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This
e-Newsletter has been produced for Commonwealth National Human Rights
Institutions (NHRIs) by the British Council, as part of the British
Council's project to support networking and sharing between such NHRIs. |
SPOTLIGHT of the month: United Nations Secretary-General's address |
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| Content: | ||
1. Forthcoming Events |
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| FORTHCOMING EVENTS |
| Committee against Torture to hold thirty-fourth session from 2 to 20 may 2005 in Geneva |
| Conference on “Effective Implementation: Preparing to Implement the new India Right to Information Law” from 23 May - 25 May 2005 in New Delhi The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative is organising a national conference on “Effective Implementation: Preparing to Implement the new India Right to Information Law” in New Delhi from 23 May - 25 May 2005. The conference draws together international experts, and civil society and government officials from across India, to discuss practical solutions to the key implementation challenges that the Indian Government will face relating to the new right to information law. The conference will focus on the practicalities of establishing and running an Information Commission, or multiple Commissions throughout the country. It will draw on the experience of Information Commissioners from different jurisdictions, including in facilitating the implementation of proactive disclosure provisions, undertaking training for public officials, developing guidance notes on exemptions and managing the application and appeals process. For further details, please contact Charmaine Rodrigues at CHRI: charmaine@humanrightsinitiative.org |
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Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and Advocacy - A Human Rights Training Programme for Indigenous Advocates in the Asia-Pacific Region in Darwin, Australia from 20 – 29 June, 2005
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Committee on the Rights of the Child - Days of General Discussion on 16 September 2005 |
| Online course on ‘Introduction to Human Rights Education' from 21 September-13 December 2005 The online course from Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) will introduce the international field of human rights education, including presentations of programming approaches, teaching and learning resources, and related theory. The course is intended for educators and trainers working in both the formal and non-formal sectors. Participants will be assisted in the development of a curriculum, training, or plan to use these skills to further their organisation's advocacy efforts. The course involves approximately 60 hours of reading, on-line working groups, interaction among students and instructors, and assignments, and is offered over a 12-week period beginning on 21 September. E-mail will be the main medium for the course, although participants will need to have periodic access to the Web. The course tuition fee is US$ 525. A limited number of scholarships are available for applicants from Africa, Arab World, Asia , Central and Eastern Europe/Newly Independent States, Latin America/Caribbean. |
Workshop on Trafficking from 21-23 November 2005 in Sydney, Australia |
| AWARDS |
| Changemakers Innovation Award on How to End Human Trafficking |
| REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS |
| Australia |
Discussion Paper: Discrimination in employment on the basis of criminal record |
Social Justice Report 2004 and Native Title Report 2004 |
| Commonwealth |
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Gender and Human Rights in the Commonwealth |
| International |
UN Secretary-General's “In Larger Freedom” report urges adoption of UN reform plan |
Too Young to Wed: The Lives, Rights and Health of Young Married Girls |
| Beyond Victims and Villains: Addressing sexual violence in the education sector |
Organising Kit by Amnesty International: Harness the power of ‘Hotel Rwanda' for Human Rights Education in your community |
The Face of Human Rights |
2004 World Survey on the role of Women in Development: Women and International Migration |
| Reference Guide to the Geneva Conventions To find out what the Geneva Conventions say about everything from access to grave sites to wounded prisoners of war , an alphabetical index is available online, fully linked to the original treaties. You can read about the history of the Geneva Conventions , full texts of the Conventions and at the author's note written by Maria Trombly. This guide is also available in print form as a soft cover handbook. You can order a copy from the Society of Professional Journalists (317) 927-8000. Paperback editions are available for $12; special waterproof editions are available for $25. Shipping is $6. |
| Focus on human rights and gender justice: linking the Millennium Development Goals with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action This paper, produced by United Nations (UN) Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), aims at showing the inter-linkages between the CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and to emphasise that the MDGs must be developed further from the perspective of human rights, poverty eradication and the empowerment of women. The paper begins with a critical examination of CEDAW, the BFPA, and the MDGs. The author finds that the MDGs are based on an overly-rigid, neoliberally defined idea of poverty, and attempts to solve social problems with economic solutions. The paper provides a brief feminist analysis of each Millennium Development Goal. The paper concludes with a list of strategies to be adopted to further develop the MDGs. |
