CRINMAIL 795

6 July 2006 - CRINMAIL 795

 

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- EUROPE: The Human Rights Dimension of Juvenile Justice [speech]

- TRAFFICKING: Reference Guide on Protecting the Rights of Child Victims  [guide]

- UNITED NATIONS: The Millennium Development Goals Report 2006 [publication]

- UNITED KINGDOM: What Will it Take to End Child Poverty? [publication]

- RUSSIAN FEDERATION: President Vladimir Putin Must Deliver on Enabling Environment for Civil Society [news]

- SAFETY ONLINE: Blogsafety Advice [resource]

- COURSE: Postgraduate Programme in Children’s Rights [call for applications]

- INTERNSHIPS: Defence for Children International (DCI)

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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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EUROPE: The Human Rights Dimension of Juvenile Justice [speech]

Presentation by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the Conference of the Prosecutors General of Europe, which is being held in Moscow from 5-6 July 2006:

"There is a popular perception that a large proportion of crimes in society are committed by teenagers and that juvenile delinquency on the whole is getting worse and worse. Indeed, some media promote this impression with vigour. The truth, however, is different.

In most European countries, teenagers are not dominant in the overall crime statistics. Also, juvenile crime rates remain more or less stable from year to year across our continent.

This does not mean that the problem is insignificant. A worrying trend reported from several countries is that some crimes committed by young offenders have become more violent or otherwise more serious. This is a warning signal in itself.

Moreover, the presence of even a relatively few young lawbreakers is a bad omen. Individuals who start a criminal career early on are usually not easy to reintegrate into normal life. That is one reason why it is necessary to discuss the problem of juvenile justice in depth. General prosecutors – as a corner stone in any system of justice – could give a significant contribution to this discussion.

There are two different trends for the moment in Europe. One is to reduce the age of criminal responsibility and to lock up more children at younger ages. The other trend is – in the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – to avoid criminalisation and to seek family-based or other social alternatives to imprisonment.

I am going to argue for the second approach. In that I am supported not only by the UN Convention but also by the European Network of Children’s Ombudspersons. In a statement 2003 no less than 21 national ombudspersons stressed that children in conflict with the law are first and foremost children who still have human rights.

They proposed that the age of criminal responsibility should not be lowered but raised - with the aim of progressively reaching 18 and that innovative systems of responding to juvenile offenders below that age should be tried with a genuine focus on their education, reintegration and rehabilitation.

The Convention of the Rights of the Child – ratified by all European states - asks governments to establish a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law. The treaty does not spell out at which precise age the line should be drawn. However, the Committee monitoring the implementation of the Convention has expressed concern about the low age in several countries. In most European states, children are held criminally responsible between 12 and 15 or 16, but there are also examples of age limits as low as seven, eight and 10.

Though the message of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is that criminalisation of children should be avoided, this does not mean that young offenders should be treated as if they have no responsibility. On the contrary, it is important that young offenders are held responsible for their actions and, for instance, take part in repairing the damage that they have caused.

The question is what kind of mechanism should replace the ordinary criminal justice system in such cases. The procedures should recognise the damage to the victims and it should make the young offender understand that the deed was not acceptable. Such a separate juvenile mechanism should aim at recognition of guilt and sanctions which rehabilitate.

It is in the sanction process that we find the difference to an ordinary criminal procedure. In juvenile justice there should be no retribution. The intention is to establish responsibility and, at the same time, to promote re-integration. The young offender should learn the lesson and never repeat the wrongdoing.

This is not easy in reality. It requires innovative and effective community sanctions. In principle, the offender’s parents or other legal guardian should be involved, unless this is deemed counter-productive for the rehabilitation of the child. Whatever the process, there should be a possibility for the child to challenge the accusations and even appeal.

An interesting procedure for “settlements” has been introduced in Slovenia. There, a case of an accused juvenile can be referred to a mediator if this is agreed by the prosecutor, the victim and the accused. The mediator then seeks to reach a settlement which would be satisfactory to both the victim and the accused and a trial can thereby be avoided.

