11.04.05
Statements
UN HR Commission - 61st Session - Item 13 - Rights of the child - Oral Statement by the OMCT
Oral statement of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) at the 61st Commission on Human Rights - Item 13: Rights of the child
Mr. Chairman,
(distinguished Ms. High Commissioner),
distinguished Members of the Commission,
In 2004, the World Organisation Against Torture has had to denounce numerous cases of torture, ill-treatment and other forms of violence committed against children in 27 countries. Despite their vulnerability, minors most often do not enjoy the protection they need. As a result, their rights are gravely violated in many countries worldwide.
Children in conflict with the law are particularly at risk to be tortured or ill-treated, above all while being held in police custody or detained. In spite of the provisions enshrined in legal binding instruments both at national and international level, the juvenile justice systems are far from offering the protection children deserve. Instead children in conflict with the law too often suffer from torture or other forms of violence especially when they are deprived of their liberty and kept in police premises. Arbitrary child-insensitive procedures such as systematic placement in pre-trial detention for months or even years are not exceptional; physical, mental and sexual violence by officials or co-detainees, imprisonment with adults and the opposite sex or inadequate sanitary and medical conditions are some examples that demonstrate an absence of awareness, sensitisation and consequent implementation in that area.
These kind of situations have led to many cases of children in arbitrary detention that became victims of torture and ill-treatment. Their rights are often disrespected systematically. Police brutality against children in conflict with the law is far from existing exclusively in developing countries. For instance in Serbia & Montenegro serious problems persist in this area.
Arbitrary arrest and torture are also a typical phenomenon in countries with omnipresent military forces, ongoing internal armed conflicts or fighting against terrorism like Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or the Russian Federation. In this context, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and the rape of minors, have been frequently condemned by OMCT. However, these most grave forms of human rights violations against children also occurred in the absence of such circumstances, notably in India, Honduras and the Philippines.
Excessive and frequent use of force by police or the army has also been observed in Israel against young Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.
OMCT would also like to remind the Commission that the death penalty still exists in law or in practice for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age in China, Pakistan, Congo, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iran despite their ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that prohibits capital punishment in its article 37 (a). OMCT urges these countries to abolish the death penalty for child offenders both in law and in practice. OMCT welcomes the recent decision of the US Supreme Court outlawing capital punishment for persons who were under the age of 18 when they committed a crime and hopes that the US will now ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mr. Chairman,
Another issue about which the OMCT wishes to express its deep concern is the corporal punishment of children. Such practices persist in schools, detention centres, care institutions and also in the family environment. They are harmful to the physical and mental wellbeing and the development of children. Children are maltreated, sometimes killed, under the pretext of religious traditions and education. Corporal punishment is omnipresent and widely accepted in many societies. Western states are equally concerned since OMCT has recently denounced gaps in the legislations of Belgium, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Italy at the European level.
Corporal punishment violates the human dignity of children. OMCT thus urges all States not only to pass legislation explicitly banning corporal punishment but also ensure that it is no longer used as a sanction or as a method of education. There is indeed a strong need to raise awareness and to create effective monitoring mechanisms in order to eliminate corporal punishment worldwide from the category of accepted methods of education.
Mr. Chairman,
A better implementation and mainstreaming of children’s rights is our aim and we are pleased that the Commission is making efforts to improve the protection of children’s human rights. OMCT hopes that the reform of the United Nations’ human rights protection mechanisms will take into account the children’s rights dimension. In these premises, OMCT recommends the Commission to appoint a Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Children to investigate in a proactive manner, make useful recommendations based on an in-depth analysis of facts and legislation and take urgent action to stop, prevent and help redress these violations of the fundamental rights of children.
Thank you Mr. Chairman
Mr. Chairman,
(distinguished Ms. High Commissioner),
distinguished Members of the Commission,
In 2004, the World Organisation Against Torture has had to denounce numerous cases of torture, ill-treatment and other forms of violence committed against children in 27 countries. Despite their vulnerability, minors most often do not enjoy the protection they need. As a result, their rights are gravely violated in many countries worldwide.
Children in conflict with the law are particularly at risk to be tortured or ill-treated, above all while being held in police custody or detained. In spite of the provisions enshrined in legal binding instruments both at national and international level, the juvenile justice systems are far from offering the protection children deserve. Instead children in conflict with the law too often suffer from torture or other forms of violence especially when they are deprived of their liberty and kept in police premises. Arbitrary child-insensitive procedures such as systematic placement in pre-trial detention for months or even years are not exceptional; physical, mental and sexual violence by officials or co-detainees, imprisonment with adults and the opposite sex or inadequate sanitary and medical conditions are some examples that demonstrate an absence of awareness, sensitisation and consequent implementation in that area.
These kind of situations have led to many cases of children in arbitrary detention that became victims of torture and ill-treatment. Their rights are often disrespected systematically. Police brutality against children in conflict with the law is far from existing exclusively in developing countries. For instance in Serbia & Montenegro serious problems persist in this area.
Arbitrary arrest and torture are also a typical phenomenon in countries with omnipresent military forces, ongoing internal armed conflicts or fighting against terrorism like Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or the Russian Federation. In this context, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and the rape of minors, have been frequently condemned by OMCT. However, these most grave forms of human rights violations against children also occurred in the absence of such circumstances, notably in India, Honduras and the Philippines.
Excessive and frequent use of force by police or the army has also been observed in Israel against young Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.
OMCT would also like to remind the Commission that the death penalty still exists in law or in practice for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age in China, Pakistan, Congo, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iran despite their ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that prohibits capital punishment in its article 37 (a). OMCT urges these countries to abolish the death penalty for child offenders both in law and in practice. OMCT welcomes the recent decision of the US Supreme Court outlawing capital punishment for persons who were under the age of 18 when they committed a crime and hopes that the US will now ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mr. Chairman,
Another issue about which the OMCT wishes to express its deep concern is the corporal punishment of children. Such practices persist in schools, detention centres, care institutions and also in the family environment. They are harmful to the physical and mental wellbeing and the development of children. Children are maltreated, sometimes killed, under the pretext of religious traditions and education. Corporal punishment is omnipresent and widely accepted in many societies. Western states are equally concerned since OMCT has recently denounced gaps in the legislations of Belgium, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Italy at the European level.
Corporal punishment violates the human dignity of children. OMCT thus urges all States not only to pass legislation explicitly banning corporal punishment but also ensure that it is no longer used as a sanction or as a method of education. There is indeed a strong need to raise awareness and to create effective monitoring mechanisms in order to eliminate corporal punishment worldwide from the category of accepted methods of education.
Mr. Chairman,
A better implementation and mainstreaming of children’s rights is our aim and we are pleased that the Commission is making efforts to improve the protection of children’s human rights. OMCT hopes that the reform of the United Nations’ human rights protection mechanisms will take into account the children’s rights dimension. In these premises, OMCT recommends the Commission to appoint a Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Children to investigate in a proactive manner, make useful recommendations based on an in-depth analysis of facts and legislation and take urgent action to stop, prevent and help redress these violations of the fundamental rights of children.
Thank you Mr. Chairman