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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Inhuman sentencing in Iran and Nigeria
According to statements made by Iranian authorities, it seems likely that the death sentences of two persons who committed offences while under the age of 18 will be carried out after the end of Ramadan on 28 July.
In the first of the two cases, campaign groups are urging Iranian authorities to halt the imminent execution of a young man who was still a child at the time of his alleged crime. Rasoul Holoumi, now 22, was sentenced to death in October 2010 for his alleged involvement in the killing of a boy during a group fight in 2009, when he was 17 years old. The execution could be carried out at any moment at the request of the victim’s family, under the Islamic law principle of qesas (retribution-in-kind).
Also at imminent risk of execution in Iran is a former child bride for the murder of her abusive husband when she was 17 years old. Razieh Ebrahimi - also referred to as “Maryam” in the local press - who was forced into marriage at the age of 14, has been detained since 2010 after confessing to killing her husband who she says regularly abused her. While Iran’s penal code prohibits the execution of child offenders convicted of certain crimes, there is no such prohibition in cases of murder. The country’s Supreme Court rejected requests for a retrial in light of the fact that Ebrahimi was under the age of 18 at the time of the offence and was a victim of abuse.
You can read more about the death penalty in Iran in CRIN’s most recent submission to the Human Rights Council on inhuman sentencing of children in the country.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, campaign groups are urging authorities to commute the death sentence of a young man who confessed to a murder under severe torture. Moses Akatugba was arrested when he was 16 years old and charged with armed robbery. While held in detention, he was beaten, hung upside down in interrogation rooms and had his finger and toe nails pulled out to force him to sign two “confessions”. After spending eight years in prison, he was sentenced to death by hanging and is currently on death row. NGOs report that Nigerian police routinely torture suspects to extract information, while “confessions” obtained through torture are regularly used as evidence in court. Moses says his claims of torture have not been investigated, even though Nigeria’s constitution prohibits torture.
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has released his 2014 report on the question of the death penalty. The report includes a section on the use of the death penalty against child offenders, noting that in 14 States children can still be lawfully executed, namely in India (Jammu and Kashmir), Iran, Laos, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tonga, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The UNSG is urging these States to immediately stop sentencing child offenders to death, and that when “the death penalty is abolished, they must avoid sentencing children to life imprisonment as an alternative punishment." The report also includes information on the children of parents sentenced to death or who have been executed.
Also read more about the campaign to end the inhuman sentencing of children.
‘Strong possibility’ Israel is guilty of war crimes
There is a “strong possibility” that Israel is violating international law and may be committing war crimes in Gazaa, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, as she alluded to the killing of children and house demolitions. With ongoing rocket fire by the military wing of Hamas and heavy airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Force entering their third week, at least 649 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and 31 Israelis are also dead, including two civilians. According to UNICEF, one third of Palestinians killed are children, half of them under the age of 12. Pillay said it is "not acceptable to locate military assets in densely populated areas or to launch attacks from there."
More than 135,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced by the conflict. Schools, health facilities, and family homes in the Gaza Strip have been especially hard hit by Israeli rocket fire, often without warning or insufficient warning to give residents enough time to evacuate. According to the UN, as of 15 July, 79 schools and 23 health facilities were damaged in Gaza, and are suffering a severe shortage of practitioners, equipment and medical supplies. Meanwhile more than 2,729 houses have been completely or partly destroyed. In many instances, whole families have been killed. In other cases, civilians were injured or killed outdoors in Israeli attacks and when there had been no apparent activity by Palestinian armed groups in the area, as was the case with the four children who were killed while playing on a beach by a missile fired from an Israeli gunboat. Ceasefire initiatives have so far been unfruitful, with Hamas saying that it will not agree to a ceasefire deal until Israel “lifts the siege” on Gaza, among other demands.
Salvation Army failed to probe abuse claims
The Salvation Army failed to investigate claims of historical child abuse, according to a woman in the United Kingdom who told the charity 16 years ago that some of its members had sexually assaulted her in the 1970s. The woman says that she suffered abuse at the hands of four members of her local branch for almost 10 years, but that neither her local branch nor the national headquarters in London handled her complaints seriously. The Salvation Army, which is both a worldwide church and a social justice charity, has already faced abuse allegations elsewhere. In Australia, for example, it is being investigated by the government's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse. Last month, the Australian branch of the charity apologised for abuse that took place at four boys' homes in the 1960s and 70s.
