2 December 2008 - CRIN Children and Armed Conflict 125
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
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UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Conflict in DR Congo once more under scrutiny [news]
[GENEVA, 1 December 2008] - Several months after having done away with the post of the independent expert on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
Human Rights Council has decided to send seven independent experts to the country.
The seven experts will now consecutively visit the DRC from now until March 2009. The Human Rights Council ended its special session on the catastrophic situation in the DRC with a resolution, adopted unanimously Monday, 1 December. After negotiations between the European Union and African countries, the resolution will create a mechanism to review the human rights situation on the ground.
The text condemns in particular violence and abuse against women and forced recruitment of child soldiers, issues that African countries didn’t want mentioned. It also calls for an immediate end to all other human rights violations, particularly in the east of the country, as well as for a peaceful solution to the conflict.
But its most striking provision is sending seven independent experts to the DRC so that they can report back to the Council at its next regular session in March 2009. The experts hold mandates on the following issues; gender based violence, internal displacement, the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession, human rights defenders, the role of multinationals, children in armed conflict and the right to health.
In March 2008, the Council, after having abolished the mandate of the DRC expert, asked the country to invite these seven rapporteurs to visit. There was however no certainty that the government was going to agree and no timetable fixed for the visits.
France, on behalf of the EU, had wanted to include the experts against torture and extrajudicial executions. A source close to the negotiations told Human Rights Tribune that the request had been turned down by the African group. France also expressed disappointment that the government had not been asked to continue its cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
The DRC delegation has agreed to the provisions in the declaration. However it believes that it deals with the consequences of the conflict and overlooks the causes. It criticises the UN for not putting pressure on those countries, which it says are trying to destabilise Congo in order to encourage an uprising in North Kivu to divide the country. It did not mention any particular country, but it is clear that it is referring to Rwanda.
Surprisingly, the DRC representative used the opportunity to accuse the NGO Human Rights Watch of calling on the population of « certain provinces » to rise up against the central government in Kinshasha.
Asked to comment by the Human Rights Tribune, Sebastien Gilloz, HRW representative at the Council, said that « the accusation was so ridiculous that we would prefer not to comment ». A week ago, HRW published a report on the situation in the Congo since the current President, Joseph Kabila, came to power. The report includes details about political prisoners, the assassination of political opponents and enforced disappearances.
[Source: Human Rights Tribune]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19128&flag=news
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ARMED CONFLICT: Young conflict survivors launch network for children caught in war [news]
[NEW YORK, 20 November 2008] – “We, a group of former child soldiers and survivors of armed conflict in different capacities, are pleased to announce today the launch of the Network of Young People Affected by War (NYPAW) to help children whose lives have been derailed by conflict.
“As young people who have endured conflict in our respective countries and who are all too familiar with the toll it exacts on children’s emotional, social, physical, psychosocial and academic development, we are determined to help children whose fate has been similar to ours regain their confidence and their lives.
“Way too many children are witnessing the horrors of war: It is estimated that 1.5 billion children – two thirds of the world’s child population – live in the 42 countries affected by violent, high-intensity conflict between 2002 and 2006.
“Building on our own experiences, NYPAW seeks to speak up for the rights of all these children and to find concrete measures to prevent the use of children in war.
“We also hope to remind the world of how resilient children are, when given the right support. We are best-selling authors, renowned musicians, and youth advocates who hope to serve as role models to all those whose lives have been affected by violence.
“With guidance from United Nations, including UNICEF and the Office of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and with the assistance of War Child Holland and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN, NYPAW will use education and art – including writing, public speaking, poetry, music, painting, storytelling and theatre – to raise awareness to the plight of children living in conflict zones and provide them with the necessary support.
“NYPAW will also serve as a conduit linking children caught in conflict with governments, international organisations, civil society and the media.
“As individuals, our strength has been our belief that we could overcome the traumas we have faced in times of war. But united as NYPAW, our strength is being able to communicate our experiences and to help affect change for the other children currently struggling in conflict countries and support the reconciliation process in countries emerging from war That is our hope. That is our mission.”
The founders of NYPAW are:
Ishmael Beah (Sierra Leone), is a former child soldier and author of A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Child Soldier. Ishmael is a UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War. He plans to launch his own foundation in 2009 dedicated to helping former child soldiers reintegrate into society and improve their lives. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Kon Kelei (Sudan) is a former child soldier. He is a Spokesperson for War Child Holland and is currently working on a master’s degree in International and European Law in the Netherlands.
Grace Akallo (Uganda) is a former child soldier. She is currently enrolled at Gordon College, near Boston, Massachusetts. She is a spokesperson and activist for peace in northern Uganda.
Emmanuel Jal (Sudan), is a former child soldier. He is a worldwide acclaimed hip hop singer with a message of peace. He founded the non-profit organization Gua Africa, dedicated to educating children affected by war and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Emmanuel resides in England.