One aspect should be further stressed: the importance of a prompt response to the wrongdoing. Delayed procedures – which is a problem in several European countries today - are particularly unfortunate when it comes to young offenders whose bad actions should be seen as a cry for immediate help. Prosecutors may have a role in securing that court procedures in these cases are as short as possible.

The UN Convention asks for separate procedures also for juveniles brought to court. These should be child-friendly and, again, the purpose is rehabilitation and re-integration rather than to punish for the sake of retribution. For this to work, there is a need for everyone involved, including judges and prosecutors, to be educated not only about the law but also about the special needs of children.

Read the full speech: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=9089

For more information, contact:
Council of Europe
Nationality and Family Law Unit, Private Law Department, Directorate General I – Legal Affairs, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33 3 88 41 25 51
Website: http://www.coe.int

More information

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TRAFFICKING: Reference Guide on Protecting the Rights of Child Victims [guide]

The UNICEF Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) has launched the Reference Guide on Protecting the Rights of Child Victims of Trafficking in Europe, a new tool designed specifically for use by those working to protect children victims of trafficking within the European region.

Human trafficking is not a new phenomenon nor is it one that occurs only in select countries or regions. Yet, one of the most significant conclusions derived from years of research and information-gathering on trafficking is that in order to prevent trafficking and protect the rights of those most vulnerable – children – one must understand trafficking in the context of the unique socio-cultural-political realities that influence its practice in countries and communities worldwide.

To that extent, this Guide addresses the protection of the rights of child victims of trafficking in the European region. Furthermore, the Guide is exceptional in that it has been designed for utilisation by a broad range of child rights advocates – whether one is a child protection worker in Ukraine, a social worker in Russia, a border patrol officer in Albania, a driver in Moldova or a parliamentarian in Brussels.

In essence, the Guide can be viewed as a tool that provides:

  • a deeper understanding of the business of trafficking
  • a checklist of what to do when dealing with child victims of trafficking
  • recommendations for interventions that respect and account for the special rights and needs of child victims of trafficking.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9059&flag=report

For more information, contact:
UNICEF - Communication Section
Regional Office for CEE/CIS
Tel: +41 22 909 5410
Website: http://www.unicef.org/ceecis

More information

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UNITED NATIONS: The Millennium Development Goals Report 2006 [publication]

[GENEVA, 3 July 2006] – Developing countries have made strides in providing access to clean water and schooling, but efforts to achieve other internationally agreed targets to combat extreme poverty and a host of other global ills are falling behind schedule, according to a United Nations report released this week.

Launched in Geneva, where the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) opened its annual policy session on Monday, this year’s progress report on the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) comes amid the drive to ratchet up international support for development aid and debt relief and mounting mobilisation campaigns at the national level.

The MDGs were endorsed by world leaders at the 2000 summit in New York to achieve, by 2015, a measurable improvement in combating such problems as high infant and maternal mortality and lack of access to education and health care.

While highlighting the MDG success stories in water access and schooling, the new study, entitled the UN Millennium Development Report 2006, points out that some of the goals, such as halving the percentage of the world’s population who have no access to decent sanitation facilities, are unlikely to be met “without greatly accelerated efforts.”

In most areas, progress is mixed, the report indicates. For example, the effort to control infectious diseases has seen awareness and funding soar in the battle against malaria, HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis, while the number of TB and HIV cases has risen as well.

Similarly, women and girls are benefiting from maternal health programmes and equality initiatives in primary schools, work places and parliaments. At the same time, the study notes that discriminatory practices persist across the board.

Along with some progress in the protection of natural resources, the study finds that the question remains whether protective measures can take effect swiftly enough to head off rapid climate change, runaway pollution and exhaustion of fresh water sources.

The main objective commonly associated with the MDGs is the eradication of extreme poverty, and the related target for halving the proportion of people in the developing world living on $1 a day or less.

As reported last year, the new study finds that the world is on track to meet this target by 2015, primarily because of large gains in South and East Asia. This huge victory is undercut by disturbingly slow progress in Latin America, and by a rate of extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa that is stuck at around 44 per cent.

