CRINmail 1476
In this issue:
LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Bodily integrity and freedom of religion
An England and Wales high court judge has prevented a father from having his two sons circumcised, ruling that the decision should be left to the boys. The father, who is a devout Muslim, argued that circumcision would be in accordance with his “Muslim practice and religious beliefs” and in the “children’s best interests”. While the children have been raised in the Muslim faith, the judge said there is no guarantee that they will continue observing the religion as they grow up, pointing out however that circumcision is irreversible. Consequently she ruled: "I am deferring the decision to the point where each of the boys themselves will make their individual choices once they have the maturity and insight to appreciate the consequences and longer-term effects of the decisions which they reach.”
From a health perspective, some medical groups have claimed that circumcision reduces the risk of penile cancer and sexually transmitted diseases, but this claim is strongly refuted, and in the UK the practice is not deemed medically necessary under the National Health Service.
Religious exemptions in the US
Repeated failures to regulate religious childcare centres in the United States have prompted a series of investigations by Reveal, the new face of the Center for Investigative Reporting. In the US a number of states have religious exemption laws, meaning that if children are looked after by a religious group they are free from the same rules governing safety and standard operating procedures that a secular business would have to observe. Reporters at Reveal found cases in religious daycare centres of children dying after serious neglect, being whipped, beaten and locked up, and found that in some cases, the people responsible avoided jail and set up new childcare ventures later on.
Another variety of religious exemption in some US states applies to faith healing, and the withholding of modern medicine from children if parents believe their prayers will cure their sick or injured child. Several victims of these laws spoke to the Guardian last week about how they suffered with curable illnesses and injuries or were left disabled by a lack of treatment due to their parents’ faith. Many states have faith healing exemptions allowing for religious defences for felony crimes against children in their child abuse and neglect laws. Idaho has refused to make a change to these laws for at least the rest of the year, as there is no further time to organise a debate and vote on the issue during the current session of the state’s legislature. In Tennessee, however, the House recently gave its approval to a bill repealing a controversial 1994 law allowing parents to refuse a child medical care in favour of "spiritual treatment" and prayer.
Health and toxics
Authorities in China are investigating reports that nearly 500 children have developed “serious health problems” after their new school, located next to a former industrial site, opened. The affected children are reported to have developed dermatitis, blood abnormalities, leukaemia and lymphoma believed to be a result of air, soil and water toxins. Nearly five out of six pupils at the privately-run Changzhou Foreign Language School in the eastern city of Changzhou in Jiangsu province are affected, according to China Central Television (CCTV), which interviewed parents who said they have been complaining for months. The incident was exposed a year ago, according to social media users, who in addition say state-run schools in the area are also affected.
Child sexual abuse
Canada’s military has reformed its training for soldiers on overseas deployments after criticism of its mishandling of child abuse reports in Afghanistan. The defence department has released the results of a long-awaited investigation examining the response of the Canadian military to reports of sexual abuse of boys by Afghan soldiers and interpreters, with greater focus now being put on ethical issues, cultural differences and addressing human rights violations. The investigation confirmed that Canadian soldiers witnessed or suspected assaults of children by Afghan soldiers, but that breakdowns in communications left senior commanders in the dark about the abuse concerns. Instead, the military took action only after a soldier told the Toronto Star in 2008 that he had witnessed abuse. Other stories said soldiers had been told by commanders to ignore incidents of sexual abuse. Similarly US soldiers and marines in Afghanistan are instructed not to intervene in cases of sexual abuse against young boys at the hands of Afghan police and soldiers, even if a child is brought into US military bases to be abused.
Advocacy organisation AIDS-Free World has received leaked information about 41 additional cases of sexual violence by UN peacekeepers in Central African Republic (CAR). The allegations emerged after a series of interviews were carried out in the remote town of Dekoa. It appears that despite MINUSCA informing UN headquarters that an “integrated team” documented the new cases of sexual violence that were never previously reported, the UN failed to make these allegations immediately public. Despite the coded cable being sent to UN headquarters during the visit to CAR of newly appointed UN Special Coordinator Jane Holl Lute, she appears to have repeatedly failed to provide information on these cases. The Code Blue campaign claims these repeated exercises in evasion suggest the culture of suppressing information is still alive and well at the UN despite new reforms being implemented.
Assessing child rights civil society
Save the Children and CIVICUS are inviting advocates to answer a brief survey on the space for child rights focused civil society. Many studies have been done to assess space for civil society more broadly, but nothing on child rights civil society specifically. The results from this survey, which is targeted at adult led civil society working on child rights, will inform a public policy brief identifying challenges faced in the field, assessing the strategies employed to sustain the space to operate. The survey, which takes less than 10 minutes to complete, is available in English, Arabic,French and Spanish. The deadline is: 29 April.
