Child Abuse In Buenos Aires Runs Rampant

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – In a worrying turn of events, a report has surfaced that indicates that about “four out of ten minors” living in public institutions in the province of Beunos Aires, Argentina have suffered from some sort of abuse.

Child Workers in Argentina. (Photo Courtesy of Press TV)

According to documents released by UNICEF Province, “43.7 percent” of  male youths who were housed in homes and similar institutions like foster care were subject to abuse. The report indicates that about 1680 children were subjected to various forms of violence and abuse from their parents, relatives or care takers.

The data, collected by the Unified Statistical Register (REUNA) of the Ministry of Children and Adolescents indicates that the levels of abuse are wide ranging. About 1680 kids out of 3846 investigated and surveyed suffered some sort of violence including “physical psychological, or emotional, sexual abuse or neglect” or a simple lack of basic care.

The report continued that of the remaining 56.3% of children who were placed in homes, 7.9% of these children were abandoned by their parents and another 18.7% were under supervised before being taken from their parents.

9.3% of children and adolescents who had placed into public institutions admitted to having problems with addiction. Another 2% admitted to vulnerable disabilities with their psychopathology.

According to the Ministry of Children and Adolescents, psychological abuse includes “psychological or emotional abuse” and can include “Verbal hostility… insults, ridicule, contempt, criticism or threats of abandonment.

Sebastian Gastelu, the Undersecretary for Promotion and Protection of rights reiterates that “child abuse is a problem of society, regardless of class or any other,” and that this is not just “physical violence and sexual abuse, but also verbal abuse, humiliation and psychological abuse.”

The report was released during the latest meeting of the Interministerial Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Rights held in the city of Junín, in the province of Beunos Aires in Argentina. Pablo Navarro, the Secretary for Children and Adolescents pledges a “strong commitment to direct public policy towards strengthening mechanism for preventing and addressing violence against children.”

Whatever the ultimate solution is, the world is looking towards Argentina with a watchful eye.

This is just the latest in Argentina’s fight with human rights abuses of children. Earlier this year Argentina’s parliament introduced a new bill to fight child labor. Official statistics show that over “450,000 children are forced to work in agriculture, mining and fishing activities and domestic service in Argentina.”

 

For further information, please see:

Aninoticias – Over 40% Of Children Were Abused Housed In Homes – 23 September 2012

Diario Hoy – More Than 43 Percent of Children Living In Homes And Other Institutions Were Abused – 23 September 2012

Impulso baires – Province of Beunos Aires: Four In Ten Children Housed In Foster Abuse Entrants – 23 September 2012

La Nacion – Nearly Half Of Children Were Abused Housed In Homes – 23 September 2012

Press TV – Argentina’s Parliament Passes New Anti-Child Labor Bill – 9 August 2012

Syrian Children Pay Heavy Toll in Civil War

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Daily life for citizens in war-torn Syria is getting harder every day as indiscriminate attacks continue. Although the reality of war affects every aspect of life for citizens, children are especially vulnerable to the instability caused by crisis. This week marked the beginning of the school year but for many of Syria’s children learning is a luxury only afforded in peacetime.

A book lies on the ground outside a destroyed school in Aleppo. (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)

According to Syria’s Ministry of Education, more than 2,000 of the country’s 22,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed and are unusable. Leila Zerrougui, the United Nations’ envoy for Children and Armed Conflict, says that she has called on the Syrian government to make the evacuation of all schools a top priority. In smaller villages, citizens whose homes have been destroyed congregate in common buildings, such as schools, for safety. The Ministry estimates that about 759 schools are being used as sanctuaries for displaced persons. But according to Amnesty International, many of these schools have been the targets of air strikes or large-caliber bullet spray from helicopters in spite of the fact that their occupants are civilians.

The Ministry claims that most schools are still operational and handling the overflow by scheduling classes in shifts. The government said more than 5 million students attended school on Sunday. But according to Dina Craissati, UNICEF’s regional education adviser, at least 200,000 children within the country are having difficulty accessing education due to internal displacement. in an effort to off-set the lack of structured school activities, UNICEF was able to provide a small number of children with “recreational kits” for entertainment.

The unavailability of education extends outside of the country’s borders, following the flow of refugees. The U.N. Children’s Fund said that the Lebanese government was struggling to place an estimated 32,000 Syrian refugee children in school. In Jordan, UNICEF is currently building a school that will hold up to 5,000 students and workers were registering school-age children at the Zaatari refugee camp.

