CRINMAIL 57:

In this issue:

To view this CRINMAIL online, click here. 

INHUMAN SENTENCING OF CHILDREN

NEW advocacy toolkit for campaigning against inhuman sentencing 

As part of CRIN’s campaign to end the inhuman sentencing of children – defined to include sentences of death, life imprisonment and corporal punishment –, we have launching an advocacy toolkit to support organisations and individuals working on the issue in States where children are still subjected to these sentences.

The aim of this toolkit is to achieve a strong international and regional context for progress by providing advocacy ideas. It contains technical advice on developing a national strategy against inhuman sentencing and campaigning for its prohibition and elimination, including how to make the issue more visible, how to form a national alliance with other organisations and individuals working towards the same goal, and how to maximise efforts to pressure governments on the issue, as well as examples of existing successful campaigns. It also addresses the issue of safety for those working in countries where advocacy and campaigning may entail certain risks. 

Other sections to follow include: how to use the media to publicise the campaign, how to achieve law reform that prohibits all forms of inhuman sentencing of children, and how CRIN can assist national campaigns, as well as how these can support the broader regional and international movement against inhuman sentencing of children. Download the advocacy toolkit here. 

Launch of national campaigns against inhuman sentencing 

Such national strategies are already gaining momentum in Pakistan, where children may be lawfully sentenced to corporal punishment, life imprisonment and the death penalty; and in the United States, where child offenders may be imprisoned for life with and without the possibility of release.  CRIN has accordingly dedicated pages to these national campaigns on our website. Access them here. 

Also look out for upcoming country pages on national campaigns taking place in Yemen, Nigeria, the Maldives and Argentina. 

If you would like to support the campaign to end inhuman sentencing in your country, contact us at [email protected]. 

NEWS AND REPORT ROUNDUP 

Inhuman sentencing

Four people were executed in Iran in April, at least two of which were juvenile offenders. In a statement condemning the public executions, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton reiterated the European Union’s call on Iran to declare a moratorium on the death penalty in line with the growing global trend towards abolition of this punishment, reminding that the practice violates Iran's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Full statement.

Also read CRIN’s Forms of Violence page on the death penalty.  

And in Argentina, a coalition of children’s rights organisations has issued an open letter to the Ministry of Justice reiterating recommendations issued by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to commute the sentences of life imprisonment handed down to five juvenile offenders. Read the full open letter here (in Spanish). 

State violence

Serbian police have arrested war crime fugitive Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander wanted for alleged crimes against humanity committed during the 44-month-long siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo in the 1990s, which includes the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 in which around 7,500 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered and buried in mass graves. Read more here. 

In Syria, the number of victims killed by the government clampdown on demonstrations has reached 1,100 according to Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah.  Additionally, more than 10,000 people have been arbitrarily detained since mid-March, including children and the elderly.  Mass graves have also been found in Deraa containing 26 bodies, including those of a woman and child.  And children as young as 12 are being tortured in school cellars at the hands of Syrian security forces as part of the government’s mass intimidation campaign aimed at inhibiting further protests. 

Also read CRIN’s Forms of Violence page on State violence.   

Sexual exploitation & abuse

Children in Mauritius are increasingly vulnerable to sexual exploitation, due to a combination of poverty, family dysfunction, social taboos, alcohol and drugs, the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Najat Maalla M’jid has warned after an 11-day visit to the country. Full story. 

But there is also good news as Mauritius is one three countries, alongside Finland and Pakistan, to have announced its intention to ratify the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in the near future. Pakistan has also committed to ratifying the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Full story.

More news on the sexual exploitation of children. 

The government of Qatar has drafted a new anti-trafficking law, which includes clauses for crimes against women, children and people with special needs, as well as for husbands forcing their wives into prostitution. It also covers the mistreatment and abuse of domestic helpers who are often forced to work long hours. Full story.

Also read CRIN’s editorial on child domestic workers here. 

Meanwhile in the Holy See, the Pope has issued new guidelines to bishops that aim to protect minors from sexual abuse, yet critics have described the measures as ‘meaningless’, noting that they do not obligate bishops to report allegations of abuse to the authorities if local law does not require it, and should only be done if it does not prejudice the "sacramental internal forum", which means that cases should be heard in secret under canon law, under which the most serious penalty is defrocking. Full story. 

Preventing abuse 

In response to the scale of child abuse within the Catholic Church, as well as that committed in the home by family members, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg has said that tackling the problem should be a political priority.  One of the best ways to prevent abuse, he says, is to provide continuous training for professionals working with children in order to make them aware and help them recognise signs of abuse.  Serious sex education in schools is also vitally important, Hammarberg adds:  “Children who are well informed will be more equipped to avoid the risks and escape dangerous situations.” Full statement. 

Read about the Council of Europe’s innovative One in Five campaign against child abuse. 

Another important way of raising awareness on the issue of child abuse is through the media; yet a recent study on news coverage on the issue in the United States has concluded that the media underreports child sexual abuse and fails to cover key areas of concern. These include: 1) Language – reporters describe child abuse with often vague and ambiguous terms, such as “sexual acts” and “inappropriate sexual behaviour”, which limits public understanding on the issue and disguises its severity; and 2) Coverage focus – over 70 per cent of news stories focus on the criminal justice aspect of cases of abuse such as an arrest or trial, which puts the emphasis on the perpetrator rather than on the impact the abuse has on victims. Such coverage also portrays cases of child sexual abuse as isolated events, ignoring its larger social context. Full story.

Also read CRIN’s Media Toolkit which includes a guide for journalists for reporting on cases involving children. 

According to figures obtained by the NSPCC, one of the main settings in which child sexual abuse occurs in is the home, with the perpetrators being family members and relatives of the victim. It also highlights that an average of 64 children are sexually abused in England and Wales every day, with more than 23,000 offences – including rape and incest – recorded by police between 2009-10, which represents an eight per cent increase from the previous year. More than half of the victims were aged between 12 and 15, one in four was aged five to 11, more than 1,000 were aged four or younger, and 86 per cent of victims were female. Full press release. 

More news on children and physical abuse. 

Corporal punishment

The 4^th Issue of the E-Newsletter on Ending Corporal Punishment of Children in Africa was released this month.  The highlight of this issue is that from 28 February to 1 March 2011, the African Child Policy Forum and the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, in collaboration with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, held a Strategic Consultation on ending corporal punishment of children across Africa, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the outcome of which is a detailed Strategic Plan to prohibit and eliminate corporal punishment. Download the newsletter here. 

Launch of SRSG Violence against Children website!

The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais has launched a new website, which includes its own newsletter, region-specific information, and other useful resources, including a Children’s Corner offering a series of child-friendly materials. Access the website here. 

**THE LAST WORD**

Back to top