JANUARY 31, 2012: A large number of 76 countries have been classified as ‘extremely risky’ in terms of involvement in child labour for global companies on the Child Labour Index 2012 as per the recent annual study on human rights violations conducted by UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft. This represents an increase in global use of child labour from last year with 68 countries categorized as extremely risky. The Child Labour Index, developed by Maplecroft evaluates the extent of country-level child labour practices and the performance of governments in preventing child labour and ensuring the accountability of perpetrators.

The Child labour Index 2012 evaluated the frequency and severity of reported child labour incidents in 197 countries. The countries topping the Index as worst performers are conflict torn and authoritarian states – Myanmar (1), North Korea (2), Somalia (3), Sudan (4), DR Congo (5), Zimbabwe (6), Afghanistan (7), Burundi (8), Pakistan (9) and Ethiopia (10).

The Child Labour Index 2012 also ranks large and emerging economies as being extremely risky. Philippines, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Mexico and BRIC countries, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India and China pose extreme child labour risks to supply chains of companies. As per Maplecroft, the risks that these economies pose to companies are distinct as they form critical links within the multinational supply chains. These economies provide a source for a range of materials/goods that companies use in the supply chains of their products, many of which are tainted with child labour violations. Gold and rubber from Philippines, footwear and oil from Indonesia, coffee and tobacco from Mexico, sugarcane from Brazil and cotton, embroidered textiles, gems from India – these are just some examples from the long list of goods produced in these countries using child labour.
For detailed report visit http://www.globalmarch.org/news/310112.php

India: Use of child labour in households growing

Kolkata, January 30: Pointing to a rise in child labour in domestic units, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is seeking to bring households under the ambit of labour laws. India is estimated to have at least 13 million child labourers in the age-group of 5-14 years as per 2001 Census figures.

"There is growth in child labour, especially in the informal sector, the household units. The child labour law doesn't cover this sector. We want the household sector to be brought under its ambit," NCPCR chief Shanta Sinha said. "Under the Right to Education Act, no child can be employed anywhere - neither at home, nor at any factory or brick kiln. There has to be a total ban on child labour," she said.

Though the central government has broadened the coverage of child labour laws by banning children's services as domestic workers and as workers in restaurants, dhabas, hotels, yet a lot of children across the country continue to work in such units.

According to Unicef, "close to half the children leave school before reaching Grade 8 with higher dropout rates for SC (Scheduled Caste) children (55 out of 100) and the highest for ST (Scheduled Tribe) children (63 out of 100)". It also states that children who are out of school are either part of the labour pool or at the risk of child labour, along with trafficking, early marriage or other violations.

Men Allowed to Beat Wife and Children in UAE

ABU DHABI, January 28: The UAE’s highest judicial body says a man can beat his wife and young children as long as the beating leaves no physical marks.

The Federal Supreme Court made the ruling earlier this month in the case of a man who left cuts and bruises on his wife and adult daughter after a beating.

It says the man was guilty of harming the women but noted that Islamic codes allow for “discipline” if no marks are left. It also says children who have reached “adulthood” – approximately puberty – cannot be struck. The ruling was reported in the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.

Rs 25000 reward for information on sex selection in India

JAIPUR, January17: After imposing ban on sex determination of the babies, the state government has intensified the fight against female foeticide by launched a new scheme which promises reward to those who can provide information about sex selection activities at neighbourhood clinics, hospitals and sonography centres.

The government has introduced a ‘mukhbir yojna’, under which a person providing confirmed information about the involvement of a doctor or a medical staff in sex determination or unregistered and illegal sonography machines will get a reward of Rs 25,000. The sliding sex ratio in the state stands at 883 as per the 2011 Census against 909 in 2001 according to Jaipur district collector Navin Mahajan.

Earlier a website was launched where in any person could provide information on sex determination practices without revealing identity. Under the Pre-Conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, the state government has authorized the police to file complaints in the court. The move is aimed to instill fear of arrest among offenders.

European Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect

SCEM Conference Services is organizing the European Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect from May 23- 25 this year in Amsterdam. Registration is open for those who are interested in participation. Top

Council of Europe elects new Human Rights Commissioner

STRASBOURG, January 24: The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly elected at its plenary session Mr Nils Muižnieks from Latvia as the organisation’s new Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Commissioner is mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in the 47 CoE member states for a term-of-office of six years. His mandate will begin on April 1, 2012. He will take over from current Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, who has championed human and children's rights throughout his mandate, speaking out on a series of pressing issues. In an interview, Muižnieks says he aims to continue Hammarberg’s “excellent work”, including on the rights of children. Top

UN police accused of sexual exploitation

HAITI, JANUARY 24: The UN is investigating two reports of alleged sexual exploitation of children by UN peacekeepers in Haiti. These cases come four months after several Uruguayan servicemen were recalled amid allegations that they were involved in the rape of a teenage boy, alleged to have taken place at a UN base.

