16 May 2006 - CRINMAIL 780
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CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE: All Africa Report Calls for End to Corporal Punishment [publication]
HIV/AIDS: Funding Needed in Africa where 6,500 Are Dying Each Day [news]
CHILD PROTECTION: Scottish Commissioner Focuses on Proportionate Protection [news]
ROMANIA: Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities [publication]
ACADEMIC RESEARCH: Asia Pacific Childhoods Conference [event]
UNIVERSAL BIRTH REGISTRATION: Global Guidelines and Strategies [publication]
CHILD DOMESTIC WORKERS: Good Practice in Programme Interventions [publication]
* NEWS IN BRIEF *
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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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CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE: All Africa Report Calls for End to Corporal Punishment [publication]
The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children and Save the Children Sweden recently launched a report at the conference on Violence Against Girls in Africa, organised by the African Child Policy Forum, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week.
Hitting people is wrong – and children are people too. This is the clear message of an All-Africa special report – Ending Legalised Violence Against Children – which calls on all African States to fulfil their human rights obligations to children by prohibiting and eliminating all corporal punishment and other humiliating punishment of children.
The 60-page report includes recommendations calling for law reform and educational measures, an analysis of the legality of corporal punishment in all African States and of the international and regional human rights standards that require prohibition.
The report emphasises that ending corporal punishment is a global issue – and also a very personal issue because most people in every state in the world have been hit and humiliated as children. But law reform and other measures to end corporal punishment are now accelerating and the current UN Study on Violence against Children provides a particular context for progress.
Research studies from 18 States in the region show varying rates of use of corporal punishment in the home, with a majority around 80 per cent. The report also summarises studies in which children have been interviewed about their experience of corporal punishment and their attitudes to it.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8227
For more information, contact:
Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
94, White Lion Street, London, N1 9PF, UK
Tel: +44 20 7713 0569; Fax: +44 20 7713 0466
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org
Further information
NOTE: A special CRINMAIL on the conference "Violence against Girls in Africa" will be sent out soon. To subscribe to CRIN's email list on Violence against Children, go to: http://www.crin.org/email
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HIV/AIDS: Funding Needed in Africa where 6,500 Are Dying Each Day [news]
In a special edition run in today's The Independent on HIV/AIDS, the London-based newspaper reports:
Across the continent, 6,500 Africans are dying every day, the equivalent of a village being wiped from the map every 24 hours. A further 9,000 are infected each day by HIV/AIDS, which is the leading cause of death in Africa.
In Uganda, 84 per cent of AIDS victims contract the disease through heterosexual contacts. The men go first, followed by their wives. Fourteen per cent of children are infected by mother-to-child transmission. Up to 6.6 per cent of the adult population in Uganda is infected with HIV. An adult male in Uganda suffering from AIDS is unlikely to live beyond the age of 47.
In Zimbabwe, the population is already struggling to survive an economic crisis and an inflation of 1,000 per cent, brought about by the policies of their tyrannical leader President Robert Mugabe. Now, one in three children in Zimbabwe are AIDS orphans, and the anti-retroviral drugs are running out.
In the continent's economic powerhouse, South Africa, 800-900 people every day are dying from AIDS. The country holds the dubious record of having 5 million HIV/AIDS sufferers: the highest number in the world, with 21.5 per cent of the population infected. "President Thabo Mbeki and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang have failed to provide unambiguous and clear leadership on AIDS," says Mark Haywood of the Treatment Action Campaign, which successfully sued the South African government to roll out anti-retrovirals. "South Africa is getting it wrong at the very top." "They [the leaders] still send out confusing signals doubting the efficacy of ARVs. Some people are now actually scared of treatment. It's a tragedy," Mr Haywood added.
Africa still lags lethally behind the West, which has taken great strides thanks to life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. Falling drugs prices and new sources of international funding are needed to help it catch up.
A continent's misery
- Sub-saharan Africa is home to 10 per cent of the world's population and 60 per cent of the world's AIDS population.
- Right now in Nigeria, there are 1.8 million AIDS orphans. There are 12 million across the continent.
- In South Africa, 4,000 teachers will die of AIDS this year.
- 37.5 per cent of South Africans would keep it secret if a family member was diagnosed with HIV.
- 66 per cent of South Africans think they will never contract HIV. 41 per cent of those use condoms.
- 6,500 people died from AIDS on this day last year
- There is at least one HIV-positive child in every classroom in Botswana
- 9,000 people across Africa are infected daily
- More than 15 million people in Africa have died of AIDS, more than the highest estimates of the Rwandan genocide (800,000), Khmer rouge regime (up to 2 million), Holocaust (11 million) and Iraq war (up to 38,000) combined.
