CRINMAIL 1340

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS 

Asylum-seekers banned from public places 

Several towns in Switzerland have been accused of racism after their mayors drew up plans to house asylum-seekers in special centres and ban them from “sensitive” public places.  Asylum-seekers will be banned from areas such as playing fields, swimming pools, libraries, churches and school vicinities.  According to the Mayor of Bremgarten, Raymond Tellenbach: “[W]e wanted these restrictions in order to prevent tension with residents, especially with students. It’s for their security. We want to be sure that they are not molested.” 

The move has drawn heavy criticism from human rights groups who say it treats asylum-seekers as second-class citizens with limited freedom of movement.  "In many cases we are talking about children, women, men who fled from war and persecution and wish as much as possible to go back to a normal life," said Dan McNorton, spokesman of the UN refugee agency.  "In order to encourage a welcoming environment for people who are uprooted and often vulnerable, it is important to reinforce public messages which aim at avoiding the risk of stigmatisation of asylum-seekers and also at promoting refugees' integration,” he said.

Despite this, the Swiss government has admitted its department of immigration approved the freedom of movement restrictions with town councils. The Swiss human-rights group, humanrights.ch, says barring asylum seekers from certain public spaces is common in the country, “but, until now, nobody has noticed or cared about it.”  Full story.

Call to give aboriginal abuse victims role in court case

In Canada, First Nations adults who were abused as children in Catholic residential schools should be a given a say in a court case on the alleged abuse, say rights advocates.  The case in question concerns hundreds of First Nations children who were sent to St Anne's residential school in Fort Albany from 1904 to 1976, one of 140 church-run residential schools set up in Canada to "civilise" aboriginal children. At the school children were sexually abused, made to eat their own vomit, and electrocuted in a homemade electric chair. 

The Federal Government has sought a legal opinion on whether to release the evidence gathered as part of a five-year police investigation. Advocates say abuse survivors are not being consulted as part of the legal opinion, even though the police documents could support their case in a current class-action lawsuit. Full story. 

Specialist judges to preside over sex abuse cases

Complex cases of child abuse will be handled by a select group of judges with specialist training, said the head of the judiciary in England and Wales amid concern over the way some child witnesses are treated in court.  The move comes in light of a recent case where a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) barrister defending a child sex abuser described a 13-year-old victim in court as "predatory".  Robert Colover QC also called the girl "sexually experienced" and that she had “egged on” her abuser.

Worryingly, the presiding judge, Nigel Peters, said he had taken into account Colover’s comments that the girl looked and behaved older than she was.   But Paul Mendelle, a criminal barrister and former chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said victims’ behaviour is not usually a mitigating factor.  The Office for Judicial Complaints said it would investigate complaints against the judge for handing down a suspended prison sentence which it considered "possibly unduly lenient". More on the story.

Inheritance discrimination under court review 

The Supreme Court of Japan is to decide whether a law that prescribes lesser inheritance rights to children born out of wedlock violates the Constitution's prohibition on discrimination.  In cases where a deceased person had children born out of wedlock as well as children born within marriage, and in the absence of a will, Article 900 of the Civil Code provides that the child born out of wedlock is entitled to only half of the share in the estate than a so-called “legitimate” child is entitled to receive.

This case presents an opportunity for the court to revisit the issue which it addressed in 1995. In the earlier decision, the court found that such different treatment on the basis of the marital status of a child’s parents was justified as it respected the status of legal marriage, while providing protection for children born outside of marriage. In that judgment, however, a minority of judges dissented arguing that the provision unreasonably discriminated against children born out of wedlock, and was therefore incompatible with the Japanese Constitution’s prohibition on discrimination.  In August 2011, the Osaka High Court ruled that the provision was unconstitutional. And the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised discriminatory treatment of children born out of wedlock every time it has reviewed a State report from Japan.  It is hoped that that Supreme Court will now correct an issue of legal discrimination. Full story. 

