1 February 2010 - CRIN Children and Armed Conflict 137
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
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UNITED NATIONS: EU politician tapped for UN post against sexual violence [news]
[31 January 2010] - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed outgoing European Commission vice president Margot Wallstrom as his Special Representative for fighting sexual violence against women and children in conflict.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the selection of Margot Wallstrom for the special representative post during his opening speech at the African Union's 14th summit in Addis Ababa.
Among the items topping the agenda are armed conflicts in Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the brutal rape of women and children has become disturbingly common.
Wallstrom reacted to the nomination on Sunday saying she would lobby for sexual violence in war to be recognised as a war crime, attacking what she said was a tendency to explain the abuse of women as "cultural."
"Sexual violence is a war crime"
"I say this is not cultural, it is criminal. It is a crime under international law and it is also a war crime," she said.
Wallstrom spent the last ten years of her career in Brussels, most recently as vice president of the European Commission. Since 2004, she served as the commission's vice president in charge of Institutional Relations and Communications. Wallstrom pushed for more women to serve on the European Commission.
During her tenure in Swedish politics, she served as a minister responsible for consumer affairs, women and youth from 1988-1991.
Ban said Wallstrom would be responsible for intensifying the UN's efforts to end sexual violence used as a weapon against civilian populations.
"I am horrified and outraged by the use of rape as a weapon of war," Ban said.
Ban announced last November that the UN would renew a $10.5 million (7.5 million euros) campaign to oppose violence against women.
[Source: Deutsche Welle]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21624
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SURVEY: Children and Armed Conflict [call for feedback]
Because we want our work to be as useful to you and your work as possible, please help us in our efforts to evaluate our information on Children and Armed Conflict by taking a few brief moments to complete our survey. You can complete the survey online, by marking your answers in a reply to the Children and Armed Conflict CRINmail, or by downloading and returning the attached Word document to [email protected].
Name of your organisation: ___________________________________
Country you are based in: ___________________________________
How much of your work is focused on children and armed conflict?
__Almost All
__Most
__Some
__Very Little
At what levels do you work?
__Local
__National
__International
In which of the following areas is your work concentrated?
__Advocating for children affected by armed conflict
__Lobbying national governments
__Monitoring and reporting child rights violations
__Providing rehabilitation and reintegration services
__Implementing child protection provisions/ systems
__Ensuring accountability of those who recruit and use children in armed conflict (e.g. the International Criminal Court)
__Other (Please Specify):___________________________________
Which of these areas would you like to know more about?
__Advocating for children affected by armed conflict
__Lobbying national governments
__Monitoring and reporting child rights violations
__Providing rehabilitation and reintegration services
__Implementing child protection provisions/ systems
__Ensuring accountability of those who recruit and use children in armed conflict (e.g. the International Criminal Court)
__Other (Please Specify):___________________________________
What kinds of information would be most helpful to your work on children and armed conflict?
__International norms and standards
__In-depth information on children and armed conflict in particular countries
__Advocacy Strategies/Suggestions
__Experiences of monitoring and reporting
__News items/Current affairs
__State Programmes/Initiatives
__International Organisation Programmes/Initiatives
__NGO Programmes/Initiatives
__Other (Please Specify):___________________________________
Which of the following thematic areas would you like more information about?
__Discrimination
__Mental health and psycho-social wellbeing
__Rehabilitation
__Child protection
__Sexual and gender-based violence in the context of armed conflict
__ Situations of armed violence
__The recruitment and use of children in armed conflict
__Internally displaced persons and refugees
__Illegal detention of children for alleged association with armed groups
__Other (Please Specify):___________________________________
What other sources do you use to find information on children and armed conflict?
___________________________________
Would you be willing to talk with us about your work on children and armed conflict?
__Yes
__No
If so, please fill in your name and email address below
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Do you have any other feedback, comments or suggestions?
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See CRIN's web page on children and armed conflict here: http://www.crin.org/themes/ViewTheme.asp?id=11
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21626
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TURKEY: Girl, 15, jailed for eight years over 'terror' crimes at Kurdish rally [news]
[31 January 2010] - A 15-year-old Turkish girl who was arrested at a demonstration in support of a banned Kurdish group has been jailed for nearly eight years after being convicted of "terrorist" offences, including allegedly throwing stones at police.
The case comes amid renewed scrutiny of Turkey's human rights record after it was named as the worst violator of the 47 signatory states to the European convention of human rights.
The girl, who has been named only as Berivan, was detained in the south-eastern city of Batman last October at a rally for the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is regarded by Turkey, the US and EU as a terrorist group.
