Les histoires qui se cachent derrière les affaires de droits de l’enfant
Le litige stratégique est un moyen efficace mais parfois intimidant de combattre les violations des droits de l’enfant.
Ceux qui ne sont pas des professionnels du droit peuvent penser qu’il s’agit là de procédures complexes et très longues, qui n’ont aucun lien avec leurs outils habituels.
Même si l’on est avocat, accepter de défendre des affaires “stratégiques” qui peuvent avoir un impact sur la vie de nombreux enfants (et sur l’ensemble de la société) peut être particulièrement intimidant.
C’est pour ces raisons certes compréhensibles que l’on néglige parfois le recours au litige stratégique comme outil de plaidoyer.
CRIN développe actuellement une série d’études de cas visant à encourager les avocats spécialistes des droits de l’enfant dans le monde entier à faire usage du litige stratégique dans les situations où cela s’avère pertinent.
Bien que le compte-rendu juridique des cas de litige stratégique soit souvent à disposition - y compris dans la base de données juridiques de CRIN - il y est souvent peu fait état des histoires personnelles qui se cachent derrière ces cas.
Les études de cas de CRIN illustrent, à l’aide de témoignages des personnes impliquées, comment le litige stratégique fonctionne en pratique.
Grâce à ce recueil de récits, nous espérons fournir une description de la dimension humaine du litige stratégique en révélant comment, pourquoi et par qui les violations de droits ont été portées devant les tribunaux.
Notre objectif est de couvrir un large spectre de violations de droits et de juridictions compétentes, et de rendre publics des cas peu connus. À travers la diffusion d’informations au sujet de cas de lutte contre la peine de mort ou pour l’accès à l’éducation, d’affaires de mariage forcé ou de sévices corporels, nous espérons en apprendre plus de la part des avocats et des militants du monde entier afin de changer l’avenir de manière positive et efficace. En partageant ces histoires, nous espérons non seulement attirer l’attention vers la lutte contre les violations des droits de l’enfant, mais nous souhaitons aussi vous fournir les outils pour combattre des atteintes similaires dans votre pays.
Les études de cas (en anglais) seront publiées sur cette page au fur et à mesure de leur rédaction.
NIGERIA: A child bride, a dead husband and a long battle
Accused of murdering her husband of five months when aged just 13, Maimuna Abdulmumini was sentenced to death by a court in Nigeria. After a legal battle lasting six years, lawyers from Avocats Sans Frontieres (ASF) successfully worked to secure a reprieve, but her future remains uncertain.
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KENYA: Nubian children and the struggle for citizenship
Nubians have lived in Kenya for more than a century, but are not considered Kenyan nationals. As such, they face serious restrictions when it comes to gaining access to basic amenities like health care and education. In the case of Nubian Minors v. Kenya, the second-class status of Nubians in Kenya was challenged.
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UNITED KINGDOM: Changing the way the police treat teens in custody
17-year-olds occupy a strange place in English law. They can't drink or get married without their parent's consent, but the moment they enter police custody, they are treated like an adult. This is the story of one London teenager who looked to challenge this legal anomaly in the High Court, and the campaign he helped set in motion.
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AUSTRALIA: Baby Ferouz and the children kept behind bars
Born in Brisbane to asylum seeker parents in November 2013, Baby Ferouz has spent his life moving from detention centre to detention centre. In October 2014, a federal court judge ruled that both he and his family had no right to stay in Australia. Lawyers for Ferouz and other Australian-born babies of people seeking asylum challenged the government's plan to send them to a notorious detention centre, thousands of miles from the mainland.
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INDIA: A toddler’s 18-month wait for justice
Amal* was three-years-old when she was raped by a neighbour in the Delhi slum she lived in with her family. What followed was a brutal cross-examination by defence lawyers, staggering incompetence from the legal system and extensive medical procedures. Her mother, a 24-year-old construction worker from Bihar, fought tirelessly for justice for her daughter in a case that went all the way to the Delhi High Court.
*The name of the child victim has been changed to protect her identity.
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LIBERIA: Firing back at Firestone
By the early 2000s, Harbel, Liberia, a town founded by giant American tyre manufacture Firestone, had become synonymous with child labour. A legal case brought against Firestone by 23 workers garnered massive media attention and led to significant changes at the 220 square mile rubber plantation which thousands of labourers called home.
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IRELAND: ‘Nothing is going to change the past, but we can protect the children of the future’
Louise O’Keefe was eight years-old when she was sexually abused by her school principal. It would take her 40 years and a lengthy legal battle with the Irish state for her to get justice. This is her story.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Teenagers no longer prosecuted for kissing or consensual sex
A law that criminalised sexual activity between consenting adolescents in South Africa - even for kissing and cuddling - and required them to be put on a sex offenders register was struck down as unconstitutional after a challenge from the Centre for Child Law.
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KENYA: Baby A and the question mark
A question mark on an intersex baby’s medical documents in Kenya nearly condemned a child to a life without medical care, schooling or a passport. Challenging the incorrect document, the child’s mother took the case to the Kenyan High Court.
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SENEGAL: First steps taken to eradicate forced child begging in Quranic schools
A committee of African human rights experts agreed that Senegal must work to stop children in Quranic schools being forced to beg for food and money after two postgraduate students compiled a complaint on behalf of the exploited children.
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EUROPE: Progress on corporal punishment of children after collective complaints
By issuing seven separate collective complaints to the European Committee of Social Rights an organisation seeking a global ban on the corporal punishment of children prompted new legislation and public debate of the issue.
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BULGARIA: No more excuses on education for children with disabilities
After discovering that children with mental disabilities were being systematically denied education in Bulgaria, a pair of NGOs submitted a complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR). The organisations alleged that the Bulgarian government was failing to provide education for up to 3,000 children.
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UNITED STATES: Combatting climate change with the public trust doctrine
A group of children brought a petition to Washington’s Department of Ecology, asking them to adopt a rule to limit carbon emissions in their state. After being denied and then ignored they appealed against the Department’s rulemaking process claiming that, to be effective, it would have to be in line with up-to-date climate science.
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COLOMBIA: Free education secured for 12 million children
Part of a law which allowed the Colombian government to charge for primary education was deemed unconstitutional after a pair of Colombian lawyers, collaborating with the law faculty at New York’s Cornell University and a coalition of civil society organisations, brought a direct challenge against its discriminatory provisions.
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BANGLADESH: Mandatory death penalty declared void after 14-year legal battle
Sentenced to death for a crime allegedly committed when he was just 14, a Bangladeshi boy’s case became the centre of a lengthy legal battle which ultimately led to mandatory executions being declared unconstitutional.
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PERU: Abortion guidelines established after 90-year delay
A girl who became pregnant after being raped was denied a legal abortion, despite the danger to her physical and mental health. She was left paralysed after attempting suicide, but thanks to her case, Peru now has a protocol on therapeutic abortion and the UN has recognised the denial of a legal abortion as a form of discrimination against women.
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CROATIA: Sex-ed stalemate after decades of disagreement
A collective complaint before the European Committee of Social Rights exposed discrimination in the material being taught in Croatian sex education classes but did not manage to cement a better system. Sex education in Croatia remains a divisive issue between religious and secular campaigners and teachers to this day.
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PARAGUAY: State on trial over military’s killing of child soldier
After a child soldier was shot in the back and killed at a military base in Paraguay his parents spent 16 years asking why there was not a timely or effective investigation by the State. After bringing their case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights they finally got answers, an apology and changes to the country’s recruitment practices.
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