Update: The Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children 17

2 June 2006 - Update: The Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children 17

 

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- General Comment No. 8: The Right of the Child to Protection from Corporal Punishment or Other Forms of Degrading or Cruel Punishment

- NGO Advisory Panel for the UNSG’s Study on Violence Holds Final Meeting with Youth Members [event]

- Outcomes of Children and Young People’s Consultation for UN Study on Violence [declaration]

- Children's Declaration at Consultation on Violence against Girls and Boys in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [declaration]

- Day of the African Child 2006  [event + call for information]

- Resources

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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.
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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General Comment No. 8: The Right of the Child to Protection from Corporal Punishment or Other Forms of Degrading or Cruel Punishment

Following its two General Discussion Days on violence against children, held in 2000 and 2001, the Committee on the Rights of the Child resolved to issue a series of General Comments concerning eliminating violence against children, of which this is the first. The Committee aims to guide States parties in understanding the provisions of the Convention concerning the protection of children against all forms of violence. This General Comment focuses on corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, which are currently very widely accepted and practiced forms of violence against children.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=8495

Other General Comments

For more information, contact:
UN OHCHR - Committee on the Rights of the Child
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 9000
Website: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/

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NGO Advisory Panel for the UNSG’s Study on Violence Holds Final Meeting with Youth Members [event]

The Panel, established in 2003 to support the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, held its final meeting in New York on May 27 and 28 2006.

The Panel, established in 2003 to support the UN Secretary General’s Study on violence against children, held its final meeting in New York on May 27 and 28 2006.  Twelve members of the original Panel attended. They were joined by eight youth members of the Panel from various regions who had been taking part in the Young People’s meeting with others from all regions.

The two-day meeting started with report-backs on:

  • the conclusions of the young people’s meeting;
  • the work of Independent Expert Professor Paulo Pinheiro’s Editorial Board,  which has included two representatives of the NGO Advisory Panel;
  • progress with preparation of the Independent Expert’s report to the General Assembly (GA) and of the longer book to be published simultaneously, together with child-friendly materials, from Amaya Gillespie, Director of the Study Secretariat.

The Panel spent the two days in detailed discussion of the latest draft of recommendations to be included in the report to the General Assembly  and  arrangements for the launch of the report. The Panel also discussed plans for a successor representative body of NGOs to work with the follow-up, and for a Children’s Council. Both these bodies would work closely with the proposed Special Representative to the Secretary General on the elimination of all violence against children.

The Panel resolved to send urgently to the Independent Expert detailed comments and proposals on the final form, style, tone and recommendations of the report to the General Assembly.

It was agreed that there should be some evaluation of the effectiveness, influence and achievements of the Advisory Panel.  Detailed proposals for the establishment of a successor body to the Panel would be circulated, including how to achieve regional and other representation, criteria for membership, method of selection involving an independent element and so on. It was hoped that the new global NGO body would work closely with and perhaps hold occasional joint meetings with the proposed Children’s Council.

The NGO Advisory Panel will be dissolved following the launch of the report of the UNSG’s Study in autumn 2006.  

Visit: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8445

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Outcomes of Young People’s Consultation for UN Study on Violence [declaration]

The Young People's Consultation for the UN Study on Violence against Children, was held in New York last week from 23-26 May 2006. Twenty one young people from the nine regions participated in the meeting The which aimed to:

  • Provide an opportunity for children and young people to discuss the draft Study Report and provide feedback before the Study report is finalised.
  • Discuss the format and content of the child friendly materials for the UN Study report.
  • Discuss and plan for children’s involvement in the launch of the UN Study report at the United Nations General Assembly in October 2006.

Read the Draft outcome document prepared by young people

Visit: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8444 

Further information

  • News from young people participating in the Consultation [Day 2] [Day 3]

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Children's Declaration at Consultation on Violence against Girls and Boys in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [declaration]

The African Child Policy Forum held its 2006 International Policy Conference on the African Child: Violence Against Girls in Africa on May 11 and 12 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Speakers from the African Union, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and members from Pan-African policy makers joined women’s-rights and child-rights organisations, as well as child survivors of violence, in this major two-day conference.

