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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Calls for greater UN transparency

The campaign to reform the process to appoint the UN Secretary-General heats up this week as a UN working group meets on 27 April. In advance of the meeting of the “Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly,” the 1 for 7 Billion campaign, which works to secure a more open and inclusive process, is urging organisations and individuals around the world to write to Member States to this effect, using this sample letter. The specific reforms the campaign calls on Member States to consider include:

• The publication of formal nomination and selection criteria, and a clear timetable;
• The opportunity for all UN Member States to hear from candidates, with civil society participation in accordance with General Assembly procedures;
• Consideration of the recommendation of two or more qualified women and men by the Security Council to the General Assembly; and
• Consideration of a single, non-renewable seven-year term of appointment for the Secretary-General.

Other ways to take action include:

• Asking your civil society partners and colleagues to support the campaign.
• Contacting the 1 for 7 Billion campaign to learn where your country stands.
• Joining the 1 for 7 Billion Thunderclap.
• For more ideas, visit the Take Action page!

Read about actions for other UN appointments.

Trafficking, migrant resettlement & reproductive rights

Around 800 people, including some 100 children, are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in what is one of the worst migrant boat disasters in history. Only 27 people survived the incident, after the boat crashed into a vessel that was answering its distress call. One 16-year-old survivor said traffickers had wanted to cram 1,200 people onto the boat, but only 850 would fit and they “couldn’t even move”. Italian prosecutors believe that around 200 migrants, including many children, were locked in the hold of the ship by the crew and prevented from coming out. The latest sinking is a reminder of how migrants, faced with having to meet near-to-impossible immigration requirements, resort to paying illegal traffickers thousands of euros to travel on shoddy boats. More than 1,700 people have drowned in the past week alone trying to cross the Mediterranean. With European rescue efforts having been scaled down, the International Organisation for Migration said the migrant death toll for the year could reach 30,000 - nearly 10 times the 2014 total. Charities predict as many as 2,500 children could die at sea if current trends continue.

Australia could be violating the rights of child refugees expected to be sent from its offshore processing centre in Nauru to Cambodia under its refugee resettlement pact with the country, UNICEF has warned. As early as next week, the first refugees are expected to be flown out from Nauru. The organisation says the transfer puts children’s well-being at risk, warning that government policies should put the children’s best interests as a top concern. The organisation Children Out of Immigration Detention pointed out that sending children and their families to a country with a questionable human rights record “is simply not in the best interests of the child and simply should not occur."

In the United States, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has initiated a lawsuit against the federal government seeking the release of documents relating to groups which are awarded government funding contracts. The suit alleges that such groups are restricting unaccompanied child migrants and refugees’ access to reproductive health services, such as abortion and contraception, in some cases on the ground of religion. The ACLU took legal action to obtain documents that can reveal the scope of this problem after a freedom of information request filed over six months ago was ignored by the Administration for Children and Families. 

Sectarian violence and political tensions

Yemen’s ongoing sectarian fighting has claimed the lives of at least 405 civilians, including 86 children. The conflict intensified last month between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi Arabia-backed forces of embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia, alongside a number of other regional Sunni allies, launched an intensive campaign of airstrikes against the Houthi. Schools have been closed since airstrikes started taking place in the daytime, with as many as 1.85 million children currently out of school. Save the Children says the insecurity in the country and the ongoing naval blockade is stopping humanitarian aid from reaching affected areas, some of which no longer have a running water supply. The organisation also warns that hospitals across Yemen are short of drugs, medical supplies or blood. Meanwhile supplies at the only blood bank in the city of Sana'a are now likely to be foul due to there being no electricity.

Amid political tensions, Iran has ordered a halt on pilgrimages to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia in response to claims that two teenage Iranians were sexually harassed by airport staff in Saudi Arabia last month. The ban applies to umrah, a pilgrimage that can be taken to Mecca any time of the year. The Iranian Students’ News Agency cited Culture Minister Ali Jannati as saying that flights transporting pilgrims will be suspended. In the past two weeks, Iranian pilgrims have said that the Saudi Embassy stopped issuing visas, and at least two flights transporting pilgrims from Iran to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia were denied permission to land.

Call for human rights assessment in Equatorial Guinea

A group of Portuguese-speaking countries which accepted Equatorial Guinea as a member in 2014 should investigate the human rights situation in the country, the organisations EG Justice, Conectas Direitos Humanos, and Human Rights Watch have urged. The organisations sent a joint letter to that effect to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), membership of which depends on States’ adherence to its statutes which incorporate commitments to democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and social justice. Ongoing human rights concerns in the country include violations of freedom of expression, association and assembly, with political prisoners facing abuses such as torture. Notably, it is not uncommon for Equatorial Guinean NGOs to operate from exile because of the restrictions and reprisals they face on account of their work in their home country. Also read about children’s rights concerns in Equatorial Guinea.

