CRINmail 1460

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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Inhuman sentencing

Saudi Arabia is set to execute three young men who were sentenced to death as juveniles for attending protest rallies. Activists warn that the three are at imminent risk of execution after Saudi media reports suggested the government was preparing to kill more than 50 prisoners in a single day. Abdullah al-Zaher was 15 years old when he was arrested in March 2012 and says he was beaten and then tortured into signing a ‘confession’ without being allowed to read it or consult with his parents or a lawyer. He is currently in solitary confinement awaiting execution. Meanwhile Ali Mohammed al-Nimr - a 17-year-old activist and the nephew of a prominent Shia dissident who was also sentenced to death - was arrested in 2012 for attending a peaceful pro-democracy protest, and also says he was tortured in detention. Dawoud al-Marhoon was also 17 when he was arrested for taking part in a protest. According to Reprieve, he was arrested without a warrant, tortured and forced to sign a confession which was relied upon to convict him. 

In Pakistan, a man who was sentenced to death as a 17-year-old, and spent 23 years on death row, is at imminent risk of execution, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has warned. Muhammed Anwar was sentenced to death for killing a person - which he claims was in self defence. His case was hampered by a lack of due process, according to details obtained by the organisations Reprieve and Justice Project Pakistan. In 2001 the government announced that under-18s could not be sentenced to death; but authorities have repeatedly refused evidence that Anwar was a juvenile at the time of his offence. The AHRC warned that Anwar was scheduled to be executed on 17 December, the same day on which a hearing was to assess proof of his juvenility. So far no more news is available. 

The Upper House of the Indian Parliament passed a bill this week that allows children aged 16 and 17 to be prosecuted as adults for serious criminal offences. The issue of juvenile justice has been in the centre of the Indian media’s attention following the release of a juvenile offender convicted in relation to the rape of a student on a Delhi bus in 2012. The proposal had been fiercely opposed by child rights advocates since it was first introduced in 2014 on the basis that it contradicts the Convention on the Rights of the Child and ignores fundamental differences between adolescents and adults, which establish children’s diminished culpability. The bill requires presidential assent before it can become law. Read CRIN’s paper ‘Stop making children criminals’.

Digital rights & access to information

In the European Union, children under the age of 16 years may need parents’ consent to use the internet and social media under a newly approved rule that aims to strengthen children’s data protection and privacy online, but which digital rights advocates say places restrictions on children’s online freedoms. The European General Data Protection Regulation has been welcomed as a step forward in consumer protection and privacy, including for outlawing the practice of transferring data to third-parties without explicit consent from the user when it is being used for other purposes. However, critics point out that the new rule could restrict children’s access to information online, and will probably lead children to lie about their age to gain access to websites. Notably the internet represents a lifeline for children seeking help or confidential support services. “Parents [cannot] be the sole arbiter of children’s rights,” said Sonia Livingstone, coordinator of EU Kids Online, adding that children - who make up 1 in 3 of all internet users - “have rights independent of their parents’ preferences.” 

In France, magazines featuring models must label photographs that have been “touched up” or Photoshopped “in order to narrow or widen the silhouette”, under a new law aimed at combating the increasing rate of eating disorders among young people - the majority adolescents. One such disorder is anorexia nervosa, which has a high mortality rate, and affects an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 young people in France. In 2014, the UN Special Rapporteur on cultural rights published a report on the impact of advertising, which addresses how it can contribute to the promotion of detrimental behaviours, attitudes and stereotypes, including the impact that images of women have on the health of young girls. The bill also requires fashion models to have a medical certificate proving they are healthy and not dangerously thin. Doctors will assess if a model is too thin with regard to her body mass index (BMI), taking into account a range of criteria, including age, gender and body shape. Commentators, however, have pointed out that BMI is an inaccurate measure of a healthy body, and criticised conflating thinness with eating disorders, the latter being classed as a type of mental illness. 

