22 November 2005 - CRINMAIL 732
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- ASIA EARTHQUAKE: UN Experts Warn Aid Must Serve Immediate Needs [news]
- CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT: Meeting of Security Council Working Group [news]
- CHILDREN IN EMERGENCIES: Responsibility to Protect [conference materials]
- NEPAL: Increasing Migration of Nepalese Children to India [publication]
- HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: Human Rights Law Commentary Journal [call for papers]
- SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Social Development Issues Journal [call for papers]
- WEBSITE OF THE WEEK: Human Security Gateway [resource]
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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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- ASIA EARTHQUAKE: UN Experts Warn Aid Must Serve Immediate Needs [news]
[21 November 2005] - While warmly welcoming last Saturday's international donors' conference for Pakistan's recovery from last month's devastating earthquake, a group of United Nations experts warned yesterday that the vast majority of pledges are earmarked for long-term recovery even as operations remain in the critical rescue and assistance phase.
"Even in the face of such generosity, the risk of a second humanitarian disaster looms large," the experts said in a statement on the $5.4 billion pledged. "More lives are at risk today than the 74,000 originally claimed by the earthquakes. Donors must not rest content with the outcome of Saturday's conference.
"In order to save lives today, these pledges must be fulfilled immediately. Moreover, donors must allow flexibility in use of the funds," they added of the quake which beyond the dead and injured left up to 3 million people homeless.
"We remind donors that with winter fast approaching and life-saving resources scarce, tens of thousands of earthquake survivors face death, hunger and disease as well as prolonged displacement and homelessness," they declared.
"Serious outbreaks of acute diarrhoea and disease highlight the need for increased efforts to provide safe water and sanitation in makeshift camps, and to ensure access to health services for vulnerable populations."
The experts signing the statement were: Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin; Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari; Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Paul Hunt; Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor Muñoz Villalobos; and Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler.
Under international human rights law, States bear the primary responsibility for protecting the human rights of their populations, in particular their access to food, water, health services, education, adequate housing, and other elements necessary for an adequate standard of living and this responsibility extends to natural disasters, they noted.
The Government of Pakistan has acknowledged this obligation but also recognises the gaps in its capacity to provide immediate relief on the vast scale necessary and therefore has called repeatedly on the international community for assistance.
"Governments which are in a position to do so have a responsibility to provide international assistance and co-operation," they said. "We therefore urgently appeal to all Member States of the United Nations, including the donors who recently convened in Islamabad, to honour their commitments and to ensure that immediate assistance is available to help Pakistan protect the lives and meet the immediate basic humanitarian needs of desperate earthquake survivors."
In its latest update today, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that with emergency conditions persisting and unlikely to abate before spring, food and shelter are in critical need if those who endured the earthquake are to survive the rapidly approaching winter.
Some 2.3 million people will require food assistance at least through April, according to the latest emergency food security assessment conducted by the WFP, UNICEF, and OXFAM. Of that total, 2.1 million people are scattered in rural areas, while another 230,000 live in the worst affected towns and this number is growing, WFP added.
[Source: UN News Centre]
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- CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT: Meeting of Security Council Working Group [news]
[NEW YORK, 17 November 2005] - A newly-formed Security Council Working Group, composed of all its members and chaired by France, met for the first time on Wednesday 16 November, 2005.
Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, Permanent Representative of France and Chairman of the Working Group stated, "The establishment of this Working Group demonstrates the Security Council's concrete commitment to combat children's rights violations in armed conflict, which are unacceptable and must not go unpunished." The Working Group was established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612, adopted on 26 July 2005, with the task of reviewing monitoring reports and progress on the implementation of Security Council mandated action plans to promote the protection of children affected by armed conflict.
The role of the Working Group will be to supervise the implementation of the monitoring and reporting mechanism that will track the situation of children in armed conflict around the globe, securing the Council's timely review of progress achieved and measures to be taken against repeat offenders.
This new reporting mechanism, mandated by Security Council resolution 1612, will be implemented in phases in conflict-affected countries to monitor the conduct of parties to conflict. These reports will be distributed to key bodies that constitute 'destinations for action' responsible for taking concrete measures in response to grave violations against children by offending parties. The Security Council is one of these key destinations for action.
The mechanism will monitor grave violations by all parties to armed conflict, both governments and insurgents, focusing particularly on: killing or maiming of children; recruiting or using child soldiers; attacks against schools or hospitals; rape or other sexual violence against children; denial of humanitarian access for children; abduction of children.
The Office of the Special Representative believes this meeting is a turning point, which signals the end of an era marked by silent witness and the beginning of an era of application of international norms for the protection of all children exposed to armed conflict.
The Special Representative serves as international advocate for children affected by armed conflict by promoting standards and measures for their protection in times of war as well as their healing and social reintegration in the aftermath of conflict.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6614
For more information on the new reporting mechanism, visit:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5956
To read Security Council Resolution 1612, visit:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5957
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- CHILDREN IN EMERGENCIES: Responsibility to Protect [conference materials]
On 2nd November 2005, Save the Children Denmark organised a conference on the "Responsibility to Protect Children in Emergencies" in Copenhagen. It brought together 115 participants representing international child protection experts, high level staff from the UN and the European Union, the Danish Minister for Development Corporation, foreign ministry officials, staff from NGOs, researchers and others.
