Rights CRINMAIL is a component of a project of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). It is published monthly with the purpose of informing and building the community of practitioners in rights-based programming. Your submissions are welcome. To contribute, email us at[email protected].
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The first session of the Human Rights Council will start next Monday 19th June, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and will end on Friday 30th June. The Council is replacing the Commission on Human Rights as the main UN human rights monitoring body. It was created on 15th March through the almost unanimous adoption of General Assembly Resolution A/Res/60/251 (170 yes votes, 4 no votes and 3 abstentions). The much criticised Commission on Human Rights will be formally abolished on 16 June, 3 days before the Council will meet for the first time.
The new Human Rights Council carries high expectations – it was established with the hope that it could be more objective, credible and efficient in denouncing human rights violations worldwide. As a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, it has a higher institutional standing than the Commission on Human Rights. Its 47 members are elected by an absolute majority and on their human rights records (the elections took place on 9 May). Furthermore, a new provision gives the General Assembly the ability, through a two-thirds majority vote, to suspend the membership of a Council member that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights. Finally, a universal periodic review of all UN member states subject all States to guaranteed scrutiny.
The Office of the High-Commissioner for Human Rights is still holding consultations on the Human Rights Council and the first session is likely to focus only on procedural issues such as establishing the agenda and the rules of procedure, reviewing mandates and special procedures, and establishing the mechanisms and modalities for the universal periodic review. The first session will consist of a High-Level Segment (HLS) which will last 2-4 days, followed by a General Segment.
The HLS will consist of statements from dignitaries, i.e. government representatives of ministerial or higher rank or Vice-Ministers. In addition, heads of specialised agencies, programmes and intergovernmental organisations, including regional organisations, will also be provided an opportunity to address the HLS after States representatives. The agenda of the second week is still being debated. Please check CRIN’s news page on the Human Rights Council for updated information.
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COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Commissioner for Human Rights Publishes Paper on Corporal Punishment [publication]
Last week the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, published an issue paper on corporal punishment and children. This document is the first in a series of periodical issue papers on cross-cutting European themes:
“As part of their daily lives, children all over Europe are spanked, slapped, hit, smacked, shaken, kicked, pinched, punched, caned, flogged, belted, beaten and battered by adults – mainly by those whom they trust the most.
This violence may be a deliberate act of punishment or just the impulsive reaction of an irritated parent or teacher. In every case, it is a breach of fundamental human rights principles. Respect for human dignity and the right to physical integrity are universal principles. Yet social and legal acceptance of the hitting and other humiliating treatment of children by adults persists in most countries.
Corporal punishment of children often becomes inhuman or degrading, and it always violates their physical integrity, demonstrates disrespect for human dignity and undermines self-esteem. Furthermore, the existence of special exceptions for violent ill-treatment of children in otherwise universally applicable laws against assault breaches the principle of equal protection under the law.”
Read the full issue paper at: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8562&flag=report
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Thomas Hammarberg was appointed as the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights for a term of office of six years starting on 1 January 2006.
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
Further information
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EMERGENCY RELIEF: Upholding Children's Rights in the Midst of Disaster [news]
[MAPUTO, 23 May 2006] - People's rights sometimes get trampled in the rush to provide aid when disasters strike - with women and girls particularly at risk of exploitation. Mozambique has suffered more than its fair share of emergencies in recent years, from cyclones to floods and droughts. Last week two training sessions for government and civil society staff were organised by Save the Children-UK/US and Oxfam to underline the international standards expected in disaster responses.
The Sphere project, also known as the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, has had guidelines in place since 1997. But it was the headline-grabbing cases in Liberia in 2002, in which peacekeepers and aid workers were accused of systematically abusing young women and girls, that clearly highlighted the vulnerability of disaster survivors.
The Sphere project identifies minimum standards that crisis-hit communities have the right to expect: for example, a certain quantity of food, adequate shelter, a sufficient supply of water and protection from abuse.
"It's their right, not charity," said Chris McIvor, programme director for Save the Children UK in Mozambique. "The risk factors in Liberia are similar to Mozambique. Girls, especially in the rural areas, are suffering severe economic deprivation and that fact, coupled with the usual peer pressure and the lack of prospects and recreational activities, makes girls easy targets for unscrupulous humanitarian aid workers," noted McIvor.
Although there have been no reported cases of systematic sexual abuse by humanitarian workers in Mozambique, it was important to put systems in place to prevent them from occurring, said McIvor.
Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries, where 80 per cent of its 18 million people rely on subsistence farming, has been hit by prolonged droughts and two major cyclones. The floods in the southern and central regions of the country in 2000 and 2001 claimed the lives of almost 700 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8401
Further information
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BUSINESS: A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management [publication]
Human rights are the basic rights of each human being, independent of race, sex, religion, political opinion, social status, or any other characteristic. Through international human rights conventions, governments commit to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the human rights of their citizens and other individuals within and beyond their borders. Businesses should also be aware of the core conventions of the International Labour Organisation. In addition, a specific body of law applies in situations of armed conflicts: international humanitarian law. Its rules have two aims: first, protecting people who are not or no longer taking part in hostilities and, secondly, regulating means and methods of warfare.
