CRINMAIL 1216
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UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Day on the Rights of the Child 2011
The Human Rights Council this week gave over a full day of its 16th session to a discussion on children's rights.
State delegates, NGOs, UN agencies and individual experts gathered at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the situation of children working and / or living on the street.
The aim of the discussion was to raise awareness about the issue; reaffirm existing human rights standards and commitments; highlight good practices and lessons learnt in addressing their situation; identify key challenges; and recommend future action.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, opened the morning session on the root causes and factors leading children to live and / or work on the streets.
The first panellist, Ms. Najat Maalla M'jid, UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, stressed that we must be careful to distinguish between the different situations of street children, for instance, those living permanently on the streets and those working - but not permanently based on - the streets, and tailor solutions to children's unique situations.
Father Patrick Shanahan, President and Founding Member of Street Invest, also spoke during the morning session. He said participation is one of the rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but how can we fulfil this right if we are constantly prescribing what we think is right instead of listening to what children have to say?
From experience
Two youth representatives from Bangladesh and Benin shared their experiences of living and working on the street.
Sévérine, 17, from the African Movement of Working Children and Youth, from a village in south Benin, spoke of the dire conditions that large numbers of children find themselves in.
Mohammad, 16, and Tania, 14, youth representatives from Plan-supported programmes in Bangladesh, who grew up living and working on the street, told States: "We all deserve a childhood and the opportunity to go to school and become responsible citizens."
Protectors or perpetrators?
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Commissioner and Rapporteur on Children's Rights at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, shared insights from his country visits in the Americas.
"The home can sometimes be the most dangerous place for children", he revealed. Often, the reason children are on the streets is that they are beaten at home. These children must receive support from the State, but, in many cases the State is the main perpetrator of violence against them and, instead of protecting them, treats them as criminal members of street gangs.
Speaking of the lack of services available to protect children from violence, he cast doubt on governments' commitment to following up the recommendations of the UN Violence Study, saying: "they continue to ignore violence and don't take responsibility for it".
Only three countries out of 35 countries in the Americas have enacted a full prohibition on violence against children, while just 29 States in the world have taken this step, he continued. States have human rights obligations: they can't pick and choose what to focus on; they must guarantee all rights in the Convention.
States respond
Among States taking the floor, Hungary, on behalf of the European Union, strongly condemned violence experienced by street children. It raised particular concerns about the lack of data on street children, and called on States to develop systems to address this.
Belgium highlighted the particular situation of Roma children living on the street and stressed the importance of helping countries approach the issues from a social perspective rather than a criminal justice approach.
Guatemala explained that it considered the term "street children" derogatory, and proposed the alternative 'children and adolescents living and / or working on the street'.
What now? From charity to rights
In her closing comments, Ms. Najat Maalla M'jid explained that "moving from a charity based to rights based approach gives the child back his or her voice and, if you dare to listen to that voice, you will find the beginnings of solutions - I stress 'the beginnings'."
Paulo Pinheiro urged governments to implement the recommendations of the UN Study on Violence against Children. The experiences of Sweden, Germany and elsewhere show that changes in the law lead to changes in attitudes of police and teachers and parents, and others. You need law to educate, he said.
He said: "I hope you will ask your government to establish structures for child participation. You say you like hearing from the children here – well, you must do it in your own country, not just at the UN. I hope all members will support the resolution on the rights of children in street situations."
He also urged States to abolish inhuman sentencing of children, as many States continue to apply the death penalty, life imprisonment and corporal punishment to children as a sentence. Street children are especially vulnerable to coming into contact with the law and receiving such sentences.
Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against children, spoke first in the afternoon session, stressing the need to develop strong legislation and build strong child protection systems, including for the family, and stressed the need to abolish provisions that condemn and punish certain actions by children on the street, such as begging.
Read the full report on the Day on the Rights of the Child here.
NGO statements
Further information
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Latest news and reports
Update on State violence in the Middle East and North Africa
In Libya, clashes between Muammar Gaddafi loyalists and anti-government supporters have intensified in the past week, with more than 20 people killed and over 100 injured on Monday morning alone in the town of Misrata, and with at least seven people killed and more than 50 injured in the city of Ben Jawad. More on the story.
