22 September 2005 - CRINMAIL 715
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- PAKISTAN: Research on the Situation of Child Camel Jockeys [report]
- CHILDREN AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: NGOs Statement [news]
- CANADA: Government Ratifies Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children [news]
- CRIN READER: Children and Rights-Based Programming [resource]
- CHILD LABOUR: Child Labour's Global Past Conference [call for papers]
- MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Youth Participation [website]
- CHILD ABUSE: World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse [campaign]___________________________________________________________
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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.
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- PAKISTAN: Research on the Situation of Child Camel Jockeys [report]
Save the Children Sweden - Pakistan Programme and Pakistan Rural Workers Social Welfare Organisation have recently published a report entitled "Camel Jockeys of Rahimyar Khan: Findings of a participatory research on the life and situation of child camel jockeys".
Trafficking of children for camel racing from Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been going on for more than 30 years as the government authorities and civil society organisations failed to take any action to stop it. The only voices of concern have been in response to newspaper reports of deaths among children while racing camels. International television news channels have made documentaries on these children. This created awareness and demands that children must not be used in inhuman sporting events, which could cost them their lives.
Despite this awareness and concern, there have been very few initiatives to gather facts and investigate the issue in depth. Most of the studies generally looked into issues such as the reasons for trafficking, target communities from where the children were trafficked, routes of trafficking etc. but none have investigated the situation of children whilst in UAE as camel jockeys and conditions in which they spent their time there.
This research is therefore a unique and a pioneering effort by Save the Children Sweden and Pakistan Rural Workers' Social Welfare Organisation in gathering data from repatriated children, who had returned to Pakistan after working as camel jockeys in the UAE. The information collected from these children is the most important aspect of this research study as it gives us a detailed account of the situation which the children faced at the hands of sheikhs, bedus or their cohorts. The information shows the severity of and exploitation of children, which persists, in the camel racing industry even today.
All comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome. The authors are also very interested to receive documents and research from the field.
For more information, contact:
Save the Children Sweden
Pakistan Programme
UPO Box 1424, Peshawar, Pakistan
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6229
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- CHILDREN AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: NGOs Statement [news]
The following statement was made to the Plenary of Governments at the WSIS Prepcom-3 by Karen Mangnall, from ECPAT International, on behalf of the Child Right's Caucus, the Arigatou Foundation, Childnet International, Child Helpline International, the Consortium for Street Children, CRIN, ECPACT International, EURONET, the Global Movement for Children, Plan International, Save the Children UK and UNICEF:
"Madam Chair, thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the children's groups contributing to the PrepCom and the WSIS process.
As stakeholders, we wish to offer some concrete proposals for Chapter 12 of the Tunis Declaration to implement the commitment to children's rights, child participation, and child protection in articles 11 and 59 of the Geneva Declaration and article 25 of the Plan of Action.
Regarding child protection, we urge the sub-committee to adopt as new paragraph 6s - that policies and effective frameworks to protect children from abuse and exploitation through ICTs be incorporated into all national e-strategies. This new article 6s, taken from one of our contributions, is proposed in the 8 September report of the Friends of the Chair.
The children's groups also urge you to include in article 6, the concrete actions proposed in the joint children's contribution:
6c. the provision of educational programmes to increase access and safe use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by children and young people.
6e. the provision of toll-free child helplines for children and young people in all regions.
6f. the use of ICTs to improve access to birth registration.
And, 6g. the use of ICTs to address the needs of children affected by disasters.
Regarding follow-up to the Geneva Declaration's commitment to child rights, we ask you to reaffirm in articles 5 and 6 that achieving universal human rights, including child rights, is a fundamental objective of ICT for Development, along with the Millennium Development Goals.
Madam Chair, the PrepCom must ensure that the commitments to children made at Geneva are followed up in the Tunis Declaration. We are concerned that so far most of our contributions on implementation have not been put before you for consideration. We are confident this will change. Meanwhile, the children's groups will continue to offer our support to your work so the Tunis Declaration implements the rights, participation and protection of all children in the Information Society.
