12 January 2006 CRINMAIL 745
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- ASIA EARTHQUAKE: Three months on, conditions are worsening [news]
- CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Campaign for US Ratification [event]
- JUVENILE JUSTICE: Bethlehem International Conference Report [publication]
- CHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTAL CARE: International Guidelines [news]
- UNITED STATES: Protect Rights of Teen at Guantánamo [news]
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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
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ASIA EARTHQUAKE: Three months on, conditions are worsening [news]
[LONDON, 6 January 2006] - Children and their families living in the earthquake-hit areas of Pakistan and India are facing ever more extreme conditions after the new year brought heavy snow storms and torrential rain to the region. Children are now living in villages covered by more than three-feet of snow and temperatures have dropped to minus 10.
It is almost three months since the earthquake on 8 October, and Save the Children is continuing to battle the elements to get to the most vulnerable children, despite roads being cut off and helicopter flights often cancelled due to poor visibility.
"We are still at the very peak of this emergency and the international community has to remain focussed. Heavy snow and extreme cold is creating treacherous road conditions, which are hampering the relief effort," said Jeremie Bodin, Save the Children's Emergencies Advisor for the earthquake.
The Save the Children alliance has already distributed shelter to more than 25,000 families and provided thousands of quilts, blankets and other vital supplies.
"The bad weather has made life unimaginably hard for families and children in camps and villages. We still see many children who are not even adequately dressed, with sometimes only sandals to wear on their feet. We don't know how they will cope in such harsh conditions, it is imperative that now, more than ever, relief efforts are redoubled and focus on the most vulnerable," said Pete Sykes, Emergency Programme Manager in Pakistan.
After every incident of severe weather a team from Save the Children goes out to the areas they are working in and contact the remotest villages to make a rapid assessment of the situation and what people need.
After the recent heavy snow and rain the teams found there had been many landslides and most roads around Bagh were closed. Dozens of tents in temporary camps and in the more rural mountainous areas had collapsed due to the weight of heavy snow or problems caused by wet ground and flooding.
Children are particularly vulnerable in the harsh winter weather and are more susceptible to pneumonia and respiratory infections brought on by the cold.
Read the press release.
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CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Campaign for US Ratification [event]
Date: 18-20 May 2006
Location: Washington DC, USA
[5 December 2005] - The Campaign for US Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is hosting a Summit entitled "The Convention on the Rights of the Child: Mobilising Communities for Ratification," which will take place at American University in Washington DC from 18-20 May 2006.
The Summit Planning Committee expects this conference to be a forum for a dynamic and diverse gathering of non-governmental organisations, government officials, the private sector, child rights advocates, scholars, religious organisations, parents, youth, students, and others committed to promoting US Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
In addition to morning and afternoon plenary sessions, an integral feature of the Summit will be interactive workshops, panels, and artistic presentations organised by and for the national child rights community. These meetings will share best practices for advancing children's rights, offer skill building opportunities, provide organising strategies and much more.
Interested individuals or organisations are invited to submit proposals for such workshops, panels and presentations that are focused on the themes of the Summit. The Committee is seeking proposals on the following topics or targeted to the specific populations mentioned below:
- Organising for Child Rights at the Local, State, and/or National Level
- Introduction to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- US Ratification of the CRC: Implications for US Children
- Opposition to the Convention: Exploring Counter Arguments and Seeking Clarification
- Best Practice Models for Advancing Children's Rights
- Workshops Targeting Parents, Religious Leaders, Youth, or Scholars and How They Can Mobilise for US Ratification of the CRC
- Training on a Particular Skill Related to Advocating for Child Rights
- Other countries' perspectives on how the CRC has improved the lives of children since ratification.
Submission deadline: 15 February 2006
For more information, contact:
Marty Scherr
Campaign for US Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
2237 Bancroft Place, NW, Washington, DC 20008 USA
Tel: + 1 202 986 2780; Fax: + 1 202 332 0219
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.childrightscampaign.org
More information here.
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JUVENILE JUSTICE: Bethlehem International Conference Report [publication]
Defence for Children International / Palestine section hosted a 3-day International Conference on the topic "Kids Behind Bars - A child rights perspective", which took place from 30 June to 2 July 2005 in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem. Papers presented at the conference as well as outcomes of the workshops are now available in the Conference Report published this month.
