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In this issue:

LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

Access to justice & child-friendly justice

Children in Sierra Leone are being left in prison for years without trial, deprived of legal assistance and visitors in some cases, according to reports from Al Jazeera. The broadcaster spoke with a number of children detained usually without trial and often without charges being brought formally against them. The interviews revealed numerous supposed crimes, ranging from “sacrilege” to “conspiracy to commit sexual penetration” and a shared sense of dread over what will happen when they are transferred to adult prisons upon turning 18. Mambo Feika, director of Prison Watch Sierra Leone, said that there was a “misplacement of priorities and a complete neglect for the wellbeing of these kids at the highest level of government”, with standards for juvenile justice effectively ignored by the authorities.

The United States government may have to provide lawyers for thousands of children who face deportation after a federal judge in Seattle gave the go-ahead to a class-action lawsuit by a coalition of immigrants-rights groups. The Obama administration tried to get the case dismissed, arguing that certain due process rights afforded by the Fifth Amendment do not apply to people who have not been formally “admitted” into the US. But District Judge Thomas Zilly rejected this claim, asserting that there is no case law to prove that non-US citizens are not entitled to such protections. A bench trial is scheduled for 12 September. The case will impact deportation cases of thousands of immigrant children, many fleeing oppression and persecution in Central America. Judge Zilly noted, however, that the court faces the question of whether there is a distinction between the rights afforded children in different parts of the deportation process.

A 16-year-old in Australia can be compelled to give evidence against a brother accused of terrorism offences after a ruling from the New South Wales Supreme Court. The teenager was summoned to testify before the New South Wales Crime Commission (NSWCC) but argued that the secretive nature of the proceedings and the long wait before coming before the court had caused him undue “stress and anxiety”. Despite ruling that he could be made to testify, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Rothman stated that the rights of the child as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child would have to be respected during compulsory examinations. The boy's legal team argued that the best interests of children should be the most important consideration in administrative decision-making. Meanwhile former Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy said the ruling did not go far enough towards establishing proper judicial oversight in cases relating to children and terrorism.

Impact on children’s health

Attacks on civilian targets in Syria, including a hospital housing Aleppo's last paediatrician, have been condemned by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as revealing a “monstrous disregard” for human life. Government attacks on civilian targets have repeatedly killed children and other civilians, with escalating violence last week claiming the lives of 34 children and many more adults. Recourse to the International Criminal Court has repeatedly been blocked by members of the UN Security Council, despite repeated strikes against civilian targets by both sides of the conflict. Meanwhile, the United States ruled in its own internal investigation that the targeting of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, which killed 42 civilians, did not constitute a war crime, as there was no intention to attack a civilian target. The investigation nonetheless revealed procedural failures, including military personnel not verifying if the target was a “legitimate military target”.

In Ukraine 453,391 children are among the two million people under medical observation, treatment or support for the effects of the Chernobyl disaster which occurred 30 years ago, according to health ministry figures obtained by USA Today. Meanwhile in Russia 240,000 children currently undergo annual medical tests linked to the nuclear blast, which spread radiation in the atmosphere, largely affecting Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Health problems linked to the explosion include cancer, congenital malformations, respiratory problems and compromised immune systems. Estimates by the World Health Organization, the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency concur that 9,000 people will die of cancer from the Chernobyl disaster. Other estimates of the projected death toll range between 30,000 to 60,000. But some experts say it is difficult to separate natural rates of cancer and illness from those attributed to Chernobyl.

Sexual abuse and exploitation

Rape at the hands of relatives and a lack of sex education are driving pregnancies among girls in El Salvador, which has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Latin America. Sexual health experts say a key way to curb teen pregnancies is to provide girls and boys with access to family planning information and services, including emergency contraception. However, El Salvador has no formal curriculum on sex education, and schools are not required to provide it. Initiatives to develop a nationwide curriculum on sex education have been opposed by the Catholic Church and some evangelical groups. Meanwhile the country is thought to have the world’s strictest abortion law, which imposes a no-exceptions ban on terminating a pregnancy, and women have even been jailed for years over a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Also in El Salvador, the UN expert on contemporary forms of slavery has called on the government to do more to protect the victims of contemporary forms of slavery, such as forced labour and domestic servitude. Urmila Bhoola identified a number of issues of concern in the current context of escalating gang-related violence, particularly the forced recruitment of children as young as nine years old into gangs, as well as coercion of girls and women into participating in sexual activity with gang members, including as so-called “brides” of imprisoned gang members who are forced to attend ‘conjugal’ visits.

In the United Kingdom children as young as 11 are among 1,160 alleged victims of revenge porn who reported offences in the first year of a new law coming into effect, which made it a crime to share private sexual photographs or films without the subject's consent. So-called revenge porn refers to the act of a partner or ex-partner purposefully distributing sexual images or footage without the other person's consent. Thirty percent of offences recorded involve young people under 19, and the average age of a revenge porn victim was 25.  More than 60 percent of reported offences resulted in no action being taken due to a lack of evidence or the victim withdrawing support. Laura Higgins, Online Safety Operations Manager at the Revenge Porn Helpline, said the new legislation contained flaws around victim anonymity as well as a failure to cover historical cases and altered images, such as through Photoshop.

Surveys: disabilities and participation

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is inviting users to take part in a questionnaire regarding article 5 (on equality and non-discrimination) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The survey addresses countries’ anti-discrimination legislation, national policies and initiatives, and data collection, among other areas. The responses will inform a study on the article. Access the survey here. The deadline is 30 June.

Plan International and the Centre for Children's Rights at Queen's University Belfast are inviting users to take part in an online survey about children's participation in budgetary decision-making worldwide and what factors enable this to take place. Anyone aged 16 years and over is welcome to take part. The survey is open until 14 May and is available in English, French, and Spanish.

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MINIMUM AGES: Access to media

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 access to media.   

Age ratings should be in place for traditional media such as cinema screenings for protection purposes. This is because there is no administrative capacity for assessing a child’s competence. Digital media, however, are much harder to regulate, not least because children themselves are producers of content. Age restrictions here are a blunt and ineffective way of ensuring children’s protection from ‘inappropriate’ content, raising questions about who decides what is ‘appropriate’, why and what kind of reporting and redress system is in place. Evidence suggests that well-informed and engaged parents who discuss the internet with their children are the most effective means of protection. Any risk prevention strategy should also draw on children’s own views and experiences. Crucially steps to ensure children’s protection rights should be balanced with respect for their other rights, not seen as opposing goals.

Read more on the issue on page 22 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

Funding opportunity: Grants for capacity building in child protection systems and legal professionals representing children
Organisation: European Commission
Application deadline: 5 May 2016 

Social services: Policy forum on decentralisation of social services
Organisation: Child Protection Hub for South East Europe
Date: 10-11 May 2016
Location: Vienna, Austria

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

Alternative care: International alternative care conference
Organisation: University of Geneva and Institut de droits l’enfant
Event dates: 3-5 October 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

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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

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia: Representative for Children and Youth
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Application deadline: 6 May 2016

Oak Foundation: Director of the Child Abuse Programme
Application deadline: 31 May 2015
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

THE LAST WORD

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