CRINmail 1424

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Inhuman sentencing in Pakistan

Government investigators in Pakistan have confiscated and tampered with evidence relating to the case of Shafqat Hussain, who was sentenced to death as a juvenile following his ‘confession’ to murder after nine days of torture. Shafqat’s death sentence was put on hold last month and an inquiry ordered to investigate evidence suggesting he was under the age of 18 at the time of his arrest. Since then, Pakistan’s Federal Investigations Authority (FIA) has, among other things,

• cancelled a government-issued birth certificate for Shafqat, which showed his age as under 18 at the time of his arrest;
• confiscated a school register that could hold further evidence of Shafqat’s age at the time of his arrest; and
• announced to the media that the inquiry had been concluded, and that Shafqat was not a juvenile at the time of his arrest.

Sarah Belal, director of Justice Project Pakistan, which is representing Shafqat, said: “From the outset, this ‘investigation’ has been dogged by a total lack of transparency – and now it seems that, worse, the authorities are actively using it to cover up evidence that could exonerate my client.” Shafqat’s stay of execution is due to expire on Sunday, and it is possible that Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Court will issue a new death warrant.

Denying sexual consent in South Africa

Proposed amendments to South Africa’s sexual consent legislation could see children who engage in consensual sex being charged for the offence of rape and be liable to life imprisonment, advocates have warned. In 2013, the Constitutional Court held that sections 15 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act, which criminalised consensual acts between children aged 12 to 16 years, are unconstitutional and directed the government to change the law by April of this year. The government’s last-minute proposal is to completely remove the two sections from the statute, meaning that children under 16 years of age would not be able to legally consent to any type of sexual activity. This would also have the effect of removing the offence of statutory rape which currently applies to consensual sexual activity with children under 16 by persons over that age. If the proposed amendments go ahead, 16- to 17-year-old children could face charges of rape and sexual assault for consensual activity with younger children.

Christina Nomdo, director of the organisation Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (Rapcan), which was one of the applicants in the constitutional challenge, decried the proposal, noted that the minimum sentence for rape of someone younger than 16 in South Africa is life imprisonment and the court can reduce that only in substantial and compelling circumstances. Another Constitutional Court decision from May 2014 directed the government to change provisions for the mandatory registration of children as sex offenders. The government has filed an application with the Constitutional Court to have the deadline for correcting the law on both points extended until August, which is due to be heard early next month.

Lawsuit over STDs experiment in Guatemala

Nearly 800 people in Guatemala have launched a billion-dollar lawsuit against John Hopkins University in the United States over its alleged role in a federally-funded medical experiment programme in which hundreds of vulnerable people, including children, were deliberately infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The lawsuit, which also names the philanthropic Rockefeller Foundation and pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, claims that the defendants helped “design, support, encourage and finance” the secretive and non-consensual experiments carried out on orphans, prisoners and mental health patients in the 1940s and 1950s, which aimed to determine if penicillin could prevent the diseases. 

Those who were infected with STDs were not informed of the consequences of their participation, were not provided with follow up medical care or informed of ways to avoid the infections spreading, the lawsuit states. Many of the victims died as a result of deliberate infection and others passed on disease to family members and partners. The programme did not publish any findings and the experiments were kept secret until they were discovered in 2010 by a college professor. The US government subsequently apologised for the programme after a presidential bioethics commission inquiry found the experiments “involved unconscionable basic violations of ethics”. A federal lawsuit for damages failed in 2012 after a judge determined the US government cannot be held liable for actions outside the US. The new lawsuit is believed to stand a greater chance of success because it was lodged in the state court of Maryland and against private entities. 

Migrant rescues, labour migration, forced repatriation

Around 400 migrants are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after their boat, which is thought to have been carrying children, capsized near the coast of Libya, Save the Children has said. Every year thousands of people fleeing violence in Africa and the Middle East die in the Mediterranean while travelling on shoddy boats. On April 5, up to 1,500 migrants were rescued in the same waters in the space of 24 hours alone. And since Friday, more than 7,000 migrants have been rescued. Italy ended its migrant rescue operations, known as “Mare Nostrum”, amid concerns over daily costs and that terrorists from the Middle Eastern and North Africa might make their way into Italy's borders. Rescue operations continue, albeit on a smaller scale through the European Union’s “Operation Triton”. But the UN predicted the lighter efforts would lead to a higher number of migrant deaths, which could be exacerbated by the expected increase in migrants leaving Libya for Europe. In the first two months of 2015 alone, there has been a 43 percent increase in migrant arrivals in Europe, compared to the same period in 2014.

An increasing number of children in Tajikistan are being placed in state-run homes because their parents migrate abroad in search of employment. As many as 100,000 children are left without either parent as a result of labour migration, according to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). While most are left in the care of relatives, some parents also place their children in care homes for lack of a better alternative, with this phenomenon contributing to a rise in child labour and in the number of street children. And all too often, parents lose contact with their children, with one care home worker saying there are children who no one has enquired about for more than three years. Advocates say the government needs policies that create more opportunities and options to encourage parents to return with the knowledge that they will be able to support their families.

