10 November 2005- CRINMAIL 729
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- PAKISTAN: Calls for investigation into why 10,000 schools collapsed [news]
- UGANDA: Security Council meeting with President Musevini disappointing [news]
- NEPAL: Study of Trafficked Nepalese Girls and Women in India [publication]
- EUROPE: Recent EU policy developments on children's rights [news]
- CHILD PROTECTION IN EMERGENCIES: Toolkit for Trainers [publication]
- CHILD TRAFFICKING: Report of the Special Rapporteur's visit to Albania [news]
- EMPLOYMENT: EveryChild [job posting]
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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: Calls for investigation into why 10,000 schools collapsed [news]
[BALAKOT, 8 November 2005] - The first wave of healing has begun after at least 17,000 children died in school collapses. But it comes amidst growing demands from citizens groups for an investigation into why so many schools - some 10,000 - came down, and confrontations over safety between concerned parents and school administrators.
The call for an investigation, fast becoming a political battleground, is but one of many immense challenges now facing a nation struggling to rehabilitate its future generations.
The landscape in the north is littered with flattened schools, eerily transformed into some of the largest graveyards of this devastated area. Some 500 students died in the Government Boys High School in Balakot, where 200 bodies still lie beneath the rubble, locals say. Some 8,000 schools collapsed in the Northwest Frontier Province, and 2,000 in Pakistan's less-populous Kashmir region. All the schools collapsed in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, reports the Associated Press.
It is widely recognised that, because of crumbling schools like this, children suffered the greatest blow from the October quake. UNICEF estimates that children account for about half the 80,000 killed in the quake. Uncertainty clouds the future of many of those who survived.
Coupled with the sheer physical recovery, educational officials are struggling with the unprecedented challenge of ensuring that surviving children receive at least some education.
"The government is planning to do a survey" to assess the cost of rebuilding, says Mohammad Tariq Khan, deputy secretary of the schools and literacy department of the NWFP government. "Until then, no one is sure where to open the schools. Even after that, we will have logistical problems - where to get books, teachers." Mr. Khan adds that, given the high death toll, it's hard to estimate exactly how many children remain and are in need of new schools.
By far the most pressing question, now increasingly taken up by a broad and outspoken swath of civil society and concerned parents here, is why so many schools collapsed in the first place.
"We definitely call for an investigation, to protect children in the future," says Arshad Mehmud, the deputy national co-ordinator of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, based in Peshawar. "We need an external, impartial probe, because if you do it through the existing bureaucracy, they won't be able to give a fair assessment."
Neither the federal nor the provincial government has undertaken any investigation into the school collapse. Any such probe is also not likely any time soon, observers say, given that the government machinery from top to bottom is either overwhelmed with relief efforts, or damaged itself from the quake.
Parents, meanwhile, are not waiting around for the government. Prompted by growing fears, they're taking matters into their own hands, directly confronting school administrations about safety.
[Source: The Christian Science Monitor]
To read the article in full, go to: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6542
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- UGANDA: Security Council meeting with President Musevini disappointing [news]
[LONDON, 10 November 2005] - The UN Security Council has this week left the impression that it is dangerously out of touch with the human cost of the 19-year war in northern Uganda, said international agency Oxfam today. A UN Security Council mission to the region wraps up today.
The Council met Ugandan President Museveni yesterday to discuss ways of ending the civil war and humanitarian situation in northern Uganda and reported to the press that "strong progress has been made". This is despite increasing insecurity, mortality levels well above emergency thresholds and the recent murders of aid workers and a tourist.
1,000 civilians die in northern Uganda every week due to the 19 year-old war between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army. Tuesday, a British man was killed in northern Uganda by suspected LRA members. This follows the recent murder of five aid workers by suspected LRA members.
Some aid agencies, including Oxfam, have been forced to temporarily suspend their work in northern Uganda in response to recent attacks on aid workers. As a result, many agencies fear that death rates in the camps for internally displaced people will start to rise because they cannot deliver vital supplies such as food, water and medicines.
To read Oxfam's press release in full, go to: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6543
Earlier this week, before the meeting between the Ugandan government and the Security Council delegation, the BBC reported that 50 international aid agencies had called on the Security Council to act to protect the civilians in northern Uganda from rebel attacks. The report also recalled that the conflict had so far driven some 2 million people from their homes, and forced over 25,000 children to fight for the LRA.