Shena A. Gacu (Uganda) is a former child soldier previously known as China Keitetsi. She is the founder of The African Child Soldiers and War Victims Charity. She lives in Denmark.
Zlata Filipoviæ (Bosnia Herzegovina) is the author of Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Wartime Sarajevo. She is a graduate student of Oxford and currently lives in Ireland.
For more information, contact:
Laurance Gerard, Office of the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict, 212-963-0984, [email protected]
Kate Donovan, UNICEF, 212-326-7542, [email protected]
Suzannah Vree, War Child Holland, +31-61-554-6847, [email protected]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19026&flag=news
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GUANTANAMO BAY: US acknowledges it held 12 juveniles at Guantanamo [news]
[SAN JUAN, 16 November 2008] - The U.S. has revised its count of juveniles ever held at Guantanamo Bay to 12, up from the eight it reported in May to the United Nations, a Pentagon spokesman said Sunday.
The government has provided a corrected report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, according to Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon. He said the U.S. did not intentionally misrepresent the number of detainees taken to the isolated Navy base in southeast Cuba before turning 18.
"As we noted to the Committee, it remains uncertain the exact age of many of the juveniles held at Guantanamo, as most of them did not know their own date of birth or even the year in which they were born," he said.
A study released last week by the Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas concluded the U.S. has held at least a dozen juveniles at Guantanamo, including a Saudi who committed suicide in 2006.
"The information I got was from their own sources, so they didn't have to look beyond their own sources to figure this out," said Almerindo Ojeda, director of the centre at the University of California, Davis.
Rights groups say it is important for the U.S. military to know the real age of those it detains because juveniles are entitled to special protection under international laws recognised by the United States.
Eight of the 12 juvenile detainees identified by the human rights centre have been released, according to the study.
Two of the remaining detainees are scheduled to face war-crimes trials in January. Canadian Omar Khadr, now 21, was captured in July 2002 and is charged with murder for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. special forces soldier. Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who is about 24, faces attempted murder charges for a 2002 grenade attack that wounded two U.S. soldiers.
The study identified the only other remaining juvenile as Muhammed Hamid al Qarani of Chad.
The Saudi who hanged himself with two other detainees in 2006, Yasser Talal al-Zahrani, was 17 when he arrived at Guantanamo within days of the military prison opening in January 2002, according to the study.
About 250 prisoners remain at Guantanamo on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.
[Source: AFP]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19129&flag=news
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AFGHANISTAN: Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict [publication]
Violations of children's rights are increasing in Afghanistan with more attacks against schools, more children killed and more evidence of child sexual abuse, the United Nations said on Sunday.
The report was conducted using a combination of data from agencies working across Afghanistan and anecdotal reports or allegations of violations against children.
"The report really shows how difficult the situation is and to some degree it is worsening," Hilde F. Johnson, deputy executive director of the UNICEF agency, told Reuters.
"This goes for several of the violations in particular attacks against schools and health centers, killing and maiming and grave sexual violence and to some degree recruitment of children (to armed groups)," Johnson said.
The report, produced by UNICEF for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon mentioned the case of a child, aged around 12, who was used as a suicide bomber by the Taliban on May 16, 2008.
UNICEF also said Western military operations were killing more children, and pointed to an air strike in July in which 30 of the 47 civilians killed were children.
Child soldiers
The report contained documented cases of Afghan security forces recruiting children aged between 15 and 17, although Johnson said children were rarely abducted and forced into working as soldiers and most were driven to join up by poverty.
"Where children are orphaned or children are in a situation where they don't have food or they are very poor and don't have much alternative, then it's very easy to be recruited," Johnson said, ahead of a meeting with Afghanistan's minister for the interior when she expected to discuss the report's findings.
The Afghan government was involved in the preparations for the report and Johnson said cooperation was good and pointed to the need to also address cultural perceptions of children in Afghanistan.
By tradition in Afghanistan, children over the age of 15 are seen as adults, whereas under international law they are still children until the age of 18, she said.
One other major concern for UNICEF is sexual abuse against children, particularly boys, a controversial and taboo subject in Afghanistan, where the tradition of "bacha bazi," which literally means child play, is an age-old practice of young boys being kept as sex slaves by wealthy and powerful men.
In July 2008, the U.N.'s special representative for Children in Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy said Afghanistan had to do more to end "bacha bazi."
Johnson was confident that such issues were gradually being talked about openly in Afghanistan and public debates were happening to address a subject which the report said was significantly under-reported.
[Source: Reuters]
Further information
For more information, contact:
UN Security Council
UN Headquarters, First Avenue 46th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
Website: www.un.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19037
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JUSTICE: International tribunals, world courts and human rights [course]
Date: 2 February - 12 April 2009
Location: Online
What is the role of international courts and tribunals in protecting and promoting human rights? To many, it seems self-evident that courts are the best guarantors for human rights: they punish perpetrators, end impunity, deter potential wrong-doers and (re-)establish justice. They bring the individual into the international arena, intrude in formerly "domestic affairs" and allow victims to claim financial compensation. To others, the adjudication of human rights suffers from severe drawbacks: the potential of courts to prevent human rights abuses is limited, they do not respond to structural injustice, they are ill-suited for systematic and gross human rights violations, they put justice over reconciliation and they do little to effectively remedy the suffering of victims.
