CRINmail 1523:
In this issue:
ADVOCACY GUIDE: Accessing justice for violations of children's rights in care institutions
News in brief
Upcoming events
Employment
ADVOCACY GUIDE: Accessing justice for violations of children’s rights in care institutions
Today CRIN is releasing a new guide detailing the legal and practical tools available to get redress for violations of children's rights in care institutions care in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Caucasus.
Titled “When the State doesn’t care”, it follows on from our global report on access to justice for children and focuses on if and how children in care institutions in the region are able to use the law to challenge violations of their rights.
Why access to justice?
Access to justice is a human right, but it is also what makes other rights a reality. For children’s rights to be more than a promise, there must be a way for those rights to be enforced. In reality, access to justice is still an aspiration for most children, and this is even more so for children in care institutions.
Why children in care institutions?
Violations of children’s rights in care and the need for deinstitutionalisation are not new. Many reports have emerged in the last few decades that reveal the neglect and abuse so many children have faced - and continue to face - in many countries. In some cases, the extent of the abuse is only revealed many years after the victims have grown up and left those institutions.
There are many factors that can explain why the abuse continues, starting with the need for legal and policy reform, accountability and human rights education. However one factor that underlies the persistence of these violations is the lack of access to effective remedies: the inability to challenge these violations, get compensation for the victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
Who should use this report?
This guide explains which options are available to those seeking justice for children in care institutions across 11 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. The guide analyses national, regional and international law and compiles the redress mechanisms available to victims of rights violations while they are in state care and after leaving these institutions.
CRIN welcomes:
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Comments on the guide
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Additional information on the situation of children in state care
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Enquiries about starting a new campaign
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Ideas for further regional and international advocacy
You can download the full report from our website here.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Violence and armed conflict
Deprivation of liberty
Health and bodily integrity
Treatment of refugees and migrants
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Global: Children’s Peace Prize 2017
Organisation: KidsRights
Submission deadline: 31 March 2017
Course: International Children’s Rights
Organisation: Leiden University
Application deadline: 1 April 2017 (non-EU) / 15 June 2017 (EU students)
Dates: September 2017 - Summer 2018
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands
Education: 2017 Institute of the Center for Education Diplomacy
Organisation: Association for Childhood Education International
Dates: 20 - 22 April 2017
Location: Washington, DC, United States
Education: Online course on Child Rights-based Approaches
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 26 April - 11 July 2017
Location: Online
Europe: Justice for Children Award
Organisations: DCI and OMCT
Submission deadline: 30 April 2017
Course: Implementing the UN Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children
Organisation: CELCIS
Date: 15 May 2017
Location: Online
Best interests: International Conference on Shared Parenting
Organisations: National Parents Organization & the International Council on Shared Parenting
Dates: 29-31 May 2017
Location: Boston, United States
Course: Online course on Child Rights Governance
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Dates: 31 May - 11 July 2017
Location: Online
Child abuse: ISPCAN European conference on child abuse & neglect
Organisation: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
Dates: 1-4 October 2017
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
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EMPLOYMENT
Child Rights International Network: Executive Assistant
Application deadline: Rolling
Location: London
UNICEF: Programme Specialist (Human Rights)
Application deadline: 28 March 2017
Location: Geneva
Child Soldiers International: Director of Programmes
Application deadline: 3 April 2017
Location: Negotiable
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LEAK OF THE WEEK
"The right to access justice for children in general has long been neglected and ignored. It is much more challenging for children to access justice when their rights are violated as a result of their placement in an institution because their guardian - the State - is the perpetrator of the crime.
“Children’s voices are unheard, they do not know who to trust, have no means of accessing help from the outside world and many have disabilities, making communication even more challenging."
- Ms. Velina Todorova - Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
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