Law gives choice to transgender children

Transgender children attending public schools in California, United States will be able to use whichever bathroom and take part in any sports team they believe suits their gender identity, the Huffington Post reports.  While policies exist in other US states to protect transgender students from discrimination, California is the first to enshrine it in state law. The bill in question will enter into force in January 2014. Full story.

In 2012 California also became the first US state to ban so-called “conversion therapy” for children which attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation, mainly same-sex attraction, based on the belief that homosexuality is a disorder or an illness, and claims to treat people with counselling and psychotherapy. 

Call for contributions: OHCHR study

The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is inviting contributions to the OHCHR study on the right to education of persons with disabilities. The study welcomes information on any restrictions faced by children with disabilities in attending school, any plans to promote inclusion and discourage education in special schools, which government bodies hold responsibility of education policies, and whether countries have effective complaints mechanisms for challenging discrimination against persons with disabilities when attempting to access education, among other relevant information. The study will be presented at the Human Rights Council in March 2014. The deadline for contributions is 20 September 2013. For more information, or to contribute, click here. 

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CHILDREN'S RIGHTS WIKI: Spotlight on Portugal

In this week's Children's Rights Wiki, we look at the persistent violations of children's rights in Portugal: http://wiki.crin.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Portugal

• Child labour; 
• Children in poverty; 
• Education - high drop out rate and regional disparities; 
• Trafficking of children; 
• Sexual abuse of children; 
• Domestic violence; 
• Corporal punishment; 
• Insufficient sexual and reproductive education; 
• High prevalence of HIV and AIDS; 
• Children living and/or working in the street. 

For more information on these persistent violations, visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=26618&flag=report

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Harmful practices: Powerful persuasion - Combatting traditional practices that violate human rights 
Organisation: New Tactics in Human Rights
Date: 19-23 August 2013
Location: Online
More details here. 

Business: 2013 Regional Forum on Business & Human Rights for Latin American and the Caribbean
Organisation: UN Working Group on Business & Human Rights et al. 
Date: 28-30 August 2013
Location: Medellín, Colombia
More details here. 

Europe: Promoting children's rights in Europe: recent developments
Organisation: Genital Autonomy
Date: 16-17 September 2013
Location: Keele, United Kingdom
More details here. 

Mental health: Implementing the suicide prevention strategy
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 17 September 2013
Location: London, United Kingdom
More details here. 

Exploitation: Child & adolescent health & well-being - safeguarding children from sexual exploitation
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 19 September 2013
Location: London, United Kingdom
More details here. 

Street children: Changing the Game - An interactive summit to develop our responses with street-involved children 
Organisation: Street Child World Cup  
Date: 23-26 September 2013
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom  
More details here.

Sexual violence: Evidence into action
Organisation: Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Date: 14-17 October 2013
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
More details here. 

Violence: 19 Days of Activism - Prevention abuse and violence against children and youth 
Organisation: Women's World Summit Foundation
Date: 1-19 November 2013
Location: N/A 
More details here. 

Participation: Building an inclusive Europe - the contribution of children's participation 
Organisation: Eurochild
Date: 13-15 November 2013
Location: Milan, Italy 
More details here. 

Child rights: Honouring the child, honouring equity
Organisation: University of Melbourne's Youth Research Centre 
Date: 15-16 November 2013
Location: Melbourne, Australia 
More details here. 

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EMPLOYMENT

Eurochild: Consultancy on child and youth participation
Location: N/A
Application deadline: 22 August 2013
More details here. 

Hague Conference on Private International Law: Senior/Principal Legal Officer 
Location: The Hague, Netherlands  
Application deadline: 23 August 2013
More details here. 

Hague Conference on Private International Law: Coordinator for Intercountry adoption technical assistance programme 
Location: The Hague, Netherlands  
Application deadline: 15 September 2013
More details here. 

Leak of the Week 

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