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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Civil liberties, abuse & anonymous States

Zambia’s President Lungu has been vocal on ending violence against women and girls, but his approach to the issue was questioned after he pardoned a man convicted of raping a child and then made him an ambassador on gender-based violence. Clifford Dimba, a rapper more commonly known by his stage name General Kanene, was sentenced to 18 years in jail for “defiling” a 14-year-old girl, but Lungu extended a presidential pardon to him shortly after he wrote a song praising the head of State. The musician was quickly hit with allegations of domestic abuse after he was freed and has been trundled out at at least one pro-Lungu rally to perform for crowds of supporters. On the other hand, another rapper was charged earlier in the year for allegedly defaming the President, after he implied in a song that the nation’s economic woes and frequent power outages were due to government incompetence. His case was later dropped by the State.

An attempt by UN officials to encourage States to decriminalise the possession and use of drugs has failed after a paper from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was withdrawn following pressure from an unnamed State. The document drawn up by Dr Monica Beg, chief of the HIV and AIDs section of UNODC recommends that UN Member States consider "decriminalising drug possession for personal consumption" and argued that "arrest and incarceration are disproportionate measures". The document claims it "clarifies the position of UNODC to inform country responses to promote a health and human rights-based approach to drug policy". It states that "treating drug use for non-medical purposes and possession for personal consumption as criminal offences has contributed to public health problems and induced negative consequences for safety, security, and human rights". UNODC has been under pressure for some time to make a clear statement with regard to decriminalisation of drug possession and use. Other UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, have been explicit in their opposition to drug users facing criminal sanctions on health and human rights grounds.

Governments and international organisations are failing to provide adequate protection to whistleblowers and sources, according to a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression. Mr David Kaye informed the UN General Assembly that “countless sources and whistleblowers around the world are intimidated by officials, co-workers, and others, depriving everyone of information that may be critical to public debate and accountability.” The report found that those revealing allegations of wrongdoing lacked effective protection and that silence is too often the only safe option left to them, with the public left in the dark and wrongdoing being left unpunished. The report notes that the UN and other international organisations also frequently fail to protect their own whistleblowers. “Protections should be detailed explicitly in law, providing clarity for whistleblowers and others on the nature of the protection they may seek,” the Special Rapporteur said, calling upon governments and international organisations to strengthen protection mechanisms for sources and whistleblowers.

Refugee crisis and armed conflict

The UN has accused Czech authorities of "systematic" rights violations in their treatment of refugees and migrants, including children detained because of their migration status. The Czech Republic was accused of holding people who arrived in Europe from overseas in "degrading" conditions for up to 90 days and strip searching them for money to pay for their own detention, according to UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. While other European countries had implemented policies to restrict the movement of migrants and refugees, the Czech Republic was "unique" in its routine detention of people for long periods, Mr Hussein said in a statement. He added he was alarmed by the "xenophobic" public discourse in the country, including statements by Czech President Milos Zeman. Czech Interior Minister, Milan Chovanec, said the government "fundamentally disagreed" with the accusations. He said Mr Hussein was welcome to visit any Czech detention facility in person.

Many Rohingya refugees from Burma have been killed or have suffered horrific rights abuses at the hands of human traffickers, according to a new report by Amnesty International.  The report, “Deadly journeys: The refugee and trafficking crisis in Southeast Asia,” is based on interviews with more than 100 Rohingya refugees - mainly victims of human trafficking, and many of them children - who reached Indonesia after fleeing Burma or Bangladesh across the Andaman Sea. While the UN estimates that at least 370 people lost their lives between January and June, Amnesty believes the true figure is much higher. Many Rohingya who spoke to Amnesty said that they had seen crew members kill people when their families failed to pay ransoms. Some people were shot by the traffickers on the boats while others were thrown overboard and left to drown. One 15-year-old Rohingya boy said: “In the morning you were hit three times. In the afternoon you were hit three times. At night you were hit nine times.” The Rohingyas’ desperation stems from decades of persecution and discrimination in Burma, where they are effectively denied citizenship under national law. Waves of violence against the Rohingya, most recently in 2012, have forced tens of thousands into overcrowded camps where they live in desperate conditions.  

In Ukraine, orphanages are facing a shortfall in state funding, leaving them reliant on volunteers and voluntary donations to provide their food supply. The orphanages, which before the war operated on shoestring budgets, have since become increasingly overcrowded. Many parents who have lost employment, savings and the means to generate an income as a consequence of the conflict have often been left with no choice but to place their children in care. But the lack of resources at these orphanages has meant children often do not eat meat or fish for months at a time and are often forced to go hungry. There are nearly 95,000 children living in orphanages in the country. These homes in Ukraine have always had troubling reputations and a recent three-year investigation by NGO Disability Rights International found that children in care homes are at an increasing risk of being trafficked for sex and labour.