At this time in history, there are compelling reasons why businesses should involve human rights in their policies and practices. Businesses increasingly need a stable international environment in which to operate, with sustainable markets and a “level playing field” of opportunities. Human rights offer a common framework for businesses to understand societies’ expectations and deliver value to stakeholders in a more sustainable way. This Guide demonstrates that, in a business context, advancing human rights is as much about realising new opportunities and managing risk as it is about meeting essential global standards.
For business, human rights provide a universal benchmark for minimum standards of behavior. Many national laws and regulations have evolved as a result of a State’s obligation to implement human rights standards. Business must, of course, observe such laws in all countries and jurisdictions in which they operate.
The debate about the nature and scope of companies’ human rights responsibilities is a relatively recent one, as is the idea of applying human rights to business decisions and operations. A number of international efforts have been undertaken to elaborate on the content of human rights relevant to business. One of the most comprehensive efforts resulted in the Draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (Draft Norms), developed by a United Nations expert group, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. While the Draft Norms have no formal legal status, the inter-governmental UN Commission on Human Rights has observed that they have useful elements. Many of the companies that have contributed to this Guide, especially the companies involved in Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), agree that the content of the Draft Norms provides a helpful framework for human rights in business.
This Guide is based on a conventional management system. It follows the Global Compact Performance Model, which is a map for responsible corporate citizenship. The model allows business to implement the Global Compact principles without undermining their other business goals. The Performance Model was built on practical experience, identifying methods that actual companies followed to mainstream the Global Compact principles into their own business operations and activities. More information about implementing the Performance Model in practice is available on the Global Compact website and in the publication entitled Raising the Bar: Creating Value with the United Nations Global Compact.
This Guide is intended to be a technical manual and a hands-on toolkit to help any company integrate practices consistent with human rights standards into an existing management system. It is made up of seven elements common to most management systems: Strategy, Policy, Processes and Procedure, Communications, Training, Measuring Impact and Auditing, and Reporting. The Getting Started section identifies the initial steps a company should take to implement the performance model, and in the Appendices at the end of the Guide you will find tools and resources which the BLIHR companies have found to be helpful in bringing human rights into their businesses.
The examples in this Guide illustrate how aspects of the model have been implemented and are designed to inspire other businesses. The human rights processes and procedures included in this Guide are ongoing projects for the companies concerned.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/hrbap/index.asp?action=theme.docitem&item=8556
For more information, contact:
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 917 9000; Fax: + 41 22 917 9016
Website: http://ww.unhchr.ch
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EDUCATION: UN Expert Encourages Implementation of Plan of Action for Human Rights Education [news]
[23 May 2006] - Vernor Muñoz, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, issued the following statement:
“The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor Muñoz, would like to join the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Director General of UNESCO and the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe in encouraging the national implementation of the Plan of Action for the first phase (2005-2007) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education. Since their joint letter was sent on 9 January 2006, the Special Rapporteur would like to follow up on that correspondence and calls again on States to take all necessary measures to ensure that human rights education is integrated into the primary and secondary schools system.
The Special Rapporteur believes that the plan of action will contribute to the goal of universal primary education by promoting human rights-based learning. He also strongly believes that human rights education is an integral part of the right to education. Indeed, human rights education would guarantee equality in education and also promote human rights values such as tolerance and non-discrimination in all its forms.
Integrating human rights into education systems contributes to ensuring the construction of quality education and to improving standards of living for all. The integration of human rights requires, on the one hand, ensuring that all the components and processes of learning, including curricula, materials, methods and training are conducive to their understanding; and on the other hand ensuring the respect of the human rights of all actors within the education system, especially students.
The Special Rapporteur is convinced that human rights education which promotes a rights-based approach enables the education system to fulfil its fundamental mission to ensure the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and strengthens the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Special Rapporteur calls on States and organisations of civil society to join their efforts in fulfilling this committment. He also encourages States to put in place research and planning strategies for the development of the Plan of Action for the first phase of the World Programme, as a matter of priority”.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8652&flag=news
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COURSES: Understanding Regional Human Rights Mechanisms
Date: 11 September – 3 December 2006
Location: Distance Learning
This distance learning course provides participants with practical guidance on how to protect human rights through the European human rights system, and specifically the institutions and treaties of the Council of Europe. Participants will be introduced to the main European human rights conventions and jurisprudence, primarily as developed through the European Court of Human Rights. The course addresses European human rights standards as they apply to civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of minorities. Case studies on the freedom of expression, homosexuality, violence against women, protection of the mentally-ill, prisoner's rights, and the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, will deepen participants' understanding of the European human rights standards and machinery.
Application deadline: 15 July 2006
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8376&flag=event
Date: 18 September – 10 December 2006
Location: Distance Learning
Application deadline: 15 July 2006.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8377&flag=event
For more information, contact:
Postbus 59225, 1040 KE Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tel: + 31 20 524 1404; Fax: + 31 20 524 1498
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.hrea.org
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