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International Conventions which are meant to protect children from torture have been widely ratified in the United Nations, Inter-American and African Union systems on human rights. However, the fundamental right to protection from Torture, Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading behaviour is still being violated the world over. CRIN has compiled illustrative examples of how States are failing to respect these standards. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 37 (b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; (c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances; (d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action. Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture The case - known as "Bosques de San Nicolas" - is about the brutal murder of five Guatemalan street children in June 1990 which involved at least two national police officers. The tortured and mutilated bodies of the five youth, aged between 15 and 20, were found dumped in an isolated area of Guatemala City. Some of the children had their eyes burned out; others their tongues severed. All had been shot in the head. Casa Alianza/Covenant House Latin America pursued the case in the Guatemalan courts. Although a bullet found in the body of one of the victims was matched to the gun of one of the accused police officers, the judge decided not to submit this evidence, and the policemen were released for lack of evidence. After four years of legal battle, the Supreme Court of Guatemala upheld the decision of the lower court which found the policemen not guilty. Subsequently, on 15 September 1994, Casa Alianza, in cooperation with the Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), took the case to the Inter American Commission for Human Rights. The Commission agreed that the rights of the children were violated by the State of Guatemala, and passed the case on to the Inter-American Court in San José, Costa Rica. Under the American Convention on Human Rights, the ICHR has legal jurisdiction over countries (including Guatemala) which have accepted the jurisdiction of the Court. On 2 December 1999, just over nine years after the crimes were committed, the ICHR condemned the State of Guatemala for violating a series of articles of both the American Convention on Human Rights and the Inter American Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Torture. In the 30 year history of the ICHR, there has never been a ruling on children as victims of human rights violations and abuses. [Source: Human Rights Tribune] Other cases African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child Article 16: Protection Against Child Abuse and Torture 1. States Parties to the present Charter shall take specific legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment and especially physical or mental injury or abuse, neglect or maltreatment including sexual abuse, while in the care of the child. 2. Protective measures under this Article shall include effective procedures for the establishment of special monitoring units to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting referral investigation, treatment, and follow-up of instances of child abuse and neglect. The treaty that deals with torture is the European the Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The Convention, which entered into force on 1 February 1989, provides for the setting up of an international committee empowered to visit all places where persons are deprived of their liberty by a public authority. The committee, composed of independent experts, may make recommendations and suggest improvements in order to strengthen, if necessary, the protection of persons visited from torture and from inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This Convention has been ratified by countries (46 Member States of the Council of Europe and one non-member State; Montenegro). For specific cases involving torture, see also the homepage of the European Court of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights provides a Portal which provides free online access to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Commission of Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers. The judgments, decisions, resolutions and reports of these bodies are held in a database and can be consulted via a sophisticated search screen.
States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
Street Children in Guatemala
The first case involving children ever to come before the Inter American Court on Human Rights (ICHR) is in its final stages. On 21 January 2000, the ICHR announced that it would begin considering what damages to award for the murder of five Guatemala street youth by police. The compensation process is likely to take a year to conclude. Results are expected no earlier than April 2001.