CRINMAIL 773

20 April 2006 - CRINMAIL 773

 

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- NEPAL: Children Among Victims of Police Attacks on Protestors [news]

- EUROPE FLOODS: Responding to Young People's Needs in Serbia [news]

- LIBERIA: Political Will and Resources Needed to Cut Child Mortality [news]

- HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES: 2006 Report [publication]

- CRINMAIL: CRIN and the Arab Resource Collective Launch New Arabic List [news]

- LATIN AMERICA: New Website to Combat Trafficking in People [website]

- EMPLOYMENT: Care USA - Children in Scotland [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 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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NEPAL: Children Among Victims of Police Attacks on Protestors [news]

[KATHMANDU, 20 April 2006] – In the Nepali government’s crackdown on the current wave of demonstrations, police have brutally beaten and shot children, Human Rights Watch said today. The organisation said the Nepali government must take immediate action to end all unnecessary use of force against pro-democracy protesters by the security forces. The authorities must also independently investigate and prosecute all officials found to be responsible, including those at the highest levels.  

“The security forces have brutally beaten demonstration leaders with intent, and children as young as 12 without regard,” said Jo Becker, an advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “These forces are meant to protect people exercising their rights, not abusing them for it.”  

Massive protests have taken place across Nepal for the past two weeks as part of a nationwide strike called by Nepal’s seven opposition parties and Maoist rebels calling on King Gyanendra to relinquish direct power. The protests have drawn tens of thousands of people into the streets in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, and other areas across the country. More than 2,000 people reportedly have been injured and at least nine have died as security forces responded to the largely peaceful protests with live and rubber bullets, beatings, and tear gas.  

Human Rights Watch has visited six Kathmandu hospitals that collectively have treated more than 1,350 injured protesters during the past two weeks of protests. At four of the hospitals, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than a dozen injured protesters who had suffered gunshot wounds, bone and skull fractures, and head trauma. Three of the victims were children, including two 12-year-old boys. One boy suffered a skull fracture from being hit by police during a demonstration on 16 April. Another boy was shot in the head while running away from a protest in Gongabu in northern Kathmandu on 11 April, and a bullet remained lodged near his right ear.  

Injured protesters told Human Rights Watch that they believed the security forces deliberately targeted protesters’ heads. This allegation was supported by medical personnel at three hospitals, who reported that more than 60 per cent of the injured protesters had suffered head injuries, primarily from being struck with lathis (long police batons).  

On 11 April, a group of 15 to 20 police beat medical personnel from a Kathmandu hospital who were providing assistance during a demonstration. A pharmacist told Human Rights Watch that police beat him and at least seven other medical personnel after they had transported and treated individuals injured during the protest. Three of the medical officers suffered bone fractures or head trauma. For three days after the incident, police maintained a heavy armed presence outside the hospital.  

Protesters and local human rights observers told Human Rights Watch that they believe government infiltrators participated in protests specifically to incite violence by participants. Two victims of police beatings at a 17 April demonstration in Chahabil, a neighbourhood in the east of Kathmandu, described how plainclothes security forces encouraged protesters to throw stones, and pushed demonstrators towards uniformed police just prior to the police’s use of lathis and tear gas against protesters.  

Nepal’s senior superintendent of police, Madhav Thapa, has refused requests from the National Human Rights Commission to appear before the commission to respond to allegations of excessive use of force by security personnel at the 11 April demonstration at Gongabu.  

Human Rights Watch called on the Nepali security forces to abide by the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in policing demonstrations. The principles require that law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall as far as possible apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force. Whenever the lawful use of force is unavoidable, law enforcement officials must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. The legitimate objective should be achieved with minimal damage and injury, and preservation of human life respected.  

Human Rights Watch called on the Nepali government to investigate allegations of excessive use of force, protect the rights of all Nepalis to freedom of expression and assembly, and urged King Gyanendra to commit to reinstating an elected, civilian government.  

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8026

Further information

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EUROPE FLOODS: Responding to Young People's Needs in Serbia [news]

[LONDON, 19 April 2006] - Emergency crews and volunteers struggled to keep embankments and sand barriers from giving way over the weekend, amid record flooding along the Danube and its tributaries in Serbia.

Since Friday, Save the Children UK has been in regular contact with the emergency departments of municipal authorities, the Red Cross and local NGOs to assess the extent of the emergency and ensure children’s needs were being addressed. It found that the Serbian authorities and Serbian Red Cross were meeting the immediate humanitarian need of the affected communities – but that the needs of two groups of young people had not been addressed in the initial response.

