Thousands of children of migrants may be stripped of their nationality following a decision of the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic. The decision found that the constitutional provision recognising anyone born in the country as a citizen does not apply to children of parents who were not “legal residents” at the time of their birth, because the parents were considered to still be “in transit”. The decision will affect descendants of Haitian migrants who have settled in the Dominican Republic since the Constitution came into force in 1929, and may leave the vast majority stateless.
Consent to medical procedures
In the United States, Nebraska's Supreme Court has rejected the request of a 16-year-old ward of the state to waive parental consent requirements to get an abortion, agreeing with a district court that she was “not sufficiently mature” to decide whether to have an abortion. This was despite evidence of the girl’s maturity, including the fact that she raised her siblings, plans to graduate high school early, and brought the case to court. The district court had also determined that the girl had to obtain her foster parents’ consent to have an abortion. Justice Connolly in dissent stated that it was impossible for her to obtain consent - the parental rights of her biological parents had been terminated by a juvenile court because of abuse and neglect, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (as her legal guardian) will not give her consent, and the consent of her foster parents would be ineffective as they are neither her parents or guardians. Full story.
Socio-economic rights
Spain’s ongoing austerity programme has deepened the country’s poverty problem and is breaching the human rights of vulnerable groups such as children and those with disabilities, according to a Council of Europe report.
Nils Muiznieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who visited Spain in June, said that “Cuts in social, health and educational budgets have led to a worrying growth of family poverty in Spain,”. The report states that “growing child poverty, malnutrition and inadequate housing are issues of serious concern because of their potentially devastating long-term impact on children and the country”. Around a third of Spanish children were already facing the risk of poverty in 2011, and it is thought that the situation has only got worse since then.
Elsewhere in Europe, the effects of austerity policies and economic problems on children’s rights have also been a cause for concern. In September, Eurochild reported on the situation in Greece, issuing an open letter to NGOs working on children’s rights in the country and highlighting that rather than accepting the delay of reform in child related institutions and services caused by economic turmoil, “reforms must be an integral part of the exit strategy in the current crisis”.
Over the summer, in the United Kingdom the office of the UK Children’s Commissioner published a child rights based analysis on the impact of the austerity measures promoted by the current Government’s budget. Among the findings, the Commissioners warned of a significant increase in child poverty expected over the next few years. They also noted that children were facing a bigger effective loss of family income than even that of working adults and that poorer families with children faced a disproportionately greater decrease in standards of living compared with the very wealthiest.
Meanwhile, in the United States, a political deadlock has frozen funding for a number of government service, including a supplementary nutrition programme used by nearly nine million mothers and children under the age of five. While a contingency fund is available, this is expected to be exhausted by November, leaving many already vulnerable families facing food insecurity.
Crackdown on free speech online in China
Yang Hui, a 16-year-old victim of China’s recent crackdown on “internet rumours,” was released on 23 September after a week in custody. Yang was thought to be the youngest and one of the first microbloggers to be detained under a judicial interpretation announced on 9 September that threatens posters with up to three years in prison for posting allegedly harmful information that is viewed more than 5,000 times or reposted more than 500 times.
Yang Hui was detained after he criticised the local police online over their handling of the death of a karaoke bar manager, which in turn provoked a street protest. After Yang’s arrest, more than forty lawyers signed a petition for his release, while online activists began investigating local officials for corruption.
The arrest comes after several weeks of government crackdowns on high profile online voices associated with the increasingly influential Weibo networks - including those associated with anti-corruption activism and those who have voiced opposition to state construction project.
Armed conflict
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today urged all parties to put an end to violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The intercommunal violence, which flared up in June and October 2012, has involved clashes between local Buddhist and Muslim groups and has led to the declaration of a state of emergency in the province and the displacement of tens of thousands of refugees. Fighting began again in late September this year, with further deaths reported and the widespread destruction of homes.
“In the name of Myanmar’s children, now is the time for this violence to end,” said Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF Representative in Yangon. “Hate messages and inflammatory propaganda just perpetuate the cycle of violence, and it is children who suffer.”
Abuse and exploitation of boys in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, sexual exploitation of boys, in particular the practice of "bacha bazi" (in which boys are dressed as girls, forced to dance in front of male audiences, and then are auctioned for sex), continues unabated, according to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, who cite a weak central government and the absence of the rule of law as some of the reasons for the continuation of this tradition. Although UNICEF has highlighted this practice a number of times, victims are often reluctant to come forward for fear of reprisals, stigma or honour killings. In 2011, the Afghan government signed a pact with the UN whereby the Government would ensure protection of boys from being used as sex slaves by military commanders. The Government is now being pressed by campaigners to abide by this agreement.
Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Concluding Observations for the 64th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child's have been issued.
Click here for CRIN’s 64th Session page, including links to all Concluding Observations. We will be discussing this session and these concluding observations in depth in this month's Children's Rights at the United Nations CRINmail.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS WIKI: Spotlight on the Marshall Islands
This week’s Children Rights Wiki entry focusses on the Marshall Islands, a country in the Central Pacific. Spread across more than 750,000 square miles of Ocean, human rights bodies have raised a number of concerns about the situation for children on the islands, particularly issues around:
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Economic exploitation and child labour
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Violence against children
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Sexual abuse and exploitation of children
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Inadequate education provision for children
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Inadequate health care provision, particularly regarding immunisation and access to healthcare in the outer islands
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Lack of an independent body to monitor, and receive complaints regarding, children's rights
Read the full report on persistent violations here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ratification: "UP - Universally Promoting child rights" campaign
Organisation: Child Rights Connect (formerly the NGO Group for the CRC)
Date: 21 October - 21 November 2013
Location: N/A
More details here.
Africa: 54th Session of the African Commission
Organisation: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Date: 22 October - 5 November 2013
Location: Banjul, Gambia
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.
Advocacy: Results in advocacy - an advocates guide to impact assessment
Organisation: Pamoja Consulting
Date: 3-4 December 2013
Location: London, United Kingdom
More details here.
Child labour and Education: M.A.S. in Childrens Rights Module 4 on Child Labour and Education
Organisations: Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch & University of Fribourg
Event date: 2-6 December 2013
Location: University of Fribourg, Switzerland
More details here.
Statelessness: Global Forum on Statelessness - New directions in statelessnes research & policy
Organisation: Tilburg University
Deadline for presentations: 1 December 2013
Event date: 15-17 September 2014
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
More details here.
EMPLOYMENT
African Child Policy Forum: Programme Head (Children & the Law)
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Application deadline: 18 October 2013
More details here.
Save the Children Sweden: Thematic Advisor for Child Rights Governance and Organisational Capacity Development
Location: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Application deadline: 20 October 2013
More details here.
Save the Children Sweden: Thematic Advisor for Child Rights Governance and Organisational Capacity Development, Asia Region
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Application deadline: 3 November 2013
More details here
