23 May 2006 - CRINMAIL 782
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- CHILD MALNUTRITION: WFP Says World Unaware of Major Hunger Crisis [news]
- IRAN: First Reported Execution of a Child Offender in 2006 [news]
- CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE: Children and Young People’s Consultation [event]
- HIV/AIDS: Call for UK Delegation to Deliver for World's Most Vulnerable Children [event]
- SMALL ARMS: Global Week of Action against Small Arms 2006 [event]
- ROMANIA: Urgent Action Needed for Abandoned Children [news]
- HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Plans Underway for First Session [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 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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CHILD MALNUTRITION: WFP Says World Unaware of Major Hunger Crisis [news]
[SHARM EL-SHEIKH, 22 May 2006] - Three hundred million children are hungry and 18,000 die every day for want of food while the world remains largely ignorant about the magnitude of the problem, the UN food agency head said.
"If the headline in the media tomorrow was 'Forty-five 747s crashed today, everyone on board was killed and oh, by the way, they were all children', the world would be outraged," said James Morris, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). "I genuinely think the public doesn't understand how serious the issue is."
Humanitarian agencies say wealthy governments are not giving enough to combat hunger, which kills more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria put together.
In an interview with Reuters, Morris said 90 per cent of people who are hungry and at risk are not in the headlines, and their numbers are growing. "There are places in Central America where 50 per cent of the children under 5 are chronically malnourished and if you look at indigenous populations that number could be 70 or 80 per cent," he said.
The world produces enough food to feed everyone, with 17 per cent more calories per person today than 30 years ago, according to the World Hunger Education Service. But the distribution is unequal.
Pressure on scarce resources, drought, growing inequality and conflict have aggravated malnutrition among the unemployed in urban slums, landless farming families, the orphans of AIDS and the ill. Making things worse is a surge in natural disasters, which numbered 400 in 2005, up from 100 in 1975, according to World Bank estimates. In the last decade, 2.6 billion people were affected by natural disasters compared to 1.6 billion in the previous decade. "We've just so much to be concerned about," Morris said.
The United Nations said this month it had received under a fifth of the $92 million it needed to help save 300,000 children threatened with starvation in the arid Sahel belt spanning Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
In eastern Kenya and Somalia there has been almost no rain this year, compounding a gradual decline in rainfall over the past decade. Morris said the WFP needed $275 million to stave off widespread starvation in Kenya alone, and "we still need a lot of that".
Hundreds of thousands turned out across the world on Sunday for a global march against hunger organized by the WFP. "We know how to solve the problem," Morris said. "We can feed a child for 30 euros a full school year."
Morris was speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, where business and political leaders debated ways to promote wealth, peace and stability in the Middle East. He warned against relying on macroeconomic statistics as a sole gauge of development, saying they hide a disparity in many countries between rich and poor.
Without progress in combating problems like iron deficiency - which the WFP says hinders the mental development of 40 per cent to 60 per cent of children in developing countries, progress risks being held back. "Feeding children of zero to 2 years of age is the most powerful investment a country can make in its future economic wellbeing," said Morris.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8373
Further information
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IRAN: First Reported Execution of a Child Offender in 2006 [news]
[LONDON, 19 May 2006] - In the wake of the first reported execution of a child offender in 2006, Amnesty International has expressed its dismay that Iran should be the only country that currently executes child offenders - those under the age of 18 at the time of their offence.
Amnesty International said that the world is in complete agreement that the execution of a person for a crime committed when they were under 18 years of age is unacceptable. During the last decade, the judicial killing of children has all but stopped. Only a handful of countries now threaten to carry out such executions and in 2005 Iran was the only country to do so after it lost its main ally on this issue: the United States of America.
By carrying out the execution of a child offender, Iran is in violation of international law and its obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The organisation expressed its deep concern for the many other child offenders reported to be under sentence of death in Iran, and called on the Iranian government to take immediate steps to prohibit capital punishment for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age, and stop executing child offenders.
On 13 May 2006, an unnamed 17-year old male and an unnamed 20-year old male were executed by hanging in Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province. According to reports, they were sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 12-year old boy, and were tried in an extraordinary session.
This is the first known execution of a child offender in 2006. In 2005 Amnesty International recorded eight executions of child offenders in Iran, including 2 who were under the age of 18 at the time of their execution. The execution is particularly alarming in light of reports that many other child offenders have been sentenced to death in Iran, and are awaiting execution.
Amnesty International recognises the rights and responsibilities of governments to bring to justice those suspected of committing recognisably criminal offences, but the organisation is unconditionally opposed to the use of the death penalty as the ultimate violation of the right to life.
For approximately four years, it has been reported that the Iranian authorities have been considering passing legislation to ban the imposition of the death penalty for offences committed by persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crime. However, comments by a judiciary spokesperson suggest that the new law would in any case only prohibit the death penalty for certain crimes when committed by children. He stated that "qisas" crimes (crimes which carry a sentence of ‘retribution’, for example murder) were a private, not a state matter.
