13 December 2005 - CRINMAIL 738
___________________________________________________________
- TSUNAMI RELIEF: Lack of child participation a missed opportunity [publication]
- CHILDREN AND HEALTH: The cost of coping with illness [publication]
- WORLD TRADE TALKS: 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting [event]
- IRAQ: Children of mixed marriages protest official discrimination [news]
- CHILD PARTICIPATION: Children as Agents of Peace [publication]
- EMPLOYMENT: Plan - SEESAC - Children in Scotland [job postings]
___________________________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________________________
- TSUNAMI RELIEF: Lack of child participation a missed opportunity [publication]
[BANGKOK, 13 December 2005] - Agencies providing relief and reconstruction after the tsunami should have done more to involve children in the process, according to Plan's study 'Children and the tsunami', released today in Bangkok. It says the typical 'one size fits all' approach consistently fails to consult or involve children, which in turn leads to less informed and often less sustainable solutions.
Governments and aid agencies failed to involve children during last year's tsunami relief effort, and instead imposed imported solutions on them. Yet, Plan's 69-years of experience in running development programmes, has shown that this 'we know what's best' approach is the least effective way to deliver long-term benefit.
Involving children should be an integral part of the relief effort. The main reason for the lack of children's involvement was the need for efficiency and speed of delivery. However, ignoring children's energy, strength, and optimism was a missed opportunity, and may have actually prolonged the suffering.
Plan CEO, Tom Miller said: "The argument that there isn't time to consult children in disaster situations just doesn't work. Children and young people are often stronger, better educated, more adaptable, and more optimistic than adults. Children are a valuable and willing resource, not defenceless and vulnerable victims, and it's time the international community recognised that."
While Plan consulted children on longer term recovery efforts like housing and schools, it like other agencies could have been quicker at consulting and involving them during the initial disaster response.
For future disasters, a fundamental shift in attitude and approach towards involving children in emergency situations is needed to reduce their impact. Active involvement in reconstruction is an essential part of the recovery process for traumatised children.
The tsunami and recent earthquake in Pakistan are now driving international agencies and governments to establish functioning disaster risk reduction strategies. Plan urges them to make children's involvement a core element of these strategies and not to let another opportunity slip away.
For more information, contact:
Arunee Achakulwisut, Plan Asia Regional Office
2nd Floor, Na-Nakorn Building, 99/349 Chaengwattana Road,
Thungsonghong, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, Thailand
Tel: + 66 2 576 1972 4; Fax: +66 2 576 1978
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.plan-international.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6775
--------------------------------
- CHILDREN AND HEALTH: The cost of coping with illness [publication]
[12 December 2005] - Poor families across Africa go without food and other basic needs to pay doctors fees to try to keep their children alive, according to new research from Save the Children UK published as experts gather in London tomorrow at an international conference on child survival.
Save the Children UK research carried out over the last five years in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda found that poor households go without food, take children out of school, sell livestock and belongings, and mortgage crops to pay for treatment when their children fall ill.
Save the Children UK Head of Health Anna Taylor said, "Whilst parents in the UK are deciding whether to buy children the latest Xbox for Christmas, parents across sub-Saharan Africa are forced to decide whether the rest of the family should go without food to send a sick child to a clinic. It's a choice no parent should ever have to make."
The findings point to the urgent need to make long-term investments so families do not have to pay for medical care. Save the Children UK research shows that if fees for healthcare were abolished in 20 countries in Africa, the lives of about 250,000 children under the age of five would be saved each year.
For more information, contact:
Save the Children UK
1 St. John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7012 6400; Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7012 6963
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk
Visit: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=6777
--------------------------------
- WORLD TRADE TALKS: 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting [event]
Dates: 13-18 December 20054
Location: Hong Kong
Today marks the start of the 6th World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. The ministerial conference is the WTO's highest decision-making body, meeting at least once every two years and providing political direction for the organisation. This 6th conference will be vital for enabling the four-year-old Doha Development Agenda negotiations forward sufficiently to conclude the round in 2006.
The Hong Kong ministerial marks a critical moment for a series of talks - or a 'round' - that began four years ago (at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in November 2001) and which is aimed at bringing developing countries into the world trading system in order to tackle world poverty.
A special CRINMAIL on the WTO talks will be sent out within the next week. To submit information, email us on: [email protected]
For more information about the meeting, visit:
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6717&flag=event
--------------------------------
- IRAQ: Children of mixed marriages protest official discrimination [news]
[BAGHDAD, 12 December 2005] - Ever since the enactment of new regulations after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the children of Iraqi women married to foreign nationals are no longer entitled to the same rights and services offered by the government to those of full Iraqi parentage.
According to the Ministry of Education, only full Iraqi citizens can qualify for free education. Those of other nationality, meanwhile, which is determined by the father, have to pay annual, dollar-denominated school fees.
"If the son of an Iraqi woman and a foreign man wants to study in one of our schools, he will have to pay around US $1,000 per year," said Khalid Salomon, a senior official at the ministry of education. "Most of the time, though, this is much more than the family earns in a whole year," he admitted.
Most of those deprived of free education are the children of Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian, Jordanian, Palestinian, Moroccan and Tunisian fathers, Salomon pointed out.
