16 August 2005 - CRINMAIL 704
___________________________________________________________
- ISRAEL: Teenagers Jailed for Protesting against Gaza Disengagement [news]
- IRAN: Calls to End the Capital Punishment for Children [news]
- KENYA: Child Rights Violations in Two Specific Incidents [news]
- EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA: Violence against Children [publications]
- CHILD ABUSE: Child and Family Maltreatment [annual conference]
- SOUTH AFRICA: Shortage of Nestle's Baby AIDS Formula [news]
- ECPAT: Regional Officer, Europe and CIS [job posting]___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at [email protected]. Adobe Acrobat is required for viewing some of the documents, and if required can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.
___________________________________________________________
- ISRAEL: Teenagers Jailed for Protesting against Gaza Disengagement [news]
[JERUSALEM, 9 August 2005] - After a surge of pressure from citizens and various organisations outraged at their treatment, three teenage girls, jailed for 40 days for protesting the Gaza Disengagement Plan, were recently released. "The only thing that made any difference was the public pressure," said the father of one of the girls, Moshe Belogorodsky. The girls, Belogorodsky's daughter Chaya, 14, Moriah Goldberg, 13, and Peninah Ashkenazi, 16, were released from prison Sunday 7th August, after agreeing to conditions limiting their movement.
"I was contacted by the Young Israel of America, the Rabbinic Council of America, people who are friends with US president George W. Bush, a group of Israeli criminologists, who released a statement on the girls' behalf, and several world-renowned psychologists, who submitted letters about the detrimental effects of jailing minors," said Belogorodsky. "And that's not all. Somebody made an inquiry to the Canadian Agency for Children's Rights, who said that in no democratic country in the world were minors being arrested for political protest. The good-hearted people who did all these things sent each letter and document to Israel's president and the Israeli Supreme Court as well. Many people took the initiative and wrote to the Israeli embassy in America as well." Belogorodsky said that all the protests forced the courts to reconsider their position. "They decided to try to make a deal," he said.
The agreement that was reached allowed the girls to go together to one of their grandparent's homes for one week, after which they are to be placed under house arrest in their homes for ten days (the beginning of the implementation of the Disengagement Plan). After that, they will appear in court, and they are to then be free to go wherever they please.
The release of the girls, the parents say, is not the end of the struggle. "We are going to demand an investigative committee to see why the justice system decided to put its full weight on our kids when it doesn't do the same for violent criminals," Belogorodsky said. "We have approached Knesset members Rabbi Benny Elon (National Union) and Gila Finkelstein (NRP) to urge them to draft legislation that will prevent the courts from using criminal law to prosecute political opponents in the future." "The practice of treating demonstrators like criminals is outrageous," said Belogorodsky. "If Procaccia's decision remains in place, it will allow anybody who opposes the government to be put away. It is already being used against other minors."
[Source: Arutz Sheva News Service. To read the article in full, go to: http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=87418]
--------------------------------
- IRAN: Calls to End the Capital Punishment for Children [news]
[GENEVA, 11 August 2005] - The International Secretariat of OMCT has expressed its concern over the situation of human rights in Iran where the use of the death penalty, including public executions of juveniles, has intensified under new President Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad.
The overall human rights situation in Iran remains worrying, as recent weeks have seen renewed violations of human rights in the country. In particular, despite the prohibition of article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Iran is state party, a number of juveniles have recently received death sentences.
On 19 July 2005, two boys, aged 16 and 18, were arrested and subjected to corporal punishment (they were lashed 228 times) before being publicly hung by Iranian authorities in the northeastern city of Mashad. According to the information received, the sole reason for the hangings is their confessions, obtained through torture, that they were involved in homosexual sex. After being convicted of raping a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint, they were executed after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of child rape. Although homosexuality is a crime in Iran, the death penalty is normally reserved for murder, rape, armed robbery, adultery, drug trafficking and apostasy. In August 2004, a 16-year-old girl, Atefeh Rajabi, was executed in the Caspian port of Neka for having had sex before marriage.
OMCT considers capital punishment an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. Even if various bills have been considered for several years, in Iran the death penalty still exists in law and in practice for offences committed by persons under eighteen years of age. This is despite the fact that Iran ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child that prohibits capital punishment in its Article 37 (a).