Progress in the eighth MDG, the strengthening of international partnership to fight poverty, lends some hope in that area, however, the report says. Last year Official Development Assistance (ODA) surpassed $100 billion for the first time ever, though some of this included the write-off of debt.

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2006 is published by the ECOSOC Statistics Division and includes contributions from statistical departments of more than 20 UN funds, programmes and agencies and other international organisations.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=9095

For more information, contact:
UN - United Nations
Public Inquiries Unit
United Nations
GA-57, New York, NY 10017, USA 
Tel: +1 212 963 4475
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.un.org

Further information

  • MDGs 2006 Progress Chart: Most of the targets set for progress on the Millennium Development Goals are benchmarked for the period 1990 to 2015 – promising clear and measurable improvement on standards prevailing in 1990 by the end of 2015. The chart shows progress up to June 2006, drawing on the latest information from all countries of the world and from the UN family of operational agencies.

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UNITED KINGDOM: What Will it Take to End Child Poverty? [publication]

The British Government’s existing policies will not be enough to reduce child poverty in line with its targets, despite its recent success in bringing child poverty down. A wide-ranging study, What Will it Take to End Child Poverty? Firing on All Cylinders, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has estimated the future impact of current policies and examined what it will take to halve child poverty by 2010 and end it by 2020. This is the first systematic attempt to calculate what will be needed to achieve these ambitious targets.

The report suggests that if current policies continue unchanged, the Government’s earlier target of reducing child poverty by a quarter (by 2004/5) might not be met until 2020. Although the number of children living in relative poverty has already fallen by 600,000, a further 1.1 million children will need to be reached to meet the 2010 target. The report estimates that current policies on benefits/tax credits and moving more parents into work will only reduce numbers by 50,000 by that time. Increasing payments to poor families could achieve the 2010 target, at a cost of £4-5 billion a year above planned spending levels. But not ending child poverty potentially brings even greater economic and social costs.

The much more ambitious target of ending child poverty by 2020 can be achieved only with steady increases in planned spending on benefits. This is because some families will remain outside paid work, and under present plans their incomes would fall well behind rising living standards. However, the earnings of the many families with jobs who remain in poverty would also need to rise. The report argues that it would be too expensive to rely only on state redistribution to end child poverty over this period. Ending child poverty in a generation can only be achieved if both benefits/tax credits are made more generous and parents’ earning opportunities are improved. Specifically, the report concludes that:

  • ‘welfare to work’ measures are important but they have a diminishing role over time because the families remaining unemployed face greater barriers to work (a growing proportion includes either parents with disabilities or those with very young children);
  • reducing educational under-achievement among those who grow up disadvantaged will be a key part of improving long-term earning prospects for parents;
  • decreasing the number of low-paid mothers by reducing gender pay inequalities needs to be another long-term goal;
  • family friendly employment policies and better childcare can help improve opportunities for parents to work, including part time (not just for lone parents but also for second earners in couples);
  • for families who remain out of work, relative poverty can only be reduced if benefits rise with earnings (if not, the better-off will gradually pay smaller shares of their income to help the poorest).

 

Whatever the eventual cost of ending child poverty, the cost to society is likely to be much greater in the long term if the problem is ignored. As well as the human and social damage, there are direct costs to taxpayers. For example, poverty adds to the cost of children’s services, while young people whose schooling suffers because of poverty will end up more likely to be unemployed and less likely to pay tax. Today’s 16 to 18-year-olds who are not working or studying will cost the Exchequer £1 billion a year for each of the next ten years because of their lower employment chances.

The report's author, Donald Hirsch, Special Adviser to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:

"Our findings show that the bold ambition of ending child poverty is achievable, but a strong commitment needs to be sustained for a long period. These targets can not be met through benefits alone. Families must be helped to improve their market earnings, at the same time as getting extra assistance if their incomes fall short. While the cost of ending child poverty is high, the cost of not succeeding is even greater and costs are escalating from one generation to the next. People who grow up in poverty are increasingly likely to be poor as adults. This causes widespread hardship for individuals, and carries costs for all of society – including financial. A big investment to wipe out child poverty once and for all will bring benefits for generations to come."

