humanitarian Diplomatic Mission (MDIH) sent the ICC a petition, asking the Court to “investigate, charge and punish” those groups who recruit minors to serve in their military ranks.
The NGO seeks to “prevent crimes against humanity of the future generations of Colombian boys and girls, who today are kidnapped to take part in the armed conflict,” NGO-president Sergio Tapia says.
According to the MDIH, 14,000 children are currently enrolled in one of Colombia’s armed groups. Not just in the FARC, but also in paramilitary groups.
The NGO sent drawings and audio statements of children who were rescued from armed groups, to back their call for intervention of the ICC.
The ICC has yet not dealt with Colombian crimes against humanity.
[Source: Colombia Reports]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17738&flag=news
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION: Concern over EU Return Directive [news]
[WASHINGTON D.C., 25 July 2008] - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has passed a Resolution criticising the “Return Directive” adopted by the European Parliament which allows rejected asylum-seekers to be detained for up to 18 months before being deported. The Inter-American Commission views with concern the absence in the Directive of sufficient safeguards that guarantee respect for the rights of migrants.
A basic and well-recognised principle of international law establishes that countries may not return persons at risk of persecution to their home countries and that safeguards must be in place to protect the rights of individuals eligible to seek asylum. It also requires that individuals seeking asylum have access to a hearing, and that when a request for asylum is rejected, they have access to judicial review.
International standards establish that detention should be applied only as an exception.
Where it is applied, the detention should be as brief as possible and migrants may not be held in prison facilities. Holding asylum seekers in a prison environment for immigration violations is incompatible with basic human rights guarantees.
States are also required to provide special protections for migrants in especially vulnerable circumstances, and the best interests of children must be a primary concern.
International law provides that countries have both the right and the duty to establish mechanisms to control foreigners’ entry into and departure from their territory. At the same time, it provides that these actions must be taken with due respect for the rights of those affected, and that the observance of such fundamental principles as non-discrimination and humane treatment may not be subordinated to the implementation of public policies.
International standards, including those applied by regional human rights bodies, must be respected by all States. In this regard, the Inter-American Commission exhorts the Parliament and Council of the European Union, as well as the States that comprise that organisation, to modify the Return Directive to bring it into conformity with international human rights standards for the protection of migrants.
[Source: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17959&flag=news
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
URBAN SETTINGS: Armed violence and humanitarian action in urban areas [analysis]
[29 July 2008] - Mogadishu, Grozny, Kabul and Baghdad have all been affected by the violence of an armed conflict at one time or another. For humanitarian organisations, which often work more in rural areas, these places present particular challenges. Are other towns in countries which are at peace but experiencing uncontrolled growth the breeding ground of new forms of violence between armed groups which will be of concern not only to development agencies but also to humanitarian organisations?
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has published an analysis of armed violence and humanitarian action in urban areas based around seven questions:
- Is it appropriate to analyse violence in relation to the place where it occurs?
- Can a distinction be made between violence associated with an armed conflict and other forms of violence in urban areas?
- What makes urban settings specific to bearers of weapons?
- How does violence in an armed conflict affect the inhabitants of a town?
- What challenges does a town in conflict present for humanitarian agencies?
- What ways and means of meeting those challenges have been explored?
- What role might be played by a humanitarian agency in towns where urban violence is not caused by an armed conflict?
More than half the planet’s inhabitants are town-dwellers. According to UN-HABITAT’s State of the World’s Cities Report 2006/7, urbanisation trends indicate that the largest towns will be found mainly in developing countries. Whereas megacities of more than 20 million inhabitants already exist in Asia, Latin America and Africa, most urban migrants will be drawn to smaller towns with less than one million inhabitants. Towns in the developing world will absorb 95 per cent of urban growth over the next two decades.
[Source: International Committee of the Red Cross]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17988&flag=news
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
UN SECURITY COUNCIL: Call to end impunity of child rights violators [news]
[NEW YORK, 17 July 2008] – On the tenth anniversary of the statute classifying child recruitment as a war crime, members of the United Nations Security Council were urged this month to take measures offering greater protection for children in conflict zones and ending impunity for violators of children’s rights.
Speaking at the conference, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, said: “The Security Council is the UN body of action on issues of peace and security”. She urged that the Security Council consider “imposing targeted measures” against persistent violators on the so-called ‘shame list’, an annex compiled by the Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict in the latest Secretary-General’s reports.
Conflict and child mortality
In addition to physical crimes and family losses imposed upon children by violence and warfare, armed conflict takes a grave toll on children’s health. In conflict and post-conflict areas said Ms Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, there is often a resurgence of preventable diseases such as malaria, measles and diarrhoea.
In the 33 countries most affected by armed conflict from 2002 to 2006, 20 have made little or no progress in reducing mortality among children under the age of five.
Sexual violence as ‘trigger for action’
Speakers also urged that the rampant use of sexual violence in conflict situations be addressed by the Security Council, recalling the recent adoption of Resolution 1820, which classifies rape as a war crime.
During the meeting, Kathleen Hunt of Watchlist, a coalition of non-governmental organisations, called for expanding the scope of the UN monitoring and reporting arm to include sexual violence as a “trigger for action” by the Special Representative.
Such an expansion of the current annex, which is limited only to parties who use and recruit child soldiers, was supported by representatives of member states Belgium, France, the United States and Italy.
Furthering Resolution 1612
The debate was called by the Government of Viet Nam, whose Minister of Foreign Affairs is the current President of the Security Council. Past debates on the topic of children in armed conflict have resulted in statements, but no new Security Council resolution since the 2005 resolution enabling the monitoring and reporting of child recruitment.
[Source: UNICEF]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17990&flag=news
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHERN UGANDA: Youth and Sustainable Livelihoods [publication]
A report documenting vocational training (VT) opportunities for young people in northern Uganda was launched this week by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children.
"Youth and Sustainable Livelihoods: Linking Vocational Training Programmes to Market Opportunities", prepared by Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs (SIPA), presents an analysis of VT programming and the actors involved. It offers VT providers concrete recommendations for programming at each stage in the VT cycle, including best practices, case studies and lessons learned. The report identifies how VT programmes can best meet youths’ needs for education and sustainable livelihoods while also supporting a broader strategy of economic reconstruction and social restoration in northern Uganda.
This report builds on findings from a May 2007 Women’s Commission report, "Listening to Youth: The Experiences of Young People in Northern Uganda", which identifies education and the opportunity to earn a safe and dignified income as a central priority of youth.
The report will be accompanied by a "Market Assessment Toolkit for Vocational Training Programs and Youth" available in September. The Market Assessment Toolkit is a combination of resources, questionnaires and activities that assist VT programs and youth to gather information on market demand and translate it into programming that responds to dynamic business environments and youth needs. The toolkit aims to help youth in VT programmes find employment/self-employment.
For more information, contact:
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
122 East 42nd Street, 12th Floor, New York NY 10168 - 1289, USA
Tel: + 1 212 551-3140
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.womenscommission.org
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=17989
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
AID: Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Assistance (Transparency International, July 2008)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17991&flag=report
UN: Strong link between child soldiers and small arms trade (18 July 2008)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17886&flag=news
OPT: Impact of Siege on Mental Health in Gaza (report in Arabic)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17921&flag=report
___________________________________________________________
The 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.
___________________________________________________________
