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CRINMAIL 1153

2 March 2010 - CRINMAIL 1153

 


 **NEWS IN BRIEF**


To view this CRINMAIL online, visit: http://www.crin.org/email/crinmail_detail.asp?crinmailID=3261

Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at info@crin.org. Adobe Acrobat is required for viewing some of the documents, and if required can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.




EARTHQUAKES: Haiti - Chile - Kyrgyzstan [update]

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale has struck the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan today. The quake, which shook Bishkek, the country's capital, is reported to be the third in the last three days, according to the Institute of Seismology of Kyrgyzstan's National Academy of Sciences.

The disaster in Kyrgyzstan comes days after a massive earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale jolted the Chilean city of Concepción, killing 723 people. Authorities are reportedly struggling to restore order and a night-time curfew has been extended after desperate residents raided shops, complaining that government food aid was arriving too slowly.

Children's charity SOS Children's Villages has reported an attempted armed break-in.

Meanwhile, Haiti's quake victims are facing further misery, according to the report below by Human Rights Watch stressing that children's rights must be taken into account in relief operations.

Haiti's quake victims vulnerable as rainy season looms

The earthquake in Haiti has created a humanitarian disaster of immense complexity that brought a massive humanitarian response. However, integrating human rights concerns into the relief operations is essential to protecting the well-being of Haitian victims, especially women, children, and other vulnerable groups.

The vast majority of settlements sheltering earthquake victims have zero security, Human Rights Watch learned while visiting 15 camps in Port au Prince and Jacmel. Even though these settlements hold between 5,000 and 35,000 people each, no one has formal responsibility for what happens inside or around them, and security officers are conspicuously absent.

The majority of these camps have no proper latrines or areas to wash. Women wanting privacy to bathe seek out isolated, dark areas, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Most camps are completely dark after sunset, making them unsafe.

Two women told of us of gang rapes and of being raped when returning from bathing in hidden areas of the camp. One girl was raped in her tent. But with no one in authority running the camps, they had nowhere to report the assaults. No one is investigating these cases.

Many children live in camps without their families. While other organisations are looking closely into this issue, trafficking should be a serious concern as cars and trucks stream - unchecked -- from Haiti into the Dominican Republic after dark.

Conditions for everyone living in the settlements, where many shelters are made of sticks and pieces of cloth, will only worsen once the rainy season starts in March. Camps built on hillsides are in danger of being washed away by heavy rains and mudslides. Only 23,000 proper tents have been distributed, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance. At least 1.2 million people are homeless.

Access to food is another major problem. The World Food Programme's two-week "food surge" did not reach some of the largest camps. Some of the issues include the location of distribution points far from the camps, the absence of security arrangements that would allow on-site distributions, and the reliance on local officials - some of whom, Human Rights Watch found, were involved in selling or otherwise interfering with fair distribution of the food coupons.

A key step in stemming most of these problems will be building safe camps that have basic sanitation and can protect people from bad weather. To establish these camps, the Haitian government needs land. But most of the land around Port au Prince is privately owned. That means that the government needs either to expropriate or to buy the land to allow the international community to create proper camps. These settlements need to be built quickly so that they can provide shelter during the rainy season.

Acquiring the land lawfully and building proper, well-monitored camps can keep the squalid and unsafe conditions experienced by hundreds of thousands of quake survivors from becoming deadly as rain arrives.

[Sources: Human Rights Watch, China Daily, SOS Children's Villages - Chile, Alertnet]

Updates on the situation of children's rights in these countries will be made available on CRIN's pages on Chile, Haiti and Kyrgyzstan. To send information, email info@crin.org.

Further information


For more information, contact:
Child Rights Information Network
East Studio, 2 Pontypool Place
London SE1 8QF, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)207 401 2257
Email: info@crin.org
Website: www.crin.org


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EGYPT: Rights group slams Education Minister's comments on corporal punishment [news]

The Egyptian Center for Education Rights has slammed statements made by Egypt's Education Minister saying that banning teachers from beating students as a form of punishment makes them 'vulnerable'.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Center warned that Minister Ahmed Zaki Badr's remarks before the Shura Council's Education Committee could increase violence against children in schools.