- Only 16 per cent of HIV positive people in Africa can hope to receive antiretroviral drugs.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8275
Further information
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CHILD PROTECTION: Scottish Commissioner Focuses on Proportionate Protection [news]
Children and young people throughout Scotland are to be issued with a ‘detective kit’ to investigate exactly what they can – or can’t – do in their area. The idea is part of a two-year Action Plan, launched this month by Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Kathleen Marshall, and is based on the results of two extensive consultation exercises: one with children and young people; and another with the organisations working with and for them.
The first consultation was the biggest-ever poll of children and young people in Scotland, with 16,000 votes being cast. The issue children and young people most wanted the Commissioner to work on was ‘Things To Do’ - activities that are affordable and accessible to all, and that are designed with the help of young people themselves in co-operation with trusted adults.
In the second consultation, organisations working with and for children and young people were asked their opinion on what should be the Commissioner’s policy priorities. The theme "Promoting Proportionate Protection" received a good level of support from all consulted organisations and has been chosen as SCCYP's policy priority for the next two years.
"Promoting Proportionate Protection" looks at the issue of over-protection of children and young people, as many respondents stressed the need to balance protection with fun, adventure and healthy relationships. It was suggested by some that the current systems of child protection do not command confidence and there was an impression that they were more about agency and adult protection than child protection. Several examples were given of situations in which the balance between protection and appropriate risk or support was wrong:
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Play opportunities and outdoor experiences are being curtailed
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Not enough attention is given to the positive benefits of risk and challenge
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Vetting/Disclosure processes are cumbersome and putting people off working with children and young people
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There is a shortage of people willing to work with children and young people because of fears of allegations
Indeed, consulted organisations mentioned missed opportunities for play and adventure for children, and imbalance between risk and challenge. “In the UK, it now seems to be normal to over-protect children. We deny many children the opportunities offered by outings, adventure play and outdoor activities.” (National Playbus Association).
Responses also highlighted problems occurring as a result of current child protection and vetting systems and the need for a more balanced approach to health and safety issues. A more proportionate response to physical contact was also repeatedly raised by respondents from all sectors. “We are increasingly aware of the potential for well-meaning regulations to effectively work against the best interests of the child or young person.” (Angus Council)
Organisations consulted stressed that this area had not yet been addressed and needed research and evaluation. Responses suggest that the Commissioner could be the most suitable person to raise the issues above and address them effectively. “The Children’s Commissioner could make a significant contribution to challenging this pervasive problem which is seriously affecting the quality of life of many children, and undermining the morale and enthusiasm of staff to provide normal, caring and fun activities.” (Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care)
Taking the results of both consultations, SCCYP is developing an Action Plan for 2006-2008 – entitled ‘Safe, Active, Happy’. Kathleen Marshall said: “There are common themes in both priorities so taking these two things together is the natural way to progress my work. Firstly, we will specifically identify issues of prime concern, along with examples of good practice. Secondly we will explore ways to address the problem areas. Thirdly we will commission research to track and evaluate the difference our work is making."
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8279
Further information
For more information, contact:
Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People
85 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 7AU, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)131 558 3733; Fax: +44 (0)131 556 3378
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.sccyp.org.uk
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ROMANIA: Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities [publication]
Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), has found children with disabilities hidden and wasting away, near death, in Romania's adult psychiatric facilities. A report released by MDRI, Hidden Suffering: Romania's Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities, describes teenagers weighing no more than 27 pounds. Some children are tied down with bedsheets, their arms and legs twisted and left to atrophy.
Despite Romanian government claims that it has ended the placement of babies in institutions, MDRI found infants languishing in a medical facility so poorly staffed that the children never leave their cribs. Many of these children have no identity papers. Officially, they do not exist.
These shocking revelations come at a time when Romania, in its effort to join the European Union (EU), is under pressure to reduce the number of children in institutions. Romanian officials admitted to MDRI that they had no idea how many children with disabilities are in adult facilities.
"We call on the government of Romania and the EU to put a stop to these abuses," said Eric Rosenthal, Executive Director of MDRI. "These are Romania's most vulnerable citizens. The inhumane and degrading treatment that they are forced to endure is intolerable and violates international human rights law."
