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Summary: Daily updates on child rights at the 61 session of
the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Highlights: Commission begin its consideration of
Item 13: The Rights of the Child...
No 8 – Friday 8 April 05
Children Have Rights Too!
Child rights at the 61st Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights
LATEST NEWS – PLENARY SESSION: Item 13, Rights of the Child
The Commission started its consideration of item 13, hearing presentations from
Juan Miguel Petit, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography, and Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Independent
Expert leading a study on violence against children.
Juan Miguel Petit presented his report on child pornography on the Internet,
which is based on information provided by Governments and NGOs after he had sent
out questionnaires. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said he had focused on gathering
substantive information in order to provide an in-depth, global picture of
violence against children, documenting its nature, incidence, causes and
consequences in the various settings in which it occurred. He had also sought
information on the strategies for preventing violence against children and the
responses to it.
The Commission then heared from Representatives of countries and
inter-governmental organisations who spoke about their efforts to promote and
protect children's rights. National delegations outlined their policies to
ensure the promotion and protection of children's rights, problems affecting
children in their countries and efforts to overcome them. Problems mentioned
included physical violence, sexual exploitation, trafficking of children, child
conscription, and child labour. The effects of terrorism and occupation and how
they violated human rights of children were also raised, as were the challenges
posed to children and adolescents by HIV/AIDS.
Some speakers noted the vulnerability of specific groups of children, especially
migrant children, indigenous children, refugee children, and children from
religious and ethnic minorities. The Commission also heard a report on the
Sudan, presented by Emmanuel Akwei Addo, the Independent Expert on the situation
of human rights in the Sudan. It then heard NGO statements who highlighted their
concerns about children’s issues around the world. Full details can be found at
www.crin.org/chr
CHILDREN'S HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS – Monitoring children’s rights
Mr. Jaap E. Doek, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Jaap Doek gave an update about the work of the CRC and an outline of upcoming
projects.
In terms of general highlights, four new members were elected in February, there
are now new periodic guidelines for reporting, and the GA has allowed the CRC to
spend more money on the two chambers examining state reports, which will begin
in January. There are some General Comments being drafted, including: separated
and unaccompanied children, in collaboration with the High Commission for
Refugees, early childhood development and Indigenous children.
Regional workshops for follow up to the CRC have taken place, with the first one
in Damascus and the second one in Bangkok. The aim is to look at some of the
most important issues affecting children in the region. The next one will take
place in Buenos Aires, and will include 11 countries. Participants include 3
government representatives, 2 NGO workers, and 1 member of a national human
rights institution from each participating country.
In terms of guidelines for reporting: the CRC is trying to encourage States
Parties to reduce the size of their periodic reports, and focus on follow up to
recommendations. They will also be asked to give action points and reasons for
non-action, and explain what challenges remain. They must also provide
statistical data, linked to follow up to UNGASS. Many countries do not have
statistics, but they must in order to assess progress and evaluate their
programmes.
NGO SIDE EVENT: “Eliminating Corporal Punishment – The Way Forward to
Constructive Child Disciplineâ€
Panel discussion for the launch of new report. Ed, Stuart N Hart, with Joan
Durrant, Peter Newell and F Clark Power. Published by UNESCO. Preface by Jaap E
Doek, foreword by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
Pinheiro mentioned that after talking to children, he understood that they often
expect to be punished, they are educated in a manner which makes them think that
they deserve it. In fact, 70 countries around the world allow reasonable
chastisement. However as it is becoming more visible and talked about, he
believes it is slowly becoming less acceptable. Furthermore, more and more
parents are starting to ask for alternative ways to discipline their children.
Peter Newell gave a brief description of existing legislation where only 15
countries in the world have given children the same protection from violence as
adults, and 70 still allow corporal punishment in schools. Children should have
the same protection under law as adults, they should have their basic dignity
and physical dignity respected. CP is not compatible with the CRC. The Committee
on the Rights of the Child has given recommendations to about 130 countries on
this issue, other treaty bodies too, and so have several regional human rights
bodies, including the EU, Africa and Latin America.
Joan Durrant, explained that CP is rooted in a belief that in the relationship
child-parent or child-teacher, it is the parent or teacher’s responsibility to
‘socialise’ the child, and CP is an acceptable way to achieve this. There is a
belief that CP teaches the difference between right and wrong, that it builds
respect for the parent/teacher, that it contributes to making children strong,
that it is a separate thing from abuse and that it works.
However, research undertaken by Gershoff, where she included all the cases where
punishment did not cause severe injury and excluded all those that would. In
every case, her evidence showed that it did not work. Evidence also showed that
the negative symptoms that children will demonstrate (aggression, low moral
internalisation, delinquency, etc.) will continue in adult life.
Stuart Hall talked about some solutions that have been collected from
psychologists around the world who offer alternatives to disciplining a child
(Brazil, Yemen, South Africa, Philippines) such as: reparation, rendering of
services to the community, dialogue, prevention, keeping rules simple,
consequences observed in detail, a chance to correct is given.
Resources available at: www.endcorporalpunishment.org
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For detailed reports, visit : http://www.crin.org/chr/reports.htm
COMING UP – Tuesday 12 April
11 – 13, Room XIX: Human rights in Iraq, Interfaith International
13 – 15, Room XXVII: Human Rights Violations and Remedies in the HIV & AIDS
Epidemic, Permanent Mission of Poland, OHCHR, UNAIDS, and Human Rights Watch.
Full agenda is available online at: http://www.crin.org/chr/agenda.htm
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group for
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Subgroup for the Commission on Human
Rights. They are also available at the following link: www.crin.org/chr/news.
You can sign up to receive these by email. Send an email to:
childrightscaucus_chr-subscribe@domeus.co.uk . Further information about the
61st Session is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/chr. To submit
information, contact Veronica Yates on vyates@crin.org. CRIN, c/o Save the
Children, 1, St John’s Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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