"The Minister has done away with all international pacts on human rights, local laws, and numerous psychological and educational studies that highlight the negative effects of physical pain on children's behavioural attitudes both in the present and the future. These studies stress that physical violence inflicted on children and adolescents affects their decision-making abilities and causes psychological disorders," said the Center...

The statement maintains that the Minister should have asserted that violence against children is a crime against humanity, adding that Badr some might interpret his remarks as a green light for violence against children.

The Center said Badr should take responsibility for the potential consequences of his remarks. The Center believes that, in addition to escalating violence levels, the Minister's comments may complicate student-teacher relationships, increase drop-out rates, intensify hatred towards teachers and deprive schools of quality certificates, leading, in some cases, to their closure.

[Source: Al Masry Al Youm]

Further information


Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=21952


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NETHERLANDS: Eviction of undocumented children unlawful [news]

 
[28 February 2010] - The Dutch policy to evict undocumented children from reception centres following a failed residency bid denies children their basic right to protection, according to the European Committee of Social Rights in response to a collective complaint submitted by Defence for Children International - The Netherlands Section.

The European Committee found that the Netherlands' policy of evicting children and their families from reception centres violates the rights contained in the European Social Charter, pointing out that the right to shelter is directly linked to the right to life, social protection, and respect for the child’s human dignity and best interests.

On 14 January 2008, Defence for Children International - The Netherlands Section submitted a collective complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights alongside Fischer lawyers, UNICEF the Netherlands and LOS ( a support centre for undocumented persons), with the support of the Dutch Section of the International Commission of Jurists.

“This decision is a milestone for the protection of children who are unlawfully present in the Netherlands,” said Carla van Os, Migration and Children’s Rights Advocate at Defence for Children International.

The European Committee monitors the implementation of the European Social Charter by States Parties. The European Social Charter is a significant treaty at the European level for the protection of human rights. It complements the European Convention on Human Rights, and reflects the rights of children as recognised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Importantly, the Committee considers the general principle of the best interests of the child, as recognised in article 3 of the CRC, as a binding principle under the European Social Charter.

Defence for Children International considers the Committee's decision on the child’s right to shelter a unique opportunity for all those responsible for ensuring children's rights, including local and governmental authorities and lawyers, to work together for a humane reception of undocumented children and their parents in the Netherlands and other European countries.

Read the Committee's decision on the merits here.

Further information

 
For more information, contact:
Defence for Children International - Netherlands
PO Box 75297, 1070 AG Amsterdam
Tel: 00 31 20 420 3771; Fax: 00 31 20 420 3832
Email: info@defenceforchildren.nl

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=22000



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INDIA: Children not included in "inclusive" budget [publication]


[DELHI, 2 March 2010] - Indian Finance Minister’s Pranab Mukherjee’s “inclusive” 2010-11 budget does not include children despite the fact that children represent more than 42 per cent of the population. 

HAQ: Centre for Child Rights has prepared a brief analysis of the budget, which was announced this morning, to assist organisations in looking at the budget from a child's perspective and in sharing children's concerns with the rest of the country.

Read the analysis here.


Further information

 

For more information, contact:
HAQ: Centre for Child Rights
B 1/2, Ground Floor, Malviya Nagar
New Delhi: 110017, India
Tel: 00 91 11 26674688; Fax: 00 91 11 26673599
Email: info@haqcrc.org
Website: www.haqcrc.org

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=22007

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UGANDA: Last chance to shelve Anti-Homosexuality Bill should not be missed, warn UN human rights experts [news]


[GENEVA, 1 March 2010] – With its third and final reading imminent before the Ugandan Parliament, two UN Special Rapporteurs* voiced their deep concerns about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which, if adopted, would have an extremely damaging impact on the important and legitimate work of human rights defenders in the country, and would curtail fundamental freedoms.

