by UN Tribune

UNICEF: Children in Yemen Forced Into Marriage, Labor and Conflict

June 18, 2014 – Attacks against schools and hospitals are among the grave violations committed against children in Yemen, according to the UN Children’s Agency in its 2014 report on the Arab world’s poorest country.

“One particular form of such grave acts is the forced marriage of girls, which is reported to have affected up to 100 girls in Abyan alone during 2012, involving leaders or members of Ansar Al-Sharia,” says the report, which was released on Tuesday. Ansar Al-Sharia is another name given to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The UN team in Yemen verified cases of girls as young as 13 being forced into marriage and a case of two girls offered as ‘gifts’ by their brothers who had been allowed to join armed groups. It says the majority of girls forced into marriage soon become pregnant.

“In all of the verified cases the girls reported being abandoned along with their children when their husbands fled from Abyan as government forces regained control.”

Recruitment of children by armed groups, including the government, is continuing, the report says, with 69 verified cases of boys between the ages of 10-17 recruited to fight in armed conflict last year.

Yemen also has the highest rate of child labor in the MENA region at 23 percent, double that of the next highest country, Iraq, and also the only MENA country where the proportion of girls in child labor exceeds that of boys.

There were 18 attacks on hospitals and 242 attacks on schools in Yemen last year, the report says. “Attacks on schools are a deliberate targeting of children: their safety, their right to an education and their essential development.”

More than 100 of the schools were destroyed by shelling while other schools have been occupied by armed groups.

One bright spot appears to be a gain in gender parity in primary education with 8 girls enrolled for every ten boys, but the report cautions that the rate of boys dropping out of school is also increasing “and thus gender parity rates in enrollment may not reflect actual gains for girls education in
Yemen.”

The full report is here.

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

06.18.14

by UN Tribune

Belarus: Secret Executions, Forced Labor Reports UN Expert

June 18, 2014 – The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday were told of the “systematic character of the serious repression of all human rights in Belarus” by the expert it appointed to investigate the former Soviet state.

Miklos Haraszti told the Geneva-based body that the government in Minsk, headed since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko, is the only parliament in Europe without opposition.

It is also the only country in Europe that retains the death penalty and Haraszti had previously reported “as a possible positive development that no executions had reportedly been carried out during the reporting period.”

“However, in April 2014, two new executions were carried out in secret,” he said. “Those facing the death penalty, and their relatives or lawyers are neither informed of the scheduled date of execution nor where the body is buried. In one of the cases, the mother of the executed Pavel Sialiun was not notified of the decision to reject his plea for pardon or the date of execution.”

He also said there was increased repression before and during Belarus’s recent hosting of the World Ice Hockey Championships and that students were forced to work on the construction of the Chizhovka Arena in Minsk. With up to 80 percent of the economy state-planned there is “severe suppression of the right of independent labour unions to organize.”

Haraszti, a Hungarian professor, journalist and human rigths advocate, held out little hope at the end of his presentation to the 47-nation Council that next year’s presidential election would result in an improved human rights situation.

“Chronic restriction of human rights has led to recurrence of violence over the last 15 years, typically at times of elections and the announcement of their preordained outcomes,” he said. “During the recent local elections in March 2014, the right to elect was in practice again denied, as 88 percent of constituencies were uncontested.”

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

06.17.14

by UN Tribune

UN Inquiry: Syrians Live in World Where Everyday Decisions are Life and Death

Paulo Pinheiro, Chairman of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria

June 17, 2014 – The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has conducted 3,000 interviews that collectively indicate “a massive number of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the chair of the inquiry told the Human Rights Council on Tuesday.

Brazilian Sergio Pinheiro told the Council in his latest update that crimes are being committed daily against Syrian civilians and because of the Security Council’s failure to demand accountability “a space has been created for the worst of humanity to express itself.”

“Syrians live in a world where decisions about whether to go to the mosque for prayers, to the market for food and to send their children to school have become decisions about life and death.”

Pinheiro said the government continues to use barrel bombs causing widespread civilian casualties and, in particular, the city of Aleppo and towns in Dara’a countryside have come under “relentless assault.”

Armed groups have also shelled government-controlled areas of Aleppo and Damascus cities as well as towns in Latakia, he said, and in Homs city, more than a dozen car bombs have exploded in Shia and Armenian neighbourhoods since March.

“In many instances, these bombings appear to target civilians, an act designed to spread terror.”

While the Security Council passed Resolution 2139 in February demanding unhindered access for humanitarian supplies, it has not been complied with by government or anti-government forces.

“Food is confiscated at checkpoints, as women are harassed and arrested for attempting to bring bread into besieged areas,” the Brazilian diplomat said. “At one checkpoint on the only road from Zabadani to Damascus, a large banner reads ‘Kneel or Starve.'”

He said the war has had a devastating impact on Syria’s economy “inflicting harm on livelihoods and habitat from which few Syrian families have escaped unscathed” adding that this hardship has been compounded by economic sanctions.

Pinheiro said military supplies provided by states to warring parties are “used in the perpetration of war crimes and violations of human rights.”