Kenya’s government has urged the UN refugee agency to remove a camp housing more than half a million Somali refugees within three months, or it will do so itself. The request is part of a response to the recent killing of 148 people by Somali gunmen at a Kenyan university. Kenya says its decision is based on protecting its national security, having in the past accused fighters of hiding out in Dadaab camp, the world’s largest refugee complex, which it now wants moved across the border to Somalia. In response, the UN refugee agency warned that forcibly repatriating the refugees would violate international law. Dadaab is a sprawling complex composed of five camps which house schools, clinics and community centres. It was established in 1991 when civil war broke out in Somalia, and over subsequent years has received waves of refugees fleeing conflict and drought. It houses between 350,000 and 600,000 refugees, mostly Somali women and children, who have been living there for years or were born there, and have never been to Somalia.

Meditations on yoga classes in schools

Tensions between parents and schools over freedom of religion are again playing out in schools, but with little regard for children’s own choices. Yoga classes seem to be the new battleground. For example, in the United States, families of children attending school in the Encintas Union School District in California brought a lawsuit claiming that yoga classes provide a gateway to Hinduism and stifle Christianity. But representatives of the district affirmed that yoga is taught in a way that sets it apart from religion. This month, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed, upholding a lower court ruling that yoga classes taught in a public school do not violate students' or their parents’ right to freedom of religion. It explained that, "[w]hile the practice of yoga may be religious in some contexts, yoga classes as taught in the district are… devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings." Yoga is taught in schools across the US, but this district is believed to be the first to offer yoga in all schools and employ full-time yoga teachers.

The Supreme Court of India is also discussing whether public schools should be allowed to teach yoga and whether it has a religious component. The petitioners want all schools to include yoga as a subject from the first to eighth grade. The country's education policy already considers yoga an integral part of physical education. But yoga’s place in the country’s schools is causing controversy with other religious communities, who contend it promotes Hinduism. Mohammad Salim, national secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a Sunni Muslim organisation in India, added: “Some forces are using yoga to strengthen their agenda of cultural nationalism”.

Children exposed to advertising

Consumer rights and child protection advocates in the US have criticised the newly launched entertainment app, ‘YouTube Kids’, for being “hyper-commercialised”. The group is preparing a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission against YouTube for infringing children’s rights by allowing TV-style adverts to be shown among the educational and entertainment content aimed specifically at children. The adverts “aggressively promote” branded products and services, including by McDonald’s and toy company Hasbro and Mattel. Recently, an investigation showed that video adverts, which play before the videos of a popular YouTube blogger popular with users aged 11 to 17 years, feature products that would likely break Advertising Standards Authority rules if broadcast on terrestrial children’s television. Commenting on ‘YouTube Kids’, Dale Kunkel, professor in children’s media at the University of Arizona, said: “This is the most hyper-commercialised media for kids I have ever seen. Children don’t understand the persuasive intent of advertising,” as young children can hardly distinguish between entertainment and advertising, experts say. While the situation calls for greater regulation of the content of commercial advertising, the issue also highlights the need to help children to think critically about the information they are exposed to. 

In 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights launched a report on how advertising and marketing practices can affect the enjoyment of cultural rights, including the right to education, the right to artistic freedom, the right to enjoy and access cultural heritage and the right to choose one’s way of life. Moreover, a 2011 study in England found that children are aware of the negative impact advertising can have, especially through creating more pressure to own material goods and to fit in. 

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN LIECHTENSTEIN

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has been incorporated into the laws of Liechtenstein, but does not take precedence over national laws as Liechtenstein’s government does not consider all of the rights within the Convention to be sufficiently specific to establish rights that courts could apply directly. The CRC has been cited by national courts, but not in a consistent manner. Children, through their representatives, may lodge a complaint in court against any action or decision that violates their rights. In some limited circumstances, children may also bring cases on their own behalf. Challenges against violations of children’s rights can be brought in all courts, including via individual complaints in front of Liechtenstein’s Constitutional Court. Collective complaints are possible if lodged by groups of 100 citizens or more and legal aid is available for all proceedings. Statutes of limitations for criminal complaints against sexual abuse are delayed until the victim has reached the age of 18 and special procedures exist for child victims giving evidence in court.

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

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

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

Child advocacy: Call for nominations for the 2015 Children’s Peace Prize
Organisation: KidsRights
Deadline for nominations: 27 April 2015
Location: N/A

Course: Sexuality, Gender, and Rights Institute
Organisation: CREA
Application deadline: 20 April 2015
Dates: 20-28 June 2015
Location: Istanbul, Turkey

Monitoring: Shadow Reporting at the United Nations
Organisation: Birkbeck, University of London
Date: 22 April 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom

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

Call for papers: Institutionalised children - explorations and beyond
Organisation: Udayan Care
Submission deadline: 31 May 2015 (abstract), 31 July 2015 (final paper)
Location: N/A

Course: (Dis)Integration through human rights - citizens, courts, communities
Organisation: European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation
Application deadline: 15 May 2015
Dates: 6-15 July 2015
Location: Venice, Italy

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

Child protection: Summer school on child protection
Organisation: University of Colorado, Denver
Dates: 6-24 July 2015
Location: Denver, United States

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EMPLOYMENT

CRIN: Legal research intern (French and/or Arabic speaking)
Application deadline: 27 April 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom (or Paris, France)

CRIN: Journalist (paid internship)
Application deadline: 27 April 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom

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

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

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

Plan: Consultancy on Plan's UN child rights monitoring & reporting experience
Application deadline: 26 April 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom

Plan: Deployable child protection in emergencies specialist
Application deadline: 30 April 2015
Location: Flexible

International Rescue Committee: Child protection technical advisor
Application deadline: N/A
Location: New York, United States 

THE LAST WORD

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