“The Bill would not only violate the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Ugandan people,” stressed Margaret Sekaggya and Frank La Rue, “but would also criminalise the legitimate activities of men and women, as well as national and international organisations, who strive for the respect for equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

According to the Bill, in addition to a fine, the offender would face imprisonment of at least five years, and in the case of a non-governmental organisation, the cancelling of its certificate of registration and criminal liability for its director.

“The Bill would further unjustifiably obstruct the exercise of the right to freedoms of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, and association, by prohibiting the publication and dissemination of materials on homosexuality, as well as funding and sponsoring related activities,” the Special Rapporteurs said.

The experts welcomed “the recent attempts made by President Museveni and other members of the Government to prevent the Bill from becoming law, and call on them to redouble their efforts at this crucial time.”

“We urge Parliamentarians to refrain from adopting this draconian Bill,” said the independent experts echoing previous statements made by the UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, and the UN Special Rapporteur on health, Anand Grover.

“Adopting the Bill would be in clear breach of international human rights norms and standards contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” warned Ms. Sekaggya and Mr. La Rue.

“The passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill,” they noted, “would also gravely tarnish the image of Uganda on the regional and international scenes.”

(*) Ms. Margaret Sekaggya, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, and Mr. Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

The proposed law would violate the rights of gay children, children with HIV, and children who are merely suspected of having a same-sex liaison. Read more about how the Bill would affect children in a  story published by the Associated Press in December


Further information


For more information, contact:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10
Tel: +41 22 917 9000; Fax: +41 22 917 9016
Website: www.ohchr.org

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=22016

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EDUCATION: Africa Education Watch - Good governance lessons for primary education [publication]


Poor governance and management are jeopardising efforts to provide quality basic education in seven African countries according to a new report published by Transparency International (TI).

The report, Africa Education Watch: Good governance lessons for primary education, shows that despite ten years of efforts to increase school enrolment through the Education for All initiative and the Millennium Development Goals, deficient or non-existent governance systems and practices are limiting progress.

“Increasing school enrolment is not enough. To ensure true, lasting progress in education levels and best use of the scarce resources available, oversight and accountability must be improved,” said Stephane Stassen, Senior Programme Coordinator at TI, who leads the Africa Education Watch programme.

The report, which assesses primary education management structures in Ghana, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda, analyses data from 8,500 questionnaires completed by parents, head teachers, heads of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and district education officers.

In the past decade, according to UNESCO, more primary school age children in Africa are going to school than ever before, and in many countries primary education is, by law, free of charge. However, TI’s report found that parents who can ill-afford it still face fees. In the countries covered, 44 per cent of surveyed parents were requested to pay registration fees for their children. “Poor accounting and reported diversions of budgeted funds clearly show that funding must come with better management capacity and accountability mechanisms,” said Stassen.

The report identifies where the transfer of funds and supplies from central governments to schools is likely to be diverted. Most schools do not keep complete or even basic records of their finances, the report shows. There is also an overall lack of training in financial management by head teachers and those responsible for managing school budgets.

TI chapters in the seven countries will work with governments and civil society to increase management capacity and strengthen accountability mechanisms, in order to ensure, that Education for All goals are met.

Key Findings:

  • Funding for schools is not transparent and external inspections are conducted infrequently. The roles and responsibilities of decentralised authorities managing schools are often unclear.
  • Parents in all countries surveyed reported paying registration fees for primary education even though by law primary schooling is free. This ranged from 90 per cent of surveyed parents in Morocco to nine per cent in Ghana.
  • Overall, 85 per cent of schools surveyed across all countries had either deficient accounting systems or none at all. This ranged from 100 per cent in Niger to 69 per cent in Madagascar.
  • The majority of head teachers in Madagascar (58 per cent), Morocco (77 percent), Niger (92 per cent) and Senegal (59 per cent) and most members of School Management Committees in all countries received no training in financial management though they are responsible for budgets.
  • Parents in all countries said they believed the education system was affected by corruption, ranging from 10 per cent in Madagascar to 85 per cent in Sierra Leone.

