CRINMAIL 755

16 February 2006 CRINMAIL 755

___________________________________________________________

- UN REFORM: Continued Disagreement on New Human Rights Council [news]

- SOMALIA: Deaths from Chronic Water Shortage [press release]

- UNITED NATIONS: Call for Guantanamo Closure [report]

- BIRTH REGISTRATION: 4th Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference [conference]

- PERU: Challenges Facing Children in Coca Growing Areas [study]

- CHILD DEVELOPMENT: Journal of Children’s Services [publication]

- SMALL ARMS: Campaign Activities in Run-Up to UN Review Conference [campaign]

___________________________________________________________

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

___________________________________________________________

UN REFORM: Continued Disagreement on New Human Rights Council [news]

[New York, 13 February 2006] - On February 6th and 7th, Member States resumed negotiations on the new Co-Chair's Text on the Human Rights Council. While governments may be reaching some agreement on the contentious issues in bilateral negotiations, progress was not evident in the plenary discussions, which once again highlighted persisting divisions. Member states have been pushed to reach agreement this week in order for the Council to replace the Commission this year.

Overview
Note: this does not cover all positions and all issue areas

Universal Periodic Review: Countries continued to debate the nature of the universal periodic review. The EU, for example, sought to expand the review to look not only at fulfilment of a country's human rights obligations and commitments, but fulfilment of international human rights standards. CARICOM would like to see more explicit language that will further clarify scope and criteria and various other countries continue to seek limits on follow-up.
Prevention: The Council's future role regarding prevention of human rights violation remains a contentious issue with some pushing for deletion of such references and others emphasising the importance of this role.

Recommendations to UN Bodies: Countries continued to disagree as to whether the Council should be making recommendations primarily to the General Assembly or the UN system. The EU has insisted on the latter.

Review of Commission's Mandate and Functions: In response to new references to reviews and discussion on streamlining, various countries have emphasized the importance of preserving "the" existing system of special procedures as opposed to "a" system of special procedures.

Membership/Elections: The provision calling for two-thirds majority elections appeared to be a potential bottom line for countries pushing for palpable reforms. The opposing group continued to question arguments for a smaller Council with stricter guidelines for elections, maintaining support for 53 members elected by simple majority. Many of the Latin American countries expressed concern over losing seats to equitable geographic distribution. Brazil, for example, now favours election by simple majority, but is willing to consider alternative proposals.

Standards/Criteria: On membership, CANZ highlighted the importance of active commitments from Council members on meeting obligations under the human rights instruments. Despite lack of support, the United States has maintained its focus on including firm standards for membership such as letters from candidates pledging their willingness to abide by human rights standards, endorsements from regional groups, and exclusion of countries under Security Council sanctions for human rights violations or terrorism. Mexico endorsed the new language in the document, noting that it pushed states to prove their commitment without being exclusionary.

Sessions/Weeks: While the EU and others maintain the need for a minimum of 4-6 meetings for no less than 12 weeks per year, others have suggested two sessions for eight week or a maximum of three sessions for 10 weeks.

NGO Participation: Various countries recognised that the participation of NGOs is of particular importance for the functioning of the Human rights Council stressing the need to maintain and strengthen the current level of NGO participation with direct involvement of NGOs in the daily work of the Council. CANZ noted that the group would not support weaker language on NGO participation. Argentina also emphasized that states should not be responsible for deciding which NGOs can participate. Opposing countries, however, reiterated their call to streamline NGO participation.

Review: the EU and others questioned the relevance of a one-year review of the Council's work and functioning, arguing that this should occur within the Council on an ongoing basis.
Country-Specific Resolutions: the co-chairs faced opposition on their deletion of language on regulating country-specific resolutions (formerly OP13).

Visit the CRIN website for regular updates on the reform of the Commission, visit:

CRIN will cover news and events on children's rights at the 62nd Commission on Human Rights via its website and the special CHR CRINMAIL.

For more information, contact:

UN - United Nations, Public Inquiries Unit, GA-57, New York, NY 10017, United States
Tel: + 1 212 963 4475
Email: [email protected]
Website

--------------------------------

SOMALIA: Deaths from Chronic Water Shortage [press release]

[16 February 2006] - Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk in Somalia because of chronic water shortages, according to a new assessment by aid agency Oxfam International.

The assessment found pastoralist families forced to exist on only one twentieth of the daily water supply recommended by minimum humanitarian standards. Many families are surviving on just a 20-litre jerry can of water for 3 days. This is equivalent to 830 ml, or three glasses of water, per person per day for drinking, cooking and washing.

Oxfam's assessment team also gathered reports of people being forced to drink their own urine because of the desperate thirst the drought has caused.

Abdullahi Maalim Hussein, a Somali village elder who accompanied Oxfam’s recent mission said:

"The situation is as bad as I can remember. Some people are dying and children are drinking their own urine because there is simply no water available for them to drink."

