1 August 2006 - CRINMAIL 802
___________________________________________________________
- LEBANON: UN Council 'shocked' by Qana raid, in which over 30 children died [news]
- DR CONGO: Children abused in electoral campaign [news]
- BREASTFEEDING WEEK: Protecting children from artificial feeding [call for action]
- HIV and AIDS: Circle of Hope - children's rights in a world with AIDS [publication]
- FIJI: Physical and Emotional Punishment of Children [publication]
- DISCUSS: What rights are being neglected? [CRIN blog]
- EMPLOYMENT: IBCR - EveryChild [job postings]
___________________________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________________________
LEBANON: UN Council 'shocked' by Qana raid, in which over 30 children died [news]
The UN Security Council has expressed its "shock and distress" at an Israeli attack in which 54 Lebanese civilians, many of them children, were killed. A statement agreed by all 15 members said the Council "strongly deplores this loss of innocent lives". However, it did not call for an immediate truce as requested by the Secretary General Kofi Annan.
More than 30 children died in the raid on Qana on Sunday, the deadliest Israeli raid since hostilities began.
The statement was approved by a unanimous vote of the 15-member Council at an emergency session on Sunday. It also called for a permanent and sustainable ceasefire, but not an immediate truce as urged by Kofi Annan.
Washington continues to oppose calling for an immediate ceasefire at the UN. President George W Bush said the US wanted "to develop a Resolution that will enable the region to have a sustainable peace, a peace that lasts, a peace that will enable mothers and fathers to raise their children in a hopeful world".
The attack has led to the suspension of air strikes by Israel for 48 hours so that an investigation can be carried out into the Qana bombing.
Many countries condemned the attack, and France has circulated a draft Resolution calling for an immediate end to the fighting.
Earlier, Mr Annan had told the Council, "Action is needed now before many more children, women and men become casualties of a conflict over which they have no control."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Sunday the situation could not continue and that all hostilities ought to cease once a UN Resolution was adopted. BBC political editor Nick Robinson, who is travelling with Mr Blair in the US, said the prime minister accepted that Qana had "changed things".
In a joint statement issued with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Blair said "the tragic events of today have underlined the urgency of the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible".
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9541
[Note: A coalition of 16 organisations based in the UK are circulating a petition, asking the British Prime Minister to call for an immediate ceasefire]
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR CONGO: Children abused in electoral campaign [news]
[KINSHASA, 30 July 2006] - Children have been in the front-lines of political rallies in Kinshasa and other cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo that have frequently turned violent during the election campaign.
Two children where killed on 30 June, the first day of the campaign, while participating in a political protest in Matadi in Bas Congo Province. Two more were injured in Kinshasa last Tuesday while putting up political posters in the street.
On Thursday, an unknown number of children were injured when security forces opened fire on supporters of Jean Pierre Bemba, who were attacking supporters of President Joseph Kabila. They had burned down the compound of Bemba’s bodyguards, killing two babies.
None of the children has any political affiliation. "I come because they paid me 500 francs [US $1.10] to take part," said Ambroise Sungu, 10, who took part in a demonstration in Kinshasa on 30 June in support of 19 presidential candidates boycotting the elections. His clothes were torn and he had swellings on his back. "The police beat me with truncheons," he said.
The children brandish posters and T-shirts with images of whichever candidate they are supporting at the time. Sungu said he always took part in demonstrations for whichever party paid him. "Yesterday we were at the rally for President Kabila, but we left because this time they didn’t give us anything," Sungu said. "Before that I was supporting [presidential candidate Oscar] Kashala."
Sungu is one of thousands of children who live on the street. The United Nations children’s fund, UNICEF, is conducting a census of street children. "The preliminary results suggest there may be 20,000 in Kinshasa alone," Christina Torsein, a UNICEF protection officer, said on Saturday.
Zibigniew Orlikowski, a Roman Catholic priest who works with the Kinshasa-based NGO Ouevre de reclassement et de protection des enfants de la rue, tried to warn candidates against using street children when the campaign began in June. "Put yourself in the place of the children," Orlikowski said. "There is a demonstration in the street and the organisers offer money. What else can the children do but follow?"
The problem is not just limited to street children. "With so much poverty, children with families also take part in the hope of getting a free T-shirt or a baseball cap or little bit of money. For them it’s a big deal," Torsein said.
The acting head of UNCEF in Kinshasa, Jorge Mejia, said politicians needed to realise that children must not be used as instruments of political propaganda. "They must not trick children with money or presents," Mejia said.
