CRINMAIL Violence against Children 50

In this issue:

This week at CRIN we launched our revamped violence website and reflected on what has happened since the UN Study on Violence Against Children was published back in 2006.

Much has happened – or not enough. It depends on the perspective. We would like to think that the momentum has not been lost, perhaps just paused.

With our new website we will be reporting on what is happening globally on follow up to the UN Study.

We will be following the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG), Marta Santos Pais but also other UN and regional human rights systems and their efforts.

As a member of the International NGO Advisory Council, we will update you on its work and how you can contribute, and we will, of course, continue to report on, and promote the work of civil society organisations around the world.

Read our editorial in the CRINMAIL English this week: Violence against children - beyond the UN study

What you can find on the new website

• Campaigns and Petitions: You can view on-going campaigns as well as past ones. 

• Search legal instruments related to children's rights and violence, for instance, Conventions, Resolutions and case law. Visit 

• NGOs: The International NGO Advisory Council for follow-up to the UN Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Children (AdCo) was formed in 2007 to support strong and effective follow-up to the Study. Its central role today is to work closely with the SRSG to ensure civil society participation in the follow up activities. Visit:

• SRSG: While she has no website (or office), we will continue to post infomation about her role, activities, reports and speeches on this page: 

Other features

• An events calendar 

• A list of past CRINMAILs

• Latest reports on violence

• A searchable resource database – search by form of violence, setting of the Study, region and more:

• The UN Study, settings, recommendations... Still not sure what we mean? Read a background to the Study, key findings, 12 overarching recommendations and links to hundreds of resources. 

Get involved

• Elect a representative: Two current regions, as defined by the UN Study, do not have a representative on the NGO Advisory Council. Civil society organisations in each respective region are responsible for electing (or selecting) their representative. Missing regions are: Europe and South Asia. Email us on [email protected] for more information.

• Joint campaigns: If you are running an international and collective campaign that is relevant to violence against children, we would be happy to post it on our campaigns page.

• Share information: send us your reports, news and events here 

More coming soon

Please note the site is still under development. Features to come include:

• Sections for each overarching recommendation of the study

• Pages for each form of violence, as identified by the study
  

• Other languages, including: French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese

• A more exciting section for children and young people, including links to resources and news about what children and young people are doing.
  

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News round-up

Following the Global Child Labour conference that took place in The Hague in May an outcome document, or 'Roadmap', was adopted, detailing the commitments of the participants in curbing the worst forms of child labour.

With a target date of 2016, the document states that “it is imperative to substantially upscale and accelerate action, given the overall pace of progress and that the global economic crisis puts recent progress at risk […] we will substantially increase efforts to ensure that we achieve the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016 and we agree to this Roadmap, and we urge the international community to substantially increase its efforts in this regard. ” Read the full report.

In similar developments, the ILO will discuss new global instruments to ensure safe working conditions for domestic workers. 'A Call for Global Protections for Child Domestic Workers' Campaign was started by Anti-Slavery International, Human Rights Watch, and Save the Children to give special consideration to child domestic workers Read more here.

The UN campaign for Universal Ratification of UN Optional Protocols (OP) on children's rights was launched on 25 May 2010. This is a two-year campaign to achieve universal ratification of the OP on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC) and the OP on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC).

Speaking at the event, Marta Santos Pais, said that “the campaign was a reminder that ratification marks the solemn start of a never ending process of change and improvement. The Protocol provides vital guidance for this process of implementation.” Read more.

Criminalising Poverty?

Agence France Presse reports that authorities in Sierra Leone have rounded up about 40 children between the ages of six and 12 years in the capital under a new law forbidding trading by children. The Freetown city council said they were arrested on Wednesday for contravening the municipal council's law prohibiting the use of children for trade.

We reported on similar worrying developments taking place in Paraguay in April when 25 Child rights NGOs in Paraguay expressed concern about a proposed bill to “promote the elimination of groups of window cleaners and car watchmen from public areas.” The group is concerned that the bill would lead to sweeps similar to those carried out in 2000 in which dozens of children were detained and separated from their families. Read more 

A report by Pakistani NGO, Initiator Human Development Foundation, has documented the incidence and forms of violence that street children in Karachi are suffering at the hands of parents, peers and police. The scope of the problem has only recently been recognised.

The report recommends, among other things, that the government urgently amend national legislation in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other UN guidelines on juvenile justice, that they ensure the protection of all children, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and social, economic or any other status from discriminatory laws and practices, and that they raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility, currently seven years, to an internationally acceptable age. Read more.

An end to executions?

At a recent meeting in Vienna, Anti-death penalty activists gathered to discuss the 8th report of the UN Secretary-General on capital punishment. They have hailed a worldwide trend towards total and universal abolition. However, while working towards an international ban on capital punishment, abolitionists also want those States that retain the death penalty not to violate safeguards and to fully respect existing limitations and restrictions on the use of the death penalty.

Of particular concern is the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders. The Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly stipulates that capital punishment shall not be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age. Read more.

See also Human Rights Watch campaign on ending juvenile death penalty.

Vienna was also the host to the Council of Europe meeting on violence against children. Children's rights experts gathered to share experiences and challenges in developing national strategies to combat violence against children. Read our report. 

Young people take centre stage

In other highlights, young people are lobbying the UN Human Rights Council and governments to make justice systems fairer for young people. Read their blog.

We will be hearing directly from them in next week's HRC CRINMAIL. Go here to sign up or read online.

Fourth June is also the International day of Innocent Child Victims of Aggression. Youth for Human Rights President, Dustin McGahee, is asking youth across the world who can make a difference to speak out on June 4th to help those who can't speak for themselves. "This is the time for us, the youth of today, to raise our voices and make a difference," says McGahee.

"As long as we wait for someone else to do it, the job doesn't get done. As long as we tell ourselves that we have plenty of time to make a difference in the future, millions of people continue to be pushed down into ways of life we could not imagine”, he said. Read more.

News just in: The Global Initiative and the African Child Policy Forum have launched a bi-monthly newsletter on prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment of children across Africa.  It includes news of progress towards prohibition, opportunities for engaging with law reform processes, campaigns, new resources to support prohibition, upcoming events, recommendations from human rights treaty monitoring bodies and more. To receive it in English or French, contact [email protected].

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