Read-Listen-Watch
June 2020
Eliminating age discrimination from lockdown curfews
To contain the spread of Covid-19, most countries have introduced curfews for all citizens, but a number of them have only introduced them for certain age groups, including under-18s. Here we review the ethics of age-based curfews and their effectiveness in the fight against the pandemic.
The impact of coronavirus on Mapuche children in La Araucanía, Chile
Most of Chile’s Mapuche people live in La Auracania, the country’s poorest region which also presents the second highest number of Covid-19 infections. We spoke with local Mapuche activist and educational psychologist Onésima Lienqueo to find out how the pandemic is impacting Mapuche children.
May 2020
The impact of coronavirus on working children in Buenos Aires
Millions of workers in the informal economy cannot comply with lockdown rules, including child and adolescent workers, as their livelihood depends on going out to work. We spoke with Argentinian sociologist and teacher Santiago Morales to learn more about how young people from Buenos Aires’ low-income neighbourhoods are coping.
Women and girls’ reproductive rights under lockdown
Some countries have categorised abortion as a non-essential health service during this pandemic, while others have removed certain restrictions to accessing abortion. To find out what is the current state of women and girls’ reproductive rights we spoke with the Senior Global Advocacy Advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights office in Geneva.
Open letter calling for UN chief to name all armed conflict perpetrators
CRIN is among 20 NGOs calling on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to publish a complete and accurate list of perpetrators of grave violations against children in armed conflict in his upcoming annual report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict.
Joint statement on discrimination and inequality in the global response to Covid-19
CRIN, alongside a coalition of 12 leading global equality organisations, signed a joint statement calling on States to make sure their measures responding to the Covid-19 pandemic take into account the rights of groups facing discrimination, including older persons, children, persons with disabilities, women, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees and stateless persons.
How coronavirus makes us rethink youth protests
Country lockdowns and social distancing make us believe protest gatherings are off-limits, but youth climate protesters have shown that activism doesn’t just happen on the street. This article is part of a feature series exploring how the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures to prevent its spread are impacting the human rights of under-18s.
April 2020
Elective surgeries under coronavirus and children’s bodily integrity
Leading medical bodies and figures in the United States recommend that elective surgeries be suspended in order to prioritise the use of healthcare facilities and equipment for treating patients with Covid-19. What does this mean for the most common elective surgery in the US - routine male circumcision? We spoke with Genital Autonomy - America to find out.
How has the Covid-19 pandemic changed youth climate activism?
In March, youth climate activists announced they would no longer be organising climate strikes because of social distancing rules. Instead, they moved their activism online. We spoke with a youth climate activist from Mexico to learn how youth activists have adapted their work and what lessons from the pandemic can be applied to the fight for climate justice?
Coalition calls for children’s rights respect regarding the rapid adoption of online learning tools under Covid-19
CRIN, among more than 30 other human rights and civil liberties organisations, parent, teacher and consumer groups worldwide, called on data protection authorities to respect children's rights in the digital environment in education amid the global rush to deliver emergency instruction online during the pandemic.
The fight for justice for sexual abuse survivors must go on
The overturning of Cardinal George Pell's conviction may feel like a setback, but there could be a positive impact. This article, first published in Al Jazeera English, looks at the potential of Pell’s case in raising awareness about clergy abuse and how the key to justice for survivors of institutionalised sexual abuse is in the collective response.
Let’s showcase the best humanity has to offer
In this entry of the CRIN Diaries, a series of articles in which staff members reflect on aspects and experiences of their work in human rights, Lianne Minasian, Deputy to CRIN’s Director, shares her thoughts on volunteering during the Covid-19 crisis, drawing on her own experience as a volunteer with her local response group.
March 2020
Coronavirus and children in detention
As the world faces up to the challenges of dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CRIN will be looking at the ways that the human rights of children are affected. We start this week with a focus on children in prisons and detention facilities within the criminal justice system.
Working from home: a few tips from CRIN staff
We’ve received requests from partners about sharing some tips on working from home, as it’s something staff at CRIN have been doing for years, yet it’s a practice we’re still continuing to learn how to do better. With many people now working from home because of lockdowns due to COVID-19 - including those who aren’t used to it - we’re sharing some useful habits that we’ve picked up along the way.
