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In this issue:

LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS

LGBT rights and restrictions

A group of UN human rights experts has called for an end to the pathologisation of sexuality and gender identity, as the week saw the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, with this year’s theme focusing on mental health and well being. The UN experts celebrated being LGBT as “part of the rich diversity of human nature”, while warning that treating non-heteronormative sexualities and gender identities as abnormal, especially within the medical profession, is used to justify forcing or coercing LGBT people of all ages to undergo practices such as psychiatric evaluations, hormone therapy and sterilisation.

In related news, the Obama administration has issued a directive telling every public school district in the United States to allow transgender students to use the lavatory that matches their gender identity. A number of US states have banned people from toilets in public buildings and schools not matching the sex on their birth certificate. But in a letter, the US education and justice departments told schools that while the guidance carries no legal weight, they must not discriminate against students, including discrimination based on their gender identity. It also contains the implicit warning that school districts which do not abide by the administration’s interpretation of the law could face lawsuits or be deprived of federal funding. The move came as Canada’s government introduced legislation to extend human rights protections for transgender people, including by criminalising discrimination and hate speech based on gender identity and expression.

A Hasidic Jewish school in the United Kingdom has been banned from admitting new pupils until it agrees to include LGBT issues in its curriculum. The school had appealed the Department of Education ban, arguing that same-sex relationships and gender reassignment were forbidden in the Jewish faith, and therefore could not be taught. But the Care Standards tribunal rejected the appeal, with Judge Hugh Brayne saying that failure to teach students about LGBT issues “prevents the school from encouraging respect for people who have such characteristics,” and pupils would be ill-equipped “to enter modern British society” which “accepts as part of its diversity civil partnerships, gay marriage, families with same-sex parents and acceptance of transgender persons”. Also on education, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have released an online video teaching children to oppose same-sex parenting and that homosexuals can “change”. Among its features, the video, titled ‘One Man, One Woman’, teaches that Jehovah “invented marriage the way he did” so “we can be happiest”.  

A father in New Zealand is taking legal action to block his transgender child from undergoing gender transition treatment, in a case that spotlights how parental permission can sometimes be a barrier for transgender children. J.K., as the child is referred to in court documents, was born with female genitalia but identifies as male, has changed his name to a commonly-used male name, and uses male pronouns to describe himself. Referrals to medical and psychological experts ended with J.K. being given puberty blockers, which are injected once a month. Children must be 16 years old and above before they are legally able to make a decision about medical treatment; but a judge reviewing the case said the situation "is really about J.K. and his role in determining his own future".

Inhuman sentencing & juvenile justice

A teenager in Iran who was tortured into confessing to a rape and murder has had his scheduled execution postponed following a global outcry. Alireza Tajiki, now 19 years old, was 15 at the time of his arrest in May 2012. He was sentenced to death in April 2013 following a conviction for murder and rape, despite having repeatedly retracted his forced ‘confessions’ during proceedings. The sentence handed down by a provincial court was initially quashed by the country’s Supreme Court due to a lack of forensic evidence linking him to the alleged sexual assault, with orders to conduct a new investigation. The criminal court, however, resentenced him to death in November 2014 based on a medical opinion stating that he had attained ‘mental maturity’, ignoring the Supreme Court’s concerns over insufficient forensic evidence. In spite of this, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence in February 2015, citing judges’ discretionary powers to determine guilt in the absence of conclusive evidence, known as the principle of ‘knowledge of the judge’.

In Egypt, more than 150 people, including children, have been sentenced to between two and five years in prison for participation in protests against the government’s decision to transfer sovereignty over two Red Sea islands to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In accordance with what appears to have become established practice in confronting critics of the government, the cases were heard by a special court circuit for terrorism-related offences. Of the 111 people convicted for “protesting without permit, joining a terrorist group and disturbing the public order and security”, ten were minors referred to juvenile court. This kind of mass trial is not an isolated incident and children have often found themselves subjected to arbitrary detentions, ‘disappearances’ and even torture as part of an increasing crackdown on civil and political freedoms in Egypt.

The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) has launched a report on juvenile justice priority issues in the Asia-Pacific region. The report focuses on violence against children, restorative justice, cross-border issues and diversionary and alternative measures.