Read more about the campaign to end sexual violence in religious institutions.
Child marriage soars among Syrian refugees in Jordan
Child marriage among Syrian refugees living in Jordan has more than doubled since the beginning of the conflict, UNICEF has warned. The organisation says that 48 per cent of Syrian refugee girls marry men at least 10 years older. It identifies several factors responsible for the practice, including parents’ belief that being married protects a girl against rape, the need to alleviate poverty or the economic burden of a large family with many daughters, as well as the continuation of cultural or family traditions. Another cause includes poor performance in school, which suggests that there is “little point in continuing with… education”, according to one mother. UNICEF warns that early marriage increases the risk of young brides being victims of abuse and suffering complications during pregnancy, noting that girls under 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than fully grown women. Child marriage and female genital mutilation was high on the agenda at the Girl Summit this week, hosted by UNICEF and the UK government.
Benefits of sex ed ‘go unrecognised’, study finds
A school board in Canada has dropped its sex education programme following a human rights complaint by a student who claims the curriculum promotes Christian-based views, paints a skewed picture of contraception and sexually transmitted diseases in an effort to push for abstinence. The complaint claims that a workshop which the Edmonton Pregnancy Care Centre organised at McNally High School last year presented condoms as highly ineffective, failed to inform students about combined methods of contraception, excluded information on consent as well as on same-sex relationships, and warned girls about dressing modestly because boys have no "impulse control". The Calgary Pregnancy Care Centre, which is part of the same network as the Edmonton organisation - both of which are affiliates with Care-Net, a US-based Christian group that opposes abortion - said: “while we have a faith background, the religious part does not come up in the public school or education… That’s just not part of the programme, it’s science- and research-based.” The Alberta Human Rights Commission has accepted the human rights complaint.
A new study aims to find out what are the legal barriers that prevent children from accessing sexual and reproductive health services (SRH). As part of its research entitled “Over protected and under served”, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has released a series of case studies from El Salvador, Senegal and the United Kingdom, which answer the following questions:
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What are the direct and indirect legal barriers that impact on young people’s access to SRH services?
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How do different legal principles and provisions facilitate or inhibit access to SRH services for young people both directly and indirectly?
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What do young people know about the law as it applies to SRH services?
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What do they know about the law as it applies to sexuality and sexual activity?
Meanwhile another global study by Georgetown University found that preventative sexual and reproductive health services specifically targeted to young adolescents rarely exist. Researchers argue that children aged 10 to 14 - the years when puberty and physical changes are experienced - present a window of opportunity for health educators, as it is a time when both girls and boys are transitioning into teenage and adulthood years, are constructing their own identities and are open to new ideas and influences. But the authors of the study point out that such education is often not considered a priority because this age group is seen as too young, which means that the long-term benefits and value of investing in teenagers’ future healthy relationships and positive sexual and reproductive health goes unrecognised. “Ten is not too young to help girls and boys understand their bodies and the changes that are occurring,” said Rebecka Lundgren, senior author of the study. “Ten is not too young to begin to move them from ignorance to knowledge.” Also according to Lundgren, the few existing programmes for youths typically only focus on girls.
Singapore’s information ministry has reversed a decision by the National Library Board to remove three children’s books from its shelves because they feature gay parents. Judged to be “pro-homosexual” and not “pro-family” in the largely conservative country, one of the books tells the true story of two male penguins in a New York zoo that raised a baby penguin, while another features children adopted by single, mixed-race, gay and heterosexual parents. The move follows a protest by some 350 people, including parents and children, and widespread criticism from the literary world and internet users. While the books will continue to be available at the National Library, they have been removed from the children’s section and placed in the adult section instead, as the Ministry for Communications and Information does not consider the two children's books to be age-appropriate.
Also read about CRIN’s campaign on children’s right to information, and its accompanying policy paper “Access denied: Protect rights - Unblocking children’s access to information”, which is available in English and Russian.
Discrimination on the school grounds
A children’s rights commission in India is demanding that 13 children who were removed from their school for being HIV-positive be re-admitted. The children were transferred to another school last month from the Fatima High School in Rivona, Goa, following protests from the parents of other students who believe their children would contract the virus. The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sent a report to the state government, requesting that the 13 children be allowed back in the school, and suggesting that the state education department be more proactive in awareness-raising campaigns about HIV and AIDS. In a similar case in the United States in 2012, a court found a school guilty of discrimination for denying admission to a boy because he was HIV-positive, acknowledging that people with HIV do not represent a risk to others in casual settings.
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A boy in New Zealand who opted out of voluntary religious lessons at his school was made to wash the dishes, the Human Rights Commission has heard. The incident allegedly occurred at Harewood School in 2012, which officially closes for half an hour to hold the lessons. The boy’s mother also claims that after pulling her son out of the class, he was often being “snuck back in”. The school’s headteacher denies the allegations, saying the boy was "not put to work", and that "those who choose to opt out are in no way discriminated against, [as] the children are actively supervised in the library during the 30-minute sessions." The boy’s mother has joined the Secular Education Network in calling for a public review on religion in schools.
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‘Strictest’ US curfew law raises alarm bells
In two months’ time, the city of Baltimore in the United States is set to introduce what is being considered as the country’s “strictest” curfew law. Under the new rules, the presence of teenagers younger than 14 is banned on the streets as of 9pm, while those aged between 14 to 16 can stay out no later than 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends and during the summer months. Exceptions apply for children who are accompanied by their parents or on their way home from work or a school activity. Supporters of the measure say it aims to get young people off the streets at night for both their safety and to reduce crime. Critics, however, say the curfew risks opening the door to selective enforcement similar to the racial profiling controversies surrounding the stop-and-search practices of police in places like France and Spain. In Kansas City, for example, almost three out of four youths held on curfew violations last year were black, while only 30 per cent of residents are black.
We also recently reported that towns and cities in France have starting to roll out their own summer curfews banning the presence of children on the street at night.
Curfew offences form part of the array of offences which only affect children. Children come into contact with the justice system not only through general crime and delinquency laws, but also through committing special non-criminal "status offences". These are special because they encompass acts that would not be criminal if they were committed by adults. This means that a status offender's conduct is considered unacceptable not because it is harmful, but solely on the basis of age. Read CRIN’s global report on status offences.
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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN SOUTH SUDAN
In this week’s instalment of our access to justice report series, we look at children’s access to justice in South Sudan.
South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, has not yet ratified or incorporated the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) into its domestic law.* The Transitional Constitution and the Child Act seek to incorporate many of the CRC's provisions and provide the legal framework through which to challenge children's rights violations. However, South Sudan faces a variety of issues obstructing children's access to justice, including weak implementation of the laws, divergent customary law, ill-equipped statutory courts, virtually non-existent legal aid, and ongoing ethnic conflict.
Read the full report on access to justice for children in South Sudan.
*The South Sudanese National Legislative Assembly approved a bill in 2013 to ratify the CRC, only requiring the President to sign it for South Sudan to become a State party to the convention. However, ratification is pending due to the State's current conflict situation.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Children’s rights: Online courses on children’s rights
Organisation: HREA - Human Rights Education Associates
Date: Multiple dates
Location: Online
Sociology: MA Sociology of Childhood and Children’s Rights
Organisation: Institute of Education, University of London
Date: 2014/15 academic year
Location: London, United Kingdom
Psychology: Children's Rights and Needs - Challenges to School, Family and Society
Organisation: International School Psychology Association (ISPA)
Event date: 15-18 July 2014
Location: Kaunas, Lithuania
Europe: Better public spending for better outcomes for children & families
Organisation: Eurochild
Call for papers deadline: 21 July 2014
Date: 26-28 November 2014
Location: Bucharest, Hungary
LGBT: Webinar on perspectives on LGBT suicide prevention
Organisation: The Williams Institute, UCLA
Application deadline: 24 July 2014
Location: Online
Course: MA Social Work in Child Rights
Organisation: Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Application deadline: 25 July 2014
Location: Mumbai, India
Bodily integrity: Whole bodies, whole selves - Activating social change
Organisation: Genital Autonomy et al.