This is not the first time that UN forces have been caught up in a sex abuse scandal. Back in 2006, for example, peacekeepers in Liberia were involved in giving food to teenage refugees in exchange for sex. The UN responded by appointing monitors across the country to ensure servicemen adhered to the organisation’s code of conduct, and by introducing compulsory training to all personnel on acceptable conducts.

Despite these efforts, however, activists still contend that sexual abuse involving UN peacekeepers is still rampant. And while “dozens" of soldiers have been punished for sexual abuse, many more have escaped justice. Top

NORWAY: Authorities allegedly seized Indian couple’s children for feeding them by hand

NORWAY, January 23: An Indian couple is battling in Norway for the custody of their two children, who have been taken away and sent to foster care by Child Protective Services. The situation has created a diplomatic confrontation, with India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna expected to speak to his counterpart in Norway. Krishna urged the Indian ambassador to speak to the Norwegian Foreign envoy and demand the children be returned to their parents. He also reportedly urged the envoy to lodge an official protest.

According to reports, in May 2011, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya lost custody of their toddlers - three-year-old Avigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya - after Norwegian authorities objected to them hand feeding the children, equating it to force feeding.

"The Child Welfare Service has a responsibility to intervene if measures at the home are not sufficient to meet a child's needs. The Norwegian Child Welfare Act applies to all children in Norway, regardless of the child's nationality, citizenship or cultural background," NDTV quoted Gunnar Toresen, Head of Child Welfare Services from Stavanger, Norway, as saying.

Norway's Child Protective Service is a powerful body charged with protecting the rights of children living in difficult family situations. But there are many reports of excesses."There has been a report in UN in 2005 which criticised Norway for taking too many children in public care. The amount was 12,500 children and Norway is a small country," said Svein Kjetil Lode Svendsen, a lawyer.

What seem to be cultural differences have now turned out into a full-fledged legal battle for the children's custody. Parents have visitation rights once or twice a year. The Bhattacharyas have already lost a legal case against the issue and the children will be in the care of foster parents until the age of 18, NDTV said. Top

Indonesians dump flowers, flip-flops for child rights

JAKARTA, January 22: A community in eastern Indonesia has placed 1,000 pink adenium flowers outside the local parliament, police station and courtroom, not to say thanks, but to send a message: leave our kids alone.

In recent weeks, Indonesians outraged by reports of children arrested for petty crimes - some of whom were later beaten by police - have been mocking law enforcers with flowers, coins and even used footwear.

Police are locking up children for minor misdemeanors while rampant official corruption and theft of millions in public funds is often punished with just a slap on the wrist, protesters and rights advocates say. Top

ANPPCAN Ghana to host 2nd International Conference in Africa on Child Sexual Abuse

GHANA, January 16: African Movement for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), Ghana in collaboration with African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) Regional Office in Kenya is organizing the Second International Conference in Africa on Child Sexual Abuse to be held at LaPalm Royal Beach Hotel in Ghana on March12-14, 2012. The theme for this year’s conference is “Taking Stock of the Status of Child Sexual Abuse in Africa since the First International Conference in 2007 Held in Nairobi, Kenya”.

The purpose of this second conference is to review progress made towards improving the situation of children who are at risk of sexual abuse or have already been abused. The Conference will offer yet another opportunity to stakeholders to reflect on what has been done in various African countries on child sexual abuse since the first conference and also deliberate and share on the necessary protective mechanisms and safe nets available against sexual abuse of children.

It also hopes to mobilize and remind governments, communities and civil society organizations and others on their responsibility to protect children against Child Sexual abuse and the need to accelerate the efforts towards protecting children from sexual abuse, which is a worst form of gender-based violence.

More information on the conference, registration and abstract submission is available at www.sicacsaconference.weebly.com, www.ampcanghana.org. Top

UN News

JANUARY 18: The Committee on the Rights of the Child considered the report of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on how the country is implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on children involved in armed conflict.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers is inviting stakeholders to share information on the practices of human rights education and continuing training of judges, prosecutors, public defenders and lawyers. Top

BURMA/MYANMAR: 40,000 Rohingya children unregistered

BANGKOK, January 19: An estimated 40,000 Rohingya children are believed to be unregistered in Myanmar, according to a report.

"Despite recent reform efforts in Myanmar, the government has reaffirmed its deeply discriminatory policies against the Rohingya, and the children bear the brunt of this," Chris Lewa, director of The Arakan Project and author of the report, told IRIN before a session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva.

These include the requirement of government authorization for marriage and a "two-child policy". These restrictions have made children "evidence" of unregistered marriages, an act punishable with up to 10 years in prison, while third and fourth children who are unregistered are essentially "blacklisted" for life - unable to travel, attend school or marry.

