9 February 2006 CRINMAIL 753
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- FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION: International Day of Zero Tolerance [news]
- CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT: New UN Special Representative [news]
- ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN: Support Toolkit [online resource]
- PARTICIPATION: UK Schools Make Links around the Globe [website]
- EMPLOYMENT: Plan International [job postings]
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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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FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION: International Day of Zero Tolerance [news]
[NEW YORK, 6 February 2006] - Throughout sub-Saharan Africa and in Egypt and Sudan a social movement is unfolding to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), one of the most persistent, pervasive and silently endured human rights violations. Over the last six years, thousands of villages in West Africa have joined together in public pledging ceremonies to abandon FGM/C, bringing greater hopes of ending the practice globally within a single generation.
"We stand at a pivotal moment in history as we work toward a truly positive collective change," UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said Monday, the fourth annual International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation. "The most effective approaches to this issue have been found not by punishing perpetrators but through encouraging and supporting healthy choices."
There is still a long way to go toward ending FGM/C. Every year, three million girls in 28 countries on the African continent are subjected to the practice, as are thousands of girls in immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. Globally, between 100 and 140 million girls and women have been cut or mutilated. Most girls are cut between infancy and their 14th birthday. Many communities still hold firmly to the age-old tradition, which though not always stated outright is considered a prerequisite for marriage.
Veneman said ending this discriminatory and dangerous practice is essential to the success of the Millennium Development Goals on improving maternal health, promoting gender equality and reducing child mortality.
While communities are making choices to abandon FGM/C, governments and non-governmental organisations have been instrumental in the movement to end the practice. The Maputo Protocol, a regional legal instrument which explicitly prohibits and condemns FGM/C, was ratified by 15 African countries and entered into force in November 2005. A month later, 100 African parliamentarians adopted the groundbreaking Dakar Declaration, which underscores the importance of community involvement as well as legislative change in ending FGM/C.
A Regional Conference on FGM/C will be held in Mali later this month, where discussions will centre on using legislation to enforce the Maputo Protocol resolutions. The practice of FGM/C also will be addressed in the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children, to be published in October 2006.
[Source: UNICEF]
Read the press release
Read the Maputo Protocol
More information about the Regional Conference
More about the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children
Read archives of CRIN’s email updates on the Study and subscribe
Read UNICEF’s December 2005 reports on FGM/C:
Changing a Harmful Social convention: Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting
Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting: A Statistical Consideration
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CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT: New UN Special Representative [news]
[NEW YORK, 8 February 2006] - Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy was yesterday appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. She succeeds Olara Otunnu, who completed his term in July 2005.
Mr. Otunnu was the first person to serve as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and was appointed one year after the groundbreaking 1996 report by Graça Machel focused global attention on the devastating impact of armed conflict on children.
"Ms. Coomaraswamy has a long record in defending the rights of women and children," said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah. "UNICEF looks forward to working closely with her to ensure that the pressing issue of children being abused and exploited in armed conflict remains high on the global agenda."
A native of Sri Lanka, Ms. Coomaraswamy is an internationally known human rights advocate. She is currently the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission and served most recently as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.
The chaos of conflict, including the breakdown of social services and population displacement, leaves children extremely vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Girls are routinely targeted in campaigns of sexual violence and exploitation. Hundreds of thousands of children are recruited and used by armed forces and groups as combatants, messengers, spies, porters and cooks and for sexual services.
The appointment comes at a critical juncture in the history of advocating for the protection of these children. In 2005 the Security Council unanimously adopted a landmark resolution that obligates the United Nations system to establish a mechanism to monitor and report on grave violations of children’s rights during war by both governments and armed groups.
Ensuring the resolution is enforced is critical to ending the impunity that surrounds these egregious violations, which include the killing or maiming of children; the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups; attacks against schools or hospitals; rape and other forms of sexual violence; the abduction of children; and denial of humanitarian access.
Read the press release
Visit the website of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
More information on the Security Council Resolution
Read the Graça Machel report
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ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN: Support Toolkit [online resource]
The orphans and vulnerable children support toolkit, which has been collated by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Family Health International, is an electronic library of resources about support to orphans and vulnerable children, based on the understanding that there are many good approaches to supporting orphans and vulnerable children.
The toolkit systematically addresses a wide range of themes related to support for orphans and vulnerable children, for example: situation assessments, access to education, psychosocial support, children’s participation, and monitoring and evaluation. In addition to some 500 resources that can be downloaded using the toolkit, each theme and its sub-themes have an introduction which highlights key issues to consider for orphans and vulnerable children support programming.
The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Support Toolkit is divided into eight themes: an introduction to supporting orphans and other vulnerable children and seven other themes. Each of the seven themes covers one major area of orphans and vulnerable children support work: running a programme, health and nutrition, education, psychosocial support, economic strengthening, living environments and children’s rights.
The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Support Toolkit is currently only available in English although it contains some resources in French, Spanish Portuguese and Russian.
For more information, contact:
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
Queensberry House, 104-106 Queens Road
Brighton BN1 3XF, UK
Tel: + 44 1273 718 900
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.aidsalliance.org
Go to the toolkit
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PARTICIPATION: UK Schools Make Links around the Globe [website]
Save the Children UK recently launched a web-based initiative, School Link: http://www.school-link.org.uk, which provides primary school children throughout the UK with fun ways of learning about the lives of children in developing countries.
The project provides teachers with exciting lesson plans that help them deliver the curriculum. Through interactive games, real life stories and powerful photos the daily lives of children in countries where Save the Children is working are brought to life.
School Link offers an opportunity for children to make a difference to an area of the world that is involved in School link. On Friendship Friday, 19 May 2006, participating schools will be provided with creative fundraising ideas so that they can help raise funds for Save the Children's education projects in Pakistan. They will also receive friendship fun-bands, wristbands that children can decorate with a special message to their school-link friends overseas.
School Link gives pupils a fun way to gain a real insight into the lives of other school children and make a long-term difference to communities around the world without leaving the classroom.
Visit School Link
For further information contact:
David Sims, 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.school-link.org.uk
CRIN has compiled a list of resources on children’s rights for teachers to use in the classroom.
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EMPLOYMENT: Plan International [job postings]
Programme Policy and Practice Manager
Plan International is seeking a Programme Policy and Practice Manager to promote organisational learning and improve Plan’s programme quality by influencing policy and contributing to being a recognised voice in the external environment. The post holder will involve representatives from relevant Plan constituencies in formulating policies and recommend policy updates and organisational directives to the International Board and senior management. S/he will ensure Plan’s global advocacy campaigns are consistent with the organisational policy and strategy.
Application deadline: 24 February 2006
Global Advocacy Manager
Plan International is also seeking to recruit a Global Advocacy Manager with both public affairs and campaigning experience and the expertise to lead Plan’s global advocacy efforts, ensuring that the organisation is a recognised voice on child rights issues. The post holder will work with Plan’s international and regional advocacy staff and global networks in devising and implementing advocacy activities. This role involves co-ordinating global advocacy initiatives and liaising with a wide range of professional bodies outside the organisation.
Application deadline: 24 February 2006
For more information, contact:
Plan International Head Quarters
Chobham House, Christchurch Way
Woking, Surrey, GU21 6JG, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1483 733 216
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.plan-international.org
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