| United Kingdom |
Understanding Peace Building Process in Plural Societies, and Lessons Learnt from Post Conflict Northern Ireland |
| Report from the UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights: Review of International Human Rights Instruments This report responds to and evaluates the Government review of the UK 's international human rights obligations. The Government review, which concluded in July 2004, considered the range of human rights treaties by which the UK is bound, the reservations, declarations and derogations entered in respect of those treaties, whether to ratify additional human rights instruments or protocols, and whether to accept individual complaint procedures. The Government decided to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), allowing individuals to bring complaints to the UN Committee which supervises that treaty, but decided not to accept rights of individual petition under other UN human rights treaties. It was also decided to maintain the existing position in relation to a wide range of human rights treaties, additional protocols and reservations. This report welcomes the decision to allow for individual petition under CEDAW on an experimental basis, to be reviewed in two years' time. It notes the absence of detailed reasons for the decisions made in the Government review, in particular in relation to the decision not to accept individual petition under other UN treaties. It expresses concern that the reservation entered by the UK to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Children in Armed Conflict is overly broad, and undermines the UK 's commitments under the Protocol. The report also considers two reservations to human rights treaties, which the review concluded should remain in force. Under the immigration and nationality reservation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the rights in the Convention do not apply as regards the entry, stay in and departure form the UK, of children subject to immigration control. The second reservation to the CRC (also reflected in a reservation to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) allows for children to be detained alongside adults. |
Right to Life and the Right not to be Ill-Treated : New guides help to protect human rights |
Trafficking in women and girls is taking place in some Commonwealth countries and more efforts must be made to protect women from pimps, traffickers and brothel owners, states Dr Meena Shivdas, in this new Commonwealth Secretariat publication. The book comprises a collection of papers commissioned by the Secretariat for the Pan-Commonwealth Expert Group Meeting on Gender and Human Rights, held in London , UK , in February 2004. Dr Shivdas' report on trafficking is one of several reports by a variety of voices. Dr Shivdas details that apart from women and girls being channelled into the sex industry, there have been cases, for example, of young Bangladeshi boys being trafficked to Gulf states to become camel jockeys; young girls in India taken for domestic work overseas; Nepali girls trafficked into the Indian circus industry; and old women, handicapped persons and children being trafficked for betting. The publication aims to contribute towards policy-making, action and debate on gender and human rights in the Commonwealth. It is priced at price £10.99 and can be can be bought online
In the report entitled 'In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all', United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Member States to adopt a package of specific, concrete proposals to tackle global problems and enable the Organization to better respond to current challenges. He said the proposed comprehensive strategy “gives equal weight and attention to the three great purposes of this Organization: development, security and human rights, all of which must be underpinned by the rule of law.” Mr. Annan named the report “In Larger Freedom” because he believed those words from the Charter conveyed the idea that development, security and human rights went hand in hand. 
This Panos report aims to focus on the global problems of gender violence in the education sector. The report states that gender violence often occurs in the very places where girls and young women should be safe - in schools, universities and higher education institutes. Harassment and violence often involves peers, but teachers and other staff are also perpetrators. While young men and boys are sometimes the victims, more often they are girls and young women. The report includes a range of initiatives to address gender violence in schools from around the world, including new legislation in the UK, teacher training in South Africa, the schoolgirl guardians programme in Tanzania, anti-bullying strategies in the USA, the "Girls' Power" initiative in Nigeria, workshops dealing with violence and gender discrimination in Bolivia, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, an internet based adolescent reproductive health pack in Zimbabwe and community discussions in Uganda. 
