CRINmail 1413

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

World Congress on Juvenile Justice

The World Congress on Juvenile Justice is currently taking place in Geneva. On Wednesday, CRIN organised a high-level panel discussion entitled “Stop making children criminals: the ‘minimum age’ debate - separating ‘responsibility’ from ‘criminalisation’”, which was chaired by CRIN director Veronica Yates. The panellists discussed a paper published by CRIN that aims to encourage a new debate on juvenile justice. Its premise is that the majority of justice systems in countries around the world focus on the punishment of children in conflict with the law, rather than their rehabilitation. This trend of criminalising children, CRIN argues, runs contrary to the Convention of the Rights of the Child, and States therefore need to design systems which keep children out of the criminal justice system.  

Later this week we will be looking deeper into the issue in a special edition of our CRINmail on Violence against Children. Subscribe here. 

Bodily integrity and regulation

A court in Egypt has sentenced a doctor to prison for the female genital mutilation (FGM) of a 13-year-old girl who died as a result, in what is the country’s first-ever FGM conviction. In November a court had initially handed down not guilty verdicts for the doctor, as well as the girl’s father for ordering the procedure. But in a retrial following an alleged complaint by Egypt’s Justice Ministry, the doctor was sentenced to the maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, and the father to three months’ house arrest. A ban on FGM has been in place since 2007, yet this is the first time the law has been implemented. Yet “this girl had to die for the law to be implemented,” said Abu Dayyeh, a Middle East and North Africa consultant for international women’s rights organisation Equality Now. 

A court in Turkey has awarded compensation to the family of a boy whose circumcision was botched, in a case that highlights the need to better regulate the practice. The upper portion of the boy’s penis was cut and burnt off when he was one-year-old in an operation which the family says was carried out by an unqualified member of hospital staff. Following the procedure, the boy was sent home with burn creams and told to rest. Now six years old, the boy is still receiving treatment as a result of the botched operation. 

While in this case the circumcision was performed in a hospital, many parents in Turkey also choose to pay people who are not medically trained, such as barbers, to perform the operation, due to the cost of circumcision. Advocates of children’s bodily integrity say that the practice should be regulated to guarantee that operations are conducted by physicians in a medical environment and with the appropriate clinical conditions when informed consent is given. They also say that non-medical circumcision should be restricted until a boy is old enough to give or refuse consent himself. 

Information restrictions at school & online

In Russia, the founder of ‘Deti-404’, an online support group for LGBT teenagers, has been fined 50,000 rubles ($780) for violating the country’s law banning the “promotion of homosexuality to children”. This is despite a previous court ruling which found Yelena Klimova not guilty of "gay propaganda," with the judge recognising that Deti-404 helps teenagers come to terms with their sexuality. The latest complaint was brought by the government media watchdog Roskomnadzor, which said that children’s sexual identity issues should be dealt with “by professionals” rather than a group of journalists and volunteer psychologists. But Ms Klimova emphasised that state support for LGBT children is non-existent in Russia, where anti-gay sentiment is widespread. To fill this gap, ‘Deti-404’ offers teens a chance to share their experiences as LGBT people living in Russia. Ms Klimova said she will appeal the latest decision.

Meanwhile legal experts at the Council of Europe (CoE) are reviewing Kyrgyzstan’s draft law banning gay propaganda, which criminalises positive attitudes towards "non-traditional sexual relations". The legislation - which closely resembles anti-gay laws in Russia - was introduced in March last year and overwhelmingly passed a first reading in October, and prescribes prison sentences of up to one year for those found guilty of breaking the law. However, the bill’s authors decided to postpone the second hearing until the CoE reviews the text. In a resolution adopted earlier this month, the European Parliament called on Kyrgyzstan to reject new legislation banning “gay propaganda.”

Two students in Toronto, Canada have started a Change.org petition calling for the topic of consent to be included in sex education classes in schools in their province. The two 13-year-olds are petitioning the Ontario Ministry of Education, saying that “When young people don’t learn about the importance of consent in a sexual relationship, it can lead to unhealthy relationships and ultimately perpetuates rape culture.” Experts agree. “Teaching consent in sex education may help avoid instances of sexual assault down the line,” said Leslie Kantor, MPH, the vice president of education at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “It’s really important that schools provide comprehensive sex education to their students and that includes learning about healthy relationships, consent, and communication,” she said.  

