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Building a Europe for and With Children, Monaco 5 April NEW: Report of Children and Young People's Seminar Day 2 [for Day 1, click here] Speaking at the launch of the programme ‘Building a Europe for and with Children, last week in Monaco, Jaap Doek, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child declared that “Violence is the universally practiced violation of children’s rights. It has a negative impact on the enjoyment of education, health, freedom of expression, play and recreation, and for children in conflict with the law.” “What I am missing is the sense of urgency that I think is essential. The violence action plan is a well-appreciated document, containing a rich set of actions, but it is only meant for generating discussions, and must be followed by a White Paper. I am not sure that all the ambitious plans will have survived the discussions by the end of 2008. Will we be able to pull together a long-term strategy for ending violence against children by then? All members of the Council of Europe will have ratified the CRC for ten years by 2008 and therefore committed themselves to ending violence. I do understand that policy-making can sometimes be cumbersome and that fighting sexual exploitation has been a priority in this region, but if we are still talking about ‘breaking the walls of silence’ by then, I will be wondering what States parties have been doing”. Speaking about priorities for combating violence against children, Doek said that “the first priority is prevention. The second priority is prevention, the third priority is prevention.” He recommended the following measures to create a non-violent culture in which to bring up children, including: He went on to say that “Law does not change attitudes, but shows levels of respect. Changes to legislation must go hand-in-hand with awareness-raising and training of all those who work with children, developed in close consultation with parents and others.” Highlights from the roundtable discussion on priorities and strategies for a Europe free of corporal punishment Françoise Tulkens, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, said that States must abolish all forms of punishment, whether physical or mental, in all places where children live and the formulation of prohibition must be explicit so that courts can express this, followed by penal or criminal sanctions and these must be applied. Ms Helena Bargholtz, Member of the Swedish Parliament; Chair of the Sub-Committee on Children, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe talked about Sweden’s experience as the first country in the world to prohibit all corporal punishment of children. In 1979 a provision was added to the Parenthood and Guardianship Code which now reads: "Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment". She said that now attitudes are clear: “you bring children up not by hitting, but by using words. I am quite optimistic about this all through Europe. Sweden had all the same debates before it was banned and now we still need to work on this because there are new parents and families coming to Sweden who do not know about this.” Furthermore, the ban on corporal punishment is in parental law (i.e. civil law), its purpose is to emphasise beyond doubt that the criminal code on assault covers physical punishment, although trivial offences remain unpunished just as trivial assaults between adults are not prosecutable. A detailed research review of the effects of Sweden's ban has been carried out by Professor Joan E Durrant, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Family Studies at the University of Manitoba. Download here. Peter Newell, Coordinator of the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children said that this was a difficult issue because of the personal aspect Children rely on parents for development, have no way for seeking. See also individual reports for each state [pdf format], with details of laws relating to corporal punishment in the home, schools, penal system and alternative care settings, as well as summaries of prevalence research and extracts from recommendations made by human rights treaty bodies. ------------ Highlights from the roundtable on sexual exploitation in cyberspace Ms Carmen Madriñan, Executive Director of ECPAT said that the ability to harm in the virtual world is very different from real world, therefore what is need is appropriate responses. Furthermore, the internet had indeed facilitated the distribution of images, but this also means that there is a demand, therefore it is necessary to educate so that it is publicly unacceptable to harm children. “ We cannot wait for international legislation and larger processes to happen, we must focus attention to support working at community levels and involve different sectors, parents, teachers, police, social workers, etc. See ECPAT’s submission to the UN Study “Violence Against Children in Cyberspace”. Mr. Tim Wright, United Kingdom Home Office explained how dealing with this issue required new ways of working. To deal with this, three steps were needed: 1. A clearer understanding of risks, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the internet and how it is used 2. We must find the balance between the internet as a force for good and evil, internet allows law enforcement to make real progress, we have come a long way, with models such as ‘grooming legislation’ in Scotland 3. International partnerships are essential – and not domestic national plans, as one might get sidetracked in producing plans rather than ‘doing’. Good practice must be quickly harnessed and shared. Recommendations from young people: For more information, visit: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/host/cru/See also: The Council of European Convention on Cybercrime, which has been signed by 50 states, but only ratified by eight. -------------------------------- Closing session Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who just took up his post on 3 April, gave a closing statement for the conference where he confirmed his strong commitment to children’s rights. Hammarberg was most recently the Secretary General of the Olof Palme International Centre in Sweden, a former