CRINmail 1471
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LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Freedom of expression & violent repression
Saudi Arabia was due to “complete” a wave of mass executions with four more deaths last Friday, with human rights groups fearing that three juveniles were among the prisoners at risk. In January 47 people, including one teenager, were executed in a single day for alleged “terrorist” activities. The three juveniles, Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher, were arrested after attending anti-government protests in 2012. They were aged between 16 and 17 at the time of their arrests and their death sentences were upheld last year. All three were allegedly tortured into signing false “confessions” later used to convict them, according to Amnesty International and Reprieve. The news comes after a Saudi official told the UN Human Rights Council his government “promoted human rights” and “fights torture in all its physical and moral manifestations”. It is not yet known if the the latest executions took place.
Weekly non-violent protests in Palestine against the so-called apartheid wall and illegal Israeli settlements continue to be met with aggression by Israeli occupation forces, including against child protesters. In the latest incident, soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Bil’in village in the West Bank. A nine-year-old was shot with a gas canister in the abdomen, and another child was shot in the face with a rubber bullet.
Justice & accountability for early marriage
The Ethiopian government has been ordered to pay $150,000 to a girl who was raped, abducted and forced to agree to marriage at the age of 13, in a landmark ruling activists hope will deter an outlawed, traditional form of early marriage. Woineshet Zebene Negash, who said she was raped in 2001, filed a complaint with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in 2007 after Ethiopia's court overturned the conviction of her perpetrator. The Commission said Ethiopia must pay reparations to Woineshet for failing to protect her or provide her with justice. Early marriage is a major problem in Ethiopia, where half of girls are brides by the age of 18. Abusive practices include marriage by abduction, as in Woineshet's case, and forced unions between cousins. Families often agree for girls to marry their rapists because of the perceived shame over their loss of virginity.
Lawmakers in the United States are battling to overturn some of the country's most archaic laws which allow children as young as 12 to get married. In the state of Virginia, it is still legal for girls as young as 12 or 13 to be brought to a courthouse to be wed if there is evidence of a pregnancy. Legislation introduced by Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel is now moving through the Virginia General Assembly seeking to raise the minimum age for marriage to 16 to bring it in line with other states. Similar moves are under way in Maryland and New York. The US has one of the lowest minimum ages for marriage in the world, with several states, including Massachusetts, allowing girls as young as 12 to be wed with the consent of a judge. It is matched only by Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where age of consent for marriage ranges from between 9 and 13 years old. Holtzman Vogel said the current law has, in some cases, become “a veil to cover up abuse and prevent people from being prosecuted,” often with the consent of the parent or guardian.
Oil spills, lead poisoning & overmedication
Indigenous children as young as seven years old have been used to help clean up an oil spill in the Peruvian Amazon, using just their bare hands and buckets. Around 3,000 barrels of crude oil spewed into the river last month after a pipe burst, polluting the waterway which provides a livelihood for many communities along its length. This is the second incident involving PetroPeru this year and while officials say the 1970s pipeline is still fit for purpose the government’s environmental watchdog has ordered the company to replace parts of the pipeline and improve maintenance to prevent further spills. Last week local indigenous rights organisation ORPIAN filed a complaint against PetroPeru alleging child exploitation. The children, who say they are paid around $1 for every bucket-full of crude oil, have received no safety instructions or protective clothing. In other news in Peru, an indigenous population has also suffered from suspected mercury poisoning, resulting in the death of at least one child, though tests to confirm this have not yet been carried out.
The World Health Organisation has voiced its concern over the increasing use of anti-depressants in the United Kingdom, after a new study revealed that there has been a 54 percent increase in prescriptions to young people over a seven-year period. Despite a warning in 2004 over fears that some could lead to suicidal behaviour, rises have also been seen in Denmark, Germany, the US and the Netherlands between 2005 and 2012. There is also concern that drugs are not being used in conjunction with other therapies, such as counselling. In other news in the UK, a survey of students in 338 schools showed that more than half have experienced a steep increase in cases of anxiety and stress among pupils, with nearly eight out of 10 schools reporting an increase in the number of students self-harming or having suicidal thoughts.
In the United States, seven families in Flint, Michigan have filed a class action lawsuit against Governor Rick Snyder and other public officials, alleging gross negligence under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The lawsuit comes in relation to the current crisis due to the city’s lead-contaminated water supply. The families are suing for damages regarding the thousands of Flint residents who are subjected to physical and economic injuries as a result of the contamination.
