CRINMAIL 56:

In this issue:

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:
Europe representative at the NGO Advisory Council for Follow-up to the UN Study on Violence against Children

Eurochild has been asked to select a representative of the Europe and Central Asia region to the NGO Advisory Council for Follow-up to the UN Study on Violence against Children. The Council was set up upon conclusion of the Study to follow-up on the Study recommendations and to support the Special Representative to the SG on violence against children (SRSG) in her mandate. It has 18 members: 9 representing international NGOs concerned with the Study and 9 from national or regional NGOs, “representing” the nine regions designated for regional consultations for the Study: the Caribbean, East Asia and Pacific, Eastern and Southern Africa, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, West and Central Africa.

The Council meets twice a year: in New York in October at the time of the presentation of the SRSG’s report to the General Assembly and in Geneva in March at the time of her reporting to the Human Rights Council.

The selected representative will be appointed from an organisation that is actively involved in work of violence against children and committed to follow-up to the Study in the region. He/she should also commit to liaise with the NGOs in the region and to link them to the Council and vice-versa. Financial support might be provided but the sponsoring organisation should be able to cover some of the costs for the involvement of the representative in the Council. The mandate of the selected representative is expected to be of at least three years. 

Further details including tasks and responsibilities can be found in the TORs and nomination form.

Deadline for nominations is on 31 May. Please send your submission to [email protected]. Applicants will be informed by mid-June of the final selection.

CRIN reports on Inhuman Sentencing 

CRIN has published four more country reports on the legality of inhuman sentencing of children around the world, as part of its campaign to end the inhuman sentencing of children. Such sentences include the death penalty, life imprisonment and corporal punishment.

Download the reports for: Kiribati / Somalia / Tonga / Tuvalu

CRIN invites governments and civil society organisations to comment and/or verify the content of the country reports, which will be regularly updated with any news of progress.



To comment, download this questionnaire and email it to us at: [email protected] 

CRIN reports on Forms of Violence

CRIN has also developed a series of reports that provide insight into the various forms of violence faced by children in different contexts around the world, including those found within the spheres of physical and psychological violence, neglect and exploitation.

Download the full list:
Abduction / Abandonment / Bullying / Child pornography / Dangerous, harmful or hazardous work / Death penalty / Deprivation / Domestic violence / Extra-judicial execution / Gang violence /
Harmful traditional practices / Honour killings / Infanticide / Judicial use of physical punishment / Kidnapping / Psychological abuse / Psychological punishment / Sex tourism / Slavery /
State neglect / State violence / Torture / Trafficking / Violence at work 

If your organisation has launched a campaign relevant to violence against children, including in the forms listed above, then let us know by emailing us at: [email protected]

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NEWS AND REPORT ROUND UP

State violence

In the Middle East and North Africa, State violence has intensified as anti-government protests continue to demand widespread reforms, calling for democratic rule and for the end repressive regimes. In Syria, around 300 protesters have been killed since 18 March, with over 120 lives claimed in the last few days alone, including two boys aged 7 and 10. Despite the mounting death toll, the authorities have vowed to crush what they think of as a conspiracy against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. For the death of civilians in recent days, a panel of international judges has called for President al-Assad to be indicted, and could face trial at the International Criminal Court. 

Similarly in Egypt, a fact-finding mission is holding former president Hosni Mubarak ultimately responsible for the killing of at least 846 civilians, and for injuring over 6,400 during the country's anti-government protests. The mission – consisting of a panel of judges – has evidence of security forces firing live ammunition, snipers shooting at protesters from rooftops and the use of vehicles to run over demonstrators. Full story. 

Meanwhile in Libya, forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have killed around 10,000 people since the government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters began in mid-February, while 20,000 more are still missing, the country’s National Transition Council has said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has also condemned the alleged use of cluster bombs in the city of Misrata by the Gaddafi regime, which she says could constitute a war crime. Full story.

UNICEF has reported that at least 20 children, the majority under ten years old, have recently been killed in Misrata due to shrapnel from mortars and tanks and bullet wounds. The organisation has also reported that 26 children have died in Yemen as a result of the violence, with an additional 80 minors being injured and more than 800 exposed to tear has since demonstrations began in mid-January. Full story. 