The conference was organised around four interrelated clusters:
1. Uganda: 20 years of conflict - and children still live in fear
2. How can the international community improve child protection?
3. Programming Response: recruitment and urban migration
4. A future for war affected children - The importance of education
The official conference report and all conference materials are available in pdf format on a special section of the Save the Children Denmark website, at: http://www.redbarnet.dk/Default.asp?ID=4469
For more information, contact:
Save the Children Denmark
Rosenørns Allé 12, DK - 1634 Copenhagen V, Denmark
Tel: + 45 35 36 55 55; Fax: + 45 35 39 11 19
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.redbarnet.dk
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6615
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- NEPAL: Increasing Migration of Nepalese Children to India [publication]
A research report on migration of Nepalese children to India, "An increasing wave: Migration of Nepalese children to India in the context of Nepal's armed conflict", prepared by the Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) and the International Save the Children Alliance, has recently been published.
Anecdotal evidence and a series of recent reports indicate that conflict-induced displacement and migration has escalated in Nepal as a result of the current on-going conflict between the Maoists and the government security forces. Migration is reportedly taking place internally, from rural to urban centres within Nepal, and internationally, from Nepal to India, as well as other countries.
It is well-known that children have been seriously and negatively impacted by the armed conflict. It seemed logical, then, that children have also been significantly involved in the displacement and migration that has taken place throughout the country in general. Yet, while there have been a number of recent studies and assessments completed with regard to migration and internally displaced persons (IDPs) generally, there has been very little focus on the extent to which children are migrating and the circumstance of their migration.
In order to better understand the extend to which children are also involved in migration, especially from Nepal to India, and thus to assist in the development of targeted programmes, the Central Child Welfare Board and the International Save the Children Alliance jointly embarked on this cross-border survey, tracking the outflows and inflows of children migrating between Nepal and India. It is important to note that this study is limited in scope. It is almost exclusively quantitative and thus does not provide detailed information on the circumstances of migrating children, especially with regard to their situation on arrival in India.
For more information, contact:
International Save the Children Alliance
Cambridge House, 100 Cambridge Grove London W6 0LE, UK
Tel: + 44 (0)208 748 2554; Fax: + 44 (0)208 237 8000
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.savethechildren.net
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6545
To read the recent study by Terres des Hommes Nepal on trafficked Nepalese girls and women in India, visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6610
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- HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: Human Rights Law Commentary Journal [call for papers]
The Editorial Board of the "Human Rights Law Commentary", affiliated to the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham is calling for the submission of academic papers from postgraduates, practitioners and other qualified candidates on human rights related issues from all disciplines.
The "Human Rights Law Commentary" is an annual online journal produced and edited by postgraduate students at the School of Law, University of Nottingham. The Commentary is legally oriented and informed by human rights practice.
Papers must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words, written in English and in 12 point type. They must be submitted electronically. Final decisions for the papers to be included in the journal will take place in mid-January 2006 and successful applicants will be notified accordingly.
Submission deadline: 9 January 2006
For more information, contact:
Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham
University Park, NG7 2RD United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 (0)115 84 66309; Fax: + 44 (0)115 84 66579
Email: [email protected]
For format and style requirements, visit: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/law/hrlc/hrlc_activities.htm
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- SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Social Development Issues Journal [call for papers]
Social Development Issues (SDI) is an international journal published three times a year. It is a forum for linking multiple academic disciplines, nations, and cultures. Its purpose is to promote consideration of issues that affect social justice as well as the development and well being of individuals and communities, to advance social, political, and economic theories and policy and practice within a global context.
SDI editors are calling for submissions for the next issue of the journal. Manuscripts addressing social and economic development are welcome. Developmental perspectives and research on international issues might include - but are not limited to - lifespan, gender, and racial issues; the impact of policies, practices, and service delivery on urban and rural communities; comparative health, mental health, education, and employment strategies; and movements such as human rights and peace.
For more information, email: [email protected]
Social Development Issues is the journal of the Inter-University Consortium for International Social Development (IUCISD): http://www.iucisd.org
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- WEBSITE OF THE WEEK: Human Security Gateway [resource]
The Human Security Centre, a research centre based at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, publishes the annual Human Security Report, which tracks and analyses trends in political violence around the world. Funded by five governments, the Report maps the incidence, intensity, causes and consequences of global violence and policy responses to that violence. The 2005 Report was launched on October 17th, and has received world-wide media attention.
The Human Security Report is complemented by the Human Security Gateway, a rapidly expanding searchable online database of human security-related resources including reports, journal articles, news items and fact sheets. The Gateway was developed in collaboration with the Canadian Consortium on Human Security (CCHS). It includes a section on Children and Armed Conflict.
Abstract submission deadline: 6 January 2006
Paper submission deadline: June 2006
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6616
To read the Human Security Report 2005, visit:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6444
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