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=9086

For more information, contact:
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Homestead, 40 Water End, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 6WP, United Kingdom 
Tel: +44 (0)1904 629241; Fax: +44 (0)1904 620072
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.jrf.org.uk

More information

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RUSSIAN FEDERATION: President Vladimir Putin Must Deliver on Enabling Environment for Civil Society [news]

[MOSCOW, 6 July 2006] - President Vladimir Putin must follow up urgently on his public commitment to review the implementation of Russia’s legislation governing civil society organisations, a commitment he made yesterday at meetings with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) held in the context of the forthcoming summit of the Group of Eight most industrialised countries (G8) in St Petersburg. Amnesty International has been among a number of domestic and international NGOs calling for amendments to this legislation, which it regards as undermining the legitimate work of civil society in the Russian Federation and which fails to fully meet international standards.

The President, while rejecting the call to amend the federal law, agreed to review its implementing regulations. He gave assurances that NGOs, foreign as well as Russian, would not be hindered from carrying out their legitimate activities.

“This review should be undertaken as soon as possible, before the worst aspects of the legislation can be realised,” said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, after an informal three-hour meeting in Moscow on 4 July between heads of international non-governmental organisations and President Putin.

“The true test of the President’s words will be the creation of a genuinely enabling environment for NGOs in Russia itself, not just on the global stage at the G8.”

The new law on civil society organisations was signed by President Putin on 10 January 2006 and entered into force three months later. Although described by the President as aiming to bring order rather than restrictions into the activities of NGOs, Amnesty International believes that the law instead undermines their work by giving the authorities increased powers of scrutiny of the funding and activities of Russian and foreign NGOs. The experience to date has been that the law is unduly burdensome, diverting resources from substantive programmes, while using a regulatory framework that can be arbitrarily applied, has key provisions which lack a precise legal definition, and sanctions that are disproportionate.

At Russia’s request the Council of Europe (an intergovernmental body established to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law) reviewed the first draft of the legislation and made a number of recommendations, some of which were incorporated into the final version through amendments adopted by the Duma (parliament). However, the Council of Europe remains concerned about the “excessive powers of supervision” the law provides for, and about the possibly discriminatory effect of amendments which impose even stricter control of foreign NGOs.

In the meetings President Putin restated his absolute opposition to foreign funding for those involved in “political activity” in the Russian Federation. However, the law gives no clear legal definition of political activity. Amnesty International and others remain concerned that such a vague framing of this issue leaves the door open for NGOs critical of the government’s human rights policies to fall foul of the law’s restrictions and implementation.

“The founding charter of the United Nations recognises the legitimacy of civil society, and in recent years we have seen the increasing collective power of civil society not only to influence, but to set the agenda and shift world opinion,” said Irene Khan.

“Advocacy of policy change at both the global and the domestic level is an essential role of civil society, and NGOs are a key part of this. Legislation that restricts such a role or other legitimate activities calls into question Russia’s commitment to a genuinely free and independent civil society,” she added.

Russia has a leading role on the global stage at present as chair of the G8 and of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and an elected member of the new UN Human Rights Council. As such Amnesty International is calling on President Putin to demonstrate leadership by following through on the time he made yesterday to listen to the messages of civil society - domestic and international.

“We appreciate the personal effort that President Putin made in meeting and engaging actively in discussions during formal and informal meetings with NGOs, both Russian and international,” said Irene Khan. “However, this effort needs to be matched now by concrete action to enable NGOs in the Russian Federation to operate without undue burden or restriction. Otherwise his overture will have been simply a public relations exercise.”

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=9087

For more information, contact:
Amnesty International - International Secretariat
99-119 Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4RE, United Kindgom
Tel: + 44 20 7814 6200
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.amnesty.org

More information

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SAFETY ONLINE: Blogsafety Advice [resource]

Childnet International has announced the launch of its “Blogsafety” advice website and leaflet designed to help both parents, teachers and young people understand the new safety issues of Social Networking and Blogging sites. 