Thirty-one people have been killed in Bahrain as a result of the State crackdown on pro-democracy protests, says the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), while the number of detained and disappeared persons exceeds 800, the youngest only twelve years old.

There are also reports of children being recruited by the armed forces to fight protesters. In Libya, children as young as 15 are being used to fight in Misrata, and threatened with being shot if they refuse, according to young government troops captured by rebels. Full story. While in Yemen, child soldiers, some as young as 14, are known to have already been serving in the army for one to two years. Similarly in Iran, child soldiers as young as 14 are being used to restrain protesters. According to witnesses, they comprise up to one-third of the total force and are recruited from rural areas because the average policeman in Tehran could have some kind of family connection to the people they are instructed to beat up. Full story.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has highlighted that the policy of repression used by governments in the region to quell protests have only served to further increase frustration and anger in the masses. She added that if States had “responded more thoughtfully, without violence, to the demands of the people, so much death, so much destruction, so much of the fear and uncertainty faced by ordinary people could have been averted.” All people want is “to enjoy the fundamental human rights which they have been denied for so long.” Read the full statement here. 

Read CRIN’s information page on State violence. 

Corporal punishment

In India, the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has issued an investigation into allegations of physical abuse against a 10-year-old schoolboy at the hands of two teachers. More on the story. This follows KSCPCR’s launch of an enquiry into cases of corporal punishment against children in schools, after the death of one child and 20 other related complaints were recorded. Full story. 

In the state of Texas, United States, an eleventh grade schoolboy ended up in hospital with deep bruises after being paddled by the assistant principle at his school. In a separate incident, another fellow student was struck so hard that he passed out and broke his jaw. In light of these cases, lawmakers are under pressure to ban corporal punishment in schools in Texas, with one state senator saying that “We should be educating kids that they can’t solve problems with violence.” Full story.

Also taking place in Texas is the Global Summit on Ending Corporal Punishment and Promoting Positive Discipline, which will be held in Dallas between 2-4 June 2011. For more details on the event, click here.

Good news, however, has reached us from Belize, where after two long decades of lobbying for corporal punishment to be abolished in schools, the country's Education Minister has finally agreed to sign a statutory instrument to bring an outright prohibition into force. Corporal punishment is already banned in pre-schools and day care institutions, yet a full ban was the only piece of legislation put on hold when the Education Act was passed in February 2010. The country's National Organisation for the Prevention of Child Abuse has hailed this achievement as a historic milestone in children's rights advocacy, and that 'while law reform is not in of itself the remedy, it does lay down the framework for children’s dignity to be respected.' Full story.

This month, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children has released the 16^th issue of its newsletter which includes updates on recent progress made for achieving a full prohibition across the world, plus new campaign and calls for prohibition, and newly published research and the latest news on the corporal punishment of children. Download the newsletter. 

Read CRIN’s information page on physical punishment.  

Psychological abuse

In the Philippines, that a six-year-old boy was made to dance and gyrate like a male go-go dancer on prime-time television while the show's audience clapped and laughed, has been described as a 'clear form of child abuse', said the country's social welfare minister. The House Committee on the Welfare of Children also emphasised the need to establish measures that would guarantee legislative protection for children and prevent similar incidents from happening again. In light of the case, the Senate committee on youth, women and family relations will review the country’s existing anti-child abuse laws. More on the story.

Read more on child participation in television in India and Bulgaria. 

Also read CRIN’s information page on psychological abuse.

Dangerous, harmful or hazardous work  

In India, the Supreme Court has banned circuses from employing children following a petition lodged by the Indian children's rights group, Save the Childhood Movement, campaigning against children being made to perform dangerous stunts such as high-wire acrobatics, often without protective measures. Full story. Many child performers are victims of trafficking, and are beaten and denied food if they perform unsatisfactorily. More on the story. 

Read CRIN’s information page on dangerous, harmful or hazardous work. 

Bullying

In Australia, a former schoolgirl who suffered continuous bullying has won a lawsuit against her college for negligence of its duty to take preventative measures to stop students from being bullied. More on the story.

Although bullying is not a crime anywhere in Australia, the Victoria state Attorney-General has proposed amendments to stalking laws, which would put workplace and cyber bullying under the Crimes Act. Full story.

Read CRIN’s information page on bullying.

The Last Word

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