27 February 2007 - Update: The Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children 28
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- VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS: 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women [event]
- HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Special Event on Violence Against Children [event]
- Call for resources for UNESCO's global study on violent attacks against schools and universities [news]
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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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VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS: 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women [event]
The Commission on the Status of Women is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.
The theme of the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be: “The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child”. UNICEF’s Voices of Youth is gathering the recommendations of girls and boys and will present them at the session. Find out how children and young people can influence how the world works to stop discrimination and violence against girls by going here.
NGO Participation at the 51st Session
Hundreds of representatives of international organisations are expected to participate at this session. NGO representatives may attend all open meetings of the Commission. They may also attend informal consultations subject to the agreement of the chairperson of the informal consultations. A number of NGO representatives will be able to speak during the general debate and interactive panel discussions. In an effort to bring broad-based views of the NGO community to the inter-governmental process, preference will be given to NGO participants speaking on behalf of a group of organisations or caucus. Whenever possible, NGO representatives are, therefore, encouraged to prepare joint statements.
Further practical information about NGO participation is available here.
NGO Submissions
A number of NGOs have also prepared reports and briefings for this event. If you would like CRIN to make these available on its website, please email them to [email protected] or submit them online.
Briefing by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
In a briefing prepared for the session, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children urges participants to the session to ensure that the Outcome Document of the 51st Session of the Commission explicitly recommends prohibition and other necessary measures to eliminate corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment of girls and supports the UNSG’s Study goal of achieving this by 2009.
The report of the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, submitted to the General Assembly in October 2006 (A/61/299), identifies corporal punishment as one of the most prevalent forms of violence faced by girls and boys, and unequivocally calls for all corporal punishment and all other forms of cruel or degrading punishment in all settings, including the family home, to be prohibited in all states, setting a target date of 2009. Read the report.
Girls need protection from violence inflicted by adults in authority in the name of “discipline”, just as they need protection from that inflicted in the name of “tradition” or “health” or due to stereotypical views of gender. Corporal punishment breaches all children’s fundamental rights to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity. Its legality breaches their right to equal protection under the law. These rights are upheld for everyone - including girls and boys - in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Read the full briefing here
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Since 2000, Human Rights Watch has documented violence against girls in more than 15 countries in all regions of the world, with a focus on violence in education, child labor, and juvenile justice systems.
For the Commission on the Status of Women, Human Rights Watch is publishing the following documents online:
Violence against Schoolgirls: For many girls, school-related violence is a daily reality. This 10-page background paper documents sexual violence in schools in South Africa and Zambia, the impact of insecurity and attacks on schools in Afghanistan and Iraq, and harassment and violence against lesbian, bisexual and transgender students in the United States. Visit: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/15/global15342.htm
Violence against Child Domestic Workers: More girls are employed in domestic work than any other form of child labor. They are exploited and abused on a routine basis, yet are nearly invisible among child laborers. This 10-page background paper documents physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, forced labor and trafficking of child domestic workers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, and Togo. Visit: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/20/global15343.htm
Violence against Girls in Conflict with the Law: Although girls make up a small minority of children who come in conflict with the law, they are vulnerable to violence, particularly sexual abuse and rape, by both police and staff in detention facilities. This 5-page background paper documents violence against girls by police and correctional staff in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Papua New Guinea, and the United States. Visit:
View all here: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12582
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Hope for the Girl Child: A Briefing Paper to the UN Commission on the Status of Women at its 51st session - World Vision International
"Hope for the Girl Child" shares some of World Vision’s programmes and the lessons learned through their work to improve the status of the girl child. Reports from World Vision El Salvador, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Armenia, India and Ghana, describe the context and the significant challenges facing girls, as well as some of the promising practices and recommendations for upholding their rights through education, empowerment, community change and the elimination of discrimination and violence.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12600&flag=report
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A report launched today in New York by the United Nations Population Fund 'Programming to Address Violence Against Women'
explores the issues of rape in Mauritania, domestic violence in Mexico and Romania, child marriage in Bangladesh, and female genital mutilation/cutting in Kenya as just a few of the abuses visited on women and girls.
Unlike other publications that simply chronicle the extent of the problem, Programming to Address Violence Against Women offers 10 case studies that show how carefully targeted and planned interventions can actually reduce gender-based violence.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=12625
Download the report in pdf format here: http://www.crin.org/docs/UNFP_VAW.pdf
Further information:
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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Special Event on Violence Against Children [event]
Date: 19 March 2007, 3PM
Location: Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
The fourth session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place in Geneva from 12 March to 5 April 2007. To complement with the launch of the UN Study on Violence Against Children in October at the General Assembly, the Independent Expert who lead the Study, Paulo Pinheiro will present his report to the HRC at a special event.
This special event at the Human Rights Council will be an opportunity for Pinheiro to present his Study to the Human Rights Council, but also to engage governments and civil society to discuss follow-up.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=12627
Further information:
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Call for resources for UNESCO's global study on violent attacks against schools and universities [news]
UNESCO has commissioned a global study on violent attacks against schools and universities to raise awareness of the issue. The report will look at the extent of violence, type of violence; perpetrators, causes and motivations; and existing and suggested prevention measures and responses to such threats and acts. There will be detailed case studies of different countries or types of violence and response.
The study's author, Brendan O'Malley, is calling for any figures or reports on the following:
The study covers the period 1997-2007, but any figures from the past five years would be helpful.
Violent attacks, for this study, mean political/sectarian/military/religious/ethnic violence deliberately targeted at education staff or buildings.
Please send your information to [email protected] by email by March 2nd, or call him at +44 208 761 5531 to begin the dialogue.
Further information
For more information, contact:
UNESCO
7 Place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP
Tel: +33 1 45 680 686; Fax: +33 1 45 685 626
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.unesco.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12613
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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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