What CRIN is reading: the stuck-at-home edition
With the spread of Covid-19 keeping many of us and our families at home for extended periods, we’ve put together an assortment of materials that we’re currently reading, watching or listening to which are helping us to take our mind off things, and we hope they’ll be useful to our readers too.
CRIN partners with arts and tech organisations for Tate Exchange event
Alongside a host of arts, education and tech organisations, CRIN will explore the creative power of the tech and arts industries at an event at the Tate Exchange. We’ll be running workshops focusing on children's rights and the right to privacy in tech, including facial recognition, deepfakes and surveillance. The week-long event runs from 3 - 8 March 2020.
January 2020
A children’s rights approach to returning from ISIL
In a new position paper, CRIN and partners outline the rights-based approach that States must take in their treatment of children who travelled to Iraq or Syria, either alone or with their families, to join the so-called Islamic State. The organisations make a series of recommendations on criminalisation, detention, rehabilitation, nationality, family separation and access to health and education.
How students and women saved the revolution
In the first entry of the CRIN Diaries, a series of articles in which staff members reflect on aspects and experiences of their work in human rights, Sabine Saliba, regional representative in the MENA, tells us about the role of women and young people in shaping the revolution in Lebanon, the country where she was born and raised and currently resides.
November 2019
Justice for survivors of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Latin America
This project summarises the scale of clergy child sexual abuse in all 18 Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as Brazil, and examines what legal barriers survivors face in pursuing redress, what legal reform has taken place to improve access to justice, and how to use national inquiries to respond to the crisis. The project also includes country-specific briefings, a directory of support services for survivors in the region and case studies on how countries have responded to institutional sexual abuse of children and its cover up.
NGOs call on UN rights chief to condemn repression of Hong Kong protesters
A group of 22 NGOs has issued a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, calling on her to publicly denounce the Hong Kong government’s systematic violations of protesters’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The CRC at 30 in circa 100 words
With everything happening around the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), rather than celebrate we thought we’d look ahead and share the CRIN team's thoughts on what we see as key for the CRC in the coming years, along with our biggest fear and our hope for the future.
September 2019
Why CRIN is joining the #climatestrike
CRIN will be joining the global climate strike on 20 September. It’s the first time the organisation as a whole will take part on a working day. But we won’t just be attending the strike in person; we’re also blacking out our website. To explain our intentions, there are four reasons why we’re joining the climate strike.
Respect students’ right to protest
Some schools and local authorities in multiple countries have imposed sanctions or threatened to do so on students who wish to take part in the Fridays for Future school climate strikes. We call on teachers, schools, local authorities and parents to support the schoolchildren who choose to exercise their right to peaceful protest.
August 2019
Conscription by poverty? New report on deprivation and army recruitment in the UK
The British army is intentionally targeting young people from deprived backgrounds for the roles carrying the greatest risks in war. This new report examines the targeting of these children and the effects of this practice on the 16 and 17 year-olds who are recruited.
CRIN joins EDC-Free Europe campaign
CRIN has joined the EDC-Free Europe coalition representing more than 70 environmental, health, women’s and consumer groups across Europe, all sharing the same concern about hormone disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and their impact on human health and the environment.
July 2019
Joint intervention in ECHR case
CRIN has submitted a joint intervention to the European Court of Human Rights on the right of twins born through surrogacy to same-sex parents to inherit their father’s nationality.
Why children’s rights should be the next big issue for sport
This guest article, written by Play the Game at the Danish Institute for Sports Studies, examines how, despite sport being hailed and promoted as a good for children and society at large, there is a growing awareness on the downsides of sport that sometimes turn children into victims rather than winners.
June 2019
Youth climate strikers and their human rights
CRIN co-hosted a round-table discussion on children and young people's right to demand action and justice for the climate crisis. Together with the environmental law organisations CIEL and Earthjustice, we heard from climate youth groups in Switzerland about their experiences of organising strikes, making calls to policy makers, and sitting at the negotiation table with local authorities.
The African resistance to the mass male circumcision campaign
Two guest articles about the grassroots resistance to the campaign to circumcise men and boys across Africa. The VMMC campaign (voluntary medical male circumcision) targets African communities with the goal of creating and maintaining an 80 percent male circumcision rate across the continent. Many men refuse circumcision, so in 2016 infant boys were added to the campaign.