Students in Nevada, United States are similarly demanding that their school district provide a more comprehensive curriculum, one which addresses anatomy, contraception, sexual identity and gender identity, and consent. Students are supporting the introduction of the new teaching guidelines for high school sex education classes published by Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). While parents have raised concerns over implementing the guidelines' information of rape and assault into the curriculum, the students claim that sex education in school needs to take into account the fact that 58 percent of students per year in grades 7 to 12 experience sexual assault in US high schools.

Discrimination in family life

A court in Spain has ruled that a deaf couple can adopt a baby who can hear, after they appealed against the decision by social services to only consider them for the adoption of a deaf child. In their review of the prospective parents’ suitability for adoption, social services said the parents were not “the best option” for a hearing child, as the child’s development would be affected. But in its ruling, the court established that the couple are indeed able to raise a child from a young age regardless of whether he or she is deaf or not, after considering research that shows how hearing children who also know sign language have greater-than-average visuospatial skills, and that “under no circumstances does learning sign language inhibit cognitive development”. Two Spanish organisations, CNSE and Fescan, which uphold the rights of deaf people welcomed “[the] landmark ruling, as it recognises the right of people with disabilities to form a family on an equal footing with other citizens,” and that “being a deaf mother or father does not hinder the education or happiness of a child, be they biological or adopted.”

Meanwhile an Indian judge called for both the names of step-parents and biological parents to be included in children’s passports. The suggestion was made during a case in which a woman applied to the court to have the name of her husband and step-father of her daughter from a previous marriage included on the child’s passport. Although there is no legislative provision which permits this, the court allowed the step-father’s name to be included, reasoning that it was in the best interests of the child and because the biological father did not have any presence in the child’s life. Nonetheless, the judge noted that the child’s long-term interests, such as for example their right to inherit the estate of their biological father, should not be disregarded. Saying that the only way in which the parent-child relationship can be severed is through full adoption, Justice V Ramasubramanian from the Madras High Court, said that regulations should be amended to include additional columns for more names on children’s passports.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Social Affairs has banned all adoptions of foreign children except children of marriages between Saudi men and foreign women. Adoptions, which in countries with an Islamic legal system have to comply with the kafala system - a form of entrusted guardianship in which there is no transfer of legal parenthood - of children from Syria and Iraq have been on the rise in the country with the Saudi State providing material assistance to the adoptive families. However, a representative of the ministry justified the ban on the grounds that it is not their responsibility to “sponsor Arab children who lost their parents in conflicts, such as in Syria and Iraq. There are global humanitarian organisations that deal with these cases.”

Turkey breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in a case concerning the right of single adoptive parents to be registered as a child’s parent, in a unanimous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. The applicant in the case complained over the Turkish authorities’ refusal to enter her name as parent of her adoptive child in the civil register instead of the child’s biological mother. At the time the applicant first made her request, there was a gap in the law, however, in 2009, Turkey passed legislation allowing the names of single persons adopting a child to be included. Nonetheless, it took the applicant three years from the adoption to obtain the change in records. The Court’s decision delivered last week finds that there has been a violation of the woman’s right to family life under Article 8 of the ECHR. 

Back to school in West Africa

Schools in Sierra Leone will reopen in March as Ebola infections slow down, authorities have announced. Following the outbreak of the deadly virus eight months ago, schools in the country were shut. With many schools currently being used as Ebola care centres to treat patients, the government says it will adopt measures to ensure safety of pupils and teachers. These will include the disinfection of classrooms and provision of chlorinated water buckets, as well as thermometers for teachers to check on high temperatures noted in  children - an early symptom of the infection. It is the second country in the region to announce the reopening of schools, with Liberia announcing two weeks ago that schools will reopen in February.

