CRINmail 1423

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Bodily integrity and criminalising mothers

Malta has become the world’s first country to ban gender ‘normalising’ surgeries on intersex children before they are able to consent - or refuse consent - to the procedure. Section 15 of the new Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics (GIGESC) Act makes it unlawful for a medical professional to conduct any sex reassignment treatment, including surgical intervention, on a minor if the procedure can be deferred until the person to be treated can provide informed consent. Maltese authorities and medical professionals now intend to develop guidelines to ensure any surgery or medical interventions that do take place are medically necessary and not “driven by social factors without the consent of the minor”. The Act also strengthens non-discrimination provisions for transgender people, including by granting the right to every person to have their gender changed in the records of the Public Register.

Among other health-related news, Kenya’s High Court has declared unconstitutional a section of a law that potentially criminalised pregnant women for passing HIV on to their babies. The law in question was introduced in 2006 to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS. But in March, the Court declared that the wording was so broad that it "could be interpreted to apply to women who expose or transmit HIV to a child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding". Charities also argued that the law discouraged people from finding out their status, and discriminated against women, as they are often the first members of a family to know their HIV status because they are often tested while pregnant.

This story is among a broader series of attempts to criminalise mothers for health problems in their newborn children. For instance, in the United Kingdom a local authority sought compensation for criminal injuries for a child who was born with foetal alcohol syndrome as a result of excessive drinking during pregnancy. A court later refused to find that the criminal offence of poisoning so as to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm had been committed, stating that at the time the damage was caused, the foetus was in the womb and did not have a separate existence in law. In the United States, the New Jersey Supreme Court found that a woman's use of methadone during pregnancy to treat a prescription drug addiction did not violate abuse and negligence laws, though her baby suffered from methadone withdrawal upon birth. Yet a markedly different approach was taken in the US state of Wisconsin where authorities jailed a pregnant woman for using illegal drugs during her pregnancy. The court in this case found that the woman’s actions constitute child abuse against the 14-week-old foetus. However, her lawyers are appealing the finding of child abuse and filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin.

Freedom of expression in Russia

Russia’s main support group for children who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) is to be blocked under the country's ‘gay propaganda’ law. LGBT activists won a small victory last month after a Russian court acquitted the founder of the online support group Deti-404, Elena Klimova, of charges brought against her for promoting “non-traditional sexual relations among minors”. But activists then learnt that a St Petersburg court had authorised the government to block the site. Ms Klimova has criticised Russia's law against spreading gay "propaganda" among minors, saying that authorities fail to provide support to LGBT teenagers in a country where homophobia is rife.

Also in Russia, a 14-year-old girl from the city of Saratov was summoned for questioning by security services last month for "undue behaviour" during a rally marking the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The girl was wearing yellow and blue ribbons (the colours of the Ukrainian flag) in her hair and police forced her to confess that she was paid by the opposition for the stunt. The girl, who wishes to remain anonymous, now faces a fine and must visit the Commission for the Protection of Minors, a body charged with preventing ‘anti-social behaviour’ by minors. She said the whole situation reminded her of the George Orwell novel '1984'.

Children’s rights in the Americas

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held its 154th session on 13-27 March 2015. Hearings on children's rights issues addressed the disproportionate use of force by police, particularly against children of African descent in Brazil; the effects of concentration of ownership and control of both public and private media outlets in the region, resulting in a breach of children’s right to access information from diverse sources; trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in the United States; and reports of trafficking of women and children in Guatemala.

The Commission also received information suggesting that people in some countries are suffering reprisals for attending hearings and seeking to access the regional human rights system. Reiterating article 63 of the Rules of Procedure, the Commission said: States “shall grant the necessary guarantees to all the persons who attend a hearing or who in the course of a hearing provide information, testimony or evidence of any type to the Commission,” and they “may not prosecute the witnesses or experts, or carry out reprisals against them or their family members because of their statements or expert opinions given before the Commission.”

Measuring the effects of armed conflict

Around 18,000 people, including 3,500 children, are trapped in Syria’s Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus following an increase in armed fighting after Islamic State militants and their allies invaded the area last week. One UN official described the situation for the refugees as "beyond inhumane", saying there is no food or water and very little medicine. Delivering aid has become impossible, according to Save the Children, as humanitarian workers and civilians are coming under fire. Pierre Krähenbühl, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which administers aid to Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, said the refugees are slowly starving, noting they have been subsisting on roughly 400 calories a day. The UN Security Council has demanded humanitarian access to Yarmouk. Before the Syrian civil war began, more than 150,000 refugees were living in the camp, which had its own mosques, schools and public buildings. But since 2012, it has been besieged by fighting.

At least 74 children have been killed in Yemen and 44 injured since fighting in the country intensified almost two weeks ago following Saudi-led airstrikes against Shia rebels and their allies, according to UNICEF. More than 100,000 people have left their homes because of the conflict, which UNICEF says has disrupted water supplies in parts of southern Yemen resulting in sewage overflowing in some areas, raising the risk of disease. Hospitals are also struggling to treat large numbers of wounded people, as medical supplies are running low. The conflict, which began last September, is seeing allies of the country’s embattled president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, fighting against Iran-backed Houthi rebels and their allies, military units loyal to Hadi’s predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh. All warring sides are increasingly recruiting teenage boys to fight in their ranks, according to UNICEF.