Adoption and birth registration

Slovenia’s Constitutional Court has given the go-ahead for a referendum which could overturn a law giving same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children. The conservative group “Za otroke gre” (For the Children), appealed to the Constitutional Court over the changes to the Family Code, which confers marriage and adoption rights on equal terms with opposite-sex couples. In a similar referendum in 2012, almost 55 percent of voters were against giving more rights to same-sex couples. But legislation from 2013 no longer allows referenda on human rights issues. Despite this, the new referendum is expected to take place in the coming months, although no date has yet been set.

In the United States, 28 senators have called on President Obama to end the misuse of a foreign aid law to restrict women and girls’ access to reproductive health care. The Helms Amendment bans the use of US foreign aid “to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning”; but the law has been incorrectly implemented as a total ban on all abortion-related services. In their open letter, the senators highlight how rape is often used as a war tactic in conflict-affected countries, and argue that women and girls should have access to safe abortion at least in the circumstances of rape, incest or where the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life.

Tanzania has launched a nationwide plan to accelerate birth registration by allowing parents to register their children’s birth by mobile phone. The new system being rolled out over the next five years allows a health worker to send the baby's name, sex, date of birth and family details by phone to a central database and a birth certificate is issued free of charge within days. Tanzania has one of the lowest rates of birth registration in eastern and southern Africa, with more than 80 percent of under-5s lacking a birth certificate, according to the 2012 census. Most parents in rural areas of the country do not register their children because of the high cost, long distances to registry offices, complicated process and lack of awareness of the benefits. But under the convenient new system, the government expects to register about a million children under the age of five before the end of this year, and 90 percent of all newborns within the next five years. With the data, the government can better plan health, education and other public services.

Status offences and ‘prostitution’

In Kenya, 230 children were arrested on a public holiday on 20 October for “drinking, dancing and smoking”. The children, aged between 9 and 17, were arrested at the Jerry City Hotel and Bar in Nairobi, and were made to spend the night at the Central Police Station. The owner of the bar has since gone into hiding. The children were charged in a children's court and later released on a free bond. The children’s parents were disgruntled by the fact that their children were being criminalised, with one parent saying "How can an adult person sell beer to a child. What is the purpose of the law? Let the club owner bear the brunt of the law." Upon releasing them, the presiding magistrate directed the children to report to a probation officer to interview them and file a report.

In the US, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced that his department will immediately stop arresting children on prostitution charges, on the basis that they are abuse victims not offenders. The announcement came a day after the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion declaring "that there is no such thing as a 'child prostitute'”. Until now there was a Catch-22 that law enforcement and judges faced, McDonnell acknowledged, because the only way to intervene in cases of child sex trafficking laws banning prostitution was to arrest the victims. The new approach, he said, will focus on providing children with help rather than locking them up. This will involve bringing the children in contact with people who can assist them. However, the director of the Department of Children and Family Services warned that in practice his department is not fully prepared to safely house and successfully treat all victims of child sex trafficking.

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN ITALY

Italy ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and incorporated it into its domestic law in 1991. The CRC can be directly enforced in domestic courts, and domestic laws must be interpreted in accordance with the CRC, as much as possible. The Constitution allows all persons to take legal action to protect their rights. Generally, children can only bring cases to court through a parent, guardian or legal representative. If the child is emancipated, or over 14 in a criminal case or in an employment contract for a civil case, then they may personally bring cases to court. Acts and decisions of administrative bodies may be challenged by judicial review, but individuals cannot personally bring the claims to the Constitutional Court. Instead, the claim must be brought forward by a lower court. Children can make complaints to the Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents. Applicants with insufficient means are entitled to legal aid in all phases of litigation and before any court, including in criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings.  Children can qualify for legal aid if their family’s income suffices as low, or if they are in conflict with their family.

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

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 bringing a case.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Street children: Research conference - ‘Exploring different conceptualisations of street-connected children’s identities’
Organisation: Consortium for Street Children
Event date: 5 November 2015
Location: London, United Kingdom

Call for submissions: Multi-agency collaboration in child protection in South-eastern Europe
Organisers: Terre des hommes Kosovo, Child Protection Hub, DCI-Netherlands
Submission deadline: N/A
Event date: 9-10 November 2015
Location: Prishtina, Kosovo

Reproductive rights: New reproductive technologies and the European fertility market
Organisation: Erasmus University Rotterdam et al. 
Event date: 19-20 November 2015
Location: Santander, Spain

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EMPLOYMENT

CRIN: Middle East and North Africa Intern
Application deadline: Rolling deadline
Location: Bethlehem, Palestine

European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC): Fundraising Officer
Application deadline: 5 November 2015
Location: Budapest, Hungary

BICE (International Catholic Child Bureau): Researcher for Latin America & the Caribbean
Application deadline : 15 November 2015
Location : Geneva, Switzerland

ERRC: Information Officer
Application deadline: 16 November 2015
Location: Budapest, Hungary 

LEAK OF THE WEEK

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