Thank you."
For more information, contact:
Karen Mangnall, Communications Officer
ECPAT International
328 Phaya Thai Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Email: [email protected]
Tel: + 66 2 215 3388 Ext 112
Website: http://www.ecpat.net / http://www.make-IT-safe.net
For the joint children's NGO submission, see http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/CHI_joint_submission.pdf
To read the ECPAT submission, visit:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6228
To read Child Helpline International's submission, visit: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/CHI_joint_submission.pdf
To know more about the World Summit on the Information Society, visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6225&flag=event
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- CANADA: Government Ratifies Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children [news]
[15 September 2005] - Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Minister of Justice and Attorney General Irwin Cotler announced last week that Canada had ratified the United Nations' Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. The ratification took place on Thursday, 15th September in New York, on the margins of the UN 2005 World Summit.
"By ratifying the Optional Protocol, we are reaffirming the commitment we made at the 2002 UN General Assembly's Special Session on Children," said Minister Pettigrew. "The ratification also signals Canada's ongoing resolve to work with the international community on the protection of children. We encourage other states to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol."
"The protection of children is an overriding priority and principle for us," stated Minister Cotler. "It does not stop with our commitments arising from the ratification of the Protocol. We will continue to combat the exploitation of our children - the most vulnerable of the vulnerable - as reflected in two recent legislative initiatives, one relating to the protection of children from all forms of violence and abuse, and the other relating to trafficking in persons."
The Optional Protocol requires States parties to prohibit child prostitution, child pornography and the sale of children through criminal or penal legislation; to enhance international co-operation; to seize and confiscate goods used in the commission of these offences; to develop related public awareness measures; and to implement measures for the rehabilitation of child victims of these offences. Canada has complied with all binding obligations imposed on States parties, addressing these obligations through legislation, programs and policies within federal, provincial and territorial jurisdiction. This includes comprehensive Criminal Code prohibitions protecting children from abduction, kidnapping, abuse and sexual exploitation including child pornography and child prostitution.
The Optional Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 25, 2000, and entered into force on January 18, 2002. As of 1 September 2005, there were 99 states party to the Optional Protocol.
For more information:
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://sen.parl.gc.ca/lpearson
To view the status of ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, go to:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ratification/11_c.htm
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- CRIN READER: Children and Rights-Based Programming [resource]
The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) has just published a new reader on "Children and Rights-Based Approaches to Development Programming" containing key resources designed to support the work of child rights professionals, i.e., CRIN members, students and NGO staff looking for recent thinking and best practice in this area.
This reader contains selected resources relating to children and Rights-Based Programming. This includes basic texts, legal instruments, best practice documents, policy and advocacy documents, monitoring and reporting tools, training material and websites. Each document featured is accompanied by its summary, publication details and URL.
Further resources are available on CRIN's rights-based programming website at: http://www.therightsapproach.org.
Readers on issues in child rights are published occasionally by CRIN to include a list of recommended basic texts, further readings and websites. This is the fifth reader produced by CRIN so far, along with the readers on "Child Rights", "National Plans of Actions", "Children and Armed Conflict", and "Children and HIV/AIDS".
For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)
c/o Save the Children, 1 St. John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6867; Fax: + 44 20 7012 6952
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crin.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6227&flag=report
To download the previous readers, go to:
http://www.crin.org/resources/viewResourcesP.asp?projID=17
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- CHILD LABOUR: Child Labour's Global Past Conference [call for papers]
Date: 15-17 November 2006
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The Amsterdam Foundation for International Research on Working Children (IREWOC) is organising an international conference on Child Labour's Global Past (1500-2000). Depending on the definitions used, the estimated number of child labourers ranges from 180 to 250 million worldwide. Notwithstanding a gradual decline in some parts of the world, overall progress remains inadequate. The eradication of child labour seems to be an insurmountable problem.
