View previous stories
	End forced labour in supply chains by OHCHR, World Vision, Anti-Slavery International   14 Feb 2014   Chocolate may be tainted with child labour in the cocoa fields of West Africa; Flowers like roses, tulips and orchids can come from fields where children and women work up to 20 hours a day for little or no pay; Gold may be mined by men, women and children in the most dangerous of conditions — and, in the case of conflict mines in the DRC, often at gunpoint; Gemstones like diamonds and rubies are often mined by slaves and can also end up polished and cut by children who sustain horrific injuries from working with gem-cutting tools and machinery.   Even the most innocent-looking plush toy may be produced in factories employing slave labour using cotton that may have been harvested by people forced to work as slaves.   We’re sharing this with you because we believe you have the power to end slavery in these industries forever. If enough people speak up and ask their favourite stores to ensure their products are free of modern slavery, companies will feel consumer pressure to audit and act on forced labour in their supply chains.   In the next few days, companies will be paying attention, not only to the shopping choices their customers make, but also the questions and concerns raised during one of the top sales seasons of the year. Let’s make sure one of those questions is, “What are you doing to make sure there is no slavery in your products?”   Eliminating slavery in supply chains can be a complex process, but the first step is simple: Companies need to examine their supply chain for instances of forced labour and then make their findings public.   This year, consumers are expected to spend $19 billion in Valentine"s Day shopping — it’s appalling to think that any of that money may be going towards an industry that deprives people of their dignity and freedom.   http://www.walkfree.org/ http://www.antislavery.org/english/slavery_today/default.aspx http://www.freetheslaves.net/ http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/ http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/#overview http://www.no-trafficking.org/ http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/theres-a-1-in-12-chance-your-v-day-flowers-were-cut-by-child-laborers/253084/ http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/series/modern-day-slavery-in-focus http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/SRSlavery/Pages/SRSlaveryIndex.aspx http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45269&Cr=trafficking&Cr1= http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals http://campaign.worldvision.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/7185_DTL_Factsheet_Jewellery_LR.pdf http://www.cottoncampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2013CottonHarvest_end_report.pdf http://www.indianet.nl/pb140404e.html Visit the related web page
	Committee on the Rights of the Child critical of Vatican response to Child Sexual Abuse by UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Child Rights International Network & agencies   Apr 2014 (Reuters)   Pope Francis asks for forgiveness for child sex abuse. "I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children".   In February the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child accused the Vatican of systematically turning a blind eye to decades of abuse and attempting to cover up sex crimes.   The scathing report urged the church to immediately hand over its records on the abuse of tens of thousands of children, immediately remove anyone suspected of abuse from their post and refer the matter to civil legal authorities.   Many thousands of cases of abuse by priests have come to light over the past decade and the Catholic Church is regularly accused of trying to cover up the crimes. The Vatican has vowed a zero-tolerance approach.   February 2014   UN report demands Vatican "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers.   The Vatican has failed to acknowledge the huge scale of clerical sex abuse and has implemented policies that have led to "the continuation of the abuse and the impunity of the perpetrators", a UN panel said on Wednesday in a scathing rebuke of the Holy See"s handling of the global scandal.   In grimly worded findings released by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the watchdog urged the Holy See to "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers" from their posts in the church and hand over the cases to law enforcement authorities in the countries concerned.   It also asked the Vatican to ensure that an expert commission set up by Pope Francis last year will "investigate independently" all cases of child sex abuse and the way in which they are handled by the Catholic hierarchy. Records concerning past cases should be opened up so that they can be used to hold the abusers – and those who may have sought to protect them – accountable, the panel added.   The Holy See must establish "clear rules, mechanisms and procedures" for the mandatory reporting of all suspected cases of abuse to civil law enforcement authorities, it said.   The committee said it was "particularly concerned" that in dealing with allegations of child sex abuse, "the Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators above children"s best interests, as observed by several national commissions of inquiry."   The Vatican responded testily to the findings, saying that though it would submit them "to a thorough study and examination"… "The Holy See reiterates its commitment to defending and protecting the rights of the child, in line with the principles promoted by the convention on the rights of the child and according to the moral and religious values offered by Catholic doctrine."   But the report, the recommendations of which are entirely non-binding, was welcomed by those who have long found the Vatican"s approach to the scandal wanting.   "This day has been a long time coming, but the international community is finally holding the Vatican accountable for its role in enabling and perpetuating sexual violence in the church," said Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. "The whole world will be watching to ensure that the Vatican takes the concrete steps required by the UN to protect children and end these crimes. Impunity and cover-up, including at the highest levels of the church, will not be tolerated."   Barbara Blaine, president of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused (Snap), described the report as a "scathing" indictment of the way the Vatican had handled the scandal.   "It"s a wake-up call, not to Catholic officials (who have known about and concealed abuse for decades) but for secular officials, especially those in law enforcement, who can and should investigate Catholic abuses and cover-ups and prosecute the church supervisors who are still protecting predators and endangering children," she said.   "We have been trying every which way we can to get church officials to step up and do the right thing and what we"ve learned over time is that the only time that they take even the barest of minimum of steps is when they are forced to from external sources."   The Committee also said the Vatican needed to launch a full investigation into Ireland"s Magdalene Laundries scandal in which thousands of women and girls were abused and enslaved. The report said those who abused and exploited those incarcerated in the laundries run by Irish nuns should be prosecuted if they are still alive.   It urged that "full compensation be paid to the victims and their families" who were caught up in the Magdalene system in Ireland.   While welcoming statements made by the Holy See delegation expressing a commitment to upholding the rights of children, the committee made clear its "deepest concern" about abuse committed by clergy operating "under the authority of the Holy See".   Tens of thousands of children had been abused by clerics worldwide, it said.   "The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators," it wrote.   The report came two weeks after the committee grilled a Vatican delegation over the church"s response to abuse allegations.   In particular, the committee slammed the practice of moving priests found to have abused children from parish to parish or to other countries "in an attempt to cover up such crimes". Last month a Vatican delegation in Geneva for questioning by the panel accepted criticisms of this practice and said it no longer went on.   But the committee nonetheless noted: "The practice of offenders mobility, which has allowed many priests to remain in contact with children and to continue to abuse them, still places children in many countries at high risk of sexual abuse, as dozens of child sexual offenders are reported to be still in contact with children."   The UN panel also criticised the Holy See for refusing to hand over data concerning all cases of abuse brought to its attention during the period in question, and their outcomes. It said that confidential disciplinary proceedings had "allowed the vast majority of abusers and almost all those who concealed child sexual abuse to escape judicial proceedings in states where abuses were committed".   It also said the reporting of suspected crimes had been strongly hampered by a "code of silence" among the clergy which had seen those who dared to break it "ostracised, demoted and fired", and cited one well-known instance from 2001 in which a bishop was in effect congratulated for having kept to it.   At a press conference following the release of the report, the committee"s Kirsten Sandberg said the Vatican had "systematically" placed the reputation of the church over the protection of children.   "They are in breach of the Convention [on the Rights of the Child] as up to now, because they haven"t done all the things that they should have done," she told reporters.   Examples of Global Catholic Church abuse cases:   Australia: Priests, brothers, charged over more than 100 offenses against children dating back to 1970s at St Stanislaus school, Bathurst. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, launched in April 2013. Expected to hear from 5,000 victims.   Canada: Mount Cashel Orphanage, Newfoundland, closed in 1990 after it emerged staff abused 300 residents over several decades. In 2002, associations representing more than 10,000 self-declared victims joined forces to seek compensation.   US: A 2004 criminal investigation found 4,400 priests sexually abused minors between 1950 and 2002; abuse affected about 11,000 children. Former archbishop of Boston Bernard Law forced to resign in 2002 for having protected paedophile priests; former archbishop of Los Angeles Roger Mahony agreed to pay $US660 million to 500 victims.   Ireland: One priest admitted sexually abusing more than 100 children, another said he had abused minors regularly over 25 years. A total of 14,500 Irish children are reported to have been victims of abuse by clergy.   Germany: In early 2010, hundreds of alleged cases of child sex abuse in church institutions emerged, notably at the Jesuit college Canisius in Berlin where about 20 cases were reported. In late 2012, a report said at least 66 church officials had been accused of sex abuse.   The Netherlands: In late 2011, a report said "several tens of thousands of minors" had been abused within church institutions between 1945 and 2010, and around 800 suspects have been identified.   The report also urged the Vatican to "review its position on abortion which places obvious risks on the life and health of pregnant girls" and called on it for greater flexibility in "identifying circumstances under which access to abortion services can be permitted".   The UN said the Catholic Church had not yet taken measures to prevent a repeat of cases such as Ireland"s Magdalene laundries scandal, where girls were arbitrarily placed in conditions of forced labour.   At a public session last month, the UN committee pushed Vatican delegates to reveal the scope of the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests that Pope Francis called "the shame of the church".   http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=851&Lang=en http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx   Jan 2014   UN committee on the rights of the child questions Catholic hierarchy on handling of child sex abuse by priests.   The Roman Catholic Church has faced a cascade of scandals involving child sexual abuse by priests and Catholic lay officials, from Ireland to the US and from Australia to Germany.   Pope Francis, who has vowed zero tolerance of abuse since he was elected last March, said the scandals "are the shame of the Church".   "Do we feel shame? There are so many scandals that I do not want to name them individually but everyone knows about them!" the Pope said.   Like other signatories of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Vatican agrees to submit regular reports on its respect for the rules, and to be scrutinised by an 18-member Child Rights Committee.   A review of the Holy See"s rights record, - marked the Vatican"s second appearance before the committee.   UN committee member Hiranthi Wijemanne charged that abuse perpