CRINmail 1402

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Call for UN study on children deprived of liberty

A campaign to request the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki Moon, to undertake a global study on children deprived of their liberty is close to success. The request has now been included in the 2014 General Assembly draft resolution on the rights of the child, but the appointment of an Independent Expert to lead the study has been removed from the draft.

For such a study to be independent and authoritative, it must be led by a respected high-level individual. Two previous studies relating to children’s rights (on violence against children and children in armed conflict) were led in this way.

In a joint letter, the NGO panel for a Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty is therefore calling on the General Assembly to reinsert the request for an Independent Expert into the text of its annual resolution on children. A copy of the joint NGO letter is available on CRIN’s website. 

Referendum used to curb LGBT rights

The Constitutional Court of Slovakia has decided that several questions that could limit the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons will be opened to a public vote, a move which advocates say is unconstitutional. It follows a petition initiated by the Alliance for Family, a conservative national organisation that collected more than the 350,000 signatures required to hold a referendum, and which seeks to “preserve marriage and family” and “protect...social values”. The three questions that will be included in the referendum affirm the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, that only married and heterosexual couples can adopt a child, and that parents be able to opt their children out of subjects such as sexuality education in state-run schools. Activists, however, question the constitutionality of the referendum, noting that the Slovak Constitution specifically prohibits referenda on issues of fundamental rights and liberties. Commentators say religious and anti-gay organisations have increasingly used referenda since the 1990s to limit the rights of LGBT people.

On the issue of sexuality education, earlier in October the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, Nils Muižnieks, reiterated that “children have the right to receive factual information about sexuality and gender diversity.”  

Seeking equal treatment before the law

In Zimbabwe, two girls who were married at the age of 15 are challenging the constitutionality of the country's marriage laws, which they say discriminate against girls. The application filed at the Constitutional Court highlights that the country’s minimum age for marriage for boys is 18, while for girls it is 16. The girls’ lawyers say that current legislation fails to provide equal treatment to girls and boys before the law.

Advocates are urging lawmakers in Tanzania to set a minimum age for marriage in the country’s draft Constitution - which currently provides no minimum age - as a first step toward eradicating child marriage.

Meanwhile statistics from Jordan show that while only 0.4 percent of grooms are younger than 18 years old - the minimum age for marriage in the country - the percentage of brides under 18 years old is 13 percent.  Advocates say that an exception rule, which gives judges discretionary power to approve underage marriages deemed “beneficial”, is failing to protect children from abuse.

The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) has appointed a Special Rapporteur on Child Marriage. The move follows a decision to that effect in June 2014 by the African Union Executive Council. The appointee, Dr Fatima Delladj-Sebaa, is a practising clinical psychologist specialising in the development of children and adolescents. As part of her new role, Ms Delladj-Sebaa will conduct fact finding missions to investigate alleged violations, seek cooperation with States Parties, and develop constructive dialogue with a range of actors to tackle the problem of child marriage in Africa. She will work closely with the Department of Social Affairs which is heading the coordination of the African Union’s Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. 

Close abusive psychiatric facility, say disability advocates

Disability rights advocates are urging the closure of a psychiatric facility in Guatemala housing 340 children and adults with learning disabilities, following evidence of rampant abuse against patients. Staff and patients at the Federico Mora psychiatric institution, which is located next to a prison in an area of Guatemala City that is consumed by gang violence, say that armed police and soldiers assigned to guard patients routinely abuse patients, including through bullying and rape. There are also reports of patients being trafficked into the prison and outsiders brought into the facility to exploit them for sex. 

The organisation Disability Rights International (DRI) has filed a case with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to close down the facility. In addition to the abuse cited above, DRI researchers found a boy held in solitary confinement “for his own safety”, because, according to staff, he risked being raped if released among the other patients. Moreover, the organisation says all the female patients in the facility are given birth control without their knowledge. The organisation has also requested the Commission to issue urgent precautionary measures to protect witnesses, as these have received death threats, as well as DRI investigators who have been threatened with violence.