In trying to solve this problem, a thorough historical analysis of child labour might be useful. The best way to achieve this is by determining long term developments, not in isolation, but all over the world. The rise and decline of child labour are subject to an interaction of (globalising) economic systems, levels of technology, legislation, cultural norms, discourse and agency. However, the precise relationship and dynamics between these different factors, and between the different parts of the world, still remain obscure.
This Conference aims to trace and discuss the historical development of child labour from a global perspective. Leading questions are: where and why did child labour emerge as a (demand-driven or supply-driven) phenomenon since 1500? What was its contribution to the economy and to the household? Which were the mechanisms and the developments that helped to solve the child labour problem in some parts of the world and failed to do so, or did so insufficiently, in others?
The Conference wants to bring together historians from all over the world who have been working on these issues for a particular area. This will provide a framework for international comparison, in order to reassess the historical development of child labour over the last 500 years. The focus will be on analytical and explanatory papers on the significance and function of child labour at the macro- and micro level. Specific attention will be given to the interface between colonialism (and globalisation) and the reliance on child labour in the colonial period and thereafter. How did colonialism, globalisation, and the international division of labour affect the occurrence and disappearance of child labour in different parts of the world?
Paper proposals (max. 500 words) are expected by 1 November 2005. The selection of papers to be commissioned shall be over by 1 December 2005, and papers are expected by 1 July 2006. Depending on the papers' content and quality, IREWOC intends to submit the proceedings of this conference to a prominent publisher.
For more information, contact:
Angèle Janse
International Institute of Social History, University of Amsterdam
Cruquiusweg 31, 1019 AT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6230&flag=event
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- MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Youth Participation [website]
Voices of Youth has launched a new learning module for adolescents on the Millennium Development Goals: What can you do to help end poverty? at: http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/mdg/explore_mdg.php
The site contains: information for adolescents about the MDGs; activities based on the Millennium Indicators database; audio and video messages from young people on the theme of the MDGs; downloadable posters, flyers and postcards; sample MDG project plans; real life stories about Voices of Youth members who are contributing to the fight against poverty; lively discussions in English, French and Spanish on how the MDGs can be achieved.
The module provides adolescents with opportunities to learn about the MDGs, discuss their impact, and discover ways of taking action to reach the 2015 goals.
Since 1995, Voices of Youth has provided young people around the globe with an opportunity to explore, discuss and take action on complex human rights and development issues. Through its numerous discussion boards and live web-based chats, Voices of Youth has provided an opportunity to thousands of young people from every region to educate themselves and partner with their peers to make changes in their own lives and in their communities.
For more information, contact:
Victor Karunan, Senior Advisor, Voices of Youth
Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP)
Programme Division, UNICEF Headquarters
3 United Nations Plaza, New York 10017, USA
Tel: + 1 212 326 7266; Fax: + 1 212 824 6470
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unicef.org/voy
Visit: http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/mdg/explore_mdg.php
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- CHILD ABUSE: World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse [campaign]
Date: 19 November 2005
The Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) has gathered 622 organisations from 115 countries in the 2005 international coalition marking 19 November - the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse. All organisations have committed to participate in the creation of a culture of prevention of child abuse by supporting the Day or by organising activities and events on 19 November 2005.
Coalition members are published on the WWSF website at: http://www.woman.ch/children/1-coalitionmembers.asp. WWSF is also pleased to share its 2005 global poster and Open Letter to be downloaded from the internet at: http://www.woman.ch/children/1-openletter.asp.
WWSF also invites organisations, institutions and families to use and promote the yellow ribbon campaign by using the sticker "YES to prevention of child abuse!" as a symbol of their stand to treat all children with respect and dignity, and to protect them from abuse and potential offenders.
It is an illustrative tool for parents, adults and youth working with children, to remind that child abuse and violence are unacceptable and that values and standards of behaviour have to be respected within families and institutions. WWSF encourages to use the stickers to make every home and institution safe for children (US$ 20 for 30 copies).
For more information, contact:
Laure Maitrejean, Children's Section Co-ordinator
WWSF Women's World Summit Foundation
PO Box 2001, 1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 738 66 19; Fax: + 41 22 738 82 48
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.woman.ch
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