29 August 2008 - CRIN Children and Armed Conflict 122
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
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GUANTANAMO BAY: Omar Khadr lawyers sue Canadian Prime Minister [news]
Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr have filed a lawsuit to force Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene and repatriate the 21-year-old before he faces trial by a U.S. military tribunal in October.
"It is time for Prime Minister Harper to stand up for the rights of a Canadian citizen," said his Canadian lawyers, Dennis Edney and Nate Whitling, in a release.
A Harper spokesperson said the suit would have no bearing on current government policy. Harper has long insisted he will not get involved in the case because a legal process against Khadr is underway.
The suit's legal premise is based on Canada's obligations under international law to co-operate in the social integration and rehabilitation of children in armed conflicts.
Khadr was 15 when he was captured in 2002 after a firefight in Afghanistan. The Pentagon alleges he threw a grenade that killed an American soldier.
Khadr's lawyers had hoped that public pressure after the release of an interrogation video last month, showing the youth crying for his mother, would prompt the Canadian government to intervene.
"This is predictable," said Kory Teneycke, Harper's director of communications, of the lawsuit. "It's another attempt by Mr. Khadr's lawyers to avoid a trial, on the charges of attempted murder in violation of the laws of war, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying."
"We have no intention of deviating from the course that we're on ...," he said. "Our position is the same as the previous Liberal government's position, that Mr. Khadr should face these charges through a judicial process, not a political one and certainly not a media one."
Whitling said taking the government to court is the only option left.
"We're getting down to the point where Omar has been in Guantanamo for upwards of six years and we think it's high time this proceeding was brought," he said.
"We were hoping it wouldn't be necessary."
In May, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that Khadr's detention violated basic human rights norms. More recently a Canadian judge deemed Khadr's treatment by U.S authorities – including sleep deprivation – violates international prohibitions against torture.
The suit, filed in Federal Court, is modelled on cases in Australia and Great Britain. Those countries eventually repatriated their citizens from Guantanamo.
It is now Canada's turn to "do what every other Western democracy has done with respect to its own citizens," said Whitling.
Khadr is the last citizen of a Western country held at Guantanamo.
[Source: The Star]
Further information
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GEORGIA - RUSSIA: Urgent need to address humanitarian concerns of South Ossetia conflict [news]
[STRASBOURG, 28 August 2008] - The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, concluded his visit to the areas affected by the South Ossetia conflict by obtaining the release of 98 civilians who had been detained by either party.
Eighty-five detained civilians were handed over by the de facto South Ossetian authorities to the Commissioner during his visit to Tskhinvali. At the same time, thirteen detainees were passed on by the Georgian authorities. In addition two bodies were handed over by the Georgian side as a follow up to the exchange of 43 corpses given by the South Ossetian side on Wednesday evening.
The Commissioner welcomed the concrete and positive steps taken by both parties to comply with their humanitarian and human rights obligations. The recent exchanges represent a breakthrough in reaching a common understanding about the necessity to urgently address the humanitarian concerns stemming from the conflict.
The Commissioner called on the parties to the conflict to locate all persons who are in hiding, captivity or have been stranded because of the conflict and to organise their freedom and safety, through evacuation if necessary, protection or voluntary home going if possible. He called on the parties to support the mechanism now put in place through his good offices and allow these actors to continue their efforts as necessary and allow future proper exchanges.
The Commissioner underlined the importance of the right to return for everyone displaced by the conflict. Such a return should be voluntary and made possible in safety and dignity. Security has to be fully guaranteed.
The Commissioner called on the parties to urgently and effectively respond to the internally displaced persons' immediate needs of adequate shelter, food, clothes, identification documents and medical assistance. All parties must facilitate access and distribution of humanitarian assistance to persons in need. A large number of victims which the Commissioner has met during the latter part of his mission have lacked everything, from beds, mattresses, blankets, food, medical assistance, trauma treatment to access to education for the displaced children and proper information about available services and entitlements. He urges the international community to contribute generously in order to provide internally displaced persons with the immediate necessities. The national authorities must coordinate all humanitarian efforts to ensure non-discriminatory, effective and swift delivery of the aid.
The Commissioner also called on all parties to the conflict to urgently locate areas affected by unexploded ordinance and to start clearing them so that civilians can return home. The international community should be encouraged to contribute to these demining operations so that a safe and secure environment can be created for the returnees.