Migration and statelessness
In South Korea, children of foreign-born parents suffer from racial discrimination and lack of access to basic services, a study by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has shown. According to the report, children of undocumented migrants are especially vulnerable to social isolation as well as a lack of basic medical care. It also notes that children who have one Korean and one foreign parent are often bullied at school because of their physical appearance and language barriers. In addition, an estimated 20,000 stateless children are currently residing in South Korea, according to Jasmine Lee, the first non-ethnic Korean to become a lawmaker. Children who are non-nationals face barriers in accessing social and health benefits. For example, one child who suffers from cerebral palsy was denied acknowledgement as a person with a disability because he is a non-national, and so is unable to receive social and health benefits. Ms Lee has proposed a law allowing the birth registration of children born in South Korea to one or more undocumented parents, which is currently pending at the National Assembly.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Alternative care: Improving standards of care - systems, policies & practices
Organisation: Udayan Care
Date: 18-19 March 2016
Location: Noida, India
Funding opportunity: Call for proposals from organisations supporting unaccompanied and separated children and youth in Greece
Organisation: European Programme for Integration and Migration - Epim
Application deadline: 31 March 2016
Location: Greece
Call for submissions: 8th Child in the City conference
Organisation: Child in the City
Submission deadline: 31 March 2016
Event date: 7-9 November 2016
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Americas: 157th session of the IACHR
Organisation: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Dates: 2-15 April 2016
Location: Washington DC, United States
Leadership: Future Leaders Programme
Organisation: The Resource Alliance
Event date: 4-8 April 2016
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
Street children: Call for submissions on CRC General Comment on Children in Street Situations
Organisation: UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Submission deadline: 12 April 2016
Location: N/A
Summer school: Critical interdisciplinary course on children’s rights
Organisation: Various
Application deadline: 15 April 2016 (for scholarship applicants)
Dates: 28 August - 9 September 2016
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Disability: 32nd Pacific Rim international conference on disability and diversity
Organisation: Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Event date: 25-26 April 2016
Location: Honolulu, United States
Child rights: Online foundation course on children's rights
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Event date: 27 April - 7 June 2016
Location: Online
Child rights: Online course on child safeguarding
Organisation: Human Rights Education Associates
Event date: 27 April - 7 June 2016
Location: Online
Alternative care: International alternative care conference
Organisation: University of Geneva and Institut de droits l’enfant
Event dates: 3-5 October 2016
Deadline for travel subsidies & poster applications: 1 May 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Child rights: Geneva summer school on children's rights
Organisation: University of Geneva
Course dates: 6-17 June 2016
Application deadline: 1 May 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Europe: Exploring a multidisciplinary approach to child-friendly justice in European law
Organisation: Academy of European Law
Date: 5-6 May 2016
Location: Krakow, Poland
Digital rights: Children & young people's rights in the digital age pre-conference
Organisation: Int’l Association for Media & Communication Research
Event date: 26-27 July 2016
Location: London, United Kingdom
Violence: 21st ISPCAN International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect
Organisation: International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)
Dates: 28-31 August 2016
Location: Calgary, Canada
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EMPLOYMENT
CRIN: Middle East and North Africa Intern
Application deadline: Rolling deadline
Location: Bethlehem, Palestine
International Social Services: Consultancy - Training tool for those working with children in need of alternative care
Application deadline: 17 March 2016
Location: N/A
UNICEF Office of Research: Research & Evaluation Specialist (Migration Research)
Application deadline: 19 March 2016
Location: Florence, Italy
Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict: Research Officer
Application deadline: 31 March 2016
Location: New York City, United States
Afghanistan Mother and Child: Trustees
Application deadline: N/A
Location: London, United Kingdom
LEAK OF THE WEEK
Why provide unaccompanied migrant children with legal counsel when they can represent themselves in court. After all, immigration law is so easy, children as young as three years old can be “trained” in it, according to federal US immigration judge Jack Weil.
Speaking as an expert witness on behalf of the government in a case about whether unaccompanied children who cross the border into the US should be provided with legal counsel, Weil said: "I have trained 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds in immigration law. You can do a fair hearing."
Immigration lawyers have criticised this practice as a violation of due process rights, explaining that immigration laws are more complex than tax law, and that even adults can’t be expected to fully understand procedures. To further illustrate the complexities, immigration lawyers conducted mock deportation hearings with their own children. Here are some of their responses to typical questions asked:
What kind of relief would you like to seek?
Child 1: God.
Child 2: Poopy.
Do you designate a country for removal?
Child 1: Yeah.
Child 2: Casa Bonita.
Child 3: Pizza.
Do you have a defence for removability?
Child 1: I’m gonna sit down in my favourite chair.
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