Freedom of expression of LGBT people

Children in the United States who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) should not be subjected to so-called ‘conversion therapies’, the Obama administration has said in response to a White House petition calling for an end to its use on children. Based on the belief that homosexuality or being transgender are disorders or illnesses which can be treated through counselling and psychotherapy, conversion therapy sees licensed counsellors and therapists trying to change the sexual orientation and gender identity of LGBT children. The administration’s response to the petition recognises that “conversion therapy, especially when it is practised on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.” California and New Jersey are the only US states to have banned the use of conversion therapy on children. But there is a grassroots effort to enact a federal ban on the practice. A 2014 study by UCLA’s Williams Institute also found that seeking advice from religious or spiritual advisers is linked to a higher incidence of suicide attempts. The National Center for Lesbian Rights has launched a five-year campaign to raise awareness about the harms caused by such practices and to encourage more US states to ban them. 

Once Malawi’s new legislation banning child marriage comes into force later this week, LGBT people will have few legal protections, a global LGBT rights group has warned. The ‘Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Law’ raises the minimum age for marriage from 16 to 18 for women and girls, who are predominantly the victims of forced marriages. However, the law defines all marriages, unions and cohabitation arrangements as being between a man and a woman. It also defines a person’s sex or gender as the one assigned at birth, thus not recognising transgender or intersex persons. Jessica Stern, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said in a statement: “It’s appalling that a law that attempts to address a serious human rights abuse like child and forced marriage would then also target Malawians for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s unacceptable to try to prevent one existing wrong and in the process create another abuse in the form of legal discrimination against LGBT [and intersex] individuals”.  

Ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) on 17 May, a coalition of organisations are launching a Thunderclap to demand greater respect for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people. This year, under the theme of LGBTQI Youth, the organisations are additionally calling on youth organisations to take into account the specific needs of LGBTQI young people, and on LGBTQI organisations to take young people in their communities seriously and help support their emergence, leadership development and empowerment.

Join the Thunderclap: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/24900-speak-up-for-lgbtqi-youth?locale=en

To find out more about other IDAHOT initiatives around the world, visit: www.dayagainsthomophobia.org

Inhuman sentencing in Pakistan

In Pakistan, the Islamabad High Court has allowed lawyers for Shafqat Hussain, who was sentenced to death as a juvenile following his ‘confession’ to murder after nine days of torture, to challenge the government’s inquiry into his case. Shafqat’s death sentence was put on hold last month while the government investigated evidence suggesting he was under the age of 18 at the time of his arrest. The inquiry was recently discredited after it emerged that government investigators had confiscated and tampered with evidence. On Monday, the government investigation into Shafqat’s case was concluded and found that he could now be executed. But the Court has now ordered the Pakistani government to appear in court in two weeks' time to respond to concerns about the planned execution. 

Sarah Belal, director of Justice Project Pakistan, said: "The government’s investigators have utterly failed to carry out the promised independent, transparent inquiry [...]. The fact remains that Shafqat, and many others awaiting execution, may have been wrongfully arrested and forced into confessions as juveniles. In its rush to execute them, the government is in danger of committing a terrible breach of Pakistani and international law.”

New ratification of complaints mechanism

Argentina has become the latest State to ratify the UN’s complaints mechanism for children. In doing so, it became the 17th ratifying State of the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, one year after its entry into force. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will be able to accept complaints under the Protocol in relation to violations occurring in the ratifying States. 

On the occasion of the Protocol’s first anniversary, UN experts alongside a coalition campaign - Ratify OP3 CRC - urging States to ratify the instrument released a joint statement to this effect. Also read the coalition’s latest newsletter for updates on new ratifications, signatories and coalition news. 

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN SOMALIA

Somalia has signed, but not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, therefore the Convention does not form part of the national legal system or have the force of law. The Provisional Constitution, which was adopted in 2012 by the transitional government, is expected to become the supreme law of Somalia.  Due to the extended conflict in the country, judicial mechanisms are not fully functioning, making if difficult to litigate for violations of children’s rights. In the judicial system established under the Provisional Constitution, it appears that cases could be brought on behalf of children, including by NGOs, and children who might suffer an injustice are granted the right to receive free legal aid. The report also examines legal instruments from Somaliland and Puntland.

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

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

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

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: MA Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights
Organisation: Freie Universität Berlin
Application deadline: 30 April 2015
Location: Berlin, Germany

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

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

Participation: Children as Actors for Transforming Society
Organisation: Child to Child et al.
Dates: 27 July - 2 August 2015
Location: Caux, Switzerland

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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

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

Right to Education Project: Legal Volunteer
Application deadline: 27 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 

ECPAT: Campaigns Officer
Application deadline: 15 May
Location: London, United Kingdom

Open Society Foundations: Youth Fellowship Programme
Application deadline: 15 May 2015
Location: N/A

All We Can: Senior Partnership Manager
Application deadline: N/A
Location: London, United Kingdom

Mary’s Meals: Director of Programmes
Application deadline: N/A
Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom

THE LAST WORD

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