This is the final declaration as presented at the Children's Consultation on Violence against Girls and Boys in Africa, which took place 9-10 May 2006 in Addis Ababa. The declaration was prepared by the Very Important Children Group (VIC Group):

"We are girls and boys from Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda who participated in the conference on violence against children - and particularly on violence against girls.

We have discussed many forms of violence, mainly:

  • Physical
  • Psychological /mental
  • Sexual

The forms of violence which are common in our countries are for example corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment, sexual abuse, FGM, bullying, etc …. Some of the causes of these forms of violence are:

  • harmful traditional attitudes, in particular against girls;
  • lack of awareness on the affect of violence on children ;
  • ignorance of people on child rights;
  • lack of good governance;
  • lack of children participation;
  • irresponsibility of adults….
  • gender discrimination
  • overall violence in the society, including war and conflict.

Based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), we propose the following:

1) Governments should adopt and implement laws against all forms of violence (including corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment, child sexual abuse, FGM etc) ;

2)Governments should create awareness raising programmes on violence against girls and boys;

3) Governments and other agencies should give a chance to girls and boys to participate in all activities to fight against violence and discrimination;

4)Governments and other agencies should raise the awareness of the population about the consequences of violence by using child friendly tools (for example in media) to reach children and adults;

5) Governments and other agencies should enable children to have access to the international and regional mechanisms, such as the CRC and ACRWC.

Conclusion

Our peers, our parents, Governments, National and International Communities and the African Union: 

We call on all of you to help us to get our rights, including protection from all forms of violence against children."

Visit: http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8273
 
Resources from the conference

Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment: All Africa Report Calls on End to Corporal Punishment of Children
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8227

The Africa Declaration on Violence against Girls (final as presented at the conference)
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8274

A Call and Promise for Action, Children's Statement in Addis Ababa
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8252

Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment: Moving on from Violent Punishment of Children - Statement at the Violence Against Girls conference
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8253

The African Child Policy Forum: Born to High Risk: Violence Against Girls in Africa
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8239

The African Child Policy Forum: Violence Against Girls in Africa: A Retrospective Survey in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8246
 
The African Child Policy Forum and Save the Children Sweden: Sticks and Stones and Brutal Words: The Violence Against Children in Ethiopia
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8230
 
The African Child Policy Forum and Save the Children Sweden: Violence Against Children in Ethiopia: In Their Words
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8231

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Day of the African Child 2006  [event + call for information]

Date: 16 June 2006

In Soweto, South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976, in a march more than half a mile long, to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down; and in the two weeks of protest that followed, more than a hundred people were killed and more than a thousand were injured.

To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of all those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity. The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today. This day has also become an opportunity to examine progress towards health, education, equality and security for all African children and on the implementation of the regional African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. This year's theme is 'Protecting children from violence'.

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which entered into force in November 1999, is the first regional treaty on the human rights of children. The Charter complements the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, taking into account social and cultural values of Africa and offering protection against violations of children’s rights. Its implementation is supervised by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

To mark the Day of the African Child, CRIN will devote a special CRINMAIL on the issue of violence against children in Africa. We would like to hear about acitivities that are being organised to mark the event from members in Africa. You may also submit relevant news or publications you feel should be included in the CRINMAIL and/or on the CRIN Violence website. Contact: [email protected]

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8403

Further information

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Resources

Save the Children Sweden: What Children Say: Results of comparative research on physical and emotional punishment of children in Southeast, East Asia and Pacific in 2005 (March 2006)
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp?infoID=8392
 
Human Rights Watch: Swept Away - Street Children Detained Illegally in Kigali, Rwanda (May 2006)
http://www.crin.org/violence/search/closeup.asp

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This Update is an electronic mailing list administered 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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