Transparency & ‘institutional failure’

Several UN experts have expressed dismay at the preferential treatment afforded to a Zambian singer who raped a child and was then pardoned by the country’s president, Edgar Lungu. After being freed, Clifford Dimba, more commonly known as ‘General Kanene’ was also appointed as an ambassador against gender-based violence (GBV), but has been hit with repeated allegations of assaulting women since leaving prison. The UN experts on violence against women and child sexual exploitation have called on the government of Zambia to revoke Dimba’s role as a GBV ambassador and ensure there are no further pardons for violent crimes against women and girls. The request follows a CRIN report looking at Kanene’s preferential treatment, prompted by contact with children’s rights activists in Zambia. 

The UN’s failure to respond to allegations that French peacekeepers sexually abused children in Central African Republic amounted to “gross institutional failure” and allowed assaults to continue, said an independent panel in a long-awaited report on the UN’s handling of allegations of child sexual abuse by peacekeepers. Initial complaints in early 2014, the report said, were “passed from desk to desk, inbox to inbox, across multiple UN offices, with no one willing to take responsibility”. Even when the French government became aware of the allegations and sought the cooperation of UN staff, its requests were met with resistance and “became bogged down in formalities”. Crucially, the inquiry report also exonerated Anders Kompass – the whistleblower who first disclosed the abuse. He had been suspended for disclosing an internal report on abuse to French prosecutors. CRIN has produced a short summary of some of the main findings of the independent panel’s report along with the main recommendations. 

Major reforms of the woefully deficient procedures for appointing a new Secretary-General are now firmly under way at the UN Security Council. With the next Secretary-General to be appointed in 2016, a campaign led by the organisation 1 in 7 billion has resulted in a more transparent appointment process and inclusive procedures being undertaken this time around. The letter sent to governments marking the beginning of this process takes forward General Assembly Resolution 69/321 by soliciting candidates for the post and by outlining some selection criteria. The President of the General Assembly announced that at present, two candidates have been nominated: Vesna Pusic, Foreign Minister of Croatia, and Srgjan Kerim, the former Macedonian Foreign Minister. Current and potential candidates can be found on the 1 in 7 billion campaign website. 

Turkey’s national intelligence organisation and law enforcement institutions are facing a criminal complaint for not addressing slave trade operations within Turkey by the so-called Islamic State (IS) until the media began to cover the issue. A German television station produced footage linking the operation of the slave trade of Yazidi women and children by IS to an office in the Turkish province of Gaziantep. Reyhan Yalcindag, a prominent Kurdish human rights lawyer, said, "An office has been established by IS members in Antep; and at that office, women and children kidnapped by IS are sold for high amounts of money. Where are the ministers and law enforcement officers of this county who are talking about stability?" In response to the reports, the Gaziantep Bar Association filed a criminal complaint against authorities.

Health, malnutrition and discrimination

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has ordered Colombia to protect the right to life and survival of children of the indigenous Wayúu people, following reports that at least 5,000 Wayúu children have died from starvation. The tribe has been suffering from malnutrition since a dam was built for the purposes of mining and the only river to which they have access - the Rancheria River - completely dried out. The Public Defender of Colombia, who petitioned the Commission in March, noted that the mortality rate of Wayúu children under 5 years old is double the country’s average, and that the majority of child deaths, caused by severe malnutrition, are avoidable. The Commission issued an order for precautionary measures requesting that the State takes “immediate steps to [guarantee] access to drinking water and food of sufficient quality and quantity” and to “secure the availability, accessibility and quality of health services, with a culturally appropriate and comprehensive approach, in order to address child malnutrition.” 

In Australia, a disproportionate number of indigenous children are still ending up in state care, making up what one report has billed as a “new stolen generation”. This choice of phrase refers to a period in the 1980s when the children of Aboriginal Australians were forcibly removed and resettled with white families in an attempt to wipe out indigenous culture. Recent statistics have shown that in the state of Victoria, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up 0.9 percent of the total population, yet indigenous children make up 17 percent of the out-of-home care population, with generation after generation struggling to cope with institutionalised discrimination and abuse.

Citizenship and equal rights

Gaining Estonian citizenship will shortly become easier for children as the government is on the cusp of passing laws simplifying the process. Under the current law, non-Estonian parents who have been living in the country for at least five years can apply for citizenship for their children if they are younger than 15 years old and they were born in Estonia. But the new proposals mean these children will receive Estonian citizenship at birth, without a special request from their parents, and citizenship will be retroactively and automatically granted to all children under 15 who are currently of undetermined citizenship within the country.