The Commissioner is deeply concerned over reports of lawlessness in some areas affected by the conflict. Acts of looting, torching of houses, kidnapping and physical assault by militia and other actors on ordinary people must stop. He called on the parties to urgently address this policing vacuum to resolve the serious problem of insecurity.
Finally, the Commissioner recommended that an effective system of protection and systematic monitoring of human rights be established on both sides. Such efforts would contribute to defusing the rising tensions among the affected population and to ensure protection of the rights of minorities
[Source: Council of Europe]
Background
Georgia is a poor Caucasian nation with a population of some 4.5 million people which declared independence in 1991.
Abkhazia in the northwest and South Ossetia in the north threw off Georgian rule in the early 1990s. They have been running their own affairs with Russian support but are not recognised internationally.
Their moves to separate from Georgia led to bloodshed as Tbilisi cracked down on the rebel regions. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced.
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Nearly 160,000 people have fled their homes during fierce fighting, according to UN estimates.
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Nearly 40,000 children have been affected by the conflict in Georgia.
[Sources: AlertNet and UNICEF]
Further information
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USA: Students must submit form to 'opt out' of military recruitment list [news]
[HONOLULU, 28 August 2008] - Secondary school students who do not want their information submitted to military recruiters have until September 15 to submit an "opt out" request to military recruiters.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires the state Department of Education to provide names, addresses and telephone numbers (including unlisted numbers) of secondary students to military recruiters when requested.
Secondary school students are broadly defined as students enrolled in middle, intermediate and high schools, the DOE said.
A student in a secondary school can, on their own, submit a signed, written request for nondisclosure of their information. Or the parent/guardian of a secondary student or an eligible student can submit the opt-out request.
Although the opt-out form is not legally required, the DOE has developed the form for military recruiting to facilitate response from students or their parents.
If an opt-out for military recruiters was filed with the school during the 2007-2008 school year, the request will be honored until the student leaves the Hawai'i public school system or until the submitter rescinds the opt-out request.
Opt-out requests will be accepted at any time during the school year, DOE officials said.
However, the DOE is required to turn over a student list to the Inter-Service Recruitment Council in mid-October. If a request comes in after student lists have been submitted to the IRC, the DOE Information Resource Management Branch will inform the IRC to have recruiters remove the student's information from the list.
[Source: Honolulu Advertiser]
Further information
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COLOMBIA: Life sentence for recruiters of child soldiers [news]
Recruiting child soldiers could earn a life sentence in Colombia if a bill proposed Monday by the Attorney General is approved, reported Caracol Radio.
The announcement of the bill came on the same day as prosecutor Edgardo Maya announced he would bring cases of recruitment of child soldiers before international bodies if justice cannot be done within the country’s judicial system, said Caracol Radio in a separate report.
Recruitment of children and adolescents is a war crime under both the Geneva Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that no child under the age of 15 shall take part in hostilities and that children exposed to armed conflict shall receive special protection, reports UNICEF.
Recruitment of child soldiers is also considered a crime under the Colombian Criminal Code, UNICEF adds.
In 2003, according to the UN Secretary General, 7,000 children in Colombia were in the ranks of armed groups, and an additional 7,000 were involved in urban militias. Of those, about 25 percent are girls, according to Human Rights Watch.
Attorney General Mario Iguarán made the announcement during an appearance with ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who is in the country for a three-day visit, reported Caracol Radio.
On Tuesday, Freddy Rendón, known as ‘El Alemán’, became the second paramilitary boss to acknowledge that he had child soldiers under his command, reported Channel RCN.
At least 350 children, from ages 14 to 17, served under the ex-chief in the “Elmer Cárdenas” paramilitary block of the AUC, an umbrella paramilitary group, said Rendón in testimony before the Justice and Peace Commission.
Former paramilitary leader, Ramon Isaza, was the first to admit allowing child soldiers in their ranks, but he denied having any direct involvement, Caracol Radio reported.
[Source: Colombia Reports]
Further information
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: 49th Session [event]
The 49th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child will take place from 15 September to 3 October at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Committee will examine reports from the Bhutan, Djibouti and the United Kingdom on their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In addition, the Committee will review reports on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) from Austria, Lithuania, Tanzania and Uganda, and reports on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) for Uganda, Tanzania and the United Kingdom.
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.
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18084&flag=event
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
Afghanistan: UN child rights official voices alarm at high civilian death toll
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18261&flag=news
Somalia: Humanitarian situation "increasingly acute"
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18267&flag=news
Nepal: Immediate release For Some 3000 Children still in Maoist Cantonments
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18240&flag=news
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