To read the BBC report in full, go to:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6544
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- NEPAL: Study of Trafficked Nepalese Girls and Women in India [publication]
Terre des Hommes - Nepal has recently published a study of Nepalese girls and women after they have been sold for prostitution into brothels in Mumbai and Kolkata, India. The research describes their first days, their years of confinement and their years in sex work after their release. The study investigates the economic forces that drive trafficking from Nepal: the demand of the client, and more important, the demand of the brothel owner.
The study uses two strong, globally important and imprecise terms to designate the two alternative situations in which the overwhelming majority of trafficked Nepalese girls and women spend their first two to ten years in the brothel: slavery and debt bondage.
Girls or women who are placed against their will in a situation of forced labour, unremunerated and confined under penalty of severe punishment, are in slavery, according to the Slavery Convention of 1926. Girls or women who, or whose families, incur a debt directly to the brothel owner and are placed in a similar situation in order to repay the debt are in debt bondage, according to the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956, and the Government of India Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (amended 1985).
This is also a study of the living conditions of the greater population of Nepalese sex workers in Mumbai and Kolkata: those who have been given their freedom and, unable or unwilling to return to Nepal, continue their lives as sex workers in India; and a study of Nepalese brothel society - independent, resilient and professional - imbedded in the Indian urban environment.
The purpose of this study is to identify ways to prevent the trafficking of girls and women from Nepal. The study leads to recommendations to address the demand for trafficked persons at the root: at the level of the brothel owner. Trafficking is a business, and two tiers of profit generate the demand for trafficked Nepalese girls: the profits made by the trafficker, and considerably larger, the profits made by the brothel owner. Thus, it is argued that the demand of the brothel owner, not the demand of the trafficker, fuels the trafficking of Nepalese women and girls to India, and that prevention of trafficking must be predicated upon ending the system of slavery and debt bondage in the brothels.
Terre des Hommes Nepal welcomes all comments and suggestions for improvement. They also seek to publicise any relevant resources on child trafficking in their specialised website: http://www.childtrafficking.com. This includes documents and research from the field.
For more information, contact:
Reinhard Fichtl, Delegate - Terre des Hommes Nepal
Jawalakhel, PO Box 2430, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: + 977 1 5555348; Fax: + 977 1 5532558
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.tdhnepal.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6545
For more information and resources on child trafficking, visit:
http://www.childtrafficking.com
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- EUROPE: Recent EU policy developments on children's rights [news]
The October issue of the Save the Children Brussels Office Newsletter has been published. It provides information on the activities of the Brussels office as well as on the latest EU policy developments on children's rights:
- New Save the Children report on sexual abuse of children on the internet
- European Parliament Child Rights Alliance meeting
- Commission presents a strategy for Africa
- Directive on family reunification for immigrants
- Plan D for Democracy
- Consultation on co-operation with third countries
- 2008 - Year of Intercultural dialogue
- Communication on human trafficking
- Save the Children Spain profile
- Calls for proposals
- Forthcoming events
For more information, contact:
Sophie Bassi: [email protected]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6549
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- CHILD PROTECTION IN EMERGENCIES: Toolkit for Trainers [publication]
Save the Children UK recently produced a toolkit on "Protecting children during emergencies in Nigeria - a Toolkit for trainers". The toolkit was prepared by Emily Delap, a consultant, and two members of staff from Save the Children's Nigeria programme, Fred Kasozi, Child Protection in Emergencies Project Manager, and Denis Onoise, Child Protection in Emergencies Project Co-ordinator.
Despite the problems faced by children in emergencies in Nigeria, evidence collected by Save the Children indicates that many of the agencies delivering humanitarian assistance are unprepared to respond to children's specific needs. To help overcome this gap in provision, Save the Children instigated a training programme for NGO and government staff on child protection in emergencies between February and July 2005. This toolkit is a result of learning from the four training courses developed for this programme.
The toolkit is intended for those wishing to undertake training on child protection in emergencies with NGO, UN agency or government staff. Although it is primarily aimed at a Nigeria context, it is hoped that many of the tools developed will also be helpful in other settings.