Roma children in Beocin

In Beocin, 250 children were being evacuated from the flooded area, but 70 children, mainly of Roma origin, had been left out of the process. Save the Children UK lobbied the local authority for the Roma representative to be a part of the assessment team so that he could provide precise information about the Roma children. Now all Roma children are being given the help they need and Save the Children are working to make sure that this happens in all municipalities that are liable to flooding.

Babies and young children in Smederevo

In Smederevo, hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes by the flooding: most of them were lodged with host families, but 56 people were evacuated to a Red Cross refugee centre. The Red Cross told Save the Children that there were 31 children in the refugee centre, including 15 babies who lacked nappies and simple hygiene items.

As people will need to stay at the centre for the next few months, Save the Children also talked with staff there about issues such as child protection, and education. It helped to ensure the children had transport to school and are exploring the possibility of establishing pre-school activities for children aged 3-6.

The Serbian Red Cross estimates that 7,165 families have been affected by landslides and floods in 30 municipalities. Save the Children will continue to monitor the situation and respond where needed to support the best interests of children. Jasminka Milovanovic, Save the Children’s Communications Officer in Serbia said: "I’ve never seen such floods in my life. But the good thing about such an emergency is that it somehow mobilises people – they feel the need to be together to help each other."

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8014

Further information

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LIBERIA: Political Will and Resources Needed to Cut Child Mortality [news]

[OSLO, 17 April 2006] - Of the ten countries in the world that have the worst rates of child mortality, six are in West Africa - a region that has seen more than its share of repression and civil strife over recent years. This conflict has undermined children's chances of survival both directly, causing many to be placed in the line of fire, and indirectly - compromising the provision of basic services that are essential to good health in children.

As a result, West Africa faces a particular challenge when it comes to meeting the fourth United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG): reducing child mortality by two thirds, by 2015. (Mortality rates are typically measured according to the number of children who die in countries before the age of five.)

In all, eight MDGs were agreed on by global leaders during the Millennium Summit held in New York six years ago. In addition to child mortality, the goals focus on halving extreme hunger and poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing maternal mortality and reversing the spread of AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The goals also deal with ensuring environmental sustainability, and the development of partnerships to achieve a range of objectives, such as the establishment of fairer trade rules.

Alvin Winford of the Liberian branch of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (a group headquartered in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi) believes strides could be made towards reducing child mortality in his country if disease was tackled. In an interview with Inter Press Service, he said the issue of teenage pregnancies also deserved attention:

"Most West African States have a high rate of child mortality due to social, economic and political developments. Most of these deaths are the direct result of pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, malaria and malnutrition, which can be prevented if the political will is cultivated - and backed by allocation of the requisite resources of national governments.

In Liberia, there is an increasing number of teenage pregnancies. Lots of girls who have not reached the age of 18 are bearing children. With no proper care for themselves as well as their babies, some of their children die during childbirth, while others die before reaching age five due to the lack of good motherhood practices.

Some of these girls are just too young to have babies; most of them being single parents, with no skills for earning a living, lack the basic necessities of life for taking care of themselves and their babies."

To read the interview in full, visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8004

Further information

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HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: 2006 Report [publication]

[LONDON, 19 April 2006] – The number of refugees in the world has fallen to the lowest level in 25 years but new challenges have left the international system for dealing with human displacement at a pivotal point, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The State of the World's Refugees: Human Displacement in the New Millennium, was launched in London by High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UK Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn.

The book examines the changing dynamics of displacement over the past half decade. While the number of refugees – 9.2 million – is now the lowest in a quarter century, it says the international system for handling human displacement has reached a critical point in an increasingly globalised world. The challenges include the plight of tens of millions of internally displaced people; widespread confusion over migrants and refugees; tightened asylum policies and growing intolerance.

In his foreword to the book, Guterres notes that inter-state conflict is less prevalent today than internal strife and civil war, resulting in fewer refugees crossing international borders but more displaced within their own countries. Although the world's estimated 25 million internally displaced people do not fall under the 1951 Refugee Convention, they are in urgent need of help.

"People who would otherwise seek safety in neighbouring States are more frequently compelled to remain within the borders of their own country, most often in similar conditions as refugees," writes Guterres, who says internal displacement is the international community's "biggest failure" in humanitarian action. "Two long-running conflicts in Africa – the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan – alone accounted for an estimated 7.5 million internally displaced people in 2005."

The book notes, however, that the United Nations is beginning to make discernible progress toward helping the internally displaced, including a UN decision last year assigning sectoral responsibilities to specific agencies.

