CRINMAIL 1265:In

In this issue:

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS 

Twenty States sign new Optional Protocol! 

Twenty States have signed the third Optional Protocol of the Convention of the Rights of the Child for a complaints mechanism, which opened for signature yesterday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Slovakia has always been a strong supporter of the initiative, even early on when few States were backing it.  The other European signatories to the Optional Protocol are Slovenia, Serbia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal and Montenegro.  The Latin American signatories are Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica.  Meanwhile Morocco and Mali remain the only two African countries to sign so far, and the Maldives the only Asian country. 

Highlighting that this is only the beginning of the process, Lisa Myers from the NGO Group for the CRC hailed the importance of the new complaints mechanism, saying it sends "a powerful signal of States' commitment to children", adding that "for rights to have meaning, international redress must be available." 

The Optional Protocol will remain open for signature in New York for other States to sign. Next stage: ratification! 

For a template letter to encourage your State to ratify, prepared by the NGO Group for the CRC, click on the following language options: English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. 

Acknowledging media misrepresentations

In the United Kingdom, amid the current debate on ethics and regulation of journalism, 60 youth-led organisations have urged the Leveson Inquiry to consider including age as a classification of discrimination in editors' code of practice, as well as a clause stipulating that journalists must avoid misrepresenting and making negative generalisations about children and young people in the media. Full story.

Also read a CRIN briefing on discrimination and the media here. 

Call to pack in the 'therapy' 

Disability Rights International has called on authorities in France to end the “torturous” practice of “packing therapy” used on children in psychiatric facilities who have been diagnosed with autism and psychosis. The practice involves wrapping a child in a cold, wet sheet or towel and leaving the child unable to move in it for almost hour, with such sessions repeated several times a week, sometime for months at a time, and often without parents’ consent, not to mention the child's! Full story.

Pre-Eurovision evictions

Human Rights Watch is calling on Azerbaijani authorities to halt the wrongful evictions of families in a neighbourhood in the capital Baku and the demolition of their homes ahead of the Eurovision song contest. The organisation further highlights that there have been no court orders validating expropriations and demolitions, as required by the country's constitution. In some cases heating, water and telephone services were cut in buildings that were still populated. Full story.

Syrian city to be 'cleaned'

Syrian authorities have begun a ground assault on opposition strongholds, including the city of Homs which has suffered heavy shelling for almost a month. One official said the Homs neighbourhood of Baba Amr would be “cleaned” within hours, raising concerns about trapped civilians.  

On Tuesday 28 February, the Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Syria. “The international community must unite in sending a clear message to the Syrian authorities and the Security Council must assume its responsibility to protect the population of Syria”, said Navi Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who also believes that the situation in Syria, where well over 7,500 people are thought to have been killed, should be referred to the International Criminal Court. 

Tour operators profit from 'human safaris'

Indigenous rights and tourism groups have raised concerns about some tour operators in Peru profiting from the exploitation of Amazon tribes as a tourist attraction, accusing them of conducting “human safaris” to catch a glimpse of rarely seen indigenous peoples. They say that contact with the tribes could be fatal, as they have no immunity to common diseases such as a simple cold. "We need governments to act to protect indigenous communities, tour operators need to follow a code of conduct and tourists need to be educated and informed," said Mark Watson, director of Tourism Concern. Full story.

A similar story is unfolding in India's Andaman Islands, home to the indigenous Jarawa tribe who number just 365, and which in the latest incident, some of its members were filmed being made to dance for tourists in return for food. 

Same-sex relations up for debate  

India's Supreme Court is hearing over a dozen petitions lodged to overturn a 2009 Delhi High Court ruling to decriminalise same-sex relations between consenting adults, while pro-gay rights activists hail the ruling as a landmark verdict. Among the petitioners is a children's organisation that claims to oppose the ruling because of its duty to safeguard against children's "moral and material abandonment", a position which further promotes discrimination against LGBT people, including LGBT children, and hinders efforts to encourage tolerance in society and in schools. Full story. 

CRIN's media toolkit in 5 languages! 

CRIN's Media Toolkit is now available in five languages! The guide aims to help organisations with media and communications activities, including on investigative reporting, on how to turn a press release into news, and on speaking with the media. It also includes a section for journalists reporting on cases involving children. Download the toolkit in English, Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish. 

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CHILDREN'S RIGHTS WIKI: Spotlight on Azerbaijan 

This week's focus country on the Children's Rights Wiki is Azerbaijan: http://wiki.crin.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Azerbaijan

Persistent violations of children's rights in Azerbaijan

The following issues have been raised by more than one international human rights mechanism in relation to children's rights violations in the country. For full details of the recommendations, visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=27755&flag=report

• Domestic violence and violence against women and girls
• Early marriage 
• Trafficking
• Ill-treatment of children in the justice system
• Use of, and conditions in, juvenile detention (including the detention of children with adults) 
• Inadequate healthcare (particularly for internally displaced persons) 
• Inadequate reproductive healthcare and education 
• Inadequate access to education (particularly for displaced persons, women and girls) 
• Inadequate housing for vulnerable persons (particularly displaced persons and asylum-seekers)  

Contributions

The Children's Rights Wiki is a collaborative project. If you wish to submit information on national campaigns on and lobbying for children's rights in your country, contact us at: [email protected]

This week we are sharing the latest lobbying questionnaires received from Cote d'Ivoire and Serbia.

Previous questionnaires were received from Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal and Ukraine. 

You can download and fill in the lobbying questionnaire for your country in Arabic, English, French or Spanish. 

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Trafficking: A one-day course introduction to child trafficking
Organisation: ECPAT
Dates: 6 March 2012
Location: London, UK
More details here. 

Trafficking: A one-day advanced course on child trafficking
Organisation: ECPAT
Dates: 22 March
Location: London, UK
More details here. 

Call for papers: Criminality or Social Exclusion? Justice for Children in a Divided World. 
Organisation: International Juvenile Justice Observator
Dates: 5-7 November 2012
Submission deadline: 30 April 2012  
Location: London, UK
More details here. 

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EMPLOYMENT 

Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC): Socio-Legal Researcher 

The CCLC is accepting applications for the role of Soci-Legal Researcher to be based in London, UK. Application deadline: 12 March 2012. More details here. 

UNICEF: Principal Adviser (Ethics) 

UNICEF is seeking a Principal Advisor (Ethics) to be based in New York, USA. Application deadline: 16 March 2012. More details here. 

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The Last Word

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