Amnesty International is supporting 
In "The Face of Human Rights," editors Walter Kälin, Lars Müller and Judith Wyttenbach offer an in-depth photo and textual account of the celebrations and violations of human rights, revealing the humanity and insanity in the world. “The Face of Human Rights” affirms that “education is the starting point for human rights.” It claims that the state must exclude no one from education, that every person must be allowed to choose proper education, and that states must allow for private educational institutions as well. Although illiteracy is low in developed countries, it is still fairly high in developing regions. There are still 800 million illiterates globally, and the majority are women. Today, there are 103.5 million children out of school, and of that number, 57% are girls. According to UNESCO, only 13% of girls and boys have equal access to upper secondary education. “The Face of Human Rights” states that amount is approximately “the same as four day's worth of global military spending, seven days' worth of currency speculation in international markets, less than half of how much North American parents spend on children's toys each year, and less than the annual amount that Europeans spend on computer games or mineral water.”
| NEWS STORIES |
| ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION |
Canadian Commission announces steps to improve dispute resolution |
| CHILD RIGHTS |
Pakistan needs uniform age definition of child |
UNICEF applauds Afghan government on adoption of new juvenile code |
| Child Rights Bill tabled in Parliament in India The Commission for Protection of Child Rights Bill 2005, aimed at providing for the constitution of a National Commission and State Commissions for protection of children's rights, was introduced in Lok Sabha on 2 Mary 2005. Tabled by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Kanti Singh, the Bill also provides for setting up of children's courts to enable speedy trial of offences against children. This follows India 's commitment to the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by it in 1992. The Commission will examine and review the safeguards provided for the protection of child rights and suggest measures for their effective implementation. It will also look into factors that violate the rights of children affected by terrorism, communal violence, riots, natural disasters, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, trafficking, and any kind of exploitation. The Commission will probe matters relating to children in need of special care and protection, including children in distress, marginalised and disadvantaged children, children in conflict with law, juveniles, children without family and children of prisoners. |
| CRIMINAL JUSTICE |
Workshop on criminal justice reform highlights need for restorative justice as alternative to prison |
| HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION |
UN Human Rights Commission adopts Follow-up Resolution on Human Rights Education |
MEDIA |
World Press Freedom Day celebrated on 3 May 2005 |
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS |
National human rights institutions outline their work to Commission on Human Rights during the sixty-first session |
| Kenya ratifies Human Rights Protocol |
Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission seeks young peoples' views on human rights issues  Australian National Youth Week (9-17 April) is a time to celebrate and recognise the value of all young Australians to their communities and for them to express their ideas and opinions about what sort of world they want to live in the future, Human Rights Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski said. The Commissioner said he wants to listen to what young people know, and opinions that they have, on a range of human rights issues. This is part of a research project and national survey the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is currently conducting. The project involves a series of face-to-face consultations and focus groups with young people (11-17 years) on human rights issues, which aims to outline key cultural trends about children's knowledge and attitudes on these issues. “By running focus groups in schools and youth centres around the country, in conjunction with a national survey, I hope to find out how young people today are able to negotiate the wealth of information provided to them, and the impact this has on the formation of their values,” said Dr Ozdowski. As part of the project, young people from various demographic, socio-economic and cultural groups will be consulted across the country. |
Tell us your story for our ‘Voices of Australia' project |
Interview with Ian Martin, head of UN human rights monitoring in Nepal  Agreement was reached between the United Nations and the government of Nepal on 11 April 2004 to allow United Nations human rights monitoring in the country. Ian Martin arrived in the capital, Kathmandu on 7 May to head the new Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal . With over 30 years experience in human rights, Martin has led significant missions to conflict-ridden countries like Rwanda, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and also recently to Darfur in western Sudan. He spoke to IRIN on Tuesday about the challenges facing him and his team, in launching a human rights monitoring operation in Nepal. |
| RIGHT TO HOUSING |
The Right to Housing for the Disadvantaged in Fiji |
| RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED |
New Disability Act hailed by the UK DRC as major civil rights legislation |
| RIGHTS TO WATER |
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Treaty urged to protect Human Right to Water |
| TORTURE |
British Court decision undermines global torture ban |
| WOMEN'S RIGHTS |
Muslims in Uganda demand changes in Bill on Women's Rights |
UNICEF welcomed the adoption of a new Juvenile Code by the Government of Afghanistan, declaring the new legislation a fundamental building block for the protection of children in the country. The new Code is a key step in reforming the legal system as it affects children, providing measures and procedures applicable to children in conflict with the law, children at risk, and children in need of care and protection, while safeguarding children's rights during investigation and trial. One key provision in the new Juvenile Code is the increase in the age of criminal responsibility from 7 to 12 years, as well as recognizing the definition of a child as being anyone under the age of 18. The Code also introduces important protection for children under the process of the law, including the speeding up of criminal cases involving children. Under the new legislation, no child can be held without trial for more than two months, and children awaiting trial will, wherever possible, be kept in the care of their families or guardians. The new Code provides a broader range of measures for children convicted of crimes, including official cautions and probation as an alternative to custodial punishments. 
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1991 as a day "to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession." Press freedom is considered to be a cornerstone of human rights and a guarantee of other freedoms. 
The Commission on Human Rights during its 61 st session heard statements from Representatives of national human rights institutions in which they spoke about the scope of their work to ensure the human rights and fundamental freedoms of their respective populations. The Representatives of the national human rights institutions elaborated on their efforts to promote and protect human rights in their countries, detailing specific problems and how they were being resolved. The national human rights institutions spoke as part of the Commission's general debate on the effective functioning of human rights mechanisms, including treaty bodies, national institutions and regional arrangements, and adaptation and strengthening of the United Nations machinery for human rights. 
Kenya has ratified the Protocol Establishing the African Court on Human and People's Rights. The announcement was made by the Vice President of Kenya, Dr Moody Awori, at the opening of a Commonwealth workshop on the establishment of the Court in Nairobi on 8 April 2005. The Protocol was adopted on 10 June 1998 by the then Organisation of African Unity. It came into effect in 15 January 2004. In his remarks, Dr Awori encouraged other countries in the region to ratify the Protocol in order to protect and promote human rights in Africa . The workshop brought together about 100 participants from more than 30 African countries, including government officials, Commissioners of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, academics, representatives of national human rights institutions, and human rights experts and practitioners. They discussed ways of building an effective regional human rights institution ensuring the justiciability of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. 
In 1975 the Racial Discrimination Act came into force. It was Australia 's first federal law dealing with human rights. Thirty years on it continues to be a strong statement about our shared values – that racism and discrimination have no place in our community. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA), the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is putting together ‘ Voices of Australia ' – a magazine and audio CD of real-life stories about diversity and living together in contemporary Australia. ‘Voices of Australia ' will be distributed to community groups, schools, libraries, local councils, religious groups, government agencies and other groups around the country. 
The new Disability Discrimination Act, which has received Royal Assent, has been welcomed as a major piece of civil rights legislation by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), UK . The legislation includes new rights for disabled people using transport and better protection for mental health service users, people with HIV, Multiple Sclerosis and cancer. It also contains new rights for disabled people wanting to adapt rented property. The DRC estimates that some 18,000 disabled people are living in unsuitable accommodation because of landlords' refusal to agree to vital adaptations that would ensure people can live independent lives. 
Alarmed by corporate moves to treat water as just another market commodity, leading civil society groups are urging the international community to adopt a new universal treaty to protect the right to water. ”The ratification of such a convention by the U.N. member states would give a legal instrument to all people to defend their right to clean water and sanitation,” said former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, who currently leads Green Cross, an international environmental group. Green Cross and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which took part in the
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