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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Juvenile justice and inhuman sentencing
The Governor of Delta State in Nigeria should honour his word to release a juvenile currently on death row whose conviction is based on a 'confession' obtained through torture, Amnesty International has said. Last October, governor Emmanuel Uduaghan spoke publically about the possibility of releasing Moses Akatugba, who was arrested when he was 16 years old for allegedly stealing three phones. While held in detention, Moses says he was beaten, hung upside down in interrogation rooms and had his finger and toe nails pulled out to force him to sign two ‘confessions’. After spending eight years in prison, he was sentenced to death by hanging and is currently on death row. But governor Uduaghan steps down on 29 May, so Amnesty International has created a petition to step up pressure before he leaves office. NGOs report that Nigerian police routinely torture suspects to extract information, while confessions obtained through torture are regularly used as evidence in court. Moses says his claims of torture have never been investigated.
Also in Nigeria, prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a 15-year-old child bride accused of killing her husband who was more than twice her age. Wasila Tasi'u, who was 14 when she was forced to marry the 35-year-old man, was accused of lacing food prepared for a post-wedding celebration with rat poison, which resulted in the death of her husband and three other guests. The prosecution had been seeking the death penalty. In April, the High Court in Gezawa in northern Kano State, rejected a motion to have charges against Wasila dismissed on account of the fact that she is a minor. But last week the Kano State attorney general announced the case would be dropped because the accused is a minor and the victim's family had forgiven her. Charges against Wasila will be formally dropped and she will be released from juvenile detention once the court receives either a written or oral presentation from the office of Kano's attorney general to that effect. Another child bride was sentenced to death in 2012 for allegedly killing her husband at the age of 13. But a court later overturned the judgment, ruling that the death sentence handed down for a crime committed while she was a minor was a violation of her fundamental rights. Rights groups, however, criticise her ongoing detention.
Meanwhile in Egypt, a military court has tried at least 12 children under a new regulation that assigns all cases of violations of “vital state property” to military courts. The case, in which 147 defendants, including 12 or more children, were tried, was regarding “offences against public property and intimidating civilians through force and violence”, according to the Egyptian Foundation for the Advancement of Childhood Conditions. While three of the children were proven innocent and three others were declared as falling outside the jurisdiction of the court, six others received a 15-year prison sentence.
Surrogacy and discriminatory birth regulations
The highest court in Switzerland has refused to recognise two gay men as the legitimate fathers of a child born to a surrogate mother in the United States in 2011. The child was conceived through artificial insemination of a woman in California, using the sperm of one of the two partners. The Federal Supreme Court ruled that the sperm donor and the surrogate mother must be officially registered as the child’s parents, holding that the US birth certificate naming the two men as the child’s legal parents cannot be recognised in Switzerland. The couple’s lawyer said that the ruling was not in the best interests of the child. The decision struck down the ruling of a Saint Gallen administrative court which had previously recognised the foreign birth certificate despite the fact that surrogacy and adoption by same-sex couples are illegal in Switzerland, arguing that the child’s well-being should be the paramount consideration in the case. The couple’s last avenue for appeal now lies with the European Court of Human Rights.
Rights groups have said a new law in Myanmar, which requires some mothers to keep a three-year space between the births of their children, discriminates against religious minorities. Signed by President Thein Sein last week, the government says the birth-spacing law is a healthcare bill which aims to bring down maternal and infant mortality rates. But it has been criticised by rights groups for particularly targeting the minority Muslim population in the State of Rakhine, and could lead to further tensions between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. Yangon-based Triangle Women Support Group founder Khin Lay stated that the law "targets one religion, one population, in one area." The Buddhist ultra-nationalist group the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion, which has welcomed the new law, has been fuelling anti-Muslim sentiment by saying that Muslim communities will overrun the country due to their alleged higher birth rates. Myanmar has long been criticised for systematic human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims.