For a second time in the last four years, Slovenians have voted against a law that would allow equal marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples by referendum. The law had already been passed by the Slovenian National Assembly in March, but its provisions were never enforced due to a constitutional challenge by the conservative group ‘For Children’. The Constitutional Court decided that a referendum was required - despite the country not allowing referenda concerning human rights matters since 2013, and criticism elsewhere that human rights matters should not be put to public vote, as public opinion cannot legitimise or de-legitimise human rights. The government, although supportive of the equality law, did not campaign against those opposing it. The successful ‘No’ campaign won by a two-thirds majority, but only had little more than a 20 percent turnout of registered voters.

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CHANGES TO CRINMAIL

For the past 20 years, CRIN has been bringing you the latest news and developments in children’s rights from around the world through nine different CRINmails. From breaking news to in-depth analysis, CRINmail is the only e-newsletter informing advocates and organisations on all children’s rights.

To make this service more reliable we are about to change the way we send our CRINmails. To continue receiving our children’s rights news and analysis, existing users will need to re-subscribe to CRINmail.

We have users all over the world, so we produce CRINmails in English, Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish - and very soon in Chinese too! We also produce thematic CRINmails on armed conflict, violence, legal developments, and the United Nations. Between them they offer:

• news and reports, calls for participation, upcoming events, case law, and job opportunities;
• in-depth analysis of children’s rights issues and the launch of new campaigns; and
• opportunities to promote the work of children’s rights advocates and organisations around the world.

To continue receiving CRINmail please re-subscribe here, and follow the instructions for existing users, who will be asked to update their preferences.  

We also want to expand our network to help spread the word about children’s rights and the fantastic work carried out by our partners. To this end, please consider forwarding this email on to others.  

Happy reading! 

The CRIN team

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN IN SWEDEN

Sweden ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990. Although the CRC has not been incorporated into national law, some aspects of it have been integrated into legislation, including the best interests of the child. The CRC does not take precedence over national law, but courts are expected to interpret and apply relevant laws in light of the CRC, as much as possible. A child’s custodian or guardian may bring actions in domestic courts on behalf of the child, and if the court accepts it, a child can personally bring an action. If a child needs to bring a criminal action against a person close to them, the national law provides a mechanism for a court-appointed representative who is funded by the government. Children or their representatives can bring complaints against both private companies and state agencies to the Children’s Ombudsperson. It is not possible to request a court ruling solely on the question of a legal provision’s constitutionality.  

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

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

Child protection: Lunch & learn seminars - Exploring the principles of child protection
Organisation: ChildHope and Consortium for Street Children
Date: Monthly
Location: London, United Kingdom

Leadership: Future Leaders Programme
Organisation: The Resource Alliance
Application deadline: 31 December 2015
Event date: 4-8 April 2016
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom

Human rights defenders: Shelter City Initiative
Organisation: Justice and Peace
Location: Netherlands
Application deadline: 12 January 2016

Research: Professional development courses in research with children & young people
Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Dates: March and April 2016
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland 

Alternative care: Improving standards of care - systems, policies & practices
Organisation: Udayan Care
Date: 18-19 March 2016
Location: Noida, India

Education: Call for submissions for global summit on childhood - 'creating a better world for children & youth through sustainability, social innovation & synergy'
Organisation: Association for Childhood Education International
Date: 31 March - 3 April 2016
Location: San José, Costa Rica

Child rights: Advanced studies programme in international children’s rights
Organisation: Leiden University
Application deadline: 1 April 2016
Location: Leiden, Netherlands

Disability: 32nd Pacific Rim international conference on disability and diversity
Organisation: Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Event date: 25-26 April 2016
Location: Honolulu, United States

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EMPLOYMENT

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

International Rescue Committee: Education Coordinator
Location: Sierra Leone
Application deadline: 1 January 2016

Save the Children Sweden: Thematic Advisor for Gender Equality & Health
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Application deadline: 8 January 2016

Open Society Foundation: Programme Officer - Early Childhood Programme
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: 30 January 2016

LEAK OF THE WEEK

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