The Bethlehem Conference brought together international, regional and national NGOs, academics and other individual experts, government representatives, UN bodies and specialised agencies from over 30 countries to share and discuss their experiences and expertise on the subject of juvenile justice.
By bringing together juvenile justice experts, this conference provided a forum in which to discuss a variety of issues that our youth are faced with and acted as a launch pad for regional and international initiatives designed to raise awareness of the problems facing those children who come into conflict with the law. The conference concluded with the adoption of the Bethlehem Declaration.
For more information, contact:
Defence for Children International / Palestine
Jamal Abdel Nasser Street, Near Shepherds Hotel
Cinema Neighbourhood, Bethlehem, Palestine
Tel: + 972 2 275 1996; Fax: + 972 2 275 1997
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.dci-pal.org
Read the report.
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CHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTAL CARE: International Guidelines [news]
After the Day of General Discussion on the topic of "Children without parental care" organised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child last September, the Quality4Children project was invited to get involved in the elaboration process of "International Guidelines for the Protection of Children in out-of-home Care". The Committee on the Rights of the Child is striving for the recognition of the International Guidelines by the UN General Assembly in September 2006.
The Q4C steering group took advantage of the opportunity to introduce the project Quality4Children to representatives from all around the world. Q4C groups three international organisations that are practically operating in the field of childcare: FICE International, SOS Children's Villages and the International Foster Care Organisation (IFCO). Together, they have launched a project which is aimed at assuring and improving the chances of development of children and youth in out-of-home child care in Europe.
Currently three international teams are developing quality standards for the care of children/youths in out-of-home care. The content of the quality standards is based on the empirical reports and good practices of people directly involved (children/youths, biological parents, care persons) from more than 20 European countries. Halfway through next year the results of the three teams will be summarised to a discussion paper in the framework of a workshop in Prague.
For more information, contact:
Project "Quality4Children"
Hermann Gmeiner Straße 51, A-6021 Innsbruck, Austria
Tel: + 43512 3316 0; Fax: + 43512 3316 5686
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.quality4children.info
More information on the Day of General Discussion
Read the Committee's Recommendations
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UNITED STATES: Protect Rights of Teen at Guantánamo [news]
[GUANTANAMO BAY, 11 January 2006] - The US military commission hearing the case of a Canadian teenager due to start this week at Guantánamo Bay should take into account that he was only 15 years old at the time of his alleged offence, Human Rights Watch said. US authorities are prosecuting the youth, Omar Khadr, now 19, for allegedly killing a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002. The Pentagon refused to recognise his juvenile status when he was apprehended and during his detention, raising concerns that it will not take his age into account in conducting the military hearing.
"The US government ignored Khadr's rights as a child throughout his detention," said Jo Becker, advocacy director of the Children's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. "The military commission should not do the same."
The Pentagon violated international juvenile justice standards by refusing to separate Khadr from adult detainees, to provide him with opportunities for education or to allow him direct contact with his family during his detention at Guantánamo. International standards require the use of detention only as a last resort, as well as a prompt determination of all cases involving children, yet Khadr was held at Guantánamo for more than three years before being charged. Khadr's attorneys claim that he was tortured at Guantánamo.
Khadr's detention also violated international law relating to the treatment of former child soldiers. Khadr is one of an unknown number of Guantánamo detainees who were apprehended as children for alleged participation in armed activities. Under a treaty banning children under the age of 18 from participating in armed conflict, ratified by the United States in 2002, the US is obliged to assist in the demobilisation and rehabilitation of former child soldiers within its jurisdiction. In 2004, the Pentagon released from Guantánamo three children, believed aged between 13 and 15 at the time of their capture, to rehabilitation programmes operated by UNICEF in Afghanistan. However, it refused to consider Khadr and other child detainees under the age of 18 for similar rehabilitation programmes, or to provide them with special protection at Guantánamo. The Pentagon has also refused to confirm the number of Guantánamo detainees who were under 18 when first detained.
International standards recognise that children under 18 are a particularly vulnerable group and entitled to special care and protection because they are still developing physically, mentally and emotionally. In its March 2005 decision abolishing the use of the death penalty for crimes committed before age 18, the US Supreme Court found that juveniles are "categorically less culpable" than adult criminals. Recent findings in the field of neuroscience have confirmed striking differences between the brains of adolescents and those of adults, finding that adolescents are less able to control impulsive behaviour or weigh the long-term consequences of their actions.
Read the press release.
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