Access to justice in abuse cases
In Argentina, two judges are facing possible dismissal for reducing the sentence of a child rapist because the victim was “accustomed” to being sexually abused. Judges Horacio Piombo and Benjamin Sal Llargues, from the Buenos Aires Chamber of Criminal Appeals, argued that the case had mitigating factors, namely that the 6-year-old child had been previously abused by his father. The judges also suggested that the crime was less damaging to the child because he is gay, arguing that the abuser was not responsible for “the warped sexual development of the minor child.” Identifying such questionable mitigating factors seems to be a trademark of the two judges. In 2011, they reduced the sentence of a man accused of raping his two teenage daughters because they had not contracted any sexually transmitted diseases or become pregnant, as well as that of a cleric who abused two girls because the victims “were from a social class in which sexual permissiveness was acceptable at an early age.” The prosecutor Julio Torrado has requested the two judges be removed from their posts on account of multiple decisions made which granted leniency to perpetrators of human rights abuses. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the latest ruling.
In Malaysia, a 60-year-old man was acquitted of four counts of rape of a 15-year-old girl, who gave birth to a baby whose DNA matches the offender’s, because the girl’s testimony was deemed unreliable - a decision which UNICEF Malaysia said is “deeply disturbing”. The man, who had been charged with one count of rape and three counts of statutory rape, was acquitted by the Court of Appeal in Sibu. In response, UNICEF Malaysia said: “the judiciary should consider that child victims of sexual abuse often suffer from trauma which may affect their testimonies.” It added: "After experiencing the terror and trauma of rape, children who have been victimised should be protected from further abuse, and the due process of law applied to bring perpetrators to justice.” Sharmila Sekaran, a human rights lawyer and chairperson of Voice of Children, said: “In the eyes of the law, there is a tendency to presume children lie." On the issue of the credibility of children's testimonies, a 2011 study found that young children are capable of recounting traumatic experiences with a margin of error of only five per cent, concluding that even if children’s testimonies do contain flaws, they should never be disregarded in courts.
Education and the right to information
A school in New Zealand handed out pamphlets to its pupils which branded women who have sex outside of marriage as “cheap prostitutes” and their male partners as “cowards” for not proposing marriage. Titled ‘Safe Sex’, and produced by the American-based Bible Baptist Publications, the material is influenced by conservative Christian views, labelling unmarried couples who live together as "habitual and irresponsible fornicators", while "Death and Hell" await those who have gay sex. "Either you are married or you are not married. If you are not married, yet you have sexual relations, then you are a wicked fornicator," the pamphlet reads, which says “the only SAFE sex is sex between a man and a woman. Any other form of sex is SINFUL sex.” The Papanui High School principal, Jess Smith, defended the distribution of the material, arguing that the aim was to show pupils a range of perspectives on the issue, making clear that this was its only intent. One schoolgirl’s parent said she was happy with efforts to explain the context of the material. But the Ministry of Education said health and sexuality lessons should develop students’ knowledge and understanding, as well as encourage tolerance among their peers, noting that “it would be rare for a pamphlet like this to be distributed."
Meanwhile in Russia, the government has approved plans to produce a state-financed TV company that would seek to inculcate patriotism in children, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko has reportedly instructed the Education Ministry to form a working group that will bring the channel on air. The TV station will broadcast youth-oriented talk shows and programmes on education, news, and other issues, with “specialists” already said to be preparing proposals for conducting “informational-patriotic work with teenagers." The initiative may form part of a broader five-year national plan from 2016-20 to instill patriotism in Russia’s youth. President Vladimir Putin has tightened the government's grip on the media and used television to consolidate control over the country, seeing to instil patriotism in young Russians throughout his presidency, according to news provider Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Read more about the campaign on children's right to information.