The leaflet and website were launched to coincide with an important event in Washington DC on 22 June 2006, hosted by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children which brought together leaders of Social Networking companies (including MySpace, Facebook, Xanga) law enforcement, education, and children’s advocacy groups to address the safety issues of these new services for children and young people.  Stephen Carrick-Davies CEO of Childnet was invited to address this conference and share Childnet’s experience of producing award-winning educational resources both in the UK and world-wide. Blogging and Social Networking sites are part of a revolution that some people are calling “Web 2.0”. With phenomenal speed these new sites are being launched which allow young people and adults to produce their own content, personalise their online space, aggregate content from other sources and form very powerful social networks.

Stephen Carrick-Davies says, "Young people love these new environments because they now have a cheap and powerful global platform to express their identity, opinions and form communities with others. However there are very real safety issues and we hope our advice for both young users, parents, industry and teachers will help ensure that children and young people are kept safe and use these new sites safely and responsibly."

Childnet is keen to work with Social Networking companies in developing a new monthly competition which would showcase how young people are using these news websites positively and safely. Stephen says, “We’ve seen through our Childnet Academy programme how young people can produce their own fresh, original and creative content using the internet which really benefits others.  One of the most effective safety strategies is to encourage young people to use the new tools positively and this proposed competition would help highlight and inspire young people to make a difference both online and offline.”  

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=9082

For more information, contact:
Childnet International
Studio 14, Brockley Cross Business Centre, 96 Endwell Road, London SE4 2PD, United Kingdom 
Tel: + 44 171 639 6967
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.childnet-int.org

More information

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COURSE: Postgraduate Programme in Children’s Rights [call for applications]

Date: 12 February 2007 - 2008
Location: Sion, Switzerland

The Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights (MCR) is a part-time two-year postgraduate programme in children's rights, which is jointly organised by the Law School and the Institute for family research and counselling at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB), associated with the International Institute on children’s rights (IDE), both in Sion, Switzerland. The MCR is an interdisciplinary and international programme which attracts a diverse range of graduate students from all over the world.

The programme is designed for professionals who work with children’s rights issues, these may include: lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, judges, social workers, government officials, staff from non-governmental organisations, academics and journalists.

The programme takes place over a two-year period and requires participants to attend four week-long residential Modules per year. In addition to the residential Modules and the completion of exercises and examinations based on the required course reading materials, students are also expected to devise an individual training programme which consists of a segment of practical experience (internship) in an organisation other than their workplace, the preparation of an observation report on their own workplace and the completion of a Master’s thesis. Each residential module has a specific theme: (1) Children's rights in context, (2) International legal instruments on children's rights, (3) The general principles of the CRC, (4) Child labour, (5) Violence against children, (6) Juvenile justice, (7) Child protection and (8) Implementation and monitoring strategies. The compulsory residential modules all take place in Switzerland, and alternate between the IUKB in Sion and the University of Fribourg.

Deadline for applications: 15 September 2006

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8967&flag=event

For more information, contact:
Sarah Bruchez
P.O. Box 4176, CHF-1950 Sion, Switzerland
Tel: +41 27 205 73 00; Fax: +41 27 205 73 01
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.iukb.ch/mcr  

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INTERNSHIPS: Defence for Children International (DCI)

Defence for Children International (DCI) is currently engaged in a period of growth and consolidation, as it moves towards becoming a leader in the field of juvenile justice. The International Secretariat, Geneva, is seeking interns to support the diverse work of the office, which plays a central role in the DCI movement. DCI is offering the following internship opportunities from September 2006: Fundraising Assistant, Assistant in Website Design and Maintenance, Research Assistants for the International Child Labour Liaison Desk and the Juvenile Justice Desk, Translator (English/French/Spanish).
 
Please note that internships with the International Secretariat are non-remunerated, and require a 6-month minimum commitment.

Deadline for applications: 24 July 2006

For more information, contact:
William Duke
Administrator
Defence for Children International
International Secretariat
1 Rue de Varembé, PO Box 88, CH 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0) 22 734 05 58
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.dci-is.org/
 
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