January 20, 2010 • 10:57 am
Please consider donating $10 to CSR to help support children in Haiti.
CSR is collaborating with one of our partners, Discover the Journey, by applying our donations to their current work helping victims of the earthquake in Haiti. For the next four weeks, all donations to CSR will be going to their work there.
In particular, DTJ is working to:
2. Document the quake’s impact on children
Our primary focus will be listening to children in crisis, telling their story and amplifying their voices. Haitians do want their stories to be told, they do want their suffering to be known, and they do want the world to hear their cry.
4. Reconnaissance and Research
We have started accepting names/photos/details of missing friends and families. We will be keeping our eyes and ears open to search for individuals still missing and ask for word on their well being. If you, or someone you know has a missing family member, please send their name/photo/contact details/description/last-seen-location to haiti@discoverthejourney.org.
Other projects include providing medical support and disaster assistance, and reconnaissance and research.
For more information, check out their website or follow their work on Twitter.
Filed under: Human Rights , children, donation, Haiti
October 14, 2009 • 3:24 pm
Kate Davey Director of Research Projects
Sarah Pierce Legal Intern and Director of Outreach, Development and Communication
Children have been used as tools of war throughout history, serving not only as foot soldiers on the front line, but also as spies, porters and sexual slaves. Lawmakers and human rights organizations generally recognize the following from the 1997 Capetown Principles as the standard for defining a child soldier: “a child soldier is any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms.”
Read more…
Filed under: Educational, Human Rights, Intl Criminal Ct, Laws, Treaties , child soldiers, law, War
This entry is by Kate Davey, our legal analyst at Child Soldier Relief.
On April 9, Southern Sudan President Salva Kirr introduced the Child Act, which guarantees certain safeguards to children.
The Act recognizes anyone under 18 as a child and requires the Government to ensure the rights established in the Convention on the Rights of the Child to children in Southern Sudan.
Some of the highlights of the Act include that children cannot be recruited “by armed forces and groups” and forbids the use of torture or cruel treatment against children. As UNICEF reports, the Act also requires that anyone “who suspects a child’s rights have been violated or are at risk must report the case to local authorities.”
In addition, the Act also establishes an independent Children’s Commission, which UNICEF explains, “must investigate reported violations and make recommendations on how to promote childrens’ rights.”
Filed under: Human Rights, Laws, Treaties, Sudan , act, child soldier, international law, laws, Sudan, treaties
The British/Canadian/South African co-production is based on the 2002 Diamond, by Canadian journalist Matthew Hart. A brief synopsis:
Directed by Andy Wilson, Diamonds weaves together the complex tales of the senator (Davis), the diamond baron (Purefoy), his estranged father (Jacobi), his fiancé (Louise Rose), an orphan/child soldier (Mbongeni Nhlapo) and two ambitious geologists (played by Newfoundland’s Joanne Kelly and Nova Scotia native Stephen McHattie).
The first two-hour instalment of Diamonds airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on CBC-TV. The second part runs April 12.
Filed under: Books, Human Rights, Media/TV/Films , War, child soldiers, children, film, television, book, south africa
…where they will be “abducting” themselves in several cities around the world in an effort to promote awareness about the child victims of war in uganda, thousands of which have been abducted by the LRA and forced to fight. About the event:
citizens across the world will “abduct themselves” in 100 cities in nine different countries. The purpose of the event is to gain the attention of the media and celebrities. Participants will wait to be “rescued” by these prominent figures, just as the child soldiers are waiting to be rescued from the LRA.
Filed under: Educational, Human Rights, Uganda
…Commanding Officer in the Ghana Armed Forces, Lt. Col. Isaac Awuah- Mantey recently briefed Vice President John Mahama on increasing evidence of several factions using children to fight.
Challenging Heights (CH), an NGO advocating for children’s rights, condemned the recruitment of the children. Mr. James Kofi Annan said, “We condemn the organized recruitment and use of children for the purposes of killing and causing destruction to properties in those conflict areas.”
Filed under: Human Rights, United Nations , child soldiers, ghana, news