Civil society reined in
Again in Russia, state-sanctioned restrictions on civil society intensified this week, when Vladimir Putin signed a law to ban foreign NGOs from operating in the country if they are deemed a threat to national security. Russia already has a law, approved by the Russian Federal Council in 2012, requiring NGOs that accept international funding to register as "foreign agents". Europe and Central Asia Director for Human Rights Watch Hugh Williamson said of the law: “there is little doubt that its primary targets are Russian activists and Russian independent organisations." Penalties for individuals working for banned organisations include fines and up to six years in prison, while banned organisations could face having their bank accounts frozen. Supporters defend the law on the ground of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, and the Western sanctions that have ensued.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has urged a review of a similar draft law in Kyrgyzstan, which would require non-commercial organisations operating in the country involved in "political activities" to register as "foreign agents". The OHCHR has asserted that the law could negatively affect the work of civil society, because the term "political activities" is vaguely defined as "activities aimed at influencing the decisions of public authorities in order to change their policy, as well as activities aimed at influencing the public opinion for the above-mentioned purposes", which could translate as human rights advocacy. “The term 'foreign agent' carries extremely negative connotations and could lead to stigmatisation, mistrust and hostility towards activists, human rights defenders and civil society organisations,” said Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN SPAIN
Spain has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), including all three Optional Protocols. The CRC, which takes precedence over national laws, can be directly enforced in the courts and has therefore been cited extensively in judgments. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has criticised the fact that provisions related to children’s rights may vary among the different regions of Spain as the autonomous communities may legislate in certain matters involving civil law. All courts across Spain accept complaints by children which must be brought with the help of a representative or guardian, and constitutional complaints regarding children’s fundamental rights can be lodged directly with the Constitutional Court. Children do not have the capacity to appear directly and on their own behalf before the Spanish courts, but can instruct a lawyer to act on their behalf in limited cases where their interests are directly opposed to those of the guardian. Legal aid is available to children and specialised procedures are applied to facilitate children giving evidence. In criminal proceedings, limitation periods do not commence until the child reaches 18 years of age and children can initiate private prosecutions. Challenges usually have to involve a child victim, but there is some limited scope for NGOs to bring cases if they hold institutional representation conferred by law for the defence concerning the specific rights in question. The Council of Europe has warned that the overall duration of court proceedings in Spain has recently been on the increase. Once domestic remedies have been exhausted, children may submit complaints to the European Court of Human Rights and to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child under the third Optional Protocol to the CRC on a complaints procedure.
Read the full report on access to justice for children in Spain.
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
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
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
Child rights: Young children's rights in Wales and England: What Next After the Election?
Organisation: UCL Institute of Education & Cardiff Metropolitan University
Date: 24 June 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom
FGM: Female genital mutilation as a child safeguarding issue
Organisation: Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA)
Date: 26 June 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom
Missing children: Second int'l academic conference on missing children & adults
Organisation: Various
Date: 8-10 July 2015
Location: Brussels, Belgium United Kingdom
Participation: Children as actors for transforming society
Organisation: Child to Child et al.
Dates: 27 July - 2 August 2015
Location: Caux, Switzerland
Child labour: The Nairobi Global Conference on Child Labour
Organisation: African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect
Date: 23-25 August 2015
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Child indicators: ‘From Welfare to Well-being - Child indicators in research, policy & practice’
Organisation: International Society for Child Indicators
Date: 2-4 September 2015
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Course: Child Rights-Based Approaches
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 2 September - 17 November 2015
Location: Online
Child abuse: European Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
Organisation: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
Dates: 27-30 September 2015
Location: Bucharest, Romania
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EMPLOYMENT
CRIN: Communications Intern (Spanish-speaking)
Location: Flexible, home-based
Application deadline: 29 May 2015
European Roma Rights Centre: Advocacy Officers
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Application deadline: 31 May 2015
Save the Children Sweden: Child Protection in Emergencies
Location: Flexible
Application deadline: 31 May 2015
Just for Kids Law: Youth Advocate
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 8 June 2015
Street Child United: Youth Participation Consultancy
Location: N/A
Application deadline: 8 June 2015
European Roma Rights Centre: Financial Officer
Application deadline: 19 June 2015
Location: Budapest, Hungary
LEAK OF THE WEEK
Same-sex marriage exposes children to the “sounds of sodomy”, gives rise to hundreds of thousands of abortions, and even contaminates your food and drink by turning your burgers gay and leaving your coffee inseminated.
These were just some of the - ahem - convincing arguments put forward by conservative campaign groups in Ireland encouraging people to vote NO in last week’s same-sex marriage referendum.
Yet despite not being able to hear through the deafening sounds of sodomy, the majority of voters were at least able to see clearly, and finally voted in favour of marriage equality, signalling what some have called a “social revolution” in the traditionally conservative and Catholic country.
For more NO-vote arguments, we’ll leave you with PinkNews’ compilation.
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