Despite an announcement by the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, on 28 April 2004, in which he stated: "Any torture to extract a confession is banned and the confessions extracted through torture are not legitimate and legal", no subsequent improvements have been observed. Restrictions on freedom of expression appear to have tightened and the widespread practices of arbitrary detention following arrest, of detention in unofficial prisons.
For more information, contact:
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture
PO Box 21, 8 rue du Vieux-Billard, CH 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 809 49 39; Fax: + 41 22 809 49 29
Website: http://www.omct.org
--------------------------------
- KENYA: Child Rights Violations in Two Specific Incidents [news]
[GENEVA, August 2005] - Defence for Children International (DCI) recently expressed its grave concern regarding the situation of children in Kenya, and sent a statement to the Kenyan Government calling for urgent intervention regarding grave child rights' violations in two specific incidents occurring in the country.
Based on information received by DCI-Kenyan section, a total of 95 people, many of whom were children and infants, have been massacred in the Turbi area of the Marsabit District of Northern Kenya during the first and second week of July 2005 by organised armed groups from among the pastoralist Gabra and Borana tribes. In this semi-arid, remote area, there have long been clashes and hostility between the Gabra and Borana over the control of scarce water wells and grazing lands.
To cite two incidents of the information received, on Tuesday 12 July 2005, a group of Boranas raided a Gabra village in Turbi, about 580 kilometres (360 miles) northeast of Nairobi, killing at least 56 people including 22 children. This was followed by a revenge attack by a group of Gabras who killed nine Boranas, including four children, after pulling them from a car driven by a priest. According to the priest's testimony, they were bludgeoned to death with stones and rocks before him.
DCI-Kenya reports that 14,378 people have thus far been displaced as a result of the massacres in the Marsabit District. The majority of these are women and children. Normal school activities have been disrupted as a result. A general situation of insecurity reigns in the affected area.
In addition, based on further information received by DCI-Kenyan section, several incidences of forced mass evictions have been carried out by Kenyan government security personnel at various places in the country in the past 6 months. One forced mass eviction of 10,000 families in the Mau Narok areas of the Rift Valley Province in the Southwest of Kenya took place from 27 June 2005 until the 12 July 2005. Government officials claim that the forest and its environs are water catchment areas and thus should be environmentally protected sites. However people are being evicted using force and no alternative housing is being offered. Many victims have lost their livelihoods, property and means of shelter. Some 4,600 semi-permanent houses and seven primary schools were either burnt or destroyed during the evictions. Among the evicted children are 1,721 pupils, some of whom were due to sit the National Exams at the end this year.
In another reported incident, some 3000 people were forcibly evicted from a 200 acre land in Timau Forest in Meru Central District of Eastern Province on the 4 and 5 February 2005. This had been their home for 20 years. 1000 houses and a primary school were burnt down by police and other government personnel. The raids occurred at dawn when families including children, were still asleep. Five children are still not accounted for and the families are sheltering in shacks on a road reserve at Ngushishi Market in Meru.
Defence for Children International is gravely concerned about the situation of children as a result of the above described incidents. According to international child rights standards, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC-1989), the basic rights of children affected by these incidents to protection, safety, survival, health, development and education are being seriously violated.
For more information, contact:
Defence for Children International
1, rue de Varembé, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 734 05 58; Fax: + 41 22 740 11 45
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.defence-for-children.org
To read the statement in full, visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?ID=6022&flag='news'
--------------------------------
- EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA: Violence against Children [publications]
World Vision International has recently published two reports on violence against children, as contributions to the United Nations Study on Violence against Children. Given children's fundamental right to participate in their own development and to be key partners in finding solutions to the problems facing them, World Vision sought to specifically document the voices of children in the context of the UN Study.
"Violence against Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: A Case Study of Uganda" is the result of consultations with children and adults in southern Uganda in early 2005. Uganda is a country continuing to grapple with the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, and one of the most visible consequences is the presence of orphans. Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS since it first emerged are harming children psychologically and constitute a form of violence against them. While children are most often stigmatised by those with economic and mental power over them (including guardians, teachers and relatives), sometimes they are stigmatised by fellow children who have been influenced by those with power.
"What is Violence? Perspectives from Children in Tanzania" is the result of consultations with 120 children in Tanzania in early 2005. The Tanzanian children consulted include those who attend primary or secondary school, others who do not attend school, some who are orphaned and some who are heads of households. Most live in communities where World Vision Area Development programmes are working to end harmful cultural practices, especially female genital mutilation and early marriage; advocate for increased support of orphans and vulnerable children and ending abuse of children affected by HIV/AIDS; and/or call for an end to the worst forms of child labour, especially for children working in the mines.
For more information, contact:
Ruth Kahurananga, Child Rights Officer
World Vision International, United Nations Liaison Office
222 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: + 1 212 355 1779; Fax: + 1 212 355 3018
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.child-rights.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6036&flag=report
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6037&flag=report
--------------------------------
- CHILD ABUSE: Child and Family Maltreatment [annual conference]
Date: 23-27 January 2006
Location: San Diego, United States
The San Diego Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment presented by the Chadwick Centre for Children and Families will be held at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Centre. As the pre-eminent symposium on child abuse, this conference attracts 1,500 professionals internationally. Since inception, the purpose is to enhance the skills of professionals in the prevention, recognition, assessment and treatment of all forms of child abuse and neglect, including those related to family violence.
An international audience, representing medicine, mental health, law, criminal justice, child welfare, public policy, and research, depends upon this meeting for state-of-the-field accredited continuing education and research, and review of pertinent issues of public policy. Continuing Education Units will be available.
The Chadwick Centre for Children and Families at Children's Hospital-San Diego is a large, comprehensive, multidisciplinary agency serving families throughout the United States and around the world. The organisation possesses expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of child maltreatment, including the effects of domestic violence and substance abuse.
For more information, contact:
Judy Nelson, Conference Co-ordinator
Chadwick Centre for Children and Families
3020 Children's Way MC 5017, San Diego, CA 92123, US
Tel: + 1 858 576 4972; Fax: + 1 858 966 8018
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.chadwickcenter.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6035
--------------------------------
- SOUTH AFRICA: Shortage of Nestle's Baby AIDS Formula [news]
[JOHANNESBURG, 15 August 2005] - Swiss food maker Nestle on Monday warned South Africa of possible shortages of a special infant formula which the government has selected to help fight mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus. Nestle is South Africa's sole provider of the "Pelargon" formula, which it says can help reduce the risk of passing the virus to infants when used in place of breast milk from HIV-positive mothers.
South Africa's government has estimated that about 260 babies contract HIV each day, while 28 per cent of pregnant women are HIV-positive. Across the country, more than 5 million of 45 million population are infected with the virus.
The government has over the past year rolled out public AIDS treatment, including life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs. Pelargon is given free to patients. But supply problems are slowing implementation, spurring fears the pandemic will continue to outpace efforts to fight it.
The Department of Health said on Monday that Nestle had warned of expected supply problems and that some health facilities were already running short. "There was a first indication in June that they had some internal problems but then the understanding was that there might be some way of working around it," said Health Department spokesman Sibani Mngadi. "We need to establish the extent of the challenges." Mngadi said some facilities, mainly around Johannesburg, had already experienced shortages of the formula but that these were being covered through back-up stock from other regions.
Nestle said the shortage was due in part to increased demand for the formula and had been exacerbated by a worker strike at production facilities and new logistics procedures. "While we have overcome the aforementioned difficulties, the gap created by our difficulties to supply, and having experienced a 20 per cent increase in sales in 2004, have been considerable," Nestle said in a statement.
The company said it had reopened a closed Pelargon production factory and commissioned its Brazil subsidiary to help it meet South African market needs. "The supply will improve over the coming weeks and should gradually normalise as of October," the statement said.
[Source: Reuters]
--------------------------------
- ECPAT: Regional Officer, Europe and CIS [job posting]
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Duration: Two years (renewable) starting October 2005
ECPAT is seeking to recruit a Regional Officer to promote the implementation of the Stockholm Agenda for action in the region, by researching, compiling and analysing information on countries' activities to combat the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children; by developing reports on progress in this regard; by providing support on implementation tools and strategies to relevant government and non-government actors; and by strengthening and developing the ECPAT network in the region, as part of the implementation strategy.
Application deadline: 15 September 2005
For more information, contact:
ECPAT International
328 Phayathai Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Fax: + 66 2 215 8272
Email: mailto:[email protected]@ecpat.net
Website: http://www.ecpat.net
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
The CRINMAIL is an electronic mailing list of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). CRIN does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to the CRINMAIL. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.
To subscribe, unsubscribe or view list archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
___________________________________________________________