Event date: 24-27 July 2014
Location: Colorado, United States
Participation: Children as Actors for Transforming Society - Young Advocates for Change
Organisation: Initiatives of Change et al.
Date: 26 July - 2 August 2014
Location: Caux, Switzerland
Crime prevention: ‘Police role with victims, youth, ethnic minorities & other partners’
Organisation: Bulgaria Ministry of Interior & the National Police
Date: 27-31 July 2014
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Europe: Ensuring the Rights of the Child, and Family-based Services
Organisation: International Foster Care Organisation
Date: 26-29 August 2014
Location: Waterford, Ireland
Africa: Keeping Children Safe in Africa - Identifying and addressing the challenges
Organisation: Keeping Children Safe et al.
Date: 3-5 September 2014
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Mental health: Third European Conference on mental health
Organisation: Various
Date: 10-12 September 2014
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Early intervention: Policy and practice
Organisation: Children and Young People Now
Application deadline: 12 September 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom
Justice: Access to justice for children - Legal clinics & other instruments for the promotion of children's rights
Organisation: Save the Children - Italy
Date: 11-13 September 2014
Location: Pisa, Italy
Child labour: Achieving education for all and eliminating child labour
Organisation: ILO International Training Centre
Dates: 29 September to 3 October 2014
Location: Turin, Italy
Juvenile justice: ‘Making deprivation of children’s liberty a last resort - Towards evidence-based policies & alternatives’
Organisation: International Juvenile Justice Observatory
Call for papers deadline: 15 September 2014
Event date: 3-4 December 2014
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Statelessness: Global Forum on Statelessness
Organisation: Tilburg University
Date: 15-17 September 2014
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
International mechanisms: Training programme on International Human Rights Protection Mechanisms
Organisation: Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights
Application deadline: 29 September - 3 October 2014
Location: Florence, Italy
Course: Master of Advanced Studies in Children's Rights
Organisation: University of Geneva and the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch
Application deadline: 30 September 2014
Location: Sion and Geneva, Switzerland
Best interests: Developing Child-Centred Practice in Law, Social Work and Policy for Cross-Border Families
Organisation: International Social Service – USA Branch
Date: 2 October 2014
Location: Baltimore, United States
Violence: 7th African Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
Organisation: African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect
Date: 13-15 October 2014
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Digital media: Institutionalisation of child rights in the digital future
Organisation: UNICEF Turkey et al.
Date: 16-17 October 2014
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Social protection: Sixth International Policy Conference on the African Child
Organisation: African Child Policy Forum
Date: 27-28 October 2014
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Child protection: The role of child helplines in protecting children and young people online
Organisation: Child Helpline International
Date: 30-31 October 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom
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EMPLOYMENT
CRIN: Journalism Internship
Application deadline: 10 August
Location: London, United Kingdom
European Roma Rights Centre: Gender Equality Research Fellows
Application deadline: 24 July 2014
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Save the Children Sweden: Humanitarian Officer
Application deadline: 27 July 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom
Plan International: Administrative & Finance Assistant
Application deadline: 29 July
Location: Panama City, Panama
Reprieve: Operations Officer
Application deadline: 30 July 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom
Save the Children Sweden: Child Protection Advisor
Application deadline: 10 August 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom
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The Last Word
“I, and my predecessors and successors as High Commissioner for Human Rights, can only offer the facts, the law, and common sense. This we have done, and -- I am sure -- will continue to do, however much we are criticised for it.
We, as the International Community, the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, States, and as human beings, are obliged to do everything in our power to protect all civilians and ensure that human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled worldwide.
In Israel and Palestine, the politics of conflict, peace and security are constantly leading to the downgrading, or setting aside, of the importance of binding international human rights law and international humanitarian law. International law is not negotiable. No individual or state can be considered exempt, if they violate the law.
[...] All these dead and maimed civilians should weigh heavily on all our consciences. I know that they weigh heavily on mine. All our efforts to protect them have been abject failures. More powerful entities, such as the Security Council, and individual States with serious leverage over the parties to this dreadful and interminable conflict, must do far more than they have done so far to bring this conflict to an end once and for all.”
-- Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at the Human Rights Council’s 21st Special Session on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
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