International courts are as manifold as the advantages and setbacks they have come to stand for: some allow only States as parties, while others are open to individuals. Some are established permanently on treaty basis, while some are set up by the Security Council or are of a hybrid nature. Some grant damages, while some give advice. Some seem to function, while others don’t. They work under the constraints of international law and in the emerging triangular relationship of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Their proliferation over the past decades seems to speak for their added value, but what is their impact on human rights?
This distance learning course explores the multitude of international courts and tribunals which have been set up – since the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals after World War II – to adjudicate on human rights in the broadest sense, including violations of the law of armed conflict and international criminal law. It provides information and case studies on the working of such courts, from the International Court of Justice to ad hoc and hybrid criminal tribunals and from the regional human rights courts to the International Criminal Court. The course critically explores the role and value of such courts in promoting and protecting human rights as well as the advantages and drawbacks of entrusting international courts with human rights issues.
The course is inter-disciplinary in its approach and draws on reading from international relations and international law. Knowledge of human rights, international humanitarian law and international criminal law is beneficial, but not a prerequisite. In ten weeks of learning, discussion and interaction an experienced course instructor will guide participants through the readings, discussions and assignments. He will provide information in form of on-line reading material, including web-casts and videos, and in weekly "mini-lectures". The course involves approximately 50 hours of reading, on-line working groups, assignments, internet chats and interaction among students, the instructor and invited guests, and is offered over a 10-week period beginning on 2 February 2009. 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 assignments, including case studies, and participate in group discussions.
Course outline
Week 1: The history of international courts
Week 2: Adjudicating human rights: an introduction
Week 3: The International Court of Justice
Week 4: Regional human rights courts: Europe
Week 5: Regional human rights courts: the Americas and Africa
Week 6: The criminal tribunals for Ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda
Week 7: Special and hybrid courts: Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Lebanon
Week 8: The International Criminal Court
Week 9: Towards a World Court for Human Rights?
Week 10: Adjudicating human rights: a critique
Application deadline: 15 December 2008
For more information, contact:
Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18748&flag=event
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YEMEN: War affected children suffer psychological disorders [news]
بالعربية
[23 November 2008] A four-year conflict between government forces and Shia rebels in the northern governorate of Saada has caused psychological problems for children and had an adverse effect on their behaviour, according to a new study (available here in Arabic only).
Titled The Psychological and Behavioural Effects of Saada War on Children, the report was conducted by local NGO Seyaj Organisation for Childhood Protection and was released on 22 November in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. It aimed to measure the psychological and behavioural impacts of the war on children, specifically those living in more volatile areas, as well as studying its overall affect on the life of children, their families, their surroundings and their education.
For the purposes of the study, 1,018 children - 629 boys and 389 girls - aged seven to 15 were selected randomly from Razeh District in Saada and other surrounding areas that were embroiled in the four-year conflict.
"We tried to have equal numbers of female and male, but social customs there made it difficult for us to interview more girls," Ahmed al-Qurashi, head of Seyaj Organisation, said, adding that Razeh District was selected as it was one of the first areas in the governorate where conflict took place and yet the study team could move freely there without security concerns.
Between 13 September and 13 November respondents were asked a number of questions based on those in previous studies conducted in war-zone areas, such as Iraq and Palestine.
Fear, bed-wetting and introversion
The study showed that 45 per cent of respondents feared loud sounds such as thunder. "Such sounds are linked in children's minds with the sounds of rockets, bombs and bullets," al-Qurashi said.
Some 22 per cent of respondents suffered from enuresis (bed-wetting) while sleeping. Experts say in normal times this rate should not exceed 15 per cent. Some six percent of respondents suffered from enuresis while awake. This is an indication of their deteriorated psychological condition and their inability to control the functions of their bodies, the study said.
About five per cent of the respondents said they sometimes faint upon seeing armed people or hearing thunder or bullets.
The study further said that 16 per cent of respondents expressed a desire to cry but did not because they were brought up in communities where crying is considered shameful. "This indicates the extent of their depression and grief," the study said.
Some 21 per cent of respondents showed strong signs of introversion and seclusion while 63 per cent had nightmares and disturbing dreams during sleep.
About 22 per cent of the sample children were thinking of leaving school because of poverty and the deteriorated economic conditions in their areas.
Full version of the study here.
[Source: IRIN]
Further Information:
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19052&flag=news
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
Uganda: Left to their own devices: The continued suffering of victims of the conflict in Northern Uganda and the need for reparations (Amnesty International, November 2008)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=18977&flag=report
OPT: UN human rights chief calls Israel to end Gaza Siege (19 November 2008)
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19014&flag=news
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