Rights CRINMAIL 26

11 August 2006 - Rights CRINMAIL 26

 

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- CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Implementation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and Vietnam [publication]

- BUDGETS: Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard…Especially Not on Budget Issues [project]

- EDUCATION: Right to Education During Displacement [resource]

- HIV AND AIDS: Circle of Hope - children's rights in a world of AIDS [publication]

- COURSE: Working Effectively Within a Rights Based Approach [event]

- WEBSITE: Human Rights Tools [resource]

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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].

Adobe Acrobat is required for viewing some of the documents, and if required can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com
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.

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CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Implementation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and Vietnam [publication]

The International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR) is currently carrying out a research project on the status of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This project is the first systematic country-focused comparative analysis of the status of children’s rights along the benchmarks of the CRC and its Optional Protocols covering all the States parties to the Convention. IBCR anticipates that this project and its outcomes will fill existing gaps in information and promote knowledge about the implementation of the Convention.

The first report of the project, Making Children’s Rights Work: Country Profiles on Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, and Viet Nam, has just been published. The reports are based on rich factual information, including data and statistics, collected by the IBCR country profiles team. The collected information was then enriched by the knowledge, experience and analysis of renowned international experts. The reports do not intend to cover all the aspects of children’s rights in the above-mentioned countries. Instead they focus on the key areas of interest that are presently given attention by international agencies (particularly the Committee on the Rights of the Child) and local child rights groups and experts.

One of the strongest points of this publication is its balanced approach; while it is clearly critical of some of the practices in the area of children’s rights, it also highlights the achievements and commendable practices that have been developed in the same area by Governments, and international and local organisations. By identifying and describing both the challenges and best practices of selected countries, IBCR hopes this work will uncover strategies for facilitating the successful implementation of the Convention in other countries of the region and the rest of the world.

The reports are intended for Governments, legislatures, judiciary, civil society organisations, international agencies and independent experts and researchers. It is also written in a language that is accessible to general public. IBCR plans to continue its research on the status of the CRC implementation and will be coming out with new publications from other countries and parts of the world. The ultimate goal of this endeavour is not only to bolster the international understating of children’s rights, but also to disseminate knowledge about the CRC and assist Governments in its implementation.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9548&flag=report

For more information, contact:
International Bureau for Children's Rights
1185 Saint-Mathieu, Montreal, Quebec H3H 2P7, Canada 
Tel: + 1 514 932 7656
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ibcr.org

Further information

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BUDGETS: Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard…Especially Not on Budget Issues [project]

The Children Participating in Governance project aims to: create opportunities for children in South Africa to monitor government budgets and to contribute to the alignment of government budgeting to rights realisation. The Life Hunters along with three other children’s organisations – Disabled Children’s Action Group, the City of Cape Town’s Youth Development Programme and Molo Songololo’s It’s Your Move – participated in a series of workshops to be trained as budget monitors.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9703

For more information, contact:
Idasa: Budget Information Service - The Children's Budget Unit
PO Box 1739, Cape Town 8000
Tel: + 27 21 467 5600; Fax: + 27 21 462 0162
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.idasa.org.za

Further information

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EDUCATION: Right to Education During Displacement [resource]

[9 August 2006] - As part of a campaign to promote displaced children and youth’s uninterrupted access to quality and safe education, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children has launched a new resource entitled the Right to Education during Displacement: A Resource for Organisations Working with Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons. This tool identifies the right to education and actions that individuals and organisations can take to fulfill these rights, with a focus on refugees, returnees and internally displaced people. It has been developed for local, regional and international organisations that work with displaced communities.

Right to Education during Displacement is a training and capacity-building resource, an awareness-raising tool and a call to action. 

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9671&flag=report

For more information, contact:
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
122 East 42nd Street, 12th Floor, New York NY 10168 - 1289, United States 
Tel: + 1 212 551 3140
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.womenscommission.org

Further information

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HIV AND AIDS: Circle of Hope - children's rights in a world of 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&flag=report

For more information, contact:
Colin McCallum, Media Officer
Plan International Headquarters
Tel: + 44 (0) 1483 733 285
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.plan-international.org

Further information

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COURSE: Working Effectively Within a Rights Based Approach [event]

12 - 13 September 2006
Location: London, UK

The aim of the workshop, which is organised by BOND, is to give delegates a chance to learn tools and exchange practical advice on mitigating common issues encountered when operating within a Rights Based Approach.

A Rights Based Approach has become a popular overarching philosophy for many development NGOs and donors.  Increasingly, NGOs are forced to take on a Rights Based Approach when they enter into funding agreements with donors.  Difficulties can arise if NGOs have not taken into consideration how this new approach could impact the aims of their organisation, how they operate, or with whom they engage as partners.  This course will give delegates the opportunity to swap strategies and learn new tools and methods to offset these common problems.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the key principles that guide a Rights Based  Approach.
  • Explore how these principles have been applied to organisations, programmes and specific thematic areas, such as education; capacity building; HIVAIDS or other areas that concern delegates.
  • Focus on current debates and dilemmas around the Rights Based Approach.
  • Investigate methods of offsetting common problems encountered using a Rights Based Approach within the context of their own working situations.
     

This workshop is targeted at those staff who have run into difficulties or unforeseen problems when operating within a Rights Based Approach.  It is not appropriate for those who do not know or have not had prior experience implementing a Rights Based Approach to development.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9631

For more information, contact:
Laurentine Goulei
Events Administrator
BOND
Regent's Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RL, United Kingdom 
Tel: +44 (0)20 7837 4220; Fax: +44 (0)20 7837 4220
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.bond.org.uk

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WEBSITE: Human Rights Tools [resource]

A new website has been developed for human rights professionals called Human Rights Tools. It offers four services:

1. A library of carefully selected and commented resources:
http://www.humanrightstools.org/index.htm

Resources include:

  • monitoring and fact-finding tools, advocacy tools and other essential resources for human rights work
  • thematic resources on the protection of detainees, human rights defenders, refugees, and more
  • the top online databases for resources on human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law

There is also a section called "Your career" job vacancies and training opportunities can be found:
http://www.humanrightstools.org/dcd/8_Your_career/

2. Key resources for country analysis:
http://www.humanrightstools.org/countryanalysis.htm

To rapidly establish the human rights profile of a particular country and to facilitate analysis and follow-up of developments, you can draw on a number of resources listed here: the situation in terms of human rights, political and conflict analysis, the economics, the legal instruments which that country has ratified, and human rights-relevant news.

3. Daily updated human rights headlines:
http://www.humanrightstools.org/rssnews.htm

This page provides human rights news from a selection of top sources.

4. Newsletter:
Subscribe to the newsletter for information about the latest human rights tools:
http://humanrightstools.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/n/news/info/crin.org/8481918/

The website and newsletter are produced by a small and independant group of volunteers who aim to facilitate the use of information on human rights available on the Internet.
http://www.humanrightstools.org/about.htm

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=9400

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