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8228
For more information, contact:
Mental Disability Rights International
1156 15th Street NW, Suite 1001
Washington, DC 20005, USA
Tel: +1 202 296 0800; Fax: +1 202 728 3053
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.mdri.org
Further inmformation
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ACADEMIC RESEARCH: Asia Pacific Childhoods Conference [event]
Date: Singapore
Location: 17-20 July 2006
The Asia-Pacific Region provides a wide range of social and cultural contexts for study, and potential for developing new concepts and frameworks, as well as proven academic excellence. Moreover, the study of childhood is particularly important for countries experiencing rapid change, where new and emerging needs of children may be poorly-understood by adults and welfare agencies.
Although there have been many problem-oriented conferences on children in the region, concentrating for example on street children or child trafficking, the Asia-Pacific Childhoods Conference will be the first regional conference devoted to academic research on children.
The Conference will focus on developing concepts and problem-solving frameworks, at the same time promoting regional networks for teaching, research and publications on children and childhood. Plenary sessions on cross-cutting themes of particular regional importance – research methods, education and HIV/AIDS – will be combined with four specialist symposia:
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The everyday lives of children in Asia-Pacific
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Children, citizenship and policy in Asia-Pacific
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Change and continuity in Asia-Pacific childhoods
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Violence and children in Asia-Pacific
No call for papers will be made, but Organising and Scientific Committees are actively seeking young and established scholars carrying out research on children and childhood in Asian and Pacific countries. Participants will be researchers from any relevant academic discipline. Because one aim is to foster networking, activists, policymakers and representatives of donor agencies who have an interest in research on children and childhood, will be encouraged to attend in order to improve the interface between academics and practitioners.
For more information, contact:
National University of Singapore
21 Lower Kent Ridge Road
Singapore 119077
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.nus.edu.sg
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8268
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UNIVERSAL BIRTH REGISTRATION: Global Guidelines and Strategies [publication]
Plan International recently published a set of guidelines to foster collective action towards promoting Universal Birth Registration: Global Guidelines and Strategies for Universal Birth Registration.
According to Article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signatory governments are responsible for ensuring that systems are in place to register the births of all children. Yet the Committee on the Rights of the Child notes that provision for registration of all children at birth is still a ‘major challenge’ in many countries and regions. Indeed, according to the latest UN estimates, around 48 million children annually are not registered at birth.
As the lead agency for civil registration, the UN Statistical Office cooperates with the International Institute for Vital Registration and Statistics and a number of other organisations on birth registration. These include a wide range of UN agencies such as: the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the UN Population Fund (UNFPA); the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR); the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as a number of international nongovernmental organisations including Plan, Save the Children and World Vision.
However, in the absence of clear and coordinated international leadership from the UN Statistical Office, these different stakeholders employ a mixture of approaches to their birth registration efforts and do not always work with each other and with national governments in a coordinated and strategic manner.
Plan believes that it is time to agree a common agenda for birth registration in order to best harness these collective efforts. In mounting an effective global response to birth registration it will be necessary to work together in a creative and harmonised way under a framework of agreed international guidelines and strategies.
The starting point for such an initiative can be found within the Concluding Observations and General Comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. These communicate to State parties the importance of birth registration within the Convention as a whole, provide guidance on the principles under which birth registration efforts should be implemented and suggest a number of strategies that will help to make the attainment of Universal Birth Registration (UBR) a reality.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8265
Further information
For more information, contact:
Plan International - HQ
Chobham House, Christchurch Way
Woking, Surrey GU12 1JG
Tel: +44 1483 755 155 / 733 285; Fax: +44 1483 756 505
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.plan-international.org/
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CHILD DOMESTIC WORKERS: Good Practice in Programme Interventions [publication]
Anti-Slavery International recently published a practical guide to what works and why when it comes to assisting child domestic workers, establishing ‘good practice’ principles to guide different types of action on behalf of these children. The handbook embodies the experience of numerous child domestic workers and local practitioners from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as from international organisations and networks working on this issue.
The emphasis of the handbook is on simplicity and practicality. It will be particularly useful for small and medium-sized NGOs seeking ways to improve or develop programmes of assistance to child domestic workers.
The handbook is also available in French and Spanish.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8249
For more information, contact:
Anti-Slavery International
Thomas Clarkson House, The Stableyard
Broomgrove Road, London SW9 9TL, UK
Tel: +44 207 501 8920; Fax: +44 207 738 4110
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.antislavery.org
Further information
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* NEWS IN BRIEF *
Rwanda: Hundreds of Children Illegally Detained in Former Warehouse
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8262&flag=report
Horn of Africa: Tens of Thousands of Children Face Death by Starvation
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8266&flag=report
United Kingdom: Charity Launches Campaign for Sexually Abused Children
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8261&flag=news
Coming Soon: Special Edition of CRINMAIL on the 42nd Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
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