In one of the regime’s remaining strongholds, the country's capital, Tripoli, supplies to and from the city have been disrupted, which has led to fears of food, water and electricity shortages. One 13-year-old boy has said: “I'm terrified, not feeling safe, and I'm afraid I'll be an orphan. I've heard that fathers of my friends are being taken and 'disappeared'.” More on the relief situation.
Children are also directly affected by the violence in Libya. The Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, has received unconfirmed reports from human rights groups and civilians on the ground of violations of children's rights, which include the killing, maiming and use of children as combatants and the denial of humanitarian access. Coomaraswamy reminded the government, pro-government forces and opposition groups of their obligation under international law to protect children during armed clashes and that the recruitment and use of children may constitute a war crime. More here.
Following a request last week from the UN Security Council to investigate the alleged crimes against humanity in Libya since 15 February, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has said that “There will be no impunity in Libya...no one has authority to attack and massacre civilians.” Full story.
Likewise, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, is teaming up with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and a panel of experts on disappearances in order to probe allegations of the abduction, torture and execution of protesters at the hands of the Gaddafi regime. Such allegations include armed Gaddafi soldiers using ambulances to gain admittance to hospitals where they abduct patients and execute them elsewhere, in an attempt to eliminate potential witnesses. Full story.
Meanwhile in Yemen, three people died on Tuesday in a prison riot in support of the country's anti-government demonstrations, while dozens others were injured in protests in the country’s capital Sana’a after security forces opened fire on crowds. Full story. Later on Tuesday, another civilian protester was killed while six others are in a serious condition after sustaining bullet wounds in a police raid at the University campus, where live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas were fired. Full story. And on yet another day of violence, on Wednesday 75 protesters were injured in Sana’a after security forces opened fire on them. Read more.
Meanwhile Amnesty International has condemned the Egyptian army's heavy-handed method of clearing Cairo's Tahrir Square of protesters, after soldiers beat demonstrators and made over 100 arrests. According to eyewitnesses, army soldiers attempted to disperse a gathering of around 1,000 protesters by beating them, dismantling tents and breaking up an informal medical clinic. One protester who was arrested told how other detainees were beaten by soldiers. Full story.
Children's freedoms
Seemingly inspired by the events in the Middle East and North Africa, calls for pro-democracy protests have also gained momentum in Azerbaijan. Yet the government has responded with a clampdown on freedom of expression, detaining protesters including five youth activists currently held under allegedly false charges who have reported being beaten, threatened with rape, and could face prison sentences. In response to their arrest and detainment, a coalition of organisations which includes ARTICLE 19 and Freedom House have called for their release and to cease restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in the country. Full story.
The situation for child protesters in Lebanon, on the other hand, is specified in the country’s law on association, which currently prohibits children from participating in, creating, or being members of, associations or organisations, thus contradicting Article 15 of the CRC which Lebanon ratified in 1991. CRIN has had the chance to interview four Lebanese youths on the issue, and learnt that, for them, the most important right is freedom, "because it will allow children to speak more openly about all [other] rights." To read more of their views, click here.
Additionally, read CRIN's editorial on children's right to freedom of association.
Children’s rights in policing
The EU Parliament's Sub-Committee on Human Rights will review prison conditions in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 15 March 2011, in advance of which, the organisation Defence for Children International – Palestine Section has submitted a report documenting the conditions faced by Palestinian child detainees held in Israeli interrogation and detention facilities and prisons. The document provides evidence of the unlawful detention of children, forced confessions of child detainees, their inadequate separation from adult prisoners, and sleep deprivation, among other violations. Full story.
On the same issue, three organisations have jointly given an oral statement on juvenile justice at the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council in which they denounce problems affecting children in the administration of justice. These include the high occurrence of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment received by children especially during the phases of arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention. They have also highlighted the negative effects of sensationalist media on public perceptions of children and juvenile delinquency. Read the full statement here.
On a more positive note, as many as 5,000 police officers in Islamabad, Pakistan will be educated on human and children’s rights in order to improve the capacity of officers to perform their duties without violating the fundamental rights of individuals in conflict with the law. Full story.