Violence at borders, in detention & schools

Eleven children under the age of six, including four babies, are among 149 people to have died this year following their detention in horrendous conditions in the notorious Giwa military detention centre in Maiduguri, Nigeria. A report by Amnesty International found that around 1,200 people are currently detained at Giwa barracks in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Many were arbitrarily rounded up during mass arrests, often with no evidence against them. Once inside the barracks, they are incarcerated without access to the outside world or trial. At least 120 of those detained are children and at least 12 others have died since February. Furthermore, Amnesty reports that since 2011 more than 8,000 young men and boys have been either shot, starved, suffocated or tortured to death in Nigerian military custody with no-one being held responsible for any deaths.

Human Rights Watch has documented border guards shooting and beating Syrian asylum seekers trying to reach Turkey. In the past two months, five people have been killed, including one child, and 14 others have been seriously injured. The violence against displaced Syrians and Turkey’s refusal to allow them to cross the border comes as the European Union closes its borders to asylum seekers, instead committing €6 billion in aid to Turkey to assist those trapped in the region. Despite claims of an “open-door policy”, Turkey has been building a new 900km border wall to stem the flow refugees, and Turkish border guards reportedly prevented thousands of displaced people from fleeing after refugee camps near the border were hit by artillery fire on 13 and 15 April.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia has expressed concern about the continued use of corporal punishment in schools. In response to media reports questioning new school discipline regulations, recent statements by the Malaysian Education Director-General have confirmed that the heads of schools will be allowed to cane students as a form of punishment. Corporal punishment for boys is permitted by the head teacher or staff members for offences such as threatening behaviour, possession of drugs, bullying and distribution of pornography, but is prohibited for female students. The Director-General clarified that caning has been allowed in schools for “more serious offences” since 1959.
 

Health and public services

Infants and children in Venezuela are dying due to a lack of medicine, machinery and electricity as the country’s economic crisis spirals further out of control. Antibiotics remain in short supply and in one hospital in the capital only two of the nine operating theatres for children remain open. A number of under-18s have reportedly died from malnutrition since the crisis began and news outlets are claiming that operations have been taking place without gloves, soap or sterile operating rooms for surgeons. Public sector workers have been told to work only two days a week to save electricity and the country’s clocks have been put forward to ensure more of the working day takes place in daylight.

Chemicals in pesticides are linked to childhood cancers and learning and behavioural problems, according to the latest report by the Pesticide Action Network. The organisation also claims that children in agricultural communities are exposed to pesticides more often than most children, as they are more likely to be in contact with pesticides other than those commonly found in food, gardens and public parks, due to their proximity to fields. On a related note, children’s rights and the environment will be the focus of the 2016 Day of General Discussion by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Day will take place on Friday, 23 September at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Click here for more information.

In the United States, the governor of Alabama has signed a bill requiring abortion clinics to be more than 2,000ft from all public schools, effectively mandating the closure of one of the State’s five abortion providers. The law imposes restrictions similar to those applied to sex offenders and will increase the costs required for women who are increasingly being made to travel long distances when they are seeking a safe, legal abortion. Other laws seeking to stop abortions taking place have been challenged in Texas recently, with campaigners from the Center for Reproductive Rights billing an upcoming Supreme Court challenge as the biggest case since Roe v. Wade. 

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MINIMUM AGES: Consent to medical treatment or surgery 

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 consent, or refuse consent, to medical treatment or surgery without parental consent.

A child’s opinion should be heard in health-related matters and given due weight based on their capacity. But age should not be the determining factor in evaluating if a child has the capacity to consent or reject treatment and care. Instead, a range of factors, including psychological maturity, experience and context should be assessed on a case by case basis. A key element of the right to consent or refuse consent involvesaccess to impartial, appropriate and sensitive counselling to support the child to make informed decisions and avert parental pressure. Rights violations may occur when there are tensions between children's right to make decisions about their own bodies and what others perceive to be in their best interests. In this respect, access to justice acts as a safeguard against incorrect determinations as to the child's capacity.

Read more on the issue on page 21 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

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 the rights of the child
Organisation: University of Nottingham
Application deadline: 1 June 2016
Event date: 27 June – 1 July 2016
Location: Nottingham, 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

Oak Foundation: Director of the Child Abuse Programme
Application deadline: 31 May 2016
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Council of Europe: Policy Adviser (child rights)
Application deadline: 24 June 2016
Location: Strasbourg, France

THE LAST WORD

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