For most children, the inability to attend school is a secondary concern. Zerrougui said that she and her staff have “documented government attacks on schools, children denied access to hospitals, girls and boys suffering and dying in bombardments of their neighborhoods, and also being subject to torture, including sexual violence, sometimes for weeks.”  Non-state groups have also committed violations against children. According to Zerrougui, the Free Syrian Army “may have children associated with their forces.”

“The situation for children in Syria is dire,” she told the Security Council.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya News – U.N. Security Council Split over Children and Armed Conflict – 20 September 2012

CNN – Deaths Mounting in Syrian Towns; Children Being Tortured, U.N. Official Says – 20 September 2012

Huffington Post – Syria Bombardments, Air Strikes Terrorize Civilians, Amnesty International Says – 20 September 2012

CNN – Growing Jihadi Presence in Syria ‘Alarming,’ U.N. Investigator Says – 17 September 2012

Boston Globe – Civil War Keeps Many Syrian Children from School – 16 September 2012

Amnesty International – Indiscriminate Attacks Kill, Terrorize and Displace Civilians – 14 September 2012

UNICEF – As Population in Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan Soars, Focus is on Needs of Children – 14 September 2012

Brazilian Threesome Enter Into Civil Union

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – Civil Union in Brazil links three individuals together in legal matrimony. Some have seen the unions as a logical progression of civil rights, while others in conservative and religious groups have criticized its morality and legality.

San Paulo skyline, where the first Brazilian gay marriage was legalized. (Photo Courtesy of Telegraph)

The trio – a man and two women – have been living together in Rio de Janeiro for three years before tying the proverbial civil knot. The trio decided to keep their identities a secret in May when the union was formed. The public was made aware of the union in late August.

Each member of the union is connected to each other equally, unlike in traditional polygamous marriages which are followed by some religious sects.

According to the public notary who granted the civil union this union may be labeled as a “polyfidelitous union.” Claudia do Nascimento Domingues, the notary who performed the ceremony, had the couple legally registered as a “stable union” which extends all the benefits of marriage. The union entitles the trio to legal rights concerning the division of property in case of separation and death. The debate continues as to death benefits, child welfare, homeownership and health insurance plans and discounts. The legal question of what would happen with a child is thought to be left to the courts, should the trio pursue the matter.

A judge in San Paulo approved Brazil’s first gay marriage in July of 2011, converting their civil union to a marriage. While same sex unions have been legal in Brazil since 2004, this is first multi-partner union of its kind.

Critics, however, claim that “the union is void of any legality.” Regina Beatriz Tavares da Silva, the head of the family law committee of a lawyers’ association in Sao Paulo believes that it would be impossible for a civil union between three to be equal to that of union of two. “It goes directly against the constitution,” da Silva said. “Monogamy is defined as relations between two, not three or four or five.”

Religious groups have voiced their outcry as well, fearing the often cited “slippery slope” that would lead to a devaluing of the institute of marriage and family.

“The institution of family cannot be defended with the approval of actions that seek to distort its definition,” the religious, conservative Plinio Correa de Oliveira Institute said in a statement. “The purpose of this (union) is not to build families, but to destroy them.”

 

For further information, please see:

CNN – Unprecedented Civil Union Unites Brazilian Trio – 31 August 2012

Journal de Uberaba – Marriage Between Three People – 29 August 2012

The Telegraph – Three People Enter Into Civil Union In Brazil – 28 August 2012

The BBC – Three-Person Civil Union Sparks Controversy In Brazil – 28 August 2012

Sudan and South Sudan to Reach Settlement Over Border Disputes

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan—Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council welcomed the progress made by both Sudan and South Sudan in Addis Ababa in negotiations to narrow the differences between the two rival countries. They are both still working to resolve the issues outlined in UN Resolution 2046—an attempt to create a road map for a peaceful new border security system between the two regions.

Presidents From Both Countries Hope to Reach a Deal by the End of the Day. (Photo Courtesy of Aljazeera)

Badr el-Din Abdullah, the spokesman for the Sudanese delegation noted, “We have agreed on many topics but there are still issues for which we don’t have a deal yet, specifically the security issue.” Diplomats on both sides have put in an effort to mediate between the rivals, who both have a history of signing but not actually implementing deals.

Yesterday, Sudan created hope for the situation by conditionally accepting an African Union map creating a demilitarized border zone after having objected to it for months.

Jean Ping, the African Union Commission chairperson, encouraged the presidents of both South Sudan and Sudan, to take advantage of this opportunity for settlement and to reach an agreement on several topics including: their shared border, disputed areas, oil transportation costs, citizenship, and any other issues that have come up as a result of South Sudan’s newly established independence.

