********************************************************************** 12 February 2003: ACR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Vol.2, No.7 ********************************************************************** CONTENTS SRI LANKA: THE LEGACY OF CHILD SOLDIERS IN THE LTTE TIBET: ILLITERACY RATE EXPECTED TO DROP AMONG TIBETAN CHILDREN PAKISTAN: JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND ADULT TRIALS BURMA: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN CHIN STATE UN SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION 1460 ON CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT [Announcement] WEEKLY NEWS-IN-BRIEF ********************************************************************** SRI LANKA: THE LEGACY OF CHILD SOLDIERS IN THE LTTE Recruitment of children by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Sri Lankan insurgency group that has been fighting for the dignity of the minority Tamilian population in Sri Lanka, is a well-established fact. There have been constant concerns since the ceasefire between the rebels and the government regarding the continuing recruitment of children into 'baby brigade' within the LTTE. The fifth round of peace talks between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government that were held in Berlin on the 7-8th February, brought a ray of hope for demolition of the 'baby brigade' and the end of child recruitments into the LTTE. With immense international pressure, especially from the UNICEF, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission's (SLMM) initiative and President Kumaratunge's widely publisized letters to the army and the police to investigate child abductions by the LTTE, the issue of child soldiers became the central theme of the fifth session in the peace process. The process of demobilisation of the LTTE baby brigade received it's first boost on the eve of the fifth session when chief negotiator Dr. Anton Balasinghamthe and rebel political wing leader, S.P. Thamil Chelvam assured UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy that the LTTE would release and rehabilitate it's under-age cadres recruited for war. This assurance shattered one of the major barriers for the LTTE- it's continuous denial of the existence of child soldiers among it's ranks. However, the assurances given by senior officials did not end the complains received by human rights organizations regarding the continuing recruitment of children. The second and more significant announcement came on 9 February, 2003 at the end of the fifth session, by Norwegian Foreign Ministry state secretary Vidar Helgesen , who is brokering the peace talks, said the rebels had agreed to work with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to produce a plan for the demobilization of child soldiers. "The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) has agreed to a complete cessation of recruitment of, and recruitment campaigns aimed at persons under 18," he said. This round of talks also saw the saw the rebels agree to let a former head of the human rights group Amnesty International draw up a blueprint for rights issues linked to the peace process. UNICEF's efforts since the negotiations have focused on setting up of vocational training centers and helping children return to schools. While UNICEF's efforts have focused on the physical rehabilitation of children, a progressive move by the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE has seen the formation of a special committee to address the psychological trauma faced by children and women as a result of the 19-year-old conflict. The committee is to explore various methods such as play therapy, art therapy and group therapy to help children express themselves about issues related to the conflict. All of these developments during the past two weeks have been seen as positive signals from the LTTE towards demobilising it's child soldiers and ending it's recruitment of children. However, apprehension still hangs in the air given the LTTE's bad record of breaking it's promises and going back on it's commitments. We hope that this time, the light at the end of the tunnel becomes brighter for each child in Sri Lanka. Note: For background information on child soldiers in the LTTE, see our story titled "Where do the LTTE's 'Tiger' children figure" that came out in ACR Weekly Newletter Vol.2, No.3, January 15, 2003 [http://acr.hrschool.org/Newsletter/weeklynewsletterv2n3.htm] ______________________________________________________________________ TIBET: ILLITERACY RATE EXPECTED TO DROP AMONG TIBETAN CHILDREN 52 years ago when Tibet became an autonomous region under the People's Republic of China, 97 percent of the children were illiterate and the minority that did attend schools were children of rich families who studied in schools run by Buddhist monks. After 1951, an education system comprising of kindergartens, primary schools, technical schools and universities sprung up in Tibet. By the end of last year, Tibet had 3,099 primary and secondary schools with 410,000 pupils. Attendance at primary schools reached 88.3 percent. The regional department of education now plans to initiate a six year compulsory education plan by 2005 which will cater to 95 percent of Tibetan children in the elementary school going age-group and a none-year compulsory education plan by 2007 which will cater to 97 percent of Tibetan children. The illiteracy rate which dropped from 97 percent to 34 percent in the past 50 years among young and middle-aged Tibetans is expected to fall to five percent by 2007. [Reported Xinhuanet News] ______________________________________________________________________ PAKISTAN: JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND ADULT TRIALS Pakistan passed the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance in 2000. The ordinance directed the government to set up special juvenile courts for under-age offenders and establish independent trials for juvenile and adult offenders. However, the government has not only failed in setting up of the special juvenile courts but many districts have been found to be grossly violating the ordinance. In the Lahore district of Pakistan, juveniles and adults are tried by the same judges in same courts. The police have been violating the 2000 ordinance which requires the police to file cases against juveniles and adults separately. However, the police have not only lagged in filing cases as directed by the ordinance but have also followed the 14-days for filing cases prescribed by the ordinance. A special sessions judge directed the SSP to ensure that the ordinance is followed and that juvenile and adult cases are filed separetely. In the Sindh province of Pakistan, juvenile offenders and adult prisoners are jailed togather. Many juveniles are also subjected to hard labour and not granted permission to meet their relatives. 