CRINMAIL 1176
In this issue:
Editorial: Children and sexuality
Latest news and reports:
- Global report on children and armed conflict
- Nigeria and Egypt face legal action over child marriage
- More
CRIN catches up with Po Yan Cheng - Hong Kong's first Children's Commissioner in the making?
EDITORIAL: Children and sexuality
The International Day Against Homophobia is held on 17 May every year. It marks the day, in 1991, when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. In 2006, in response to well-documented patterns of abuse, a group of international human rights experts, including a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The Principles broke new ground in recognising the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children. Read extracts on children's rights from the Principles.
While many governments across the world have legalised gay marriage in the last year, others are ramping up repression against homosexuals. In Malawi, a gay couple was this month sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for hard labour for "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts" two days after holding an engagement ceremony. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that their prosecution is "blatantly discriminatory", and sets an alarming precedent in the region for the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, as well as LGBT rights defenders.
In December 2009, Uganda announced a proposed new law stipulating draconian punishments for people alleged to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered – namely life imprisonment or, in some cases, the death penalty. The law violates the rights of LGBT children, as well as children with HIV, and children who are merely suspected of having a same-sex liaison. Read more here. The NGO Stonewall released a report yesterday accusing the British government of having an institutionally homophobic asylum policy, saying that it regularly returns gay asylum-seekers to countries such as Uganda where they face persecution on the grounds of their sexual orientation.
Comprehensive sex education, tailored to children of differing sexualities, is necessary if children are to understand how to best protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.
However, in Europe in June 2009, the Lithuanian parliament passed an amendment prohibiting the discussion of homosexuality in schools and banning any reference to it in public information that can be accessed by children.
Michael Cashman, the president of the European Parliament’s LGBT all-party intergroup, decried the ideology behind the text as "pure homophobia." He added: "It is crucial to allow young people to speak, think and act, in the respect of others who are different. Young people need education not isolation." Read the full story.
Elsewhere, in a report issued this month, the American Bar Association revealed the extent of homophobic bullying in schools in the United States, stating that some 80 per cent of LGBTQ youth have experienced verbal harrassment at school. In Britain, two thirds of homosexual children have suffered homophobic bullying at school, according to a report by Stonewall. The report found that homophobic language used by adults at schools was often at the root of the problem and that the vast majority of schools had failed to intervene in such cases.
The UN's World Report on Violence against Children noted that "Teachers and other children commonly put pressure on children to make them conform to cultural values and social attitudes that define what it means to be 'masculine' or 'feminine'. A widespread method is to use words suggesting that a boy is acting like a girl or may be gay, and that a girl is acting like a boy or may be lesbian. Such words may be used jokingly, but nevertheless convey the message that it wold be very bad or wrong if it were true." (p. 121). Read the Study's recommendations.
At a European meeting on violence against children held in Vienna last week, Marko Karadzic, State Secretary, Ministry of Human Rights and Minority Rights in Serbia said that while progress had been made in fulfilling the rights of some groups of children who face discrimination in Europe, such as children with disabilities and refugee children, the rights of other groups such as Roma children and LGBT children continue to be violated.
He said: "We are unwilling to help them to stop the discrimination they face... there have been huge steps in Europe, but these children are still not allowed to live according to their identities. "Yes", he continued, "there are kids who are gay, lesbian and transgender."
What does international law say?
Article 2 of the Convention addresses discrimination. Paragraph 2 states: States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.
As such, the article may be invoked in respect of both the discrimination faced by children, and that faced by gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender (or LGBT) parents.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its Concluding Observations, has made reference to States' obligation to protect children from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. For example, in 2002 the Committee recommended that the UK government:
"Provide adequate information and support to homosexual and transsexual young people, and encourages the State party, further to the statement of intent made by its delegation to repeal section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, where it applies”. Section 28 was a piece of legislation that stated that local authorities in England and Wales may not "intentionally promote homosexuality" or "promote the teaching of... the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretend family relationship".
The Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No.3 on HIV and AIDS also expressed concern at discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This General Comment emphasises governments' obligation to ensure children have access to honest education and information about sexuality, stating that: "that effective HIV/AIDS prevention requires States to refrain from censoring, withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including sexual education and information, and that, consistent with their obligations to ensure the right to life, survival and development of the child (art. 6), States parties must ensure that children have the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their sexuality."
Other treaties which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation include the Treaty of Amsterdam, of the European Union, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Although there is no express provision in this latter treaty, in the case Toonen vs. Australia, the Human Rights Committee (which monitors implementation of the Covenant) held that the references to "sex" in Articles 2, paragraph 1, (non-discrimination) and 26 (equality before the law) of the ICCPR should be taken to include sexual orientation.
This document outlines the international legal framework supporting the right to comprehensive sex education. It includes reference to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In June 2008, the Organisation of American States (OAS) recognised for the first time that homosexuals in the Americas are victims of discrimination and violence.
The OAS passed a resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, which was presented by a delegation of activists from Brazil, and committed to placing the issue on its agenda.
During the session, a 14 year old Colombian boy read a statement to ambassadors in which he spoke of the particular violence and discrimination against homosexual children and young people.
[CRIN]
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=22640&flag=news
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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
The United Nations has for the first time named the military forces and rebel groups that are the most persistent violators of children in armed conflicts, identifying groups in Asia, Africa and Latin America which continue to recruit child soldiers and use them to wage war.
The annual report of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict shows that 16 different armies and insurgent groups – in conflicts ranging from the Philippines and Myanmar to Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Colombia – have recruited or used child soldiers for at least the past five years. Read the full story.
For more stories on children and armed conflict, including an update on the UN's campaign for universal ratification on the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, look out for tomorrow's thematic CRINMAIL.
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Children's rights experts gathered in Vienna last week to further efforts to combat violence against children. The aim of the meeting, convened as part of the Council of Europe's groundbreaking 'Building a Europe for and with Children' programme, was to share ideas on developing common national strategies to combat violence against children in Europe. Read CRIN's full report here.
Anti-death penalty campaigners also met in the Austrian capital last week to discuss the UN Secretary General's new report on capital punishment. The report includes an update on international prohibitions on capital punishment as well as the latest information on countries which continue to sentence juveniles to death. Read the report.
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Nigerian NGO Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA) is taking the governments of Nigeria and Egypt to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights over the alleged marriage of a 13 year-old Egyptian girl to a Nigerian Senator.
Former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Sani, allegedly paid $100,000 to the girl's parents to wed their daughter. Both Egypt and Nigeria have failed to take action against the Senator. WELA has condemned the omission to act, saying it contravenes all international and regional human rights law. Read the full story.
Reminder: We reported previously that the terms of six of the 11 members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child are coming to an end. The deadline for Ministers of Foreign Affairs to submit nominations to the African Union Legal Affairs Department is 30 May 2010. If you have not yet done so, please make sure your Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent off their nomination. If you are sure a candidate has been nominated, please inform the Civil Society Forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child at: [email protected].
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The "I Matter Campaign" advocates for support for young people ageing out of care. The second edition of the "I Matter" briefing paper, published this month by SOS Children's Villages, focuses on young people's involvement in the campaign. Read the briefing.
Sad news has just reached us from Australia about the situation of children in out-of-home care. A new report issued today by the Ombudsman of Victoria has uncovered widespread sexual exploitation of children by carers in the state child protection system. Ombudsman George Brouwer found a significant "lack of transparency and independent oversight" in relation to the quality of care provided in the out-of-home care system. Read the report.
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Follow up: Banning the veil - the impact on children's rights
Following (and in spite of!) our main story last week, France has now approved a bill making it illegal to wear veils that cover the face. Women who wear the veil in public could be fined. Read the full story.
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Eye on advocates
A Pakistani High Court has banned a number of international websites in response to a Facebook user calling for an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day." Blocked sites include Facebook, Flickr, Wikipedia, Google, Twitter and some parts of the BBC. Read the full story on Article 19.
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation has warned that human rights defenders in Kenya are at risk as the International Criminal Court and UN experts investigate impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations in the country. Read the full story.