Controlling children’s sexuality

A 15-year-old girl has committed suicide in the Indian state of Karnataka after being suspended from school for hugging a boy, raising questions about how the country's schools deal with children's sexuality. Chairman of the National Public School Group, Dr K P Gopalkrishna said: "Hugging itself is not wrong. But in a public space, in the school or college campus, a certain decorum is expected." His school is under investigation for its harsh treatment of the girl. Students of the school said they were made to feel ashamed of being in a relationship, with teachers often handling the situation by summoning parents and taunting children in class. Commenting on the case, Yasmine Claire, a teacher at Stonehill International School, said: “teaching children about their bodies and its changes, the nature of attraction, and promotion of healthy relationships are a must. It is absurdly unrealistic to expect that no attraction exists between the sexes in a co-educational school and that it will not be demonstrated at some point in some way”.

Control of children's sexuality has also been the subject of debate elsewhere. In October 2013, South Africa's Constitutional Court declared sections 15 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act unconstitutional. These criminalised consensual sexual activity between adolescents 12 to 16 years old - even kissing and hugging.

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN ANGOLA

Angola has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the country’s 2010 constitution makes specific reference to the rights of children, in particular the best interests of the child. Yet, various pieces of legislation relating to children have not been harmonised with the Convention and there is a large backlog of legislation awaiting adoption by Parliament, including legislation relating to children. The CRC can be directly enforced in the courts and has been applied by the Constitutional Court. Children have to rely on their parents for representation in court, but parents’ ability to act on behalf of children is tempered by the principle of the best interests of the child. Children over ten years of age must be heard in court in all cases which concern their interests and limitation periods only commence after the victim turns 18. The Constitution allows for collective legal challenges, but only when specific interests are represented and provides that the courts cannot deny justice to a party in judicial proceedings because of the lack of financial means. In many areas of the country, traditional customary law still plays an important role which may provide difficulties in applying positive decisions or legislative changes. 

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

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

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

Safeguarding: E-learning course on child safeguarding
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 28 January-10 March 2015
Location: Online

Justice Sector Reform: Training programme on applying human rights based approaches to justice sector reform
Organisation: International Human Rights Network
Application deadline: 28 February 2014
Event dates: 22-26 June 2015
Location: Maynooth, Ireland

Emergencies: E-online course on education in emergencies
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 4 March-14 April 2015
Location: Online

Online safety: Protecting children on the internet
Organisation: Policy Knowledge
Date: 4 March 2014
Location: London, United Kingdom

Transnational child protection: Expert meeting on children on the move - children’s participation and discussion of the way forward
Organisation: Council of Baltic Sea States et al.
Date: 10-11 March 2015
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Americas: Request for hearings for the 154th IACHR session
Organisation: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Event dates: 13-27 March 2014
Location: Washington DC, United States

Child labour: Course on ‘Skills & livelihood for older out-of-school children in child labour or children at risk of child labour
Organisation: ILO International Training Centre
Dates: 16-20 March 2014
Location: Turin, Italy

Health & well-being: Eradicating child poverty in the UK
Organisation: Public Policy Exchange
Date: 18 March 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom

Child abuse: 9th Latin American Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
Organisation: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
Dates: 26-29 April 2015
Location: Toluca, Mexico

Bodily integrity: 2015 Genital Autonomy conference
Organisation: Genital Autonomy
Dates: 8-9 May 2015
Location: Frankfurt, Germany

Street children: International Conference on the Legal Needs of Street Youth
Organisation: American Bar Association et al.
Date: 16-17 June 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom

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EMPLOYMENT

War Child: Youth Representatives - War Child Youth Engagement Panel
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 31 January 2015

Save the Children Sweden: Advisors on Child Protection in Emergencies x 2
Location: Sundbyberg, Sweden
Application deadline: 4 February 2015

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Internships
Location: Washington DC, United States
Application deadline: 8 March 2015

International Rescue Committee: Reading Advisor
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan
Application Deadline: N/A

LOVE146: Residential deputy manager
Location: Hampshire, United Kingdom
Application Deadline: Until filled

LOVE146: Safe accommodation live-in worker
Location: Hampshire, United Kingdom
Application Deadline: Until filled

LEAK OF THE WEEK

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