Right to a family: Joint statement on children’s right to live and grow up with a family
CRIN, alongside other disability rights and children’s rights organisations and networks, signed a joint statement emphasising the right of all children, including those in institutions and other alternative care settings, to grow up with a family under international law.
Campaign against UK’s enlistment of children to be continued by Child Rights International Network
The UK is the only major military power and the only State in Europe to enlist 16-year-olds into its armed forces. Following the closure of Child Soldiers International, the campaign to raise the UK’s military enlistment age to 18 will move to the Child Rights International Network (CRIN).
May 2019
Children’s rights at the World Bank - the case of the Uganda Transport Sector Development Project
This guest article by the Bank Information Center (BIC) reflects on how one World Bank-funded project in Uganda gave rise to sexual abuse of girls and what was done about it. The BIC advocates on reforming international financial institutions to make sure that the development projects they fund do not undermine human rights or harm the environment.
UN: List all warring parties responsible for violations against children
CRIN has signed an open later with 21 organisations calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to publish a complete and accurate list of perpetrators of violations against children in his upcoming annual report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict.
Everyday toxics exhibition and discussion in Geneva
This week CRIN hosted a temporary art exhibition and discussion in Geneva on toxic exposure in our everyday lives and what is being done to raise awareness of these issues. The event was hosted at the Bocal Local, an eco-responsible grocery shop in Geneva, while the meetings of the parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions took place in the city.
Artivism: CRIN at the Venice Biennale
CRIN will be participating in this year’s Venice Biennale as part of the ARTIVISM exhibition, in collaboration with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. The event will explore creative responses to large-scale identity-based violence and mass atrocities.
April 2019
Russia's 'gay propaganda' laws and the complaints against it
In our latest case study on the stories behind strategic children's rights litigation, we examine several challenges to Russia's "gay propaganda" laws. Passed using the protection of children as an excuse to silence public discussions and positive messages about LGBT issues, these laws effectively deny freedom of expression and access to information on gender and sexual diversity.
Students have a right to protest, schools must respect it
School students have led major protests in recent months against climate change negligence and stood up to the complacency of passive politicians. CRIN has written a statement supporting the student strikes, along with a template students can use to challenge the threat of punishments for protesting.
March 2019
Beta testing Utopia - CRIN's week at Tate Modern
Earlier this month we joined forces with the Digital Maker Collective as part of the week-long event called Beta Society hosted by Tate Exchange. For our part, we organised Beta Utopia — a first attempt at drawing a picture of a better world where human rights are respected, where problems come with solutions, and where anyone can pick up a pen and contribute.
What if... the Commonwealth apologised?
More than a third of the world’s children currently live in Commonwealth countries, a so-called family of nations that shares a dark legacy of colonialism, violence and discrimination. Rather than celebrate its history, we think the Commonwealth Secretariat should apologise for it. And surprise surprise, here's an apology we prepared earlier!
January 2019
How limitation periods harm survivors of childhood sexual abuse
Most cases of sexual abuse of children are never disclosed let alone reported to the authorities. This silence is made worse when the very laws intended to hold perpetrators to account prevent survivors from seeking justice. Time limits on bringing legal action do exactly this. So how are States dealing with limitation periods in the face of systemic child sexual abuse within their own borders?
The Philippines must not lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility
CRIN calls for the Philippines to abandon proposals to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility and instead focus on reforms that will effectively address crime.
December 2018
Response to Google on Project Dragonfly, China, and Human Rights
Civil society organisations including CRIN have signed an open letter calling for Google to drop Project Dragonfly and any plans to launch a censored search app in China.
November 2018
Urge the UN to Support Resolution on Human Rights in Iran
Forty civil society organizations including CRIN have signed a letter urging UN member states to support a resolution on human rights in Iran that will be presented to the UN General Assembly on November 15, 2018.
October 2018
What can you do to reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals?
Toxic chemicals are everywhere. In the food we eat, the water we drink, even the air we breathe. This list of resources will give you tips to avoid them, or at least reduce your exposure in your everyday life.
September 2018
Romania's referendum threatens children's rights
A coalition of conservative and anti-LGBT hate groups are trying to use children’s rights as an excuse to redefine the family in Romania, in a way which will inevitably run counter to children’s best interests.
For older news, please see CRIN’s archive website