Secretary General of Save the Children Sweden and member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and a former Secretary General of Amnesty International. In opening he said : "The time has come to move from rhetoric to enforcement. Violence against children must be stopped. It just is not acceptable that children are beaten and battered by adults, very often by those whom they trust most. Neither can we tolerate that children are exploited in pornography or subjected to physical sexual abuse." Mr. Hammarberg, who is also joint coordinator of the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, said that corporal punishment was clearly a sensitive and personal issue, as most adults were hit as children, and unpopular for politicians to talk about, and much easier to focus only on extreme forms of violence to children and on violence by children. "However, we cannot hide behind the right to privacy to justify corporal punishments", he said, "Concerns for the child welfare cannot stop at the front door of the child’s home or school. All children have the right to be educated in an environment free of violence." He continued to say that this new programme was of paramount importance if there was to be a world where people respect each other, "where there is tolerance and where conflicts are resolved by peaceful means, we should take strong action. That is what the present generation of children is expecting for from us. We should not disappoint them." Finally, he ended by saying that "Participation should take place in the family and other living arrangements, in schools, in the community but also in larger fora, within the Council of Europe, for instance. We must create opportunities for children and young people to play an active role in shaping policies. If we are serious about working for children, we should work with them. " Read his full statement More about his election to the Council of Europe here All information related to the UN Study on Violence Against Children and Europe is available here.
Although there is an impressive set of mechanisms developed by the Council of Europe for the protection of children, Doek commented that:
He stressed that other activities to protect children from violence should not be suspended while policies are being drafted. The UN should appoint a Special Representative to monitor, support and promote the implementation of such measures, saying that without it, momentum will be lost. The Council of Europe and the European Union should fully support the recommendations of the Study and the appointment of a Special Representative but at the same time, in close cooperation, appoint a Regional Special Representative, for at least five years.
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She said it was positive that a third of Member states (of the Council of Europe) have abolished corporal punishment, however there are some shadow areas that remain; for instance in families where it is socially acceptable to use corporal punishment, or in schools where it is ‘used’ in the name of discipline.
She continued by admitting that one cannot change society by law and that the primary questions are not legal, but social, economic and cultural. All actors should be supported: parents must be given support in parenting, those working in the education system should be trained in positive discipline, and the media should play an essential role in helping to create a culture of non violence and respect. She ended by saying that of course, children should be involved every step of the way.
Martin from Slovenia and Ellena from the United Kingdom represented the young people’s views and recommendations regarding corporal punishment:
Within the family, schools, and in the community:
She also explained the sorts of campaigns that were necessary at the time in Sweden, for instance, brochures were sent to all parents, there were notices on milk cartons, adverts on television, etc.
“We need to be impatient,” he continued, “and aim to achieve prohibition within the 3 years of this programme. States have to go ahead of public opinion…. The law should be used as an educational tool, it must satisfy children’s rights, but also send the message within the family.
Within the context of the UN Study, all nine regions produced recommendations to call for a ban on corporal punishment and children were very influential in achieving this as States cannot deny the importance of this as children were there. Furthermore, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro who is leading the Study has indicated in speeches that he intends to recommend a universal ban. He is going to need support from states that have achieved this.
Report submitted for the Europe and Western Asia Regional Consultation on Violence Against Children, taking place in Ljubljana from 5 to 7 July 2005. "Too Many Children Denied Human Right To Equal Legal Protection From All Violence In Europe And Central Asia" here.
Mr Hamish McCulloch, Assistant Director, Trafficking in Human Beings, ICPO-Interpol gave the law enforcement perspective and highlighted the very important role played by police officers, for instance, in identifying abusers who make themselves known only through the internet. However in order to do this, information exchange is essential in order to get the full picture. Secondly, the internet has no boundaries, therefore measures must be international.
Thirdly, it is important to remember that the majority of children whose images are on the internet, are being abused in their homes and/or by people they know. Child protection training must therefore be extended not only to schools, but also health workers, police, and parents and children.
Rachel O’Connel; psychologist, Cyberspace Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire, recommended that making well-being online should be mandatory in the school curriculum, but there should also be education and training for parents and young people so that they know what they need to do to be safe. Complaints that are brought to the attention of law enforcement agencies must be taken seriously and followed up, and industries involved in the Internet business should abide by some minimum standards and be ready to report on illicit activities.