CRINMAIL 1211:

In this issue:

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Latest news and reports 

Social unrest and political turmoil across the Middle East

After mass civilian demonstrations in Tunisia ended the 23-year presidency of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and led to his exile, several other countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, Algeria and Sudan, have taken to the streets in protest against existing political regimes in what has been coined the “Tunisia Effect”. However, the demonstrations have also resulted in many casualties. 

Although the Tunisian government has claimed that 78 people died during the country’s protests, a UN team has estimated the real figure could be as high as 219. Full story.

Yet currently the world’s media attention is fixed on Egypt, where protests have continued into their ninth day, and where civilians have claimed that at their outset police officers went from using tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators, to using live rounds. Watch a video detailing the incidents here.

The Global Network for Rights and Development urged the Attorney General in Egypt to open an immediate investigation into the killing of 119 civilians, including 18 children, by special security forces last Friday alone. More than 3,745 people have been wounded and 416 Egyptians have “disappeared”, including 14 women. More on the story (in Arabic). 

Amnesty International has condemned this degree of force as disproportionate and unnecessary. It has urged the Egyptian authorities to rein in the police in order to prevent further deaths of protesters amid continuing nationwide demonstrations. Full story.

In response to the clampdown on civil liberties, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay urged the Egyptian Government to protect the rights of its citizens to freedom of expression, information and assembly in line with the country’s legislation and international human rights law. Read the full statement here.

However, Pillay's call for restoring free use of mobile and Internet services has been dismissed after Egypt’s last working Internet service provider was disconnected on Friday, signifying a total shutdown of web access in the country. In response to the communication blockade, Google has set up a special service which allows people to post messages on the microblogging service, Twitter, by making telephone calls to three designated numbers which are automatically converted into text messages. Full story.

Meanwhile in Algeria, demonstrations have erupted onto the streets of the country’s capital Algiers, fuelled by public dissatisfaction towards unemployment, corruption, high food prices and a lack of political reform. Yet unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, the security force’s response was relatively restrained from the start, so the protests have not escalated violent confrontations or human casualties. Read more.

This has not been the case in Sudan, where hundreds of student protesters taking part in youth-led anti-government demonstrations against rising prices of basic commodities have been beaten, while dozens have been arrested and one killed after security forces used tear gas and batons to break-up protests. Full story.

This follows another incident in Darfur in which two students died and nine others were injured after police opened fire on a student protest in December 2010. Read more.

Curbing child recruitment and prostitution

The government of Afghanistan has signed an agreement aimed at protecting children affected by armed conflict and preventing child recruitment into armed forces. Full story. The agreement also sets out provisions to protect boys from being used as sex slaves by military commanders as part of an Afghan tradition of “bacha bazi”, literally meaning “boy play”, in which boys are dressed as girls, forced to dance in front of male audiences, and then auctioned for sex. More on the story. 

Meanwhile here at CRIN, we were shocked to hear of the death of Hamida Barmaki, Child Rights Commissioner of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, in a suicide bombing in Kabul, alongside her husband and four children. Hamida was a regular correspondent of CRIN and will be sorely missed. Full story.

Child marriages escalate

Despite provisions in the Family Code prohibiting underage marriage in Morocco, 2010 saw an increase of almost 3,000 child brides from the previous year, reports the country’s Social Development Ministry. The persistence of the issue has been attributed to tradition as well as high levels of rural poverty, which as the sociologist Ahmed Mrani claims, pushes families to marry off their daughters as it means one less mouth to feed. Full story. 

Questioning HIV testing in schools

Teachers unions, legal experts and children's rights advocates have raised concerns over a government proposal in South Africa to introduce HIV testing in schools. Among the main concerns are whether children are able to emotionally deal with the outcome should they test positive, and that testing should be voluntary. The deputy president of the National Teacher's Union, Allen Thompson, argues that children should not be used to fulfill national HIV testing targets. Full story.

Limiting birthright citizenship

In an effort to stop illegal immigration, Republicans in Arizona, United States are pushing for legislation that denies birthright citizenship to children born in the United States to non-US parents. This proposal follows the controversial Arizona immigration law of 2010 which allows police officers to arbitrarily query the immigration status of persons whom they suspect are in the United States illegally. Full story.

A preview of the consequences of such legislation was evident in Nepal earlier this month, after the government proposed a draft constitution that would not confer birthright citizenship to children of non-Nepali parents, which received criticism for its potential to leave many children stateless. Full story.

Child detention

Defence for Children International has published a report on the situation faced by Palestinian children detained in the Israeli military court system, where reports of torture and ill-treatment are common. The report draws on the affidavits from 40 children over a six-month period, and reveals that more than 60 per cent of child detainees were accused of throwing stones and in 47 per cent of cases children reported being mistreated. Download the report.

Promoting children's rights in schools

The Right to Education Project and ActionAid have jointly released a resource pack on promoting rights in schools, which dwells on the fundamental rights of children to compulsory education, non-discrimination, qualified teachers, and a safe and non-violent learning environment. It is aimed at parents, children, teachers, unions and communities to achieve a collective effort to improve the quality of public education. Download the report here.

Corporal punishment

The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children has released the 15^th issue of its newsletter which includes updates on the state of achieving a full prohibition across the world, a new Campaigns Manual, and much more. Download the report.

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Employment

Terre des Hommes: Social Worker acting as Regional Protection Advisor (RPA)

Terre des Hommes is seeking a Social Worker to act as a Regional Protection Advisor (RPA) for the organisation’s projects in Central and South Eastern Europe to be based in Bucharest, Romania for a period of two years with an immediate start.

To apply, please complete the online application form and attach your CV along with a cover letter at: http://tdh.ch/en/jobs/92/applications/new

For further information regarding the position, visit: http://tdh.ch/en/jobs/92

Jargon of the Week

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