Strengthening the governance framework in education management results in a more efficient management of resources, and is a necessary step to improving the delivery of quality education. The report recommends Ministries of Education introduce stronger accountability norms. Specifically, clearer and more robust rules for keeping school records are needed, coupled with more frequent inspections to ensure that these rules are respected. It also recommends that Ministries of Education and civil society invest firstly in training to ensure school managers and parents have the capacity to administer and oversee budgets, and secondly in public awareness campaigns to educate parents about their rights.

Further information


For more information, contact:
Transparency International
International Secretariat
Alt Moabit 96, 10559 Berlin, Germany

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=22014

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Children that slip across borders [news]


[PRETORIA, 26 February 2010] - Zimbabwe's still-limping economy can provide few essential services, so children living along the border cross into South Africa to attend school during the day or even to see a doctor, often at great risk to their personal safety.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) regional child protection advisor for East and Southern Africa, Cornelius Williams, said the movement of unaccompanied child migrants from Zimbabwe was one of the biggest problems confronting humanitarian agencies in the region. Between 3,000 and 15,000 Zimbabwean children are known to move into and out of their country every month.

"Unfortunately, governments continue to devote most of their resources to child trafficking, where much smaller numbers of children are involved," Williams told IRIN at a meeting of officials from 15 countries in Pretoria from 23 to 25 February to discuss ways of strengthening cross-border co-operation to protect children at risk.

William Duncan, deputy secretary-general of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the Netherlands-based world organization for cross-border cooperation in civil and commercial matters, said an even bigger issue was that "There is no central authority in Zimbabwe to contact to help repatriate the child."

The Chief Family Advocate in South Africa's Department of justice and Constitutional Development, Petunia Seabi, said a solution to the problem was being worked out. "We are in talks with the Zimbabwean authorities to set up protocols to protect these children."

She said neither of the governments would prevent children from accessing services across the border, but would rather try addressing the risks the children took while crossing the border unaccompanied.

Duncan pointed out that the numbers of Zimbabwean children moving around the region only underlined the need for close cooperation between child protection agencies and "between judges in different countries, and the Hague Children's conventions make this possible."

Many African countries have yet to ratify the Hague Conventions pertaining to children, which seek to standardize international legislation and provide a comprehensive legal framework to for the cross-border movement of children; more governments have ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Duncan acknowledged that most countries did not have the resources or the capacity to ratify the Hague Conventions, which include treaties on child abduction, inter-country adoption, protection of children and the international recovery of child support. He said the Hague Conference was trying to build capacity.

Delegates at the meeting said the discussion on the need for better cooperation between governments couldn't have come at a better time than on the eve of the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa in June.

"We will probably see a flood of child migrants to South Africa, not only attracted by economic benefits but a chance to spot their football hero," said Williams.

The South African government was gearing up for the challenge, he said. They were planning safe areas for unaccompanied child migrants around the various stadia, and an advertising campaign aimed at visitors, which, they hoped, would deter child prostitution.

[Source: IRIN News]


Further information



Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=22001

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**NEWS IN BRIEF**

Violence: Learn Without Fear Campaign Progress Report (2 March 2010)
This report summarises the work carried out by Plan campaigners across 60 countries during the first year of Learn Without Fear. It is based on a monitoring and evaluation questionnaire and two pilot projects.
http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=22011

Europe: High Level Conference on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights (2 March 2010)
During the final part of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, INTERIGHTS, together with other partner organisations, played an active part in the process of preparation for the Ministerial Conference on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights, which took place in Interlaken, Switzerland on 18-19 February 2010. The meeting was concluded with the adoption of a joint Declaration setting out an action plan for the reform of the Court and a timetable for implementing the action plan.
http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=22006

South Korea: State to Sign Convention on Parental Child Abduction (2 March 2010)
Korea is to join the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in an effort to prevent a divorced parent in an international marriage from taking children to his or her native country.
http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=22009

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