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In this issue:
LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS
Children in detention
Egyptian security forces allegedly detained and tortured a group of 20 people, eight of them children, after an arrest sweep in Alexandria in February, according to reports by Human Rights Watch. Those rounded up were detained for their alleged involvement in illegal protests, vandalism and arson, and joining a banned organisation. The detainees say they were tortured into confessing, describing to relatives how they were punched and given electric shocks in the genitals, had their arms tied and suspended from their arms, handcuffed in painful positions for long periods, had water thrown on them, and were forced to sleep on the floor in the cold. The police deny claims that arrest records were fakes to cover up the allegations.
There are 440 children currently in military detention in Israel, the highest total since the Israeli army started issuing figures in 2008, according to a new report by Defence for Children International - Palestine. Many of the children were detained in night raids, despite promises two years ago from the Israeli army to phase out these raids following international condemnation. According to the report, three-quarters of children reported being physically assaulted during their detention, in nearly 90 percent of cases parents had no idea where their child had been taken, and in 97 percent of interrogations no parent or lawyer was allowed to be present. Most Palestinian children in Israeli detention have been convicted of throwing stones. Israel is the only country in the world, according to DCIP, that "systematically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children in military courts each year".
Girls’ bodily integrity
In Australia a 12-year-old pregnant girl, who has a history of self harm and suicide attempts, was forced to seek a judge’s approval to terminate the pregnancy under strict abortion laws. In Queensland, it is illegal to carry out an abortion unless a doctor decides it is necessary to avoid risk to a woman’s mental and physical health. But the need to establish legal competency of a patient means doctors are reluctant to proceed in cases of children without the explicit authority of a court. The girl maintained she had independently arrived at her decision to end the pregnancy. What followed was a month of consultations with a general practitioner, a social worker, two obstetricians and a psychiatrist. One politician described this legal process as “cruel and unusual treatment”, and now intends to introduce a bill to strike abortion from the state’s criminal code at the next sitting of parliament.
Girls in Guinea younger than 10 years old are increasingly being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said. Guinea has the second highest rate of FGM in the world after Somalia, with around 97 percent of women and adolescent girls cut, according to UNICEF, with support for the practice among women and girls on the rise. “Social pressure is such that girls may request excision for fear of being excluded or forced to remain unmarried if they do not suffer the practice,” said the OHCHR report. Seven in 10 women aged 20 to 24 were cut before their tenth birthday, compared to 60 percent of women aged 45 to 49, despite the fact FGM has been illegal since 1965, according to a new report by the OHCHR. The practice is traditionally carried out in mass ceremonies, but girls are now often cut individually due to fear of legal sanctions, or they go to medical professionals.
Child marriage and refugees
The differing treatment of child refugees and asylum seekers has sparked debate in Scandinavian countries after it was revealed that some girls are being allowed to stay with much older husbands when they arrive in safe countries. Some national authorities have claimed that it is less traumatic for them to stay with an adult than go through a forced separation after fleeing wars in countries like Afghanistan or Syria. Others, including Norway’s Ombudsman for Children, have argued that there should be a ban on leaving children in adult detention centres, while in Denmark children will only be allowed to live with a partner “under exceptional circumstances”, and under no circumstances if they are younger than 15. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has also added to the story,comparing the way that different States treat unaccompanied minors and highlighting where changes in law and practice are being made when it comes to countries receiving young refugees.
Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom narrowly voted against an amendment requiring the country to accept 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees from Syria, with only 18 votes turning the tide. Opposition politicians have vowed to continue the fight for the stranded children, while supporters of the government have declared that allowing extra unaccompanied children would act as encouragement for parents to send their children to the UK alone, via networks of smugglers, rather than through safer or legal means. At the same time the government is still sending former child refugees back to their country of origin when they turn 18, with the latest reports suggesting that three times as many as previously reported were sent back to war-torn countries in recent years.
Gender discrimination
A federal appeals court in the United States ruled this week in favour of a transgender boy who sued his school for discrimination. The school introduced a policy that requires children to use the bathroom of their “corresponding biological sex”. The appeals court sent the case back to the district court, which previously rejected his claim that he should be entitled to use the bathroom for his preferred gender, this time having clarified that the school’s policy contradicts Title IX, a federal law prohibiting discrimination in schools. This ruling is expected to have significant impact and it also applies to North Carolina where a pending suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenges a state law that prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom corresponding to their preferred gender in state schools and all public agencies.
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MINIMUM AGES: The minimum age of marriage
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 the minimum age of marriage.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child's position on the minimum age of marriage - 18 with exceptions, and only in strict circumstances for over-16s and with judicial permission - provides a 'purist' children’s rights perspective. This focuses on forced marriage as the problem, rather than marriage per se. That said, in practice, many cases that come before the courts operate in a context that condones early marriage. Any exception to a minimum age of 18 should only be acceptable where judicial permission puts individual’s best interests at the forefront of decision making. Where such cases are approved, marriage should not imply sexual consent, and relevant laws, including on rape, must be the same within and outside of marriage. All individuals entering into marriage should have avenues available to leave, and children must be able to seek access to justice in cases of forced marriage, including by being able to bring complaints independently of their parents or guardian. The minimum age of marriage should be uniform across the State for all groups. And any legislative changes or enforcement must be accompanied by measures to change social norms promoting child marriage.
Read more on the issue on page 18 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
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
Child rights: Summer school on children’s rights
Organisation: Leiden University
Application deadline: 1 June 2016
Court date: 11-15 July 2016
Location: Leiden and The Hague, Netherlands
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
It comes as a given that presidential candidates sometimes need to bite their tongue or think hard before they speak on certain topics if they want to maintain a semblance of integrity and respect. While Donald Trump flouts this every time he opens his mouth, his Filipino counterpart Rodrigo Duterte, who has become the surprise favourite to succeed President Benigno Aquino, could be the inspiration of a guide on what presidential candidates should never say. Here are some of his examples:
“I will kill him” - when asked what he would do if one of his children were involved in drugs - hardly hitting the mark as the UN discusses reforming the world drugs policy and its current emphasis on criminalising drug users, let alone killing them.
“They say I am a killer. Maybe I am” - in allusion to accusations that he’s allowed death squads to operate in Davao city, where he is mayor, and expressed support of extrajudicial executions. He also said he’s killed three suspected criminals, and now promises the mass extermination of offenders if he’s elected president.
“I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first” - referring to how rapists “lined up” in the 1989 gang rape of an Australian missionary.
“If I become president, go ahead and sever it” - referring to cutting ties with the US and Australia after their respective ambassadors advised him not to joke about rape and murder.
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