In its Concluding Observations to Iran’s second periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in January 2005, the Committee noted that the Iranian delegation had stated, in the course of the public consideration of Iran's report, that Iran had suspended executions of persons who had committed crimes before the age of 18.
It is time for the Iranian government to live up to its promises. The first known execution of a child offender in 2006 underlines the urgent necessity that the government impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and pass without delay legislation that prohibits the execution of child offenders.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8365
Further information
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CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE: Children and Young People’s Consultation [event]
From 23-26 May, a group of children will be meeting in New York to discuss the main findings and recommendations of the UN Study on Violence against Children, led by the Independent expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, to be presented at the UN General Assembly later this year.
The objectives of the children's consultation are:
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To discuss the format and content of the child friendly materials on the Study Report
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To provide an opportunity for children and young people to discuss the draft Study Report and provide feedback before the Study report is finalised
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To begin planning for children and young people’s involvement in the launch of the Study report at the UN General Assembly in October-November 2006 and to exchange information on planned follow up actions at country and regional levels in 2007
Daily updates from young people attending the consultation in New York will be available in English, French and Spanish on the CRIN website from tomorrow.
Participants will be also post messages on the Voices of Youth website, to share with others the findings of the discussions and activities that took place during the meeting. Young people from around the world who are not able to attend the meeting are also invited to post their opinions on the issues being discussed in the consultation.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8367
Further information
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HIV/AIDS: Call for UK Delegation to Deliver for World's Most Vulnerable Children [event]
World Leaders will participate in a comprehensive review at the United Nations headquarters between 31 May - 2 June 2006 of progress made on global agreements to reach Millennium Development Goal 6 to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015.
In advance of the 2006 High Level Meeting on AIDS, Save the Children UK is calling upon the UK delegation to do all it can to deliver what is needed for some of the world’s most vulnerable children.
They are urging the UK government to ensure the meeting delivers for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Whilst they strongly support the government’s commitments made so far on HIV and AIDS, they believe there are major issues to address at the UN where UK leadership is desperately needed.
Save the Children UK calls for UN member states to further commit to:
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intensify efforts to deliver a multi-sectoral response to protect rights to care, prevention and treatment for children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS by promoting national child-oriented policies and plans; including developing social protection systems to support orphans and vulnerable children their families and carers;
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providing free health care for children, providing cotrimoxazole to all those children known to be living with HIV and eliminating school fees and associated costs of school attendance;
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support research and development on simple and affordable diagnostics and paediatric ART formulations and ensure that children are included in national and international treatment targets;
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ensure the full enjoyment of human rights for children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS; intensifying efforts to register all births, providing legal frameworks for children to access services and to protect their inheritance rights and encouraging children’s participation in the design of child-focused programmes
Save the Children UK expects donor countries, particularly the G8, to surpass the expenditure targets set at UNGASS in 2001, which they did not meet. Now is the time to deliver the resources needed to provide more and better care for children and families.
Save the Children UK have applauded the UK’s spending commitment of 10 per cent of its HIV and AIDS related expenditure to meet the needs of children affected by HIV and AIDS. They hope this will grow. In the meantime, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) must do more to demonstrate through gender and age disaggregated data statistics how this is reaching children.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8364
Further information
Coming soon
Special CRINMAIL on HIV and AIDS
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SMALL ARMS: Global Week of Action against Small Arms 2006 [event]
The global gun epidemic is killing 1000 people every day, according to a report released tlast week by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). With 640 million guns already in the world and eight million new ones produced each year, there are enough weapons to equip one in every ten people on the planet. Of these, the majority are in the hands of civilians (59 per cent), outnumbering those held by the armed forces and governments (38 per cent). 10-14 billion rounds of ammunition are produced annually, sufficient to shoot every person in the world twice.
The report Bringing the Global Gun Crisis Under Control reveals that the source of the illicit market is the legal trade, often in a different country from the one where the weapons are used in violence. The vast majority of small arms and light weapons – ranging from revolvers and machine guns to anti-aircraft missiles and rocket propelled grenade launchers – are manufactured, traded and initially owned legally; many later fall into illegal ownership. Unlike heavy weaponry such as tanks, small arms are easy to use, transport and carry across borders and are hard for governments to monitor.
It is clear that this problem must be regulated in a manner that is comprehensive, coordinated and global. Despite this, there are:
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no global standards for governments deciding whether to authorise an arms export or transfer
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no international guidelines to assist States in regulating gun ownership among their own citizens
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no global treaties to control the activities of arms brokers
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no legal requirement for governments to maintain records linking guns to their location (whether military stockpile, police depot or civilian home).