"UNHCR's role in the new division of labour is pivotal because it is focused on protection, the biggest gap in the system," the book says. "UNHCR is at a critical juncture in its 55-year history, having agreed to substantially expand its role to encompass the internally displaced. For the first time since the end of World War II, a comprehensive regime is being designed to address the needs of the forcibly displaced on both sides of the border."

Millions of refugees and asylum seekers have over the past five years benefited from international protection and from repatriation, integration in first-asylum States, or resettlement to third countries. More than 4 million have gone home to Afghanistan and hundreds of thousands more to Angola, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Liberia. South Sudan, struggling to emerge from two decades of civil war, could see more than 4 million internally displaced and refugees return in the next few years.

But ensuring that the uprooted can go home and stay home requires sustained international attention, from the return phase to reconstruction and long-term development. Bridging gaps in that process is crucial in preventing States from sliding back into another cycle of violence and displacement. Development plays a key role in ensuring that peace and economic recovery can take root.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8002

Further information

For more information, contact:
United Nations High Commission for Refugees
Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt, Suisse
Tel: +41 22 739 8111
Website: http://www.unhcr.org

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CRINMAIL: CRIN and the Arab Resource Collective Launch New Arabic List [news]

As part of CRIN's effort to offer more information services in different languages, CRIN and the Arab Resource Collective (ARC) have just sent out the first edition of an Arabic version of CRINMAIL. In the first instance, this CRINMAIL will be sent out approximately once a month.

ARC's mission is to build on people's assets through knowledge and communication. The general aim of ARC is to co-operate with community-based organisations, working throughout the Arab world, in identifying the needs and challenges they face, and in developing their human resources.

This new service complements the initial version of the new CRIN website in Arabic

To download the CRINMAIL in pdf format, go to:
http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/Arabic/CRINMAIL_Arabic_1.pdf. Please note that you need Arabic script installed on your computer to be able to read the document.

Otherwise, the CRINMAIL is also available on ARC's website at: http://www.mawared.org/arabic/?q=node/284

To subscribe, contact:
Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)
c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK
Tel: +44 20 7012 6865; Fax: +44 20 7012 6899
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.crin.org

or email: [email protected]

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=7972

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LATIN AMERICA: New Website to Combat Trafficking in People [website]

[19 April 2006] - A Latin American regional initiative to combat human trafficking was launched today by the Inter American Centre against Disappearances, Exploitation and Trafficking of Persons (CIDETT, from the Spanish acronym) in cooperation with Save the Children Sweden and the Organisation of American States. This includes a new website www.denuncialatrata.org which aims to encourage people to report cases of trafficking.

The system allows any person to file a report which will go directly to the national police of nine countries in the region: Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Belize, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico. This will guarantee a rapid response to the case, and has already helped to rescue children who were victims of sexual exploitation. The role of CIDETT will be to supervise and monitor the proper use of the tool.

The active participation of law enforcement officials across Latin America in the Latin American Network for the Disappeared (RLD), a CIDETT initiative for reporting disappearances, is a good indication that they will use this new tool. It is this network of governmental and civil society organisations that makes these initiatives so effective, as the information reaches those who must act directly.

The countries involved in the RLD have received a total of 12,508 reported disappearances through their web pages; of this total, 8,012 have been located, 205 brothels have been reported for using children and 46 cases of child pornography have also been discovered.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8022

Further information

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EMPLOYMENT: Care USA - Children in Scotland [job postings]

 

  • Care USA: Senior Technical Advisor, Education in Emergencies

Care USA is seeking to recruit a Senior Technical Advisor, Education in Emergencies, to be based in Atlanta, who would be responsible for crafting and implementing strategies for advancing Care's Basic and Girls' Education Programme, particularly as it relates to education in emergencies. The post holder will advance best practices, increasing the impact of Care's education programming, increasing donor support of education programming and serving as the core staff person to a USAID grant focusing on education in crisis and transitional countries.

Application deadline: 9 May 2006

For more information, contact:
John Trew, Child Labour Senior Technical Advisor
Care USA
151 Ellis Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, US
Tel: +1 404 979 9481
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.care.org

 

  • Children in Scotland: Communications Manager, Communications Officer, Designer

Children in Scotland is recruiting dynamic communicators to manage and contribute to their growing communications programme and expanding publications list including two leading magazines. Children in Scotland is looking for a Communications Manager (part time), a Communications Officer (full time) and a Designer (full time).

Application deadline: 10 May 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.childreninscotland.org.uk

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