6 March 2006 Update: The Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children 14
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Government Responses to Questionnaires on Violence against Children
Children and Violence: Analysis of Alternative Reports 1990-2005
Council of Europe Launches ‘Building a Europe for and with Children’ Programme
Middle East and North Africa: Follow-Up to Regional Consultation
Violence Against Girls in Africa: Conference
Resources: Latest on the CRIN Violence Website
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This list is the primary means of communication for NGOs interested in the UN Study on Violence Against Children and for the Subgroup on Children and Violence. Updates are sent approximately once a month. Please feel free to forward these updates to others who may be interested.
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Government Responses to Questionnaires on Violence against Children
The UN circulated questionnaires to all governments in 2004 requesting information regarding key legislation, policy, programmes, data and other information about violence against children in their country. They were asked to submit the completed questionnaire by July 31 2004. So far, 126 countries have replied. However, the following 65 countries have still not submitted their contributions:
Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Kiribati, Korea Democratic People's Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Timor Leste, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe
The number of countries that have submitted their responses is very positive. However, as the final report of the Secretary General will be presented at the General Assembly in October 2006, civil society, NGOs and individuals should encourage their government to submit their questionnaire to the Secretariat as soon as possible.
For more information, go to: www.childrenandviolence.org
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Children and Violence: Analysis of Alternative Reports 1990-2005
The NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child has recently published a study on how violence is reported in the different "settings" established by the UN Study on Violence Against Children (home, school, institutions, community, workplace) and according to regions. "Violence Against Children - What do NGOs know, What do NGOs say?" is an analysis of information relating to violence available in NGO reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child from 1990 to 2005.
Through 15 years of monitoring activities, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has been exposed to the many facets of violence against children in settings such as home and school which the Convention did not anticipate places of violence. The Committee has had to refine its approach to systemic causes of violence against children endemic to certain work situations, care institutions and judiciary systems. The Convention itself had to be appended with Optional Protocols in order to better protect children from some forms of violence.
NGOs invited to submit alternative information to the Committee have repeatedly denounced the responsibility of the various agents in the chain of violence. They have become a legitimate source of information, complementary to the State in reporting on the implementation of the Convention.
As the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children was commissioned in 2003, NGOs were bound to be among the most active respondents to calls for information. In particular, for international NGOs, this was an occasion to take stock of accumulated knowledge and data on the issue of violence against children.
For more information, contact:
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
1 rue Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 740 47 30
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crin.org/NGOGroupforCRC
Violence Against Children - What do NGOs know, What do NGOs say?
Annex to the report: A compilation of extracts from NGO Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child relating to violence against children
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Council of Europe Launches ‘Building a Europe for and with Children’ Programme
Date: 4 - 5 April 2006
Location: Monaco
The three-year programme ‘Building a Europe for and with Children’ will be launched at a conference in Monaco next month by the Council of Europe. The conference, which will focus on the themes of sexual abuse and corporal punishment, will provide a forum for debate for policy-makers and for children themselves. It will identify priority activities and partnerships that will contribute to eradicating all forms of violence against children.
The programme is being implemented in response to the Council of Europe’s mandate to guarantee an integrated approach to promoting children’s rights and the decision to launch a programme covering the social, legal, educational and health dimensions of the various forms of violence against children.
For more information, contact:
Council of Europe
Bâtiment B - Bureau B137 / B Building - Office B137
F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 22 62; Fax : +33 (0)3 90 21 52 85
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.coe.int/children
More information about the programme
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Middle East and North Africa: Follow-Up to Regional Consultation
Date: 25 - 28 March 2006
Location: Cairo, Egypt
A follow-up to the Middle East and North Africa Regional Consultation for the UN Study on Violence against Children will be held this month in Cairo. The event, 'Every Child has the Right to be Protected Everywhere from All Forms of Violence,' will provide a platform for discussion and training on regional issues.
Participants will also discuss a draft of the framework for principles, standards and practices for children's hotlines in the region which has been developed by Child Helpline International (CHI) Taskforce.
Other events will include workshops held by Microsoft, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) and hospitality company ACCOR, on children's safety in their use of the internet and on protecting children from sexual abuse.
The conference will be organised by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, in cooperation with the Arab League of Nations, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rihgts (OHCHR), and the Arab Council for Childhood and Development.
For more information, contact:
Noha EL Labban
Childs Right Programe Coordinator
International Cooperation Unit
The National Council for Childhood& Motherhood (NCCM)
Cairo, Egypt
Tel: +20 2 5240277; Fax: +20 2 5240701
Email: [email protected]
More information
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Violence Against Girls in Africa: Conference
Date: 11 - 13 May 2006
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The African Child Policy Forum is organising a Pan-African conference on violence against girls in Africa. A declaration will be adopted at the close of the conference which will contribute to the UN Study on Violence against Children. Participants will include children and women's groups, policy-makers, political leaders and experts from Africa and elsewhere.
For more information, contact:
The African Child Policy Forum
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
P.O. Box 1179
Tel. 251 11 552 8407 09/10; Fax: +251 11 551 3420
Email: [email protected]
More information
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Resources: Latest on the CRIN Violence Website
Progress Report on the UN Study on Violence Against Children, Paulo Pinheiro
Keeping Children Safe Toolkit, Keeping Children Safe Coalition: forthcoming.
East Asia & Pacific: Child-Friendly Report of Violence against Children Study, Save the Children Sweden – South and Central Asia Regional Office
East Asia & Pacific: Recommendations from Children on Violence against Children, Save the Children Sweden – South and Central Asia Regional Office, Save the Children Sweden – South and Central Asia Regional Office
Act Now: Highlights from Children's Participation in the Regional Consultations for the UN Study on Violence against Children, Save the Children Sweden
Middle East: Perceptions about Guns and Community Security - Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Sudan, MENAANSA
Libya: A Threat to Society? Women, Girls Locked Up Indefinitely Without Charge, Human Rights Watch
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This Update is an electronic mailing list by the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN), in collaboration with the co-chairs of the NGO Advisory Panel and the NGO Subgroup on Children and Violence. CRIN does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to this Update. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.
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