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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Terrorism, refugees & talking to children

In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris, one question communities are asking is how to talk to children about traumatic events. Similarly following the 2011 killing of 76 people in Norway by a right-wing extremist, the country’s ombudsperson for children produced a short guide on how adults can communicate with children when dramatic, and potentially traumatic events occur. The guide explains that children and young people follow events on television, the internet and other media. And it is important to understand that they often want to know what has happened, as adults do, so we should be open to questions they may have. A starting point is to understand that the media's presentation of a crisis is generally aimed at adults, not children, so it is important for adults to be able to relay information in a way that is adapted to their age.

The need for this information extends to other parts of the world, where similar attacks on civilians have either received less media coverage or have disappeared from public consciousness. For instance, the Paris attacks occurred a day after twin suicide bombings in Beirut, Lebanon, killed 43 people. In Nigeria this week, at least 41 people were killed in multiple suicide attacks. Russian reports claim an improvised explosive devise downed the plane that killed 224 people on board, including 17 children in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. In October, 102 people were killed in two bombings in Ankara, Turkey. And among recent killings in Iraq, 12 children were executed by Islamic State militants after they tried to flee a training camp earlier this month. Meanwhile the killing of civilians by terrorist groups is a regular occurrence in other countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

In response to the recent attacks, some States have said they will tighten their borders, further restricting entry for refugees from war-torn countries, based on the belief that terrorists are infiltrating refugee groups. Lebanon has already said it will tighten its border controls, and some 19 US states have said they will not accept Syrian refugees. Advocates say the knee-jerk measures are “demonising refugees” and promoting xenophobia.

Education and harm reduction

South Korea has been accused of trying to rewrite history in government-issued history textbooks in schools. The books will be written by a state-appointed panel of teachers and academics, with President Park Geun-Hye saying that the most critical role of historical education is to “instil our future generation with pride in their country”. Park’s conservative administration says that privately published textbooks, which became the norm from 2010, have taken on an increasingly liberal, left-wing bias. But opposition groups say the government’s plan will eliminate diversity in history education. Among contested issues are the narrative of how the South Korean State was created; which of the Koreas was most responsible for the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean war; and the interpretation of the autocratic rule and legacy of Park’s father, Park Chung-Hee. Following nationwide protests against the textbooks, the education ministry has reportedly called for disciplinary action against 21,379 teachers from schools across the country who took part in the demonstrations on 29 October.

A group of parents in the United Kingdom is taking the government to court over its decision to exclude non-religious world views, such as humanism, from the content of religious education courses in secondary schools. The subject currently provides for in-depth study of two religions as well as of philosophy and ethics, which can include non-religious beliefs. But under the revised curriculum, the study of non-religious world views, such as humanism, is absent. Lawyers representing parents will argue that under European human rights law, the State is obliged to treat different religions and beliefs on an equal footing and that the school curriculum should not elevate religions above non-religious world views. One of the parents leading the action argues that this shows children that religion “in whatever form, has a monopoly on truth and on morality”. According to Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association, the curriculum is incompatible with “the entitlement of young people to an education that does not indoctrinate them, even by omission.”

Animal rights groups are calling for bullfighting schools in Spain to be shut down, as they argue the practice negatively affects children’s perception of violence and cruelty. The organisation, PETA-UK, says involving children in bullfights can cause them to become “desensitised to violence and...stripped of their natural empathy”. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has also raised concern over “the physical and mental violence associated with bullfighting and its impact on children”. While the number of students enrolled in bullfighting schools has gone from 111 in 2003 to just 48 in 2013, there are now government plans to introduce a bullfighting course in state schools as part of vocational training after completing compulsory education. More than 430,000 people signed a petition started by a 15-year-old boy to the ministry of education opposing the course. In October, the European Parliament voted to end public funding for bullfighting, with subsidies being worth up to €125 million a year. 

Domestic violence

A recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) is pressing the government of Kyrgyzstan to address widespread domestic violence. “Women who experienced domestic abuse or forced or early marriage told HRW that they often felt enormous familial and societal pressure to keep abuse secret and endure it for the sake of the family,” the report noted. Researchers attribute the continued scale of the problem to a combination of social indifference, a culture of victim-blaming, stigma attached to domestic violence, failure to enforce laws and a lack of resources for victims of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. The judicial system is also accused of failing to tackle domestic abuse and siding with perpetrators, while courts tend to emphasise reconciliation in the belief that it will ultimately better serve the family in question.

In Papua New Guinea, authorities are failing to enforce a 2013 law on domestic violence, which has left women and girls’ needs for safety and justice neglected, according to a new report. Police and prosecutors have been shown to rarely pursue criminal charges against perpetrators and often demand money from victims before they will act, or simply ignore cases occurring in rural areas. Police appear reluctant to refer survivors for protection orders, and those survivors who request them frequently encounter delays in the courts. “Victims of serious domestic violence in Papua New Guinea seek help from police, yet are too often ignored, or told by police to go back to their husbands,” said Heather Barr of HRW. Many women told HRW that they had stayed with an abusive husband because they had no other way to feed their children. 

Violence and inhumane treatment

Protests broke out in Afghanistan last week after a 9-year-old was beheaded for belonging to an ethnic minority. Four men, two women and a child were found decapitated on Saturday in the southern province of Zabul and demonstrators marched with their coffins for hours in protest of the killings. The UN’s top official in the country described the attacks as “particularly abhorrent”. As protesters stormed the presidential palace two more girls were injured, while several men are reported to have been hit with stray bullets fired by the security forces.

Activists in Malaysia expressed shock after discovering that the children of the political opposition were being targeted by police during a peaceful rally. Campaign group Lawyers for Liberty said that investigations against a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old were clearly selective and in bad faith after it was alleged that they were targeted due to their parents’ political leanings.

In the United States, an FBI raid may have endangered children sleeping in a trailer after they were hit with stun grenades, according to a lawsuit. Officers used the grenades in an effort to apprehend a 29-year-old father-of-three, despite knowing that there were children asleep inside the vehicle. The New Mexico branch of the American Civil Liberties Union claims the decision was “cruel, unnecessary, and recklessly endangered the safety of three innocent children”.

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN TANZANIA

Tanzania ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991, but did not incorporate it into national law until 2009. Although international law does not take precedence over national law in Tanzania, the Child Act (2009) repealed and replaced any laws which are incompatible with the CRC. This allows the CRC to be indirectly enforceable in national courts. A child can bring claims to court through their guardian or next friend. Violations of child rights can be challenged through the High Court, Juvenile Court or the Commission of Human Rights and Good Governance. The Tanzanian government does not provide any legal aid services but the Ministry of Legal Affairs is currently working on establishing such a system. Tanzania has several non-governmental organisations that provide free or low-cost legal aid. The government has established a Women and Children Desk in every police station for the protection against abuse, neglect or any violations of laws concerning women and children. 

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

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

Violence: 19 Days campaign on the prevention of violence against children
Organisation: WWSF Women’s World Summit Foundation
Date: 1-19 November 2015
Location: N/A

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

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EMPLOYMENT

CRIN: Legal Research Intern (Russian-speaking)
Application deadline: Rolling deadline
Location: London, United Kingdom

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

UNICEF: Consultant on children's rights in the palm oil sector in Indonesia and Malaysia
Application deadline: 22 November 2015
Location: Various

Save the Children Sweden: Regional Thematic Advisor - Asia
Location: TBC, preferably in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh or Manila
Application deadline: 2 December 2015

Save the Children Sweden: Director for Civil-Military Relations
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Application deadline: 2 December 2015

THE LAST WORD

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