UNICEF is also trying to raise awareness among candidates and police, Torsein said. "But it’s not so simple. In other countries it’s not so bad that children take part in political rallies. Here when they take part they often get hurt."
UNICEF helped set up a hotline for people to call if they see children being hurt or abused but it does not seem to have made a significant difference.
"The problem can be solved with a proper government policy," Marie Madeleine Kalala, the minister for human rights in the current transitional government, said. "Unfortunately, we can’t begin to deal with the problem until after the elections."
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9545
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BREASTFEEDING WEEK: Protecting children from artificial feeding [call for action]
[LONDON, 28 July 2006] - Improving breastfeeding rates globally could save the lives of 3,900 a day. However companies continue to promote artificial feeding in ways that undermine breastfeeding - putting profits before children's health. This breastfeeding week is the 25th anniversary of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
Breastmilk provides all the energy and nutrients an infant needs, stimulates immune systems and protects them from disease. Breastmilk substitutes, on the other hand, carry a high risk of infection and can be fatal in infants, particularly in places with limited access to sanitation.
Even in the UK, a bottle-fed baby is far more likely to be hospitalised with stomach illness than a breastfed one. They are also at higher risk of respiratory and ear infections. Studies show that breastfed babies are less likely to die of cot death or suffer from allergies or obesity in later life (more on the benefits of breastfeeding).
So why do few of the 129 million babies born each year receive optimal breastfeeding and many not breastfed at all? One of the reasons is that companies continue to promote artificial feeding in ways that undermine breastfeeding - putting profits before children's health in violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
This world breastfeeding week (1-7 August), Save the Children UK is asking people around the world to spot companies breaking the code and report them. The Code states there should be no advertising or any other form of promotion of infant formulas, follow-on milks, feeding bottles or teats.
If you see companies breaking these minimum requirements, please report them in these three easy steps:
What is a violation?
Companies may not:
- Promote their products to the public
- Use baby pictures or other idealising picture or text on their baby milk and bottle and teat labels
- Give gifts or free samples to mothers or health workers or free supplies of baby milk to hospitals
- Seek direct or indirect contact with pregnant women or mothers of young children
- Promote baby foods or drinks for babies under 6 months old.
Also Labels must include a prominent health warning in a language understood by the mother and companies are limited to providing scientific and factual information to health workers, who are responsible under the Code for advising parents.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9531
For more information, contact:
Save the Children UK
1 St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK
Tel: +44 20 7012 6400; Fax: +44 20 7012 6963
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIV and AIDS: Circle of Hope - children's rights in a world with AIDS [publication]
[LONDON, 1st August 2006] - Millions of children throughout the world do not have the means to protect themselves against the spread of HIV infection, according to a new report from international children’s organisation, Plan.
The 50 page report, “Circle of Hope”, highlights how despite knowing the risks and how to protect themselves, many young people simply cannot choose safe sexual behaviour because of economic, social, and cultural pressures.
The report highlights the situation in the West African Republic of Benin, where girls are frequently harassed on their way to, from, and even in school by predatory males. The girls are often pressured into having unprotected sex. Many more are so desperate and hungry that they are forced to sell sex to older men for as little as the price of a meal a day.
"When the only choice you have is the chance you might catch AIDS and die in a few years time, or the certainty of starving to death in a few weeks, there is no choice.” said Plan’s Chief Executive Tom Miller.
The report goes on to say that tradition, gender inequality, and social relationships severely limit the choices young people can make.
“There are millions of sexually exploited children throughout the world; girls whose older husbands are infected, or boys who are under intense social pressure to practice unsafe sexual behaviour. If you are not able to practice safe behaviour or ignore the risks, it doesn’t matter how much knowledge of HIV infection you have.” Miller added.
Plan argues that children understand the barriers to safe behaviour, and are in a position to bring about changes that can be sustained well into the future and says young people are much more likely than older age-groups to accept and adopt social change. Childhood is the time when attitudes are formed and behavioural patterns established. For these reasons, the report contends, it is vital for children and young people to play a central role in leading the response in their communities.
“Children and adolescents know how best to communicate the message to their own generation and to take the steps to ensure that they have the means to protect themselves. That’s why we believe children should be in the driver’s seat of HIV and AIDS prevention projects.” Plan’s CEO added.
With operations in more than sixty countries throughout the world, Plan has developed scores of highly effective AIDS prevention projects with young people at their centre.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9556
For more information, contact:
Plan International - HQ
Chobham House, Christchurch Way, Woking, Surrey GU12 1JG, UK
Tel: +44 1483 755 155 / 733 285; Fax: +44 1483 756 505
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.plan-international.org
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIJI: Physical and Emotional Punishment of Children [publication]
On Wednesday 26th July, Save the Children Fiji launched its report The Physical and Emotional Punishment of Children in Fiji to begin a 3 year public awareness campaign to reduce the physical and emotional punishment of children in Fiji.
