CRINmail 1405
In this issue:
View this CRINmail online.
LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Vatican’s abuse prosecutor ‘failed’ to stop abuse
The Catholic church figure who Pope Francis recently appointed as the Vatican’s chief prosecutor for serious violations of canon law, including by priests accused of sexually abusing children, is himself alleged to be implicated in preventing cases of abuse, according to legal documents released by the Boston Globe newspaper. The information shows that Reverend Robert J Geisinger, a prominent American Jesuit who was named in September as the Vatican’s “promoter of justice,’’ was the second-highest-ranking official among the Chicago Jesuits accused in the 1990s of allowing Reverend Donald J. McGuire to remain in ministry for years despite knowing about his long history of sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s.
According to the church records, which were produced during lawsuits filed by McGuire’s victims, Geisinger had detailed knowledge of the complaints against McGuire as early as 1995, but advised officials in Chicago on how to discipline McGuire as late as August 2002. The Boston Globe says that the Jesuits failed to notify police or take effective steps to prevent McGuire from continuing to abuse children. Advocates for victims of clergy abuse have criticised Geisinger’s selection as chief enforcer of canon law because of his role in the McGuire case. McGuire is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for abusing two boys.
Read more about the campaign on ending sexual violence in religious institutions.
Children forced to drive migrant boats
Trafficking gangs in Egypt and Libya are escaping justice by using children to drive the boats that carry migrants to Italy. Some of the children recruited by the gangs say they were taught to drive boats in exchange for a free or discounted passage to Europe, others say they were threatened or kidnapped, and still others say they were told they would be working as fishermen. Despite this, the children are then treated as smugglers once caught by Italian authorities and charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration and criminal association, according to local lawyers representing the children. Once charged, they face up to 15 years’ imprisonment and fines of hundreds of thousands of euros.
Read about other issues relating to children’s rights at sea.
Caged beds and migrant detention
Greece is one of three countries which continue to keep children with learning disabilities in caged beds in state care institutions, according to the Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC). In a country where institutions for people with disabilities are severely underfunded and understaffed, those working in care homes do not consider the use of caged beds in an entirely negative light, with previous practices including tying children to beds by their arms and legs. But the MDAC stresses that their use involves “restriction and making people with disabilities easy to manage, not treating them as human beings with rights. [...] Being kept in a cage is seriously detrimental to the psychological health of patients [and] has no therapeutic value.” On the question of funding, strict rules set by lenders following the economic crisis has meant that Greek authorities are currently not allowed to hire new staff to work in public institutions. Meanwhile proposed plans to increase the number of homes in the community in order to close all care institutions are currently on hold.
In the Bahamas, authorities are routinely detaining migrant families, including children, under a new policy aimed at curbing illegal immigration. The policy is meant to make it harder for undocumented migrants to live and work in the country. As part of the new rules, authorities began conducting raids last weekend, with between 35 and 40 children, mostly Haitian, currently detained with their families inside the Carmichael Road Detention Center in Nassau. Authorities have allegedly told some detained parents that they can be deported along with their children or leave their children in the country and give custody to someone who has legal status. Activists say the policy is disrupting families, as well as being reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s when similar raids forced many Haitians to return to Haiti despite having spent most of their lives in the Bahamas. They also warn that immigration authorities are refusing to approve the immigration applications of thousands of children which have been pending for years. Authorities said they are also investigating whether unaccompanied children are being detained as part of the raids.
Freedom of expression in music and elections
Authorities in Morocco have released the 17-year-old rapper known as ‘Mr Crazy’ who had been jailed over the lyrics of his songs. The second hip-hop artist to be jailed in the country, Mr Crazy, whose real name is Othman Atiq, served a three month sentence after being convicted of “offending a state institution,” “harming public morality,” and “incitement to consume drugs”. Last year another rapper completed a one-year sentence over a YouTube video which a court said was insulting to the police.
Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, there is a growing movement to lower the voting age in national elections to 16. The opposition Labour Party has already announced plans to lower the voting age if elected in 2015, and now Tam Baillie, the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People, has lent his voice to the campaign. This follows the success of the recent Scottish referendum which saw 16-year-olds vote for the first time with a turnout of over 85 percent. There are also moves in Germany to lower the voting age in national elections to 16. Currently, 16- and 17-year-olds are only allowed to vote in local elections and in some states.
Read an article in favour of children’s right to vote.
Gun violence and race
Gun violence is again at the top of the news agenda in the United States after a 12-year-old boy was shot dead by police in Cleveland, Ohio. Tamir Rice was killed by officers in a playground after they mistook his toy gun for a real one. The incident has prompted legislator Alicia Reece to introduce legislation requiring all fake guns to be brightly marked with fluorescent strips to “prevent future deadly confrontations”.
The case is also likely to increase tensions between the African American community and law enforcement in the country, which is already stoked over the decision to acquit the police officer responsible for the August killing of black teenager Michael Brown. Recent analysis by ProPublica shows that young black men are 21 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than their white counterparts in the US.
Also being questioned is the culture of the use of firearms in the US. Read more about how the firearm industry in the country is spending millions of dollars a year on campaigns to get children to use guns.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN BELARUS
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is ratified but has not been fully incorporated into national law and cannot be directly enforced by the courts. Only children aged 14 and above can make a petition to the court acting through a legal representative and have a right to be involved in the proceedings. Violations of the rights of children under that age can only be challenged by a parent or other legal representative on the child’s behalf. However, all children can complain to the Commission for Minors or other child welfare authorities. Legal aid is available and special provisions are made for victims of human trafficking. There are a number of significant obstacles to access to justice for children in Belarus, including the absence of specialised courts or a human rights institution as well as the lack of well established procedures for hearing evidence from children in court.
Read the full report on access to justice for children in Belarus.
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.
Back to top
UPCOMING EVENTS
Trafficking: Fifth Annual International Symposium on Preventing Human Trafficking
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 29 November 2014
Location: Brussels, Belgium
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
Poverty & violence: Does poverty drive violence against children?
Organisation: Overseas Development Institute
Date: 3 December 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom
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
Best interests: European Conference on the Best Interests of the Child
Organisation: Various
Date: 9-10 December 2014
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Institutionalisation: Call for papers on institutionalised children in South Asia
Organisation: Udayan Care
Submission deadline: 31 December 2014
Location: N/A
Course: Education in Emergencies e-learning course
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 14 January-24 February 2015
Location: Online
Course: Child Safeguarding e-learning course
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 14 January-24 February 2015
Location: Online
Juvenile Justice: Interrogations of Young Suspects in the EU
Organisation: Maastricht University
Date: 16 January 2015
Location: Maastricht, the Netherlands
Child rights: 25th anniversary of the UK's ratification of the CRC
Organisation: Oxford Brookes University
Dates: 21 January 2015
Location: Oxford, United Kindom
Juvenile justice: World Congress on Juvenile Justice - Towards restorative justice?
Organisation: Terre des hommes et al.
Date: 26-30 January 2015
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Back to top
EMPLOYMENT
Children's Rights Alliance for England: Participation Project Manager
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 1 December 2014
IAP World Services Inc.: Senior Youth and HIV Advisor
Location: Washington DC, United States
Application deadline: 4 December 2014
The Williams Institute: Development & Events Coordinator
Location: Los Angeles, United States
Application deadline: 5 December 2014
Children’s Rights Alliance: Fellowship on Children’s Rights and Child Law
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Application deadline: 9 December 2014
Save the Children Sweden: Country Director for Sudan
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Application deadline: 12 December 2014
The Williams Institute: Communications Officer
Location: Los Angeles, United States
Application deadline: 16 December 2014
LEAK OF THE WEEK
What’s the best way to teach children about the human anatomy? With pictures of cute animals -- apparently.
This is at least the thinking behind the decision to remove illustrations of human genitalia in Turkey’s sixth grade science and technology textbooks and replace them with fluffy ducklings and a baby polar bear and a dolphin alongside their respective mothers.
Read more.
Back to top
| 
