In this issue:
Latest news and reports
- Refugees and displacement
- Discrimination
- Sexual abuse
- Armed conflict
Upcoming events
Employment
Refugees and displacement
More than 60,000 children remain trapped in squalid camps in Rakhine state, Myanmar. UNICEF has been providing humanitarian assistance in the state - including treating 4,800 children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition as of August 2017 - but has found itself unable to gain the access to continue providing services. All 12 of the treatment centres run by the organisation’s partners have closed as a result of lack of access, looting or because they have been destroyed. At least 100 children who have been separated from their families as a result of the violence are estimated to be living unaccompanied in the inaccessible northern parts of the state. In September last year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called the situation in the country “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and urged the government to end the military operations and the widespread discrimination against Rohingya people.
Refugees fleeing English-speaking areas of Cameroon, including children, are facing a precarious situation in eastern Nigeria. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), estimates that 80 percent of the 10,000 registered refugees that have entered Nigeria’s Cross River state are women and children, including unaccompanied children. UNHCR reports that children have been forced to work or beg to survive and support their parents while the lack of work and over-stretched reception facilities has increased the risk of sexual and gender-based violence. A spokesperson for the organisation warned that “incidents of domestic violence, as well as cases of teenage pregnancies involving girls as young as 14, have also been reported”. Since mid-2017, Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have experienced demonstrations against what many have viewed as discrimination against them in favour of the majority French-speaking population.
More than 5,000 refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed the border into Chad since late December, fleeing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR). The latest surge in refugees, most of whom are women and children, has been fueled by clashes between the Mouvement national pour la libération de la Centrafrique (MNLC) and Révolution et Justice (RJ) in the town of Paoua, in north-western CAR. The influx is a dramatic increase, representing more than twice the number of refugees who crossed the border in 2017. Chad currently hosts more than 75,000 of the 545,000 people who have fled the violence in CAR, where almost a quarter of the population have become refugees or internally displaced.
Discrimination
Roma children in Ireland are reportedly going to school starving and living in unsuitable accommodation due to ‘relentless’ poverty. A report launched by the country’s Department of Justice and Equality found many Roma are living in overcrowded, rat infested accommodation, sometimes with no gas, water or electricity. The findings showed that up to half of all Roma in Ireland lived in poverty, with many children suffering from malnourishment. Concerns were raised by several contributors to the report about the health risks of children living in homes containing rats, while also noting that some Roma families feared that by complaining they would be evicted and made homeless. The report highlights that there are now third generation Irish Roma families settled in the country, but members of the community continue to face racism and discrimination in many spheres.
A Palestinian teenager arrested for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier has been denied bail, and will be detained until her trial, in the latest case spotlighting the use of pretrial detention against Palestinian children by Israeli authorities. Ahed Tamimi was detained in December after she was videoed striking two soldiers who were on her family’s land and who had allegedly shot her cousin in the head with a rubber bullet. She faces 12 charges, including assault, could face a lengthy jail term if convicted and may be held for months before her trial is finished. The charges relate to events in the video and five other incidents including stone-throwing, incitement and making threats. Detailing the treatment of detained Palestinian children in Israeli centres, a recent report from Defence for Children International Palestine found that, of 520 cases of Palestinian children being detained by Israel between 2012 and 2016, 72 percent involved physical violence, while 66 percent faced verbal abuse or humiliation.
Sexual abuse
Pope Francis dismissed criticism of a bishop accused of covering up abuse as ‘slander’ less than a week after apologising for the "irreparable damage" done to children who were sexually abused by priests in Chile. Francis claimed there was "no proof" behind allegations that abuse by Father Fernando Karadima was covered up by Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, in response to questions from journalists. Pope Francis has repeatedly claimed to have a policy of "zero tolerance" for abuse, but his appointment of Barros as bishop of Osorno in southern Chile prompted an angry response in 2015, as victims of Karadima claimed Barros was aware of the abuse and allowed it to continue unchecked. Francis later apologised for his remarks, saying he realised that they had been a “slap in the face” to survivors. The pontiff’s visit has been marred by criticism, protests and attacks on churches, as the issue of child sexual abuse grabbed headlines during his first official visit to Latin America.