“States cannot claim to prioritize a political settlement, while their actions demonstrate that their priorities lie in military escalation.”

He concluded his presentation to the Council by reiterating his demand for accountability. “In Syria, the majority of the population are victims of the current conflict. They are entitled to expect, in spite of all they have suffered, that justice will not be denied to them.”

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

Image: UN Photo/Violaine Martin

06.11.14

by UN Tribune

World Cup 2014: the UN and FIFA

June 11, 2014 – Thirty-one of the 32 nations that will contest this year’s World Cup are UN member states with England the odd one out.

That’s because the UK, comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is a UN member while each of its country’s football associations are individual FIFA members and compete separately for qualification.

FIFA is bigger than the 193-member UN. The world football body has 209 member associations including China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and Macau. It also includes Puerto Rico, Montserrat, Guam, Suriname, Tahiti and Denmark’s Faroe Islands, along with several other dependent territories of France, the US, UK and the Netherlands.

Most of the associations that are not a UN member are FIFA members on the basis of Article 10, Paragraph 6 of the Fifa statutes. It states: ‘A football association representing a territory that has not yet gained independence may apply for FIFA membership if it has the authorization of the association of the country to which this territory belongs.’

Not so for Kosovo. Despite recognition from 96 countries, it is not a full member of FIFA because of Serbian objections.

Besides the United Kingdom, there are seven other UN member states that are not members of FIFA – Monaco, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu.

Although its economic and political influence is waning on the world stage, Europe still dominates on the football field with 13 of the 32 World Cup slots allocated to the continent while South America gets six, Asia and Oceania, 5, Africa, 5, and North and Central America, including the Caribbean, gets four places.

The World Cup draw itself has produced some interesting UN battles with current Security Council members Australia and Chile facing off in Group B, while fellow non-permanent members Nigeria and Argentina meet in Group E, a group that also includes Bosnia and Iran, two countries that are both on the Security Council’s agenda.

But the biggest battle of all could happen in the knockout stage. If the US emerge as runners-up in its very difficult group and Russia wins its somewhat easier group – which also includes non-permanent Council member South Korea – then the two will meet in the round of 16.

Let the games begin.

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

06.10.14

by UN Tribune

Children Now Allowed Complain Directly to UN Rights Committee

June 10, 2014 – Now that ten countries have ratified the third optional protocol of the Child Rights Convention, children and teenagers may lodge complaints directly with the UN.

Belgium became the eleventh country to ratify the treaty late last month but it was Costa Rica’s accession in January that allowed the protocol to come into force in April, three months after the tenth country ratified it.

Only children and teenagers in the eleven countries that have ratified the protocol can make a complaint to the Child Rights Committee and, like other international human rights mechanisms, only after domestic remedies have been exhausted.

Violations must also have taken place after April 14th when the protocol came into force.

The eleven countries, on four continents, that have ratified optional protocol 3 are Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Gabon, Germany, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Thailand.

The office of the UN envoy for child rights has produced a child-friendly guide to understanding the optional protocol procedure for making complaints.

When the General Assembly were debating the text of the optional protocol in 2011, there was much discussion on the capacity of children to make complaints to an international group with some states arguing that complaints should be brought by parents on behalf of their children while others argued that parents are not always the best advocates as they may be the offenders.

Central to the Convention on the Rights of the Child is that children have a right to express their views at any age but in practice it is more likely that future complaints brought before the committee will be submitted on behalf of the children by their parents, a lawyer or others.

A major impetus in drafting optional protocol 3 was to encourage states to provide domestic mechanisms to address complaints by children of human rights abuses.

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

06.09.14

by UN Tribune

Jordan ‘s New UN Ambassador is Sixth Woman on Security Council

June 9, 2014 – Jordan’s appointment of Amb. Dina Kavar as its UN envoy increases female representation on the Security Council to an unprecedented 40 percent.

All UN regional groups now have female representatives in the 15-nation Council with Jordan joining Argentina, Lithuania, Luxebourg, Nigeria and the US in appointing women to the post.

Kavar is the third female diplomat to currently serve as UN ambassador from the Arab Group along with Oman’s Lyutha Al-Mughairy and Qatar’s Sheikha Alya Bint Ahmed Bin Saif Al Thani.

Kavar, who recently served as Amman’s envoy to Paris, replaces Prince Zeid who stepped down last month and was nominated on Friday to replace Navi Pillay as human rights commissioner.

Some 30 of the UN’s 193 member states are currently represented by women.

Chile’s Ana Figueoa was the first woman to serve on the Security Council in 1952. The United States, the only permanent Council member currently represented by a woman, has appointed four female UN envoys with Samantha Power preceded by Susan Rice (2009-13), Madeline Albright (1993-97) and Jeanne Kirkpatrick (1981-85).

The UN has never had a female secretary-general and after eight successive men at the helm, there is mounting speculation that a woman will succeed Ban Ki-moon in 2016.