Challenging blasphemy laws
Also in Pakistan, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has condemned the latest killing of a public figure who opposed the country's blasphemy laws, the Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti. In light of his assassination, Pillay has once again urged Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to be repealed, highlighting that they are “open to abuse and lead to violations of freedom of expression, freedom of religion and ultimately the right to life.” Full story.
This story follows another previous case in Pakistan in which a 17-year-old student was charged under the country’s blasphemy law for allegedly writing derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad in a school exam in April 2010. The case has underscored the urgent need to repeal section 295-C of the penal code, under which people accused of blasphemy can face life imprisonment and even the death penalty. Full story.
Child marriage persists
Studies suggest that around 3,000 girls in Saudi Arabia were under 13-years-old when they got married, while their husbands were at least 25 years their senior. In 2009, the Minister of Justice Mohammad Al-Eissa expressed his intention to regulate child marriages in the country, which he said would prevent parents and guardians from forcing their daughters to marry. Yet no further action has been taken, say children’s rights activists, who have also highlighted that a new clause in the marriage contract document requesting the couple to state their age will not help to curb the problem, as the stated age cannot be verified. Full story.
Also on the same issue, studies have shown that adolescent marriage in India appears to be directly linked with increased violence at home, including emotional, physical and sexual violence, and practised both by the husband and the in-laws, and even continues unabated during pregnancy and early motherhood. Full story.
Meanwhile Kenya marked the International Women’s Day by calling on the government to pass bills that would prohibit harmful traditional practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation. The bills in question include the Family Protection Bill 2009, the Marriage Bill 2009 and the Matrimonial Property Bill 2009, all of which are still pending approval. Full story.
Working children’s rights
In Bolivia, where there are an estimated 850,000 working children, members of the country’s largest union of child workers, UNATSBO, have sent a proposal to the government in which they call for their rights as workers to be recognised. Several of the children’s demands include legislative amendments to recognise that work for children begins at age six, not at age 14, as the law currently provides; protection against exploitative or hazardous work, or work that hinders a child’s health and physical, mental and social development; and that their salaries be brought in-line with the national minimum wage. Full story (in Spanish).
Highlighting “youthcides”
In Mexico, the issue of “youthcide”, that is to say the mass killing of youths, is grabbing increased attention both nationally and internationally, especially in relation to Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua where in 2009 children represented 75 per 100,000 inhabitants killed – a homicide rate nearly seven times greater than the Mexican national average for minors. Moreover, Chihuahua is the only state in the country that does not have a specific law dedicated to the rights of children. Full story.
Pushing for siblings’ rights
In the United States, a Nebraska Supreme Court case will address the rights of siblings to be homed together when put into foster or adoptive care. The siblings in question are currently separated by a seven-hour driving distance, with the youngest in foster care and the other two living with their adoptive parents. The lawyer representing the latter, Ms. Christine Costantakos, is pushing for the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that denied a change of placement for the youngest sibling, arguing that the most important relationship after a child's parents are his/her siblings. Full story.
Call for nominations
For the forthcoming International Children’s Peace Prize 2011, organisations and governments are kindly requested to nominate a child between the age of 12-18-years-old who they think is performing extraordinary efforts to improve or implement children’s rights for themselves and children in their environment.
For further information, click here: http://childrenspeaceprize.org/
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Employment
Defence for Children International (DCI) – Palestine Section: Media and Communications Office
DCI – Palestine Section is accepting applications for the role of Media and Communications Officer to develop the organisation’s media and communications policies and strategies, among other responsibilities. The role will be based in Ramallah, Palestine.
For further information on the role and application process, click here.
Application deadline: 21 March 2011 at 4pm (local time)
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SOS Children’s Villages: Continental Family Strengthening Advisor
SOS Children’s Villages is accepting applications for the role of Continental Family Strengthening Advisor to support SOS work in the area of prevention of child separation from the family. The post will be based in one of the countries from CEE/CIS/Baltics with national contract. This is a one-year position with a possibility of further extension of contract.
For further information on the role and application process, click here.
Application deadline: 21 March 2011
Weekly quiz!
The CRIN quiz is back this week!
Test yourself on recent children's rights happenings here.
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