02.10.03
Urgent Interventions
Press release: OMCT reports on violence against children in Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan
PRESS RELEASE
Geneva, October 2nd, 2003
Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan
examined at the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child:
OMCT denounces torture and other forms of violence
As the 34th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child draws to a close, OMCT expresses deep concerns about most serious violations of children’s rights in Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan.
OMCT is concerned about numerous aspects of juvenile justice in these countries. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, children are considered criminally responsible at the age of 7, exposing them to imprisonment and ill-treatment. Young girls, who have been sexually abused or married at an early age, face severe punishments for unlawful sexual intercourse. Minors who have committed petty offences can be sentenced to several years of imprisonment or corporal punishment. In these two countries as well as in Madagascar, living conditions of detentions are unacceptable. Severe overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions and inadequate nutrition impede the positive development of children.
In all four countries, OMCT has documented disturbing trends such as extended periods of detention and ill-treatment both in police custody and pre-trial facilities. Instances of torture of children by the police have been reported in each country. There is extensive recourse to pre-trial detention, where conditions are often worse than in post-trial detention centres.
Children who are victims of poor socio-economic situations, neglect and/or sexual exploitation but have not committed any offences are routinely deprived of their liberty on the grounds of protection.
At the session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the governmental delegations of Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan made minor commitments to improve this dreadful situation. OMCT urges the Committee on the Rights of the Child to issue strong recommendations to support these efforts, to request further change and to ensure full and immediate implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with particular attention to its articles 2 (non-discrimination), 19 (violence), 37 (torture and deprivation of liberty) and 40 (juvenile justice).
These reports are now available on OMCT’s website www.omct.org or can be ordered by phone or fax to OMCT.
For further information concerning OMCT’s Children’s Rights Programme please contact : Séverine Jacomy sj@omct.org
Geneva, October 2nd, 2003
Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan
examined at the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child:
OMCT denounces torture and other forms of violence
As the 34th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child draws to a close, OMCT expresses deep concerns about most serious violations of children’s rights in Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan.
OMCT is concerned about numerous aspects of juvenile justice in these countries. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, children are considered criminally responsible at the age of 7, exposing them to imprisonment and ill-treatment. Young girls, who have been sexually abused or married at an early age, face severe punishments for unlawful sexual intercourse. Minors who have committed petty offences can be sentenced to several years of imprisonment or corporal punishment. In these two countries as well as in Madagascar, living conditions of detentions are unacceptable. Severe overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions and inadequate nutrition impede the positive development of children.
In all four countries, OMCT has documented disturbing trends such as extended periods of detention and ill-treatment both in police custody and pre-trial facilities. Instances of torture of children by the police have been reported in each country. There is extensive recourse to pre-trial detention, where conditions are often worse than in post-trial detention centres.
Children who are victims of poor socio-economic situations, neglect and/or sexual exploitation but have not committed any offences are routinely deprived of their liberty on the grounds of protection.
At the session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the governmental delegations of Bangladesh, Georgia, Madagascar and Pakistan made minor commitments to improve this dreadful situation. OMCT urges the Committee on the Rights of the Child to issue strong recommendations to support these efforts, to request further change and to ensure full and immediate implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with particular attention to its articles 2 (non-discrimination), 19 (violence), 37 (torture and deprivation of liberty) and 40 (juvenile justice).
These reports are now available on OMCT’s website www.omct.org or can be ordered by phone or fax to OMCT.
For further information concerning OMCT’s Children’s Rights Programme please contact : Séverine Jacomy sj@omct.org