Violence, cover-ups and discrimination

A court in the United States has ordered the organisation that oversees Jehovah's Witnesses churches to pay $13.5 million to a man who was abused as a child by his bible study teacher. According to the lawsuit against the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Jose Lopez, now 35, was one of eight children who have accused teacher Gonzalo Campos of sexually abusing them between 1982 and 1995. The lawsuit, in which Lopez is the only plaintiff, accuses the Watch Tower of covering up the abuse for years and harbouring an abuser. It also notes that the organisation refused to produce documents showing the scale of sexual abuse within congregations across the US. The plaintiff’s lawyer said the compensation awarded reflects the impact of the abuse, as the plaintiff suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and trust issues as a result. The punitive damages alone amount to $10.5 million of the judgment in response to “the reprehensible conduct of the Watch Tower”. The organisation says it plans to appeal the judgment. 

In another case of alleged institutional cover up of abuse, the victims of Richard Hokanson, a former scoutmaster in the 1970s and 80s who was convicted of sexually abusing several young boys in his troop, are suing both the Boy Scouts of America and St Pius Catholic Church in Rochester, Minnesota, claiming the two groups knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it. The three Catholic priests who supervised Mr Hokanson are still active in the church. 

In Iran, women and girls seen to be in “immodest dress” have been subject to a series of acid attacks in the city of Isfahan, which the government and conservative clerics were quick to condemn. So far at least eight incidents have been recorded in the area, but locals say the real number could be far higher. Some women have said they are now afraid to socialise with friends in public, however modestly they are dressed. The attacks follow the passage of a new parliamentry bill which provides safeguards to anyone acting on their own to enforce the country’s strict "morality" laws. The bill sparked a clash between hardline politicians, who support it, and moderates including President Hassan Rouhani, who opposed it. In a small victory to the Rouhani administration, plans were called off in September to start morality patrols in Tehran. But in an effort to seemingly undermine Rouhani's image, conservative politicians continue to paint him as seeking to distance the country from Islamic ideals. 

There has been massive rise in the number of calls to ChildLine about suicide over the past three years in the United Kingdom, the charity has reported. It says the common age  contact ChildLine about suicide is 12 to 15 years, but children calling about this issue are getting younger. According to the charity, the 116 percent increase in calls is due to the stigma around suicide and self-harm, as well as lack of awareness by adults on how to spot the signs of suicidal behaviour in children.

Report looks at impact of recession on children

Some 2.6 million children have sunk below the poverty line in the world’s richest countries since 2008 because of the impact of the economic crisis on child well-being, according to a new report by the UNICEF Office of Research. It brings the total number of children in the developed world living in poverty to an estimated 76.5 million. The report also found:

• that the child poverty rate in Ireland, Croatia, Latvia, Greece and Iceland rose by over 50 percent;
• that 15- to 24-year-olds were especially hard hit by the recession, with the number of people who are not in education, employment or training rising dramatically in many countries;
• that child poverty in the United States has increased in 34 out of 50 states since the start of the economic crisis; and
• that, conversely, child poverty fell in 18 countries, and sometimes by around 30 percent, including in Australia, Chile, Finland, Norway, Poland and Slovakia.

On a related note, the theme of UN Human Rights Council’s 2015 annual day on the rights of the child is “towards a better investment in the rights of the child.” 

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN ESTONIA

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is binding in Estonia but is not often used by the courts. Children require representation to initiate court proceedings, however, a child over 15 years old has a right to be involved together with their representative. The representative is typically the child’s parent, but the court can also appoint a guardian to represent the child. Children’s ability to give evidence in court is very limited. Testimony is usually heard from the representative on behalf of the child and the court may refuse to hear evidence from a child under 14 years old. Complaints concerning children’s rights may also be submitted to the Ombudsman for Children.

Read the full report on access to justice for children in Estonia.