A court in Diyarbakir found her guilty of "crimes on behalf of an illegal organisation" after prosecutors alleged she had hurled stones and shouted slogans. She was also convicted of attending "meetings and demonstrations in opposition to the law" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation" despite claiming in court that she did not know what the word propaganda means.
In her defence, the girl denied throwing stones or being part of the demonstration but said she had only stopped to watch it out of curiosity, while on her way to visit an aunt. She was arrested after police mistook her for a demonstrator, she said. She had confessed to the crimes only after being beaten in custody.
In an emotional letter published by the Turkish newspaper, Star, the girl said she had been visiting Batman on a family holiday and pleaded to be released. "I want to get out of here. I want to be with my family. I always cry here. I cannot get used to this," she wrote. "I have been in jail since 9 October. My heart hurts and I miss my family so much."
As she heard her daughter being sentenced, Berivan's mother exclaimed in court: "Did she murder? The murderers are not sentenced to such a long prison term."
The initial 13-and-a-half-year sentence was later reduced on appeal to seven years and nine months because of her age.
Courts can try children as adults under counter-terrorism law
The conviction highlights Turkey's practice of jailing children for terror-related offences under counter-terrorism legislation introduced in 2006. The law allows courts to try juveniles as adults and to jail them for up to 50 years. Recent official figures revealed that there are currently 2,622 minors in Turkish prisons.
Some 737 minors have been charged under the counter-terrorism legislation since its introduction, according to the Diyarbakir Human Rights Association. Out of 267 tried in the city last year, 78 were given extended jail terms. Last November, a prosecutor demanded sentences of 23 years each for six youths, aged 13 and 14, who were charged with throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
Campaigners say many of those jailed have been wrongly accused and condemn the convictions as a breach Turkey's obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
While most of those jailed are boys, an additional building was recently opened at a prison in Diyarbakir to hold girls aged under 18 who are convicted of participating in banned demonstrations.
Last week, Turkey was identified as the worst violator of the European convention on human rights between 1959 and 2009. According to figures released by the European court of human rights, the country accounted for almost 19% of all violations, with 2,295 judgements issued against it. Turkey also had the highest proportion of violations in 2009, making up 347 out of 1,625 negative rulings. The most common violation was the denial of the right to a fair trial. Turkey also had 30 rulings against it following complaints of inhumane or degrading treatment.
[Source: The Guardian]
Further information
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CRC: Committee adopts Concluding Observations for 53 session [reports]
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has concluded its 53rd session, issuing Concluding Observations to 11 countries.
Further information
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DR CONGO: Use of child soldiers 'particularly abusive,' UN expert testifies [news]
[7 January 2010] - Children cannot consent to their own exploitation, making the use of children in warfare “particularly abusive,” a top United Nations official has said at the trial of a Congolese warlord accused of enlisting child soldiers.
Children have an “underdeveloped notion of death,” Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, told the International Criminal Court (ICC). “The lack of the concept of death makes them fearless in battle.”
She was serving as an expert witness in the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the first suspect to be arrested by The Hague-based ICC.
He faces two counts of war crimes: conscripting and enlisting child soldiers into the military wing of his group and then using them to participate in hostilities between September 2002 and August 2003.
Ms. Coomaraswamy testified today that many child soldiers she has met joined armed forces because it was the only way they could escape or survive abuse at home, while in some cases, children were indirectly coerced into becoming soldiers.
Her testimony also touched on the multiple roles played by girls who are recruited to fight, including combat, scouting, portering and sexual slavery.
The prosecution wrapped up its case against Mr. Lubanga last July, and the defence is shortly to begin presenting exculpatory evidence over the coming months, with some 30 witnesses – most of whom have not asked for extra protection from the Court – expected to testify.
The Prosecution’s case was presented over 22 weeks and 30 witnesses took the stand. Nearly all of the prosecution’s witnesses were granted protective measures, including voice and facial distortion and the use of pseudonyms. A psychologist sat in during the proceedings to support and monitor witnesses.
Mr. Lubanga, who surrendered to the ICC in March 2006, and his defence team were able to see all of the witnesses as they gave their testimony, but some required further special measures to avoid direct eye contact with the accused.
More than 100 victims have been authorised to take part in the trial, which began last January, to date.
Established by the Rome Statute of 1998, the ICC can try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes committed since July 2002. The UN Security Council, the ICC Prosecutor or a State Party to the Court can initiate any proceedings, and the ICC only acts when countries themselves are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute.
The ICC began its second trial in regard to the situation in the DRC last November, in which two former Congolese rebel leaders are being tried for crimes allegedly committed by their militias in eastern DRC in 2003.