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MINIMUM AGES: Children's freedom of religion
Following the launch of CRIN’s discussion paper on minimum ages, we will be providing weekly snippets of a children’s rights issue where age thresholds are applied. This week, we look at children’s right to practice or choose their own religion or no religion.
Children have an independent right to freedom of religion and belief. The Convention on the Rights of the Children enshrines children’s right to determine and follow their own convictions under parental guidance - as opposed to control - in accordance with the child’s evolving capacities. This means children should never be compelled to follow a belief system that they do not adhere to, and they should be able to choose to follow or leave their religion or belief as and when they decide, without risk of physical or mental violence. In addition, children should never be compelled to attend religious schools or religious education classes. Schools should promote respect for people of all faiths, encourage inter-faith understanding and work with students to challenge divisive, violent and fundamentalist versions of all religions.
Read more on the issue on page 9 of CRIN’s discussion paper on minimum ages. The paper draws out some general principles and criteria to ensure consistent and adequate respect for children’s rights in setting such ages.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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
Call for submissions: 8th Child in the City conference
Organisation: Child in the City
Submission deadline: 29 April 2016
Event date: 7-9 November 2016
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Alternative care: International alternative care conference
Organisation: University of Geneva and Institut de droits l’enfant
Deadline for travel subsidies & poster applications: 1 May 2016
Event dates: 3-5 October 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Child rights: Geneva summer school on children's rights
Organisation: University of Geneva
Application deadline: 1 May 2016
Course dates: 6-17 June 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Funding opportunity: Grants for capacity building in child protection systems and legal professionals representing children
Organisation: European Commission
Application deadline: 5 May 2016
Business: Call for papers for int'l conference on business & human rights
Organisation: Various
Submission deadline: 5 May 2016
Event date: 20-21 October 2016
Location: Seville, Spain
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
Child labour: Eliminating child labour & promoting decent work in agriculture for young people of legal working age
Organisation: ILO International Training Centre
Application deadline: 12 May 2016
Course dates: 27 June - 1 July 2016
Location: Turin, Italy
Justice: Juvenile justice in Europe - Past, present and future?
Organisation: University of Liverpool et al
Date: 26-27 May 2016
Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom
Investment: Why Europe needs to invest in children
Organisation: Eurochild
Date: 5-7 July 2016
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Statelessness: StatelessKids Youth Congress
Organisation: European Network on Statelessness
Dates: 11-13 July 2016
Location: Brussels, Belgium
South Asia: Submissions for journal - ‘Institutionalised Children: Explorations and Beyond’
Organisation: Udayan Care
Abstract deadline: 15 July 2016
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
Participation: Young Citizens & Society: Fostering Civic Participation
Organisation: University of Strathclyde
Dates: 2-3 September 2016
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
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EMPLOYMENT
CRIN: Web Manager and IT Support
Location: London, United Kingdom
Application deadline: Until filled
CRIN: Middle East and North Africa Intern
Location: Bethlehem, Palestine
Application deadline: Rolling deadline
Council of Europe: Programme Advisor (children’s rights division)
Location: Strasbourg, France
Application deadline: 30 April 2016
Child Soldiers International: Trustees
Location: N/A
Application deadline: 3 May 2016
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: Representative for Children and Youth
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Application deadline: 6 May 2016
Afghanistan Mother and Child: Trustees
Location: London, United Kingdom
Location: Bethlehem, Palestine
LEAK OF THE WEEK
Children’s right to a name and identity does not mean that any old name will do, least of all if it’s the name of a toxic chemical compound like Cyanide.
Most countries that have baby naming laws impose restrictions in order to save a child any potential embarrassment, while others require names to contain letters of the national alphabet, fit grammatically with the language and be easy to pronounce, and reflect the sex of the child.
In the case of almost-Cyanide, the mother said the compound was "responsible for killing Hitler" and therefore a "positive" name. But an appeals court judge thought otherwise, arguing: "It does not need expert evidence or academic research to appreciate that a name which attracts ridicule, teasing, bullying or embarrassment will have a deleterious effect on a child's self-esteem and self-confidence with potentially long-term consequences for him or her. The burden of such a name can also cause that child to feel considerable resentment towards the parent who inflicted it upon him or her."
If only such judgements had also prevented the cases of parents naming their children Lego, Fish and Chips, Keenan Got Lucy, Enamel, Vagina, and Post Office.
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