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From the frontline: Po Yan Cheng, Kids' Dream [interview]
Po Yan Cheng, 20, has for many years been an active member in child-led organisation Kids' Dream. She served as the Co-Chair of the Young Participants Program of the 2009 International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, and is currently studying social policy and administration full-time in Hong Kong.
Participation is crucial for children's rights in Hong Kong. Here, local culture and tradition often dictate that children do not deserve much attention, and many people believe that children are already so privileged that they do not need more rights. But in reality, we have the world's widest gap between rich and poor, and the many deprived children in our city have been made invisible.
Young people also need to realise the importance of children's rights. Many children in Hong Kong don't think that they should or need to participate in society. We must work to convince them why it is important to participate and teach them how to do so, or else we will end up with a generation of adults who are not concerned about making our society a good place to live.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides an important framework for advancing children's rights. The Convention has very clear principles and guidelines for implementation. For example, the best interests principle reminds us that whenever children are involved, we must always think of how our actions would affect them.
My proudest moment in children's rights was helping to prepare Kids' Dream's shadow report to the CRC. There are unfortunately not very many countries where children are able to come together and share their own views on children's rights with the government and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, but we were able to submit a report and even send two of our members to Geneva. I think this is a very important recognition of how crucial children's voices are to realising the goals of the Convention.
I really admire the work of children's rights advocates in China. Children's rights are a very sensitive matter in China, and the Save the Children office there is one of very few international NGOs with a presence. Last year, they helped to organise a conference bringing children together from many of the provinces to talk about children's rights, and have since advocated very strongly for children's voices to be incorporated into China's CRC shadow report.
If I could give children's rights advocates one piece of advice, it would be to always treasure young people's involvement in their planning and activities. Most people think that children have little to contribute, but in the end, it is the process of getting children involved that is important and not the end result. Young people and adults both stand to gain a lot from cooperation – adults will find new perspectives valuable, and children will have the chance to develop and learn to contribute their opinions in a meaningful way.
If I weren't working in children's rights, I would be bored! And I'd probably be boring, too.
The best thing about my job is that it has taught me that young people can change the world. In schools and many adult-led organisations, people are not very supportive of children. But at Kids' Dream, we have a mutual understanding as young people that we can and need to take the initiative. I learned very quickly that if you have an idea, you can make it happen!
The hardest thing about my job is finding the time to do it. Being a student in Hong Kong makes me very busy, and the demands of Kids' Dream's work are not always child-friendly. There is a very high standard for work in Hong Kong if it is going to be taken seriously, and this can be very stressful for young people. I think this is a problem with the system – children will do what children do, and the point of participation should be to recognise what they have done and not to expect greatness in all aspects of their work.
One day, I hope to be the Children's Commissioner for Hong Kong. We have been fighting for a Children's Commissioner for a number of years, and I hope that the government will soon agree that it is necessary for children's rights in Hong Kong. Personally, I think being Children's Commissioner would give me a chance to feel like I was genuinely contributing to the world and let me turn all of my thoughts and experiences with children's rights into action.
In one word, children's rights to me are universal. Children's rights are truly international, and they should not and do not have boundaries. Because there are children in every country and we all share the same world, children's rights are everyone's business.
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Employment: Save the Children Sweden
Save the Children Sweden: Senior Research Consultant
Save the Children Sweden in Yemen is seeking a Senior Research Consultant to research violence against children in Iraq.
Application deadline: 30 May 2010
For more information, visit: http://mena.savethechildren.se/Middle_East_and_North_Africa/Contact-Us/Vacancie/
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JARGON OF THE WEEK
Promoting the use of clear language among child rights advocates.
**Stakeholder**
Ask anyone on the street where to find a stakeholder and you may be greeted with a blank stare, be directed to the nearest steak house, or, if you're lucky, be invited to their next barbecue!
The word stakeholder is rarely used beyond the NGO world and its meaning is unclear.
We found the following example: "Children stakeholders review draft complementary report"
Steer clear of 'stakeholders' and be more specific, say 'those involved' or 'those affected' or spell out who you are talking about. To be avoided in particular where children are involved - this word is not child-friendly!
In the instance above, instead simply say "Children review draft complementary report"
Send your favourite jargon to [email protected]
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