This report is part of CRIN’s access to justice for children project, looking at the status of the CRC in national law, the status of children involved in legal proceedings, the legal means to challenge violations of children’s rights and the practical considerations involved in challenging violations.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Pro bono work: 2014 European Pro Bono Forum
Organisation: PILnet - Global Network for Public Interest Law
Date: 5-7 November 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom

Childhood poverty: Advancing equity for children - Perspectives from the ‘Young Lives’ study
Organisation: Equity for Children, The New School
Date: 5 November 2014
Location: New York City, United States

Protection: E-learning course on Child Safeguarding
Organization: HREA - Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 5 November - 16 December 2014
Location: Online

Emergencies: E-learning course on Education in Emergencies
Organization: HREA - Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 5 November - 16 December 2014
Location: Online

Gender: 2nd MenEngage Global Symposium 2014
Organisation: MenEngage
Date: 10-13 November 2014
Location: New Delhi, India

Childhood: 6th World congress on childhood and adolescence
Organisation: Various
Date: 12-14 November 2014
Location: La Puebla, Mexico

Young runaways & missing children: Prevention, Protection, Provision
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 13 November 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom

Children's rights: International conference - 25 Years CRC
Organisation: Leiden University et al.
Date: 17-19 November 2014
Location: Leiden, Netherlands

Courts: Children’s rights moot court competition
Organisation: Leiden University
Date: 18-20 November 2014
Location: Leiden, Netherlands

Palliative care: 2nd Congress on Paediatric Palliative Care
Organisation: Maruzza Foundation
Date: 19-21 November 2014
Location: Rome, Italy

Education: ‘The relevance of children's rights in a higher education context'
Organisation: Institute of Education, University of London
Date: 19 November 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom 

Migrant detention: ‘End Immigration Detention of Children in Asia’ - Call for Film Submissions
Organisation: Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
Date: 20 November 2014
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Course: Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights
Organisation: University Institute Kurt Bösch
Application deadline: 20 November 2014
Location: Sion, Switzerland

Transnational child protection: The role of judges, social services and central authorities
Organisation: Council of Baltic Sea States
Date: 25 - 26 November 2014
Location: Riga, Latvia

Investment: 'Children First - Better Public Spending for Better Outcomes for Children & Families'
Organisation: Eurochild
Date: 26-28 November 2014
Location: Bucharest, Romania

Children in court: Call for contributions on “Children’s rights judgements” project
Organisation: Universities of Liverpool and Newcastle
Deadline: 30 November 2014
Location: N/A

Juvenile justice: ‘Making deprivation of children’s liberty a last resort - Towards evidence-based policies & alternatives’
Organisation: International Juvenile Justice Observatory
Event date: 3-4 December 2014
Location: Brussels, Belgium

Discrimination: ‘Children’s right to non-discrimination’
Organisation: CREAN - Children’s Rights Erasmus Academic Network
Date: 4-5 December 2014
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Institutionalisation: Call for papers on institutionalised children in South Asia
Organisation: Udayan Care
Submission deadline: 31 December 2014
Location: N/A

Juvenile justice: World Congress on Juvenile Justice - Towards restorative justice?
Organisation: Terre des hommes et al.
Date: 26-30 January 2015
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

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EMPLOYMENT

CRIN: Communications Intern (Spanish-speaking)
Location: N/A
Application deadline: 10 November 2014

Consortium for Street Children: Advocacy Manager
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 3 November 2014

Coram Children's Legal Centre: Consultancy on legal guides on South African immigration, refugee and child law
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Application deadline: 9 November 2014

Child Rights Connect: Director
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Application deadline: 13 November 2014

Child Soldiers International: Campaign manager
Application deadline: 16 November 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom

Save the Children Sweden: Experts for Child protection in Emergencies – Ebola response
Application deadline: 16 November 2014
Location: Various 

Welsh Government: Children’s Commissioner for Wales
Location: Swansea and Colwyn Bay, Wales, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 21 November 2014

Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children: Evaluation Consultancy 
Location: N/A
Application deadline: 23 November 2014

JARGON OF THE WEEK

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