The toolkit provides basic information on key issues to be covered by such training programmes, and suggests a range of participatory tools for trainers. It is organised into six sections. Following the introduction, the second section deals with basic elements of a training programme, including the importance of using participatory learning styles and factors to consider in course design. It is recommended that all trainers read this section before they begin the process of developing training courses. The third section provides tools for trainers on a range of issues that relate to child protection in emergencies. The penultimate section provides suggestions for field work exercises which can be used after or between training courses to enable participants to apply their learning. The final section is made up of handouts that are referred to in the body of the toolkit and should be used to support the exercises.
For more information, contact:
Ben Foot, Save the Children UK Nigeria Office
8A Dan Marna Road, Kaduna, Nigeria
Email: [email protected]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6548
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- CHILD TRAFFICKING: Report of the Special Rapporteur's visit to Albania [news]
[7 November 2005] - The UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, carried out an official visit in Albania from 31 October to 7 November 2005 and met with representatives from the Parliament and government. There, he also met with representatives from the local authorities, the police, the judiciary, as well as with international organisations, donors, NGOs, and the media.
Here are some of his remarks:
"Child trafficking is not a problem of Albania only. It is a global problem. Countries of destination have their responsibilities as well. It is time they assume them. Albanian victims of trafficking are exploited in Greece, Italy, and other European states. These countries have legal obligations and duties vis-à-vis these victims and victims have rights that too often are not respected.
In the area of child trafficking, Albania has several achievements to report: the legislative and policy frameworks are in place; there is more awareness in society; the police is better trained to deal and investigate this crime; border control improved; the establishment of the court of serious crimes and the prosecutors' office for serious crimes increased the prosecution capacity; NGOs gained a valuable expertise in delivering rehabilitation programmes for victims of trafficking and in providing social services to communities. Nevertheless, we all know there is a long way to go.
Prevention is the best treatment. A strong child protection system needs to be put in place, with a firm investment in education and social services, together with strengthened child protection component of police, health and justice. NGOs have been providing a good range of social programmes in these areas, almost exclusively through international aid. It is time for the state to take up responsibilities in social matters, capitalising on the experiences of NGOs and supporting their activities and programmes.
In my report on the visit, I will elaborate more on the concrete recommendations I suggest in order to achieve the overarching objective of a functioning child protection system. Some preliminary recommendations are:
- Give priority to the implementation of the national strategy on children and the one on combating child trafficking. Adequate resources are to be allocated to that end and a monitoring system established
- Ensure that children's rights are protected through an adequate national institutional set up (a functioning and high profile Committee on Children's Rights within the government with focal points in regions)
- Focus action against trafficking on prevention in communities with social work, community centres and family support
- Prioritise the creation of services for trafficked children with specially trained staff to provide protection and long-term reintegration support
- Strengthen the role of local social services in: 1) proactively identifying and referring children at risk; and 2) monitoring standards of care
- Sign and implement the bilateral agreement between Greece and Albania on the return of unaccompanied children
- Introduce community based care services, such as foster care systems
- Take measures to address domestic child abuse and violence
- Establish procedures and protocols so that key professionals in contact with children, e.g. teachers, health practitioners and social workers, know how to identify, report and refer cases of suspected abuse and a follow up procedure is in place
- Facilitate procedures for birth registration
- Research the phenomenon of child sexual exploitation in Albania and take measures to address it, including measures to avoid a black market of child prostitution"
This week, the Special Rapporteur is visiting Greece.
For more information, visit:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/children/rapporteur
To read the press release in full, visit:
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=6547
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- EMPLOYMENT: EveryChild [job posting]
EveryChild is seeking a Social Work Technical Advisor for a 6-month post (starting as soon as possible) to work on a project funded by the UK Department for International Development, developing services for street children in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The project is developing prevention (family support), outreach, and shelter services in Osh Oblast in partnership with a number of government departments and local NGOs. It links closely and overlaps with two other projects for which the advisor will also provide technical assistance: one developing reintegration and kinship care services for institutionalised children, and another that is addressing and reforming child protection systems in existing statutory structures.
For more information, contact:
Janet.McKeown, EveryChild
4 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3DR, UK
Tel: + 44 20 7749 2468; Fax: + 44 20 7729 8339
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.everychild.org.uk
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