The international community has systematically failed to address this crisis. The UN held their first major meeting on the issue just five years ago, and are meeting again in June in New York for the UN Small Arms Review Conference and to review the 2001 UN Programme of Action. Whilst urgent action is clearly needed, there are fears that the meeting will simply re-run its previous, five year old discussions and miss the opportunity to move forward.
From 22-29 May, activists in more than 50 countries will join this year's Global Week of Action Against Small Arms, campaigning for international action to prevent armed violence.
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WorldVision Canada is conducting a
survey to determine interest, needs, and existing initiatives that link small arms and children. The survey will be used to help create a toolkit of resources for NGOs on small arms and children. A summary of the findings will be available at the UN Small Arms Review Conference, 27 June 2006. Submisions deadline:
26 May 2006
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Oxfam's
Million Faces Petition, which gathered over 900,000 signatories, will be presented to key decision makers in many countries around the world by Control Arms activists.
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IRIN has produced an
In-Depth page giving an overview of critical small arms and light weapons issues. It also includes 13 frontline reports from IRIN journalists, interviews with experts in the field and those who have directly experienced the human impact of small arms, and links to further information. Se section on
Small arms, Gender and Age.
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Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8370
For more information, contact:
IANSA
Construction House, 56-64, Leonard Street, London EC2A 4JX, UK
Tel: Ph: +44 (0) 207 0650 870 ; Fax: Fax: +44 (0) 207 0650 871
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.iansa.org
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ROMANIA: Urgent Action Needed for Abandoned Children [news]
A meeting of NGOs concerned about children’s rights in Romania took place yesterday in London to discuss and seek agreement on the principal issues affecting children in Romania, and propose solutions that the European Union and the Romanian government should address.
The grouping of NGOs, which includes among other CRIN members Amici dei Bambini, Children on the Edge and Link Romania, will meet regularly to share information about their work, identify priority areas and lobby the European Parliament and the Romanian government. Yesterday, they discussed their particular concern over the continuing problem of child abandonment in Romania.
In a 2005 report, The Situation of Child Abandonment in Romania UNICEF revealed that over 9,000 children were abandoned each year, a situation which hardly differs from 30 years ago. The same report showed there were approximately 37,000 orphaned or abandoned children in the country today (living in State institutions), an additional 49,000 living in temporary arrangements (such as foster care), and an unknown number of children living on the streets and in maternity and paediatric hospitals.
Abandoned children suffer injustice from birth. Most of them do not have birth certificates, without which they literally do not exist as citizens in the eye of the State. This means that it is extremely difficult for those children to get access to education and free medical care. They also face the prospect of spending many damaging years in State orphanages - which are often understaffed and lack funding - and temporary living arrangements, in a country where child abuse is not considered as a crime by the justice system. The legal system also works against the welfare of children, as it allows birth parents to claim back custody over their abandoned child even while she/he has been placed in a foster family.
Continuous high rates of child abandonment in Romania are caused by pervading and lasting poverty, which needs to be addressed in the long term by the government and the international community at large. In the meantime, the hardships and abuse experienced by abandoned Romanian children could be remedied by additional funding and legal reform.
The pressure group will address a letter to the EU and the Romanian government listing issues of concern regarding the situation of children in Romania and calling for specific solutions. The letter will be released in the British and European press and posted on the CRIN website in the coming weeks.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8361
For more information, contact:
Robin Nydes
Foundation for the Relief of Disabled Orphans
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7937 8060
Email: [email protected]
Further information
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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Plans Underway for First Session [news]
[NEW YORK, 22 May 2006] - The first session of the Human Rights Council will be held for two weeks from 19-30 June 2006 and is likely to consist of an opening ceremony, a high-level segment, and meetings on procedural matters. 19 June will also be the start of the annual meeting of the special rapporteurs, who will therefore be present in Geneva for the first session, although it is unclear what role they will play.
The Council's second session will be held in September for three weeks from 11-29 September 2006. A third session of two weeks may be scheduled for 20 November - 1 December 2006, although concerns have been expressed regarding overlap with the work of the General Assembly’s Third Committee.
Mexico has been elected president of the Human Rights Council for its first year. Luis Alfonso de Alba, who has been Mexico's representative to the international organisations in Geneva, has been designated by the government to take up the presidency in June. The Mexican representative is considered a strong chair by many human rights NGOs, who view his appointment as a positive outcome, particularly during the Council's first year, which will be crucial in setting key precedents. The Council is expected to have a bureau of five, including the president.
The first session of the Human Rights Council is likely to focus on procedural issues, whereas the second session in September is expected to be more substantive in nature. Initially, the Council will need to undertake three general tasks:
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establishing the agenda and the rules of procedure,
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reviewing mandates and special procedures, and
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establishing the mechanisms and modalities for the universal periodic review.
Among the priority tasks, the working groups of the Commission on Human Rights will need to be given clear decisions about the future of their work and the universal periodic review mechanism will need to be put in place in time for the 14 countries serving one-year terms to be reviewed within the Council's first year.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8350
Further information
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