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+THE U.N. ON GLOBAL REPORTING — CHILD RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

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Child Rights at the Human Rights Council

Latest developments

Complaints Mechanism

The Council adopted the final draft Optional Protocol on a communications procedure for children’s rights violations. The new protocol will enable the Committee on the Rights of the Child to examine communications from children and their representatives alleging violations of their rights.

For further information on the adoption, together with NGOs’ response and what it means for children’s rights:


Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

In a groundbreaking achievement for upholding the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the United Nations Human Rights Council (the Council) passed a resolution on human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (L9/rev1).

It is the first UN resolution ever to bring specific focus to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and affirms the universality of human rights, as well as drawing on concerns about acts of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) said the commitment of the Human Rights Council sends an important signal of support to human rights defenders working on these issues, and recognises the legitimacy of their work.

What next?

A study, to be completed by December 2011, will both document discriminatory laws, practises and acts of violence against individuals all over the world based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, and assess how international human rights law could be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation gender identity.

Based on the study, a panel discussion will take place during the 19th session of the Council.


Business and Human Rights

On 16 June, the Council endorsed a new set of Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights designed to provide – for the first time – a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity.

NGO criticism

The Guiding Principles were criticised by many NGOs, with Arvind Ganesan, business and human rights director at Human Rights Watch, saying: “In effect, the council endorsed the status quo: a world where companies are encouraged, but not obliged, to respect human rights. Guidance isn’t enough – we need a mechanism to scrutinize how companies and governments apply these principles.”

CRIN also criticised the Guiding Principles, lamenting the absence of children’s rights. “We cannot see how the adopted Principles are consonant with the ‘special attention’ envisioned for children in the Special Representative’s mandate”, CRIN stated.

“Given this failure, we now call on those responsible for monitoring and implementing the Principles to revisit the issue of business and children’s rights and ensure that the newly adopted Principles in practice genuinely respect children’s rights, fully address children’s unique vulnerability, and provide thorough and thoughtful direction on the subject of business and children’s rights to States and business enterprises alike.”

What next?

A Working Group will be established, consisting of five independent experts with a balanced geographical representation. The experts, who will take on the role for a period of three years, will be appointed at the 18th session of the Human Rights Council in September.

READ MORE HERE

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