Deaths from dehydration are being reported as families trek 70km to replenish water supplies, in scorching temperatures of up to 40°C (104°F).

Although the security situation is currently calm, Somalia remains a challenging place to run humanitarian operations, with basic services and infrastructure destroyed by 15 years of armed conflict.

"There is a serious food crisis unfolding across the Horn of Africa region, but as well as food, these communities desperately need water,” said Elmi. Without water children will die, and the livestock on which pastoralists depend will end up as rotting corpses around dry wells."

"Our assessment shows people in Somalia having to walk the equivalent of almost two marathons to collect water because nearby sources are now just cracked earth. The burden is worst for women on whom the responsibility of weekly trips to collect water often falls."

According to the UN, 1.7m people in Somalia are in need of urgent assistance because of the worst drought in a decade; some areas have recorded their driest months since 1961.

Read the full press release

To find out what CRIN member Somali Child Protection and Development is doing for children in Somalia, contact:
Mohamed Abdi Mohamed
Somali Child Protection and Development
P.O. Box 204, Mogadishu BN 03040, Somalia
Tel: + 2521 271279; Fax: + 2521 215048
Email: [email protected]

--------------------------------

UNITED NATIONS: Call for Guantanamo Closure [report]

The United Nations has called for the immediate closure of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba.

In a report on conditions there, the UN says the US should try all detainees or release them "without further delay".

The UN investigators allege that some aspects of the inmates' treatment amount to torture.
The US has rejected most of the allegations, saying that the five investigators never actually visited Guantanamo Bay.

About 500 people are imprisoned at the facility, many of whom were detained more than four years ago.

One of the investigators, UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said that the detention of inmates for years without charge amounted to arbitrary detention.

"Those persons either have to be released immediately or they should be brought to a proper and competent court and tried for the offences they are charged with," he told the BBC.

Speaking in London before the release of the report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said she could not endorse every recommendation made by the report - but that she could see little alternative to closing down the facility.

In its conclusions, the report urges the US government to "refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", including the force-feeding of hunger strikers through nasal tubes.

In particular, it says, special interrogation techniques authorised by the US defence department should not be used.

The report ended by demanding that the UN be granted full and unrestricted access to the camp's facilities, including private interviews with detainees.

The US invited the UN to the camp, but refused to grant the investigators the right to speak to detainees in private.

The UN said that private interviews were a "totally non-negotiable pre-condition" for conducting the visit and refused to send investigators.

[source: BBC online]

For more information, contact:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 917 93 21
Website

Read the report

--------------------------------

BIRTH REGISTRATION: 4th Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference [conference]

Date: 14-17 March 2006
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Plan International and UNICEF are organising the 4th Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference on Universal Birth Registration. The Conference is the fourth of its kind to put birth registration on the agenda in Asia and the Pacific, and will focus on the theme "Record, Recognise, Respect: Making Universal Birth Registration a Reality in Asia and the Pacific".

Despite booming economies and rapid development in many countries in Asia and the Pacific, millions of children are still being denied their first and most fundamental right - the right to an identity. According to UNICEF estimates, over half of the births in the developing world (excluding China) go unregistered each year. South Asia has the largest number, around 70 per cent, while in East Asia and the Pacific the figure is 35 per cent.

When children lack a birth certificate: they can be denied access to basic services such as education, health care and social security; they are often unable to prove their age, nationality or who their parents are; they have less protection against early and forced marriages, premature conscription into the armed forces, and the risk of being trafficked; it is much more difficult to provide them with protection or reunite them with their families in times of natural disaster or conflict.

Having a legal identity should not have to be justified. Being able to prove who we are and where we were born are not privileges; they are basic human rights. During the conference, civil registrars from 26 countries in Asia and the Pacific, along with civil society groups, development organisations and child and human rights advocates, will meet to seek to: ensure current policies and laws are implemented; tackle the legal and political complexities of reaching marginalised communities; explore affordable and effective systems to ensure every child is registered at birth; highlight the importance of birth registration and educate people on where they can access these services; and share experiences on civil registration during disasters and complex emergencies and identify preparedness measures.

For more information, contact:
Arunee Achakulwisut, Regional Communications Adviser
Plan Asia Regional Office
2nd Floor,Na-Nakorn Building, 99/349 Chaengwattana Road,
Thungsonghong, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 576 1972-4 ext.115; Fax: +66 2 576 1978
Email: [email protected]
Website

--------------------------------

PERU: Challenges Facing Children in Coca Growing Areas [study]

[LIMA, 9 February 2006] - UNICEF has presented a study that describes the plight of children who live in the areas of Peru where coca is grown.

