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Contents:

1. Editorial
2. New resources
3. Future events
4. Other events
5. Links
6. Feed-back request
 

1. Editorial:

In this edition of the Panel Secretariat newsletter we would like to highlight resources relating to the administrative and arbitrary deprivation of liberty of children. Migrant children, whether accompanied or unaccompanied, child victims of trafficking, children suspected of security-related offences, children with physical or mental health problems and other vulnerable children may find themselves administratively or arbitrarily deprived of liberty for long periods of time, without any possibility to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. Despite the fact that article 37(b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that deprivation of liberty must be in conformity with the law, a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time, the best interests of the child are often ignored and set aside in favour of immigration, security or public order concerns. The resources listed below provide information on the relevant international norms and standards, country examples of violations of the rights of the child and recommendations for reform.

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2. Selected new resources on the Panel website:

(i) Resources on administrative and arbitrary deprivation of liberty of children:

Amnesty International (AI):

• “Migration-Related Detention: A Research Guide on Human Rights Standards Relevant to the Detention of Migrants, Asylum-Seekers and Refugees” - Chapter 5.1: Children (November 2007) (EN)

Australian Human Rights Commission:

• “A Last Resort ? The National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention” (2004) (EN)

• “2008 Immigration Detention Report: Summary of Observations following Visits to Australia’s Immigration Detention Facilities” - Chapter 14: Children in Immigration Detention (2008) (EN)

Defence for Children International (DCI) Palestine:

• “Palestinian Child Prisoners: The Systematic and Institutionalised Ill-Treatment and Torture of Palestinian Children by Israeli Authorities” (June 2009) (EN)

Human Rights Watch (HRW):

• “Left to Survive: Systematic Failure to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Greece” (December 2008) (EN)

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):

• “Tenth Periodic Report on the Situation of Human Rights in the Sudan: Arbitrary Arrest and Detention Committed by National Security, Military and Police” (November 2008) (EN)

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)/ OHCHR:

• “Arbitrary Detention in Afghanistan: A Call For Action, Volume I - Overview and Recommendations” (January 2009) (EN)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Office for Mexico, Cuba and Central America:

• “The International Protection of Unaccompanied or Separated Children along the Southern Border of Mexico (2006-2008)” (October 2008) (EN)

(ii) Resources on juvenile justice reform:

Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights:

• “Children and Juvenile Justice: Proposals for Improvements” (June 2009) (EN)

(iii) Resources on child protection:

UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS, Government of Kyrgyzstan, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) - Second Child Protection Forum on “Building and Reforming Child Care Systems in Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Turkey”, 12-14 May 2009, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan:

• Irina Malanchuk, International Expert on Child Protection System Reform, Republic of Moldova - “Assessment of Child Protection System in Kyrgyzstan” (April 2009) (EN)

• Natalia Lyalina, Independent Consultant/ Anna Nordenmark Severinsson, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS - “Analysis of the Progress and Remaining Challenges in Child Care System Reform” (May 2009) (EN)

• Nelly Petrova-Dimitrova, Doctor of Social Pedagogy, Bulgaria - “Development of Alternative Services, including Foster Care, within the Framework of Reforming Child Protection Systems: Experience of Bulgaria” (May 2009) (EN)

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3. Forthcoming Panel member events:

To view the Calendar of events: www.juvenilejusticepanel.org/events/

International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates (IAYFJM)/ Tunisian Association of the Child's Right (ATUDE):

• “United in Diversity: Juvenile Justice and Child Protection in the Principal Judicial Systems”, 18th International Congress of IAYFJM, 21 - 24 April 2010, Tunis, Tunisia (website)

Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh) Peru/ Encuentros Casa de la Juventud/ Public Ministry of Peru/ Catholic University of Lima:

• First World Congress on Restorative Juvenile Justice, 4 - 7 November 2009, Catholic University of Lima, Lima, Peru (flyer, website)

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4. Other events:

Utrecht Summer School 2009/ Willem Pompe Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology (WPI), Utrecht University, The Netherlands:

• International Juvenile Justice Course, 17 - 27 August 2009, Utrecht, The Netherlands

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5. New links from our website:

NGOs:

• Children’s Legal Centre, United Kingdom

• International Detention Coalition

To view other NGOs links, please click here

National Human Rights Institutions and Special Mechanisms:

• Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, United Kingdom

• Slovak National Centre for Human Rights, Slovak Republic

To view other links to National Human Rights Institutions and Special Mechanisms, please click here

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6. Feed-back request:

Thank you in advance for sending us your feed-back on the newsletter, including: your input on the information included; its relevance to your work; what types of amendments you would suggest; and any technical problems that you may have encountered in reading the newsletter or accessing our website.


Yours sincerely,

The Newsletter Team.

About the Newsletter:
English edition: Davinia Ovett, Secretariat Coordinator, IPJJ
French edition: Michaël Milliard, Communication Assistant, IPJJ
Spanish translation: Vera Winkelried
Please send us your comments to: newsletter@juvenilejusticepanel.org

Address:
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, Secretariat, 1, rue de Varembé, CP 88, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland, Tel: +41 (0) 22 734 05 58, Fax: +41 (0) 22 740 11 45
http://www.juvenilejusticepanel.org