The report and campaign are part of Save the Children Fiji’s initiative to participate in a Regional Comparative Study on the Physical and Emotional Punishment of Children initiated by Save the Children as part of an overall strategic intervention to promote the abolition of corporal punishment of children in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Although Fiji ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993, the rise in acts of violence towards children is cause for concern. The report indicates that children continue to experience physical and emotional punishment as a form of discipline.
Promoting the abolition of corporal punishment has been a priority for Save the Children globally since 2000. However, the East Asia andf Pacific region only embarked on tackling the issue in 2003 when a meeting of Save the Children country programmes was convened with representation from programmes including Save the Children Korea, Save Australia and New Zealand and Fiji to review the situation of corporal punishment in the South East Asia Pacific Region and to map out some direction and develop a strategic approach to address the issue. One of the major gaps identified was the lack of reliable information including information from children themselves.
There is a definite need for reliable rights-based data including from children themselves to support a commitment to fulfilling the human rights of children and knowledge about the impact of corporal punishment on individual children as well as on social harmony. Rights-based data must form the basis of direct rights-based programme intervention that aim to address the issue effectively and protect the children of Fiji, and to promote the development and provision of adequate legislation and policies.
The report aims to enhance the national understanding of physical and emotional punishment of children and its effects from the perspective of participants in the study. In doing so, it hopes to create awareness and promote positive education and discipline for children, based on the rights of a child to enjoy healthy development and not suffer any form of violence.
It is anticipated that the report will also influence the design of future policies and interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of physical and emotional punishment of children in Fiji.
The launch followed a recent training programme by Save the Children Fiji in June, which intended to raise awareness amongst professionals working with children and families about the effects of physical and psychological punishment on children and the need to end such punishment. The first of a series of workshops to promote Non-Violent Discipline was facilitated by the SC Sweden SEAP Regional Advisor on the Prevention of Child Abuse and Exploitation, Dominique Pierre Plateau.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9555
For more information, contact:
Save the Children UK - Fiji Office
PO Box 2249, Government Buildings, Suva, Fiji
Tel: +679 313178 or 313938; Fax: +679 313178
Email: [email protected]
Further information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCUSS: What rights are being neglected? [CRIN blog]
All children’s rights do not receive equal attention. Children’s economic and social rights generally receive much greater attention than their civil and political rights. Some issues are given considerable attention, while others are neglected.
One of CRIN’s objectives is to focus on ‘neglected’ and ‘new and emerging’ areas of children’s rights where gaps are identified. To do this, we need your help.
We want to start a debate to give our members and users a chance to participate more actively in the network by sharing their ideas.
Do you think some rights are more ‘popular’ than others? Which ones are too controversial? What would you like CRIN to focus on.
Tell us what you think by posting a comment on the CRIN blog.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT: IBCR - EveryChild [job postings]
The International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR) is seeking a full-time Programme Manager to lead the implementation of the IBCR's programme plan on country profiles on the status of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The IBCR is an international non-governmental organisation (with ECOSOC consultative status) based in Montreal, Canada. The organisational mandate of IBCR includes the promotion and protection of children's rights worldwide, with the current thematic focus on research and reporting on the status of implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, child victims and witnesses of crime, child trafficking, sexual exploitation of children and war-affected children.
Under the supervision of the IBCR Director General, the incumbent is expected to perform the following tasks: see to the development, implementation and evaluation of IBCR project and activities related to the Country Profiles on the Status of the CRC Implementation; network with intergovernmental, governmental, and non-governmental institutions, agencies and organisations working in this field both in Canada and abroad; and coordinate and supervise the work of experts, assistants, interns and volunteers, as the case may be.
Application deadline: 18 August 2006
For more information, contact:
Mr. Luc Ouimet, IBCR Administrative Director
Fax: +1 514 932 9453
Email: [email protected]
EveryChild is seeking to recruit a Technical Advisor to provide technical advice and mentoring through the Project Manager to the Project team to develop a community based family support system, building social workers capacity to secure children’s rights to a family upbringing and advocating for national policy and legislative reforms to sustain these achievements.
For more information, contact:
Natalie Francis, Human Resources Officer
EveryChild, 4 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3DR, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 207 749 3093; Fax: +44 (0) 207 749 9239
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.everychild.org.uk
___________________________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________________________