Germain Katanga, a senior commander from the group known as the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), faces three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes for a deadly assault on the village of Bogoro, in the province of Ituri. Hundreds of people were killed and many women forced into sexual slavery in that February 2003 attack.
Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is a former commander of the rebel National Integrationalist Front (FNI). He faces three counts of crimes against humanity and six of war crimes, and is alleged to have played a key role in designing and carrying out the Bogoro attack.
Among the crimes the two men are accused of is using children under the age of 15 in active hostilities, including as bodyguards and combatants, during the deadly assault on Bogoro.
Ten child soldiers will be among the 345 people authorised to take part in the trial.
[Source: UN]
Further information
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CANADA: Supreme Court finds Guantánamo detainee's rights were violated [news]
[NEW YORK, 29 January 2010] - The Canadian Supreme Court has found that the rights of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2002 when he was 15, were violated during his interrogation and detention in Guantánamo Bay. The American Civil Liberties Union pointed to the decision as affirmation that the U.S. should reverse its decision to try Khadr before a military commission and should repatriate him to his home country for rehabilitation.
"This decision underscores the need for the U.S. to reverse its decision to prosecute Omar Khadr before an illegal military commission," said Jamil Dakwar, Director of the ACLU Human Rights Programme. "As a teenager, Omar Khadr was subjected to abusive interrogations and sleep deprivation by U.S. officials without access to court or counsel, and with no regard for his status as a juvenile. It is encouraging that the Canadian justice system has found that this is no way to treat youth in detention, and recognised that Omar Khadr's rights continue to be violated. Omar Khadr should be sent back to Canada where he can be rehabilitated or, if there is evidence enough to prosecute him in the U.S., he should be charged and tried in a federal court."
Omar Khadr was captured in Afghanistan in 2002 and was accused of throwing a grenade that killed an Army medic in Afghanistan, a charge he has denied. Today's decision by the Canadian Supreme Court found that Canadian officials participated in the violation of his rights, but stopped short of ordering the Canadian government to seek his repatriation from the U.S. The Court did award Khadr legal costs and left the decision as to how to respond up to the Canadian government.
US policy fails to comply with UN standards
The U.N. Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, which the U.S. ratified in 2002, obligates the U.S. to ensure special safeguards for children under 18 who are taken into U.S. custody. This week, the U.S. government issued a report in response to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, which had criticised U.S. non-compliance with the protocol with respect to the detention and treatment of juveniles in U.S. military custody abroad. The U.S. report did not adequately address the fact that current policy fails to take into account obligations of the Optional Protocol, especially regarding U.S. prosecution of suspected child soldiers before a military commission. According to the report, as of December 2009 only five juveniles remain in U.S. military custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The U.S. is bound by international law to consider the age of prisoners when they are captured and to give juveniles certain protections regarding their treatment, detention and prosecution," said Jennifer Turner, human rights researcher with the ACLU Human Rights Programme. "Canada has found that Omar Khadr, who has spent a third of his life in Guantánamo, was denied these basic rights. The U.S. must finally grant him the rights he has been denied for so long, and enact comprehensive policies regarding the treatment of juveniles still in detention so that no child has to grow up in a military prison ever again."
[American Civil Liberties Union]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21625
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HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS: Sphere Handbook review [call for feedback]
The Sphere Project has revised its Handbook following a series of regional consultations. From January to March 2010, the revision process will enter a second consultation phase, with a view to finalising the Handbook by end March 2010 for publication by end of the year.
The draft texts for the following chapters are available for public review for a period of four weeks (13 January – 10 February 2010):
- Humanitarian Charter
- Minimum Standards - Common to All Sectors
- Minimum Standards - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion
- Minimum Standards - Food Security, Nutrition and Food Aid
- Minimum Standards - Shelter, Settlement and Non-Food Items
- Minimum Standards - Health Services
To provide feedback or find out more, visit: http://www.sphereproject.org/content/view/530/302/lang,english/
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21520
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**NEWS IN BRIEF**
Nepal: Child soldiers being freed (BBC, January 2010)
Thousands of former child soldiers held in Nepalese camps for Maoist rebels are due to begin leaving the camps. The children have been confined to the UN-monitored camps with other ex-rebels since a 2006 peace deal that ended a 10-year Maoist insurgency.
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21503&flag=news
Gender: Peril or Protection - The link between livelihoods and gender-based violence (The Women's Refugee Commission, January 2010)
This report combines findings from three field missions to refugee settings; a pilot project in Burundi providing refugees with increased access to economic resources through village savings and loan associations; and desk research and interviews targeting promising examples of economic empowerment interventions that increase women’s safety.
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=21610&flag=report
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