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

06.06.14

by UN Tribune

Jordan’s Prince Zeid Nominated as Next Human Rights Chief

June 6, 2014 – Ban Ki-moon on Friday nominated Jordan’s envoy to the United Nations as successor to Navi Pillay as human rights commissioner.

Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein will become the seventh person to hold the post of high commissioner for human rights pending approval from the UN General Assembly.

Zeid served as political affairs officer with the UN peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia and was a candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as secretary-general in 2006. Jordan is currently a member of the UN Security Council

Navil Pillay’s term will end in September this year. Pillay, a South African lawyer, has held the post since 2008 but fell foul of the United States because of her criticism of Israel and was only approved for a half-term, or two years, when her first four-year term ended in September 2012.

Zeid would become the first Arab to hold the post.

Previous Holders:

Jose Ayala-Lasso (Ecuador) 1994-97
Mary Robinson (Ireland) 1997-2002
Sergio Vieira (Brazil) 2002-03 (killed in Canal Hotel Bombing, Baghdad, Aug. 19, 2003)
Bertrand Ramcharan (Guyana) 2003-04 (Acting)
Louise Arbour (Canada) 2004-08
Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) 2008-

Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

Image/UN Photo

06.05.14

by UN Tribune

Brazil Becomes 38th Country to Ban Corporal Punishment

June 5, 2014 – The UN envoy for child rights is calling for other countries to follow Brazil’s example after the South American country’s senate on Thursday passed a law banning all forms of corporal punishment against children.

Brazil is the 38th country to ban physical punishment of children in homes and schools and the second this year after Malta’s ban which was passed in March. Sweden was the world’s first country to ban corporal punishment in 1979.

“With this historic decision, Brazilian children can grow up in safety and in a protective environment, and violence can be made part of a distant past,” Maria Santos Pais said in a statement.

“With the enactment of this legislation, the percentage of the world’s children protected by a legal ban on all forms of violence will increase from 5 percent to 8 percent,” she stated.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however slight,” and it calls physical punishment “invariably degrading.”

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

Image/Wikimedia

06.04.14

by UN Tribune

Top 25 Donors to UN Syria Appeals in 2014

June 4, 2014 – A total of $2.1bln has been contributed in 2014 to the two United Nations appeals for Syria – one to address the humanitarian situation inside the country and the other to assist the 2.5M refugees in neighboring countries.

The amount received so far this year is still much less that the $6.5bln the UN says it needs to respond to the crisis. Last year, a total of $3.1bln was contributed to UN appeals while in 2012, the figure was $1.2bln.

The US is the top donor by some distance in 2014 contributing a total of $407M, followed by Kuwait, $300M, and the European Commission, which has contributed $294m.

These are the top 25 donors to the Syria appeals so far this year.

1. US $407M
2. Kuwait 300M
3. EC $294M
4. UK $238M
5. Canada $143M
6. Japan $119M
7. Germany $95M
8. UAE $71M
9. Norway $64M
10. Australia $30M
11. Denmark $25M
12. Saudi Arabia $22M
13. Switzerland $18M
14. Netherlands $17M
15. Finland $11.5M
16. France $11.2M
17. Belgium $11.1M
18. Qatar $11M
19. Sweden $8.9M
20. Italy $8.2M
21. Ireland $5.2M
22. Morocco $4M
23. China $3.9M
24. Luxembourg $3M
25. New Zealand $2M

Data from UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service.

Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

Image/Wikimedia

06.03.14

by UN Tribune

China, US Tops for Renewable Energy But LatAm, Africa Making Strides

June 3, 2014 – Renewable sources account for 19 percent of global energy output with worldwide investment topping $200 billion last year.

China, the US, Brazil, Germany and Canada are the top five countries for total installed renewable power capacity with China and the US also investing the most in clean energy last year followed by Japan, UK and Germany, according to a new report by the Renewable Energy Network in collaboration with the UN Environmental Program.

However, as a percentage of GDP invested in renewable sources, Uruguay, Mauritius, Costa Rica, South Africa and Nicaragua were the top five in 2013.

China produces more than 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources while the figures for the EU28 and United States are 14.1 percent and 12.9 percent respectively.

Energy produced from coal declined by 19 percent in the US from 2008 to 2013 while Spain became the first country to produce more electricity from wind, 20.9 percent, than any other source, the report says. Denmark, Kenya and El Salvador also produce more than 20 percent of electricity from wind.

The report also says that in China, new renewable power capacity surpassed new capacity from fossil fuel and nuclear capacity for the first time.

Worldwide, nuclear power accounts for 2.6 percent of total energy produced.

The number of developing countries with policies supporting renewable energy has increased six-fold in the past eight years from 15 in 2005 to 95 this year, according to the report which will be launched at UN headquarters on Wednesday.

Despite increasing use of alternative sources, the use of fossil fuels for energy has not declined as demand for energy outpaces growth in renewable energy.

There are still some 1.2 billion people, one-fifth of the world’s population, without electricity, according to the World Bank, including about 550 million in Africa and 400 million in India.

– Denis Fitzgerald
On Twitter @denisfitz

Image/Wikimedia

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