Women, children and the elderly are disproportionately bearing the devastating impact of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, according to the UN, which says the fighting has left five million people in need of humanitarian assistance. John Ging, Director of Operations of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned of the long-term consequences of the protracted crisis: “No child has been vaccinated since this conflict began.” Ukraine today has one of the lowest levels of child immunisation in Europe - less than 50 percent. UNICEF has prepared 4.8 million doses of vaccines against polio, which will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming months.

Child with autism placed in school cage

Reports have come to light of a cage-like structure being used in a classroom for a child with special educational needs in Canberra, Australia. The structure, which measures 2m x 2m, is made of pool fencing and has been used as a 'withdrawal space' for a 10-year-old child with autism. Local Education Minister, Joy Burch, has ordered a full inquiry into the case, and the school principal has been put on administrative duties. The first part of the inquiry will focus on the decisions which led to the use of the cage, while the second will look at how schools respond to students with challenging behaviours and complex needs, including the use of withdrawal spaces. Ms Burch commented: "Words cannot put into place my absolute disappointment and horror that anyone in our schools would consider a structure of this nature in any way, shape or form to be acceptable." Australia is not the first country to come under fire for using inhumane methods of treating children with autism. In 2011, the Greek ombudsman published a damning report about the conditions in which children with learning disabilities were forced to live.

‘Tradition’ is an illegitimate defence, says court

The High Court of South Africa ruled last month that the traditional custom of ‘ukuthwala’ cannot be invoked as a legitimate defence to criminal charges. Ukuthwala is the traditional practice of abducting girls for the purposes of marriage. The case came to the Court as a criminal appeal against convictions for rape, assault and human trafficking and a sentence of 22 years’ imprisonment of a man who had abducted a 14-year-old girl with her family’s consent. The judgment confirmed the trial court’s refusal to consider ‘ukuthwala’ as part of customary law and a defence to the charges, but set aside the assault convictions as they were duplicating the rape conviction. The Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria, which intervened in the case, welcomed the Court’s decision but highlighted the need for further scrutiny of national law in the areas of child marriage and harmful traditional practices.

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN ROMANIA

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is incorporated and forms part of domestic law and, therefore, can be directly enforced in the courts in Romania. Children are not permitted to bring cases themselves, rather they must be represented in all cases by a parent, guardian or other legal representative. Legal representatives must perform their duties in accordance with the best interests principle. All legal proceedings to protect children’s rights are excluded from court costs regardless of the nature of the relief sought or the persons initiating the proceeding. Legal aid is available for civil cases, but generally not for criminal law matters. However, when the accused in criminal proceedings is a minor, the state must ensure they have legal representation.

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

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

Advocacy: Online discussion - How youth can take on a critical role in human rights advocacy 
Organisation: New Tactics in Human Rights
Date: 13-17 April 2015 

European conference: Net Children 2020 - rowing up with Media
Organisation: Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research et al. 
Date: 16-17 April 2015
Location: Berlin, Germany

Course: Using digital media in research with children and young people
Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Date: 23-24 April 2015
Location: Edinburgh, 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

Course: LLM in International Children's Rights
University of Leiden Date: From September 2015
Application deadline: 1 May 2015
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands

Asia-Pacific: Alternatives to detention and restorative justice for children
Organisation: Asia-Pacific Council for Juvenile Justice
Date: 5-8 May 2015
Location: Phuket, Thailand

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

LGBT rights: Int'l Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia (IDAHO)
Organisation: IDAHO Committee
Dates: 17 May 2015
Location: N/A

Statelessness: International Conference - 'None of Europe's Children Should be Stateless'
Organisation: European Network on Statelessness
Dates: 2-3 June 2015
Location: Budapest, Hungary

Child rights: 9th European Forum on the Rights of the Child
Organisation: European Commission
Date: 3-4 June 2015
Location: Brussels, Belgium

Summer school: Children at the heart of human rights
Organisation: Université de Genève
Date: 8-19 June 2015
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Justice systems: International Congress 'Children and the Law'
Organisation: Fernando Pessoa University
Dates: 11-13 June 2015
Location: Porto, Portugal

Justice sector reform: Training programme on applying human rights based approaches to justice sector reform
Organisation: International Human Rights Network
Dates: 22-26 June 2015
Location: Maynooth, Ireland

Business: Course on children's rights and business
Organisation: University of Leiden
Date: 6-9 July 2015
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands

Course: International children's rights - Frontiers of children's rights
Organisation: University of Leiden
Date: 6-11 July 2015
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands

Funding opportunity: Advocacy fund on post-2015 violence against children agenda
Organisation: Elevate Children Funders Group
Application deadline: 31 July 2015
Location: N/A

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EMPLOYMENT

CRIN: Legal research volunteer/ Pro bono lawyer (Hebrew-speaking) 
Location: Flexible
Application deadline: 8 April 2015

Save the Children Sweden: Monitoring, evaluation, accountability & learning manager 
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Application deadline: 10 April 2015

Save the Children Sweden: Program development manager 
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Applications deadline: 10 April 2015

Child Soldiers International: Africa Programme Officer
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 13 April 2015

Educo: Regional Advisor for child rights in Asia
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia or Manila, Philippines
Application deadline: 17 April 2015

Girls, Not Brides:  Head of Communications
Location: London, UK
Application deadline: 19 April 2015

Girls, Not Brides: Head of Partnership Development
Location: London, UK
Application deadline: 19 April 2015

Love146: Safe accommodation live-in worker
Location: N/A
Application deadline: N/A

Love146: Residential deputy manager
Location: Hampshire
Application deadline: N/A

Love146: Residential care worker
Location: Hampshire
Application deadline: N/A

LEAK OF THE WEEK

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