Ten Catholic priests in Switzerland are facing accusations of historic sexual abuse against children in the diocese of Sion in the canton of Valais. The abuse is alleged to have taken place between the 1950s and 1990s, but the abuse survivors reported the allegations last year, and the statute of limitations for the cases has expired, meaning no prosecutions can take place. The accused priests were reportedly moved from their parishes after abuse was reported, but were allegedly allowed to continue working for the church. One group of victims met recently in Valais, and a spokesperson claimed that the number of reported cases did not correspond to the real scale of the abuse. In late 2016, the Catholic church in Switzerland set up a commission charged with awarding compensation to victims of historic sex abuse by Swiss priests. The 500,000 franc reparations fund was created specifically to pay compensation to sex abuse victims who no longer have the right to seek redress in court since the statute of limitations has passed.
In Turkey, as many as 115 pregnant girls, some as young as 15, have passed through an Istanbul hospital, raising concerns over teenage pregnancies and sexual abuse. News website Hurriyet Daily reported that hospitals had treated 38 girls under the age of 15, and 77 who were younger than 18. The age of consent is 18 in Turkey and all cases of pregnancy under the age of 15 are classified as child abuse. Reactions to the story online, however, have claimed that police do not always take action, and Hurriyet Daily has previously reported that the hospital in question is under investigation for failing to pass on information regarding teenage pregnancies to the authorities, which is compulsory under Health Ministry regulations. Also of concern is the fact that 39 Syrian girls were among the children treated, raising fears that refugee children are being targeted for child marriages.
Armed conflict
Two people have been killed and 14 others were wounded during an attack on a Save the Children office in Afghanistan. At least four gunmen stormed the office in Jalalabad after using rocket-propelled grenades to blast their way inside. At least 45 people have been rescued from the basement of the building so far, as Afghan security forces responded. The so-called Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, with initial reports suggesting that the attackers had been wearing military uniforms. All Save the Children programmes across Afghanistan have been temporarily suspended and offices shut. This attack comes just days after Taliban fighters attacked a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, and following the ambush of Red Cross staff last year.
The war in Yemen has killed or injured more than 5,000 children and left another 400,000 severely malnourished and fighting for their lives, according to UNICEF. Two million Yemeni children were found to be out of school, a quarter of them since the conflict escalated when a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in March 2015. The 5,000 children killed or injured in the violence amounts to an average of five children every day since March 2015. The UN agency said more than 11 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance and has called the situation the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, the German government has said it will immediately stop approving arms exports to anyone participating in the war in Yemen including Saudi Arabia, a major buyer of German weapons.
As many as 1.3 million children have been displaced in Iraq during the three-year war with so-called Islamic State militants, according to the UN. While the country’s government last month declared victory over Islamic State, persistent bombing and shooting attacks is making it difficult to rebuild the lives of displaced people. UNICEF’s representative in Iraq, Peter Hawkins, said that as a result of the conflict, the lack of investment and poverty, four million children are now in need across Iraq. “Violence is not only killing and maiming children; it is destroying schools, hospitals, homes and roads. It is tearing apart the diverse social fabric and the culture of tolerance that hold communities together,” Hawkins said. For those who have managed to return already, the effects of conflict are obvious. Nearly one third are reported to have returned to houses that have been significantly damaged, roughly 60 percent went back to housing that was moderately damaged and water and power supplies in many areas have been disrupted.
UPCOMING EVENTS
EMPLOYMENT
LEAK OF THE WEEK
A Texas judge who once had a man arrested for calling him a fool made headlines this week after telling jurors in a child sex trafficking case that God had assured him of the defendant’s innocence. Judge Jack Robison apologised to jurors for the interruption, but defended his actions by telling them “ when God tells me I gotta do something, I gotta do it”.
The judge then recused himself and the jury returned a guilty verdict, convicting the defendant of continuous trafficking of a person. It remains unclear why Robison was divinely inspired to speak out, as he has refused to comment, but given the unanimous verdict from the jury it seems his decision flew in the face of the available evidence.
Texas’ ethical code for judges stipulates that they should “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary”, but sadly remains silent on ‘direct messages from God’.
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