CRINMAIL 1222

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Forced male circumcision as sexual violence

A global advocacy group for gender-based violence survivors has called on the International Criminal Court to recognise forced male circumcision as a form of sexual violence. It currently falls under the category of "other inhumane treatment", but Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ) says this fails to address the context in which forced circumcisions were carried out in Kenya in the 2008 post-election period – typically by Kikuyu armed mobs and predominantly against Luo men. 

Brigid Inder, executive director of WIGJ, has said that “what makes these acts a form of sexual violence is the force [used] and the coercive environment [in which they take place], as well as the intention and purpose of the acts."  “[T]he forced circumcision of Luo men… has both political and ethnic significance in Kenya and therefore has a specific meaning," she said, adding that in 2008 “it was intended as an expression of political and ethnic domination by one group over the other and was intended to diminish the cultural identity of Luo men,” she said. Full story.

Millie Odhiambo-Mabona, a lawyer with a children's rights group declared that forced male circumcision is a "weapon of war" employed by groups that practise traditional circumcision against those who do not, "...because for the communities that don't practise [it], if you forcefully circumcise them, then it's meant to be degrading." More on the story.

State violence

More than 400 people have been killed and over 500 detained in Syria since the State crackdown on anti-government protests began in mid-March, according to Syrian human rights group Sawasiah. Around 120 lives were claimed this weekend alone, including two boys aged seven and 10. Members of the International Committee of Jurists have called for President al-Assad and his lieutenants to be held to account for the civilian deaths, saying they could face trial at the International Criminal Court. In response to the violence, the UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on the human rights situation in the country on 29 April, where European Union governments will discuss the possibility of imposing economic sanctions against Syria if it does not stop repressing its people. 

Meanwhile in Libya, 200 children as young as eight have reported being sexually abused and some even raped in the last four weeks of conflict between rebel forces and troops loyal to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Save the Children has revealed.  In one reported case, a group of girls was abducted, held hostage for four days and raped.  Some children have even witnessed the rape and murder of family members. Full story. In another case, an eight-year-old girl was sexually abused in front of her 10-year-old sister and other siblings. Victims have said that “soldiers” committed the assaults, but their affiliation could not be confirmed. More on the story. 

Discriminatory testing

Virginity tests in Afghanistan unfairly discriminate against women, and when forced on brides-to-be, are degrading and constitute a form of torture, human rights activists have said. Virginity tests are a common requirement for Afghan women preparing for marriage, however, the same is not required of men. Moreover, virginity is not mentioned in the country’s penal system or other laws. What is more, virginity tests have proven to be unreliable, but when they determine that a woman is no longer a virgin, they can sometimes result in honour killings, which the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan concluded are based on deep-rooted cultural beliefs and not on religion. Full story. 

Recruitment still persists 

A new United Nations report on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic highlights the continued recruitment of children by armed groups and calls for measures to address the ongoing “protection crisis” in the country. The report notes a number of factors that contribute to the situation, including continued fighting between government forces and armed groups, widespread banditry, extreme poverty and the lack of capacity of the defence and security forces and the judiciary. In the report UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges the government to conduct rigorous investigations into violations against children, especially child recruitment, sexual violence and abductions, and to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted. Download the report. 

Excessive restraint  

A seven-year-old boy in special education in New York, United States was handcuffed by NYPD officers and sent to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after throwing a tantrum at his school. The boy's mother has informed that since the incident, he has begun wetting himself, vomiting, and cries and hides under the bed when he hears an ambulance, screaming 'They're going to get me.' A NYPD spokesperson justified the measure saying that the boy “was a danger to himself and others in the classroom."  Yet children's rights advocates highlight this is not an isolated incident, citing a 2008 case in which a 12-year-old girl was cuffed for doodling on her desk, and a five-year-old for misbehaving at kindergarten. Full story.

Meanwhile, children as young as 14 and men as old as 89 have been detained at the Guantánamo Bay detention centre, a recent WikiLeak has revealed. One Afghan boy who had been raped by a group of 11 men and forcibly recruited by the Taliban was 14 when he was captured by US forces in 2003. He subsequently spent one year interned at Guantánamo before being released. Although the boy was unable to provide information deemed valuable, US interrogators assessed that he should still be removed from “his current environment and afford…an opportunity to 'grow out' of the radical extremism he has been subject to.” He was eventually flown back home in 2004. Full story. 

Reviewing juvenile detention facilities

In Punjab, India, the conditions at a juvenile observation home have been classed as pathetic by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The home houses 24 inmates, all boys, some as young as nine and 11 years old, all of whom are held in three cramped cubicles. Full story. 

Similarly in New Zealand, the Independent Police Conduct Authority, the Office of the Children's Commissioner and the country’s Human Rights Commission are set to conduct a Joint Thematic Review of Children and Young Persons in Police detention, the first of its kind in the country. The Review is being conducted in the framework of the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), ratified by New Zealand in 2007, which requires signatories to carry out site visits to places of detention, including Police cells and secure residences for children and young people. The Review will examine relevant policies applicable to children and make recommendations aimed at improving conditions and treatment of juvenile detainees. 

The Review team is also seeking submissions or feedback on issues relevant to the conditions applicable to and treatment of children or young people in Police detention in New Zealand. For more details, click here.

Child health

Untreated syphilis kills 650,000 infants annually in developing countries, according to the World Health Organisation. Failure to diagnose and treat the condition and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among pregnant women in Kenya means that thousands of mothers risk losing their children or passing on the infections to their unborn children. Full story.

In Pakistan, 250,000 children die annually from drinking unsafe water resulting in diarrhoeal disease, a new study by the country's Council of Research in Water Resources has revealed. It also notes that 82 per cent of water sources tested in 24 (of the country’s more than 100) districts, provided water that is unsafe to drink. Paediatrician Rubina Ijaz said that infants and small children are often suffer the most, as mothers who do not breast-feed frequently give their children dry milk formula mixed with unsafe water. Poverty and lack of awareness are also part of the problem, as many families do not know that water is a principle source of disease, while others cannot even boil their water due to lack of resources and expensive burning materials. Full story. 

Child Rights: ‘The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Children – Lessons from Past Experiences and Future Policies’
Date: 9^th June 2011
Organisation: ChildONEurope
Location: Florence, Italy 
Registration deadline: 20^th May 2011
More details here. 

Participation: ‘UN Youth Conference - Youth Dialogue and Mutual Understanding’
Date: 25^th-26^th  July 2011
Organisation: United Nations
Location: New York, United States
More details here. 

EMPLOYMENT 

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: 30 April 2011
 

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