The United Nations gave the two countries the deadline of September 22 as their final deadline to reach a comprehensive agreement. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir and his Sudanese rival, Omar al Bashir, should have also met today in Ethiopia to wrap up talks on a series of matters yet to be settled between the two countries.

The presidents of the two countries are also expected to come to a conclusion and a solution for the disputed region of Abyei. Previous attempts to solve this dispute have failed because neither side could agree on who could vote on this decision.

Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary General, congratulated the heads of these two nations but also urged them to fully take responsibility for this resolution so that the summit can conclude with success and the two can maintain future peaceful relationships. He said, also, that their commitment will “mark an end to the era of conflict and ushers in a new era of peace, cooperation and mutual development for the two countries and their people.”

 

For further information, please see:

Aljazeera – Sudanese Presidents Hold Talks in Addis Ababa – 23 September 2012

Sudan Tribune – African Union Calls for “Comprehensive” Deal Between Sudan and S. Sudan – 23 September 2012

The Washington Post – Sudan, South Sudan Leaders to Meet in Ethiopia to Resolve Disputes as UN Deadline Expires – 23 September 2012

All Africa – UN Security Council Urges Sudan and South Sudan to Reach Comprehensive Agreement – 22 September 2012

UK Indeterminate Sentences Breach Prisoner Human Rights

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Strasbourg, France – The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that the operation of indeterminate sentences for the protection of the public (IPPs) breaches human rights.  Under an IPP in the United Kingdom (UK), a court could sentence a prisoner to serve not only time for a committed crime, but to also to remain in prison until he had completed rehabilitation courses, which are difficult to gain access to.  Of the more than 6500 prisoners currently serving IPP terms, 3500 have completed their minimum sentences, but need to demonstrate rehabilitation. The ECtHR found that the IPP system has a “lack of resources,” without which prisoners whose minimum sentences have expired cannot realistically qualify for release.

IPPs were created to ensure that dangerous prisoners were rehabilitated before reentering the population, but the supporting system quickly became overwhelmed. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Brett James, Nicholas Wells, and Jeffrey Lee, who were each imprisoned over two years longer than their minimum sentences, brought their cases before the ECtHR. They, like other IPP prisoners who had completed their minimum sentence found themselves in a catch 22; they could not qualify for release without rehabilitation courses, and such courses could not easily be obtained.  The three argued that there were “delays” in accessing the prison courses necessary to be eligible for release, caused by “a lack of resources.”  The ECtHR agreed.

Specifically, the ECtHR found that the IPP operation violated Article 5:1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which bans arbitrary detention.  The ECtHR characterized the IIP operation as “draconian measures for indeterminate detention without the necessary planning and without realistic consideration of the impact of the measures”.

The court further explained that “once the applicants’ tariffs had expired, their detention was justified solely on the grounds of the risk they posed to the public.”  At that point, the need for rehabilitative services becomes all the more urgent.   The applicants’ imprisonment was “arbitrary and therefore unlawful” when without an effort to progress them through the prison system “with a view to providing them with access to appropriate rehabilitative courses”

James, Wells, and Lee were awarded £14,000 in damages and close to £30,000 in costs.   It is estimated that if the British government were required to compensate all 3500 IPP prisoners held beyond their minimum sentence, it would cost about £16 million.

The new Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, expressed that he was “very disappointed by the ECHR decision,” further elaborating that he intends to appeal the decision: “it is not an area where I welcome the court seeking to make rulings, it is something we intend to appeal.”  The government has three months to do so.

The IPP was introduced in 2005 by Labour as a way to ensure that dangerous prisoners were rehabilitated before reentering the population by providing them with courses.  However, the system quickly became overburdened.  Since then, Ken Clarke, the last Justice Secretary, announced the cancelation of the IPP last year.

For now, the ECtHR decision will not affect prisoners in the UK currently serving IPP sentences.  A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice stated: “”Public protection will not be put at risk – the judgment does not find that indeterminate sentences are unlawful, and will not mean prisoners currently serving IPP sentences will have to be released.”

However, the decision will likely cause the UK to change the way that it sentences prisoners.  The government had already announced plans for a new regime of tough, determinate sentences.  The Ministry of Justice says “[t]his will see more dangerous criminals given life sentences, and others spending longer periods in prison, with tough license conditions on release.”

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Indeterminate Sentences ‘Breach Human Rights’ – 18 September 2012

Guardian – Strasbourg Judges Rule Indeterminate Sentences Unlawful – 18 September 2012

Independent – Indefinite Sentences Ruled Unlawful – 18 September 2012

Telegraph – Prisoners Locked Up Indefinitely Could Claim Millions in Compensation – 18 September 2012