The focus of 'Children in the Coca Area' is on the Apurímac and Ene River valleys and Alto Huallaga, where most of the coca in Peru is grown. These are predominately rural areas plagued by poverty and extreme poverty. The study illustrates how living conditions in these regions perpetuate the cycle of poverty and how children's rights are violated and their possibilities for development diminished.

The local population is in need of basic services such as clean drinking water, sewer systems, health care and education. This, in turn, has a direct impact on children's growth and development.

During the presentation, Cabinet Council Chairman Pedro Pablo Kuczynski spoke of the need to intensify efforts to combat malnutrition among children and to improve the quality of public education, especially primary schooling, since the first years of life are fundamental to a child's development.

"The living conditions in these valleys are very hard for the children. Their access to a complete basic education is difficult because they start working early, teenage pregnancy is common and secondary school coverage in these communities is only 24.5%, as opposed to 50% in the district capitals. We keep on working hard to change the living conditions of children", said Nils Kastberg, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean speaking from London.

Even though education is viewed as a way to achieve a better life, the study shows that enrolment rates decline with age. For example, 99% of the children under13 years of age are enrolled in school, as opposed to only 87% of the adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age. This gradual desertion is due to the expense of keeping a child in school. Child and adolescent labour is a factor as well. Nearly 90% of the children in these areas help out at home or work on the family farm.

For more information, contact:
Marilú Wiegold
UNICEF
P.O. Box 18-0573, Miraflores, Lima 18, Peru
Tel: +511 213 0706
Email [email protected]
Website

Read the full press release

--------------------------------

CHILD DEVELOPMENT: Journal of Children's Services [publication]

The 'Journal of Children's Services' is a new quarterly title designed to encourage the development of outcome-focused services to better safeguard and promote the well-being of vulnerable children and their families. It seeks to improve understanding of the way that child development and applied social research can contribute to the evidence base and increasing integration of children's services (which includes activity organised by health, education, social care, police, youth justice and voluntary/independent agencies). High standards of evidence are encouraged and all articles are peer reviewed. The journal is essential reading for all those responsible for planning, delivering, researching and evaluating children's services in a variety of settings both in the UK and internationally.

For more information, visit:
Pavilion Publishing
Richmond House, Richmond Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 3RL, UK
Tel: + 44 (0)1273 623 222; Fax: + 44 (0)1273 625 526
Email: [email protected]
Website

--------------------------------

SMALL ARMS: Campaign Activities in Run-Up to UN Review Conference [campaign]

The Control Arms campaign is launching the '100 Day Countdown' on 16 March 2006. The 100 Day Countdown is a critical period to increase campaigning activities and heighten media attention in the run-up to the UN Review Conference (RevCon) on small arms. The 100 Day Countdown is a concerted final push of campaigning at the national level before the international culmination of campaigning activities in June/July 2006 at the RevCon in New York when the Million Faces Petition will be delivered. The taking place around the world during the 100 Days will have some common objectives, and will ultimately highlight the global problem of gun violence. This year, the Global Week of Action Against Small Arms will take place within the 100 Day Countdown.

The main objectives during the 100 Days are:

- To collect the remaining faces for the Million Faces Petition. The Million Faces Petition is the primary campaigning activity of the Control Arms campaign. Since the campaign was launched in October 2003, the main goal has been to collect 1 million photographs and self-portraits worldwide of individuals who support an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Almost 750,000 faces have already been collected and IANSA is pushing to collect the remaining 250,000 in time for the international delivery at the RevCon in June.

- To mobilise support from parliamentarians on the small arms issue. Parliamentarians play a key role in shaping national legislation, so it is important to get their support. The aim of the Control Arms Parliamentary Action is to get more parliamentarians involved in the small arms process and to get their personal support – and the support of their colleagues and government – for the Global Principles on Arms Transfers, the draft Model Resolution as well as other international, regional and national small arms control measures,.

- To deliver the national Million Faces petitions to government officials. The photos collected should be delivered to government officials - parliamentarians, ministers and the government delegations that will be attending the RevCon. We are encouraging all IANSA members to deliver their national photo petitions during the Global Week of Action Against Small Arms, 22 – 29 May 2005.

- To host public events, events with parliamentarians and press conferences. The 100 Days should consist of a multitude of events and activities in different countries across the world that incorporate the specific objectives of the 100 Days: collecting the Million Faces, getting support from parliamentarians and delivering the photographs that campaigners have collected in their countries – the national petitions.

- To attract increased media attention to the small arms issue. The majority of media attention will be a result of the campaigning activities and events that will take place during the 100 Days.

For information about what you can do, visit:
IANSA Secretariat
Development House, 56-64, Leonard Street, London EC2A 4JX, UK
Tel: + 44 207 065 0870; Fax + 44 207 065 0871
Email: [email protected]
Website

___________________________________________________________

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.

___________________________________________________________