Under Myanmar's 1982 citizenship law, Rohingya children - both registered and unregistered - are stateless and hence, face limited access to food and healthcare, leaving them susceptible to preventable diseases and malnutrition. Many are prevented from attending school and used for forced labour, contributing to a Rohingya illiteracy rate of 80 per cent. More than 60 per cent of children aged between five and 17 have never enrolled in school, the report said. Top

INDIA: Six Bonded Labourers Freed
DELHI, January 20: Six bonded child labourers were recovered in a police raid on a complaint filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan,from a construction site of Soochna Bhawan, office of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Most of the rescued labourers belong to Bihar and UP and are between 13-17 years of age. They said that they were working for the construction company for more than 12 hours a day and were getting Rs 130 to Rs 160 as daily wages (which is much below the prescribed minimum wages of Delhi).

The labourers were engaged in iron-rod cutting, electrical repair and plumber work. They were found to be working in poor physical conditions, some even having sore hands and feet. Trafficked to Delhi by his own brother-in-law, Gopal (name changed), 14 years, said “ I was told that I will get Rs 130 as daily wages for working here but till now, I have not been given anything. When I ask for money, the Thekedaar just gives me some money for food and chalks me away.”

Incharge of the raid said that the rescued labourers were declared bonded labourers as they were getting lesser wages than the defined minimum wages for labourers in Delhi notified by the government and they would be provided with a release certificate as well as a compensation of Rs 20,000 by the government. Top

INDONESIA: Calls to abolish child prisons

INDONESIA, January 16: The topic of children being held in detention is one that is gaining more attention internationally and even in developed states. Calls to abolish child prisons have intensified across the country, led by the Indonesian Police Profession Association (ISPKI). Children are currently held in prisons in Indonesia due to the fact that at eight years old children are held criminally responsible for their crimes.

Although it sounds shocking that this could be legal, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child does not state explicitly that it is illegal to hold a child under the age of 18 in prison.

Article 37 (b) does state that “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.”

Outside of arguments over the legality of holding children as young as eight years old in prison, advocates have called on the government to re-evaluate and abolish child prisons.

There are reports of violence committed by police against child inmates, as well as children being detained with hardened adult criminals. Cases of children being detained often have to do with immigration issues in the West, where children of illegal immigrants are sometimes held in detention centres for months.

Israeli detention of Palestinian children is also a high profile issue. A report on the Israeli military-justice system in the West Bank compiled by the Palestine office of the Geneva-based Defense for Children International, which works closely with the UN and European states, found that inside the territories, the Israeli military deems any Palestinian who is 16 years and older as an adult, while inside Israel, the US and most other countries, adulthood is reached at age 18.

Sexual harassment law may soon cover domestic workers

NEW DELHI, January 12: Domestic workers could soon have the right to complain against sexual harassment. The women and child development ministry is likely to review its position and accept the recommendations of a parliamentary panel to include domestic workers within the ambit of the 'Protection of women against sexual harassment at workplace bill'.
The bill provides for a secure working environment for women and mandates setting up of internal committees both in the formal and informal sectors to ensure that complaints are addressed.
Domestic workers comprise 30 per cent of the female workforce in the unorganized sector. There are 47.5 lac registered domestic workers in the country.
The committee had received representations from several domestic workers associations including 5,000 postcards advocating "domestic work is work and domestic workers are workers'' for inclusion. The sexual harassment bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 7, 2010 and was referred to the standing committee on December 30, 2010. It submitted its report in the winter session last year. (Source: CRIN) Top

NEPAL: Call for Child Rights Body

KATHMANDU, January 7: Norwegian Ambassador Alf Arne Ramslien said in a statement that Nepal should take steps towards ensuring child rights and form an independent child rights protection mechanism. Ramslien pointed that though about half of Nepalis are under the age of 18, the country does not have an independent commission to resolve problems facing the children.

He said Norway is always ready to support efforts to establish such a commission in Nepal to ensure a violence-free environment for children. Reidar Hjermann, Norwegian ombudsman for children, said the establishment of an independent mechanism is essential to address child-related issues. Top

CHINA: Teacher made students slap each other as punishment

SUZHAO, December 22, 2011: Students as young as nine year old were made to slap each other for indiscipline by their teacher in a school in Suzhao which is part of Jiangsu province in East China. When the parents of a child found that their daughter had been slapped by their classmates multiple times they complained the school.

When confronted, Ms Gu accepted her misdeed but claimed that whatever she did was for the welfare of the kids.

The school authority quickly reacted in this matter and Shi Yongju, school's headmaster said, "We are ashamed of the incident and I myself can't accept it either". Others students are also being examined after a suspicion that Xiao Xue isn't the only victim of Ms Gu's misdeeds and so far three more kids have been found out with red marks on their face.

An official with the local education bureau said that this punishment was as harsh as corporal punishment and ordered the school to step up ethics education for teachers and threatened to revoke the school's license if such incident is repeated in future. Top