131 juvenile prisoners are being subjected to criminal assault and many had become deranged because they were being kept in solitary confinement. At least 12 juvenile prisonerswere suffering from different diseases and were being forced to do various chores in jail though they were not convicts, a recent resolution by the Hyderabad district council said. Demanding that juvenile offenders be produced before courts regularly and their cases be tried in a expedious manner, the resolution alleged that juvenile offenders were being subjected to hard labour in jails and the cases of under-age prisoners did not proceed because they were never produced before the court. It said that all hope for the children to reform and re-integrate into society would be lost if such treatment continued to be meted out to them. The resolution that was floated before the Hyderabad district council by Mr. Yousuf Qureshi demanded of the Sindh government stop the compulsory labour of juvenile prisoners and make arrangements for their education. In the Peshawar province of Pakistan, the chief justice of the High Court has expanded the number of judges who can overlook cases of juvenile offenders. Apart from all district and sessions judges, judicial magistrates now have the power to preside over juvenile justice cases under Section 4(2) of the Juvenile Justice System ordinance 2000. This move was required because of the government's failure to establish special juvenile courts as directed under the ordinance and the growing number of crimes committed by juveniles. The above three instances point towards the complete failure on the part of Pakistan's government in implementing an ordinance that focuses on the need for treating children differently from adults thereby giving them every chance to be rehabilitated and rejoin society to lead a normal life. This may just be a reflection on the government's lack of sensitivity towards the needs of it's children. ______________________________________________________________________ BURMA: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN CHIN STATE 90 percent of the population in Chin state in Burma are Christians. Since 1998, this region has seen a regular "abduction" of children between the ages of 8-17 by Buddhist monks. Most of the children being "abducted" belong to poor families and are lured away from their parents with the pretext of giving them education in bigger cities. However, the children were instead placed in Buddhist monasteries and made to study Buddhist texts and live as Buddhist monks. Five children who recently ran way from various monasteries said that they were placed in different monasteries so that no one knew where the other child was. This has made it difficult for the parents of the children to trace them. Few parents can afford to travel from one monastery to the other in search of their children. The children who escaped allege that they were forced to learn about Buddhist percepts and principles, put on robes and follow strict monastic disciplines. Since 1997, Burma's ruling military junta, State Peace and Development Council had imposed various restrictions on the activities of Christians and made life hell for the Christian population in Chin State and in Burma. [Reported: Chin Human Rights Organization] ______________________________________________________________________ February 07, 2003: UN SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION 1460 ON CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT Following its open debate held on 14 January 2003 on the Secretary-General's report on children and armed conflict, the Security Council today unanimously adopted resolution 1460 (2003). In it, the Security Council expresses "its intention to consider taking appropriate steps to further address this issue?". Resolution 1460 also supports the Secretary-General's call for an "era of application" of international norms and standards for the protection of children affected by armed conflict; expresses its intention to enter into dialogue or to support the Secretary-General in entering into dialogue with parties to armed conflict; consider taking appropriate steps to further address the issue of halting the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict in violation of international obligations. In its resolution, the Security Council urges Members States to take effective action to "control the illicit trade of small arms to parties in armed conflict that do not respect fully the relevant provisions of applicable international law", requests contributing countries to peace operations to incorporate the Six Core Principles of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Emergencies into pertinent codes of conduct for peacekeeping personnel. Furthermore, it calls upon all concerned parties to ensure that the protection, rights and well-being of children are integrated into the peace processes, peace agreements and the post-conflict recovery and reconstruction phases. The Security Council requests the Secretary-General to submit a report by 31 October 2003 on the implementation of resolution 1460 and of its resolution 1379 (2001) to include, inter alia, progress made by the parties listed in the Annex of his report in ending the recruitment of children and armed conflict, also taking into consideration the parties to other armed conflict that recruit of ruse children which are mentioned in the report; an assessment of violations of rights and abuses of children in armed conflict; specific proposals on ways to ensure monitoring and reporting in a more effective and efficient way within the UN system on the application of international norms and standards; and best practices on integrating the specific needs of children in armed conflict into disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. Olara A. Otunnu, Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said "With the adoption of this resolution, the Security Council has strengthened and further confirmed its commitment to the protection and well-being of children exposed to conflict." He added "the Council's engagement will yield additional significant gains for children". [source: The Office the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict] ______________________________________________________________________ WEEKLY NEWS-IN-BRIEF (For full text of news articles, please visit http://acr.hrschool.org/LatestNews/latestnewsindex.htm) SRI LANKA: YOUNG BOYS GET MARRIED TO AVOID LTTE RECRUITMENTS [FEBRUARY 07, 2003] Children as young as 15 years old get married in order to avoid being forced to become combatants by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). According to the rebels code, married men cannot be recruited. Children who are unmarried are often recruited into the LTTE and forced to sever all family ties and carry cyanide tablets so that they can commit suicide in case they are captured. Young teen couples can be seen all over the north-eastern regions of Sri Lanka as parents rush to get their children married off as soon as possible. The legal age for marriage in Sri Lanka is 18. [Source: The Straits Times] VIETNAM: 1 CHILD KILLED AND 5 INJURED BY AMERICAN WAR RELIC [FEBRUARY 07, 2003] A 7-year-old boy was killed and 5 of his friends received injuries in central Vietnam when an American made shell detonated while they were playing with it.The incident occurred in the Quang Tri province, one of the bloodiest scenes of the American war against Vietnam. Demining agencies estimate that there are at least 1,200 deaths every year in Vietnam due to unexploded ordnances. [Source: Asia Pacific] CHILD SOLDIERS: OTUNNU POINTS TO SIERRA LEONE AS MODEL FOR DEMOBILISATION [FEBRUARY 07, 2003] UN special representative on children and armed conflict Olara Otunnu told West African leaders Friday that countries affected by conflict should look to Sierra Leone as a model in dealing with the demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers. Sierra Leonean programs ranging from a national commission on war-affected children to a special youth radio station called The Voice of the Children have helped in demobilising some 7,000 child soldiers and reintegrating them into society, Otunnu said on the closing day of the Economic Community of West African States summit in Dakar, Senegal. He also cited last year's establishment of a special court focused on crimes against children. [source: UN Wire] ______________________________________________________________ (For complete html version of newsletter with pictures and other features visit http://acr.hrschool.org/Newsletter/weeklynewsletterv2n7.htm)
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