Families of mixed parentage, meanwhile, complain bitterly of the financial difficulties imposed by the regulations. While conceding that the rules contained an element of discrimination, Salah Abbas, a senior official at the interior ministry, added that there was no obvious solution.
"We can't afford to give Iraqi nationality to anyone who wants it, even if their mothers are Iraqi," he said. "You may find it discriminatory, but even European countries don't easily offer nationalities just because the mother is from the country in question."
Like state education, the national food rationing programme is also denied to children of non-Iraqi parentage. "We can't offer food to everyone, because this would require huge investment," said Faik Ibraheem, a senior official at the Ministry of Trade.
Still, critics point out that, under Saddam Hussein, food rations were available to all official residents of Iraq, including the children of mixed marriages. Currently, however, only Iraqi nationals and a few hundred Palestinian families receive the monthly dole, which includes beans, rice, sugar, soap, oil, powdered milk and cooking butter.
Many local organisations devoted to women's rights issues have been lobbying to end the policy, which they see as unfair. While the issue was scheduled to be discussed in parliament last month, debate was postponed until next year due to upcoming national assembly elections.
[Source: IRIN news]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=6778
--------------------------------
- CHILD PARTICIPATION: Children as Agents of Peace [publication]
Save the Children Norway organised a seminar during the "Childhoods 2005" conference, which took place in Oslo in July 2005. The seminar enabled a follow up of the organisation's recent evaluation on children affected by armed conflicts and disaster. It also allowed for children and young people's participation, and gave them the opportunity to voice their opinions on peace and conflict.
Fifteen children and young people from seven countries (Guatemala, The Kosovo part of Serbia and Montenegro, Uganda, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Somalia and Norway) prepared themselves during a three-day workshop, "Building peace out of war - children and young people as agents of peace" for the participation in the seminar at the Childhoods conference. The young participants were all members of children's groups, clubs or organisations, most of which led by themselves.
Children are not only victims of armed conflicts and war, they also have many active roles in their communities during armed conflict, and several hundred thousand also participate through force, for survival or for ideological and personal reasons in warring parties. Children's needs and rights have to be included in peace processes and agreements, and they have to be respected in all post-war activities and peace initiatives. Children and young people are eager to take part in the reconstruction of their country and in peace building processes, and this has to be recognised and supported.
This report is first and foremost meant to be document of reference for the participants and other people interested in this issue. The chapters follow the chronology of the events, starting with the workshop. The presentations are included in their length.
For more information, contact:
Save the Children Norway
PO box 6902 St. Olavsplass, 0130 Oslo, Norway
Tel: + 47 22 99 09 00; Fax: + 47 22 20 17 66
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.reddbarna.no
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6772
--------------------------------
- EMPLOYMENT: Plan - SEESAC - Children in Scotland [job postings]
*PLAN BANGLADESH: Human Resources Consultant
Plan is an international humanitarian, child centred community development organisation without religious, political or governmental affiliation. Plan in Bangladesh is looking for a HR Consultant, to be based in Dhaka. Reporting directly to the Country Director, the HR Consultant will be responsible for Development of HR strategy for Plan Bangladesh and support further strengthening the capacity of HR Team.
Application deadline: 31 December 2005
For more information, contact:
Plan Bangladesh
House # CWN (B) 14, Road # 35
Gulshan - 2, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tel: + 66 2 576 1972 4 ext.115; Fax: + 66 2 576 1978
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.plan-international.org
* SEESAC: SALW Education Consultant
The European Commission (EC) has recently been allocated funding for a second pilot project on small arms and light weapons (SALW). This second project is targeted towards South Eastern Europe (Western Balkans). SALW Risk Education Curriculum Development is one component of the project. The South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) is the implementation partner for this EC initiative.
Throughout South Eastern Europe (SEE) there is a high number of SALW in circulation. Inevitably children will be exposed to weapons at a young age because they are naturally curious and seek them out to play with, so it is crucial that children are taught how to handle themselves in situations where they find themselves coming into contact with weapons.
Integrating SALW Risk Education into a national curriculum has the advantage of reaching a nation-wide target audience of young people. It also contributes to pre-empting accidents involving children and weapons and acts to reduce future criminal violent behaviour, by educating them throughout school life on the negative socio-economic impact weapons have on communities. If the education authorities adopt such a curriculum they are also contributing to implementing their commitments under the Stability Pact's Regional Implementation Plan (RIP) on SALW 2001.
The South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) in Belgrade is looking for a SALW Education Specialist for primary and secondary schools in the Western Balkans to:
- develop a National Curriculum on SALW Risk Education throughout SEE
- develop a support pack for teachers to accompany the Curriculum
- establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, etc.
Application deadline: 5 January 2005
For more information, visit:
http://www.undp.org.yu/about/jobs.cfm
* CHILDREN IN SCOTLAND: Senior Manager
Children in Scotland is at the heart of Scotland's largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families. An experienced Manager is required to lead a team of dedicated staff to provide independent advice and information on additional support for learning to children, young people, their families and professionals working with them, across Scotland.
Application deadline: 10 January 2006
For more information, contact:
Children in Scotland
Princes House, 5 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RG, UK
Tel: + 44 (0)131 222 2402; Fax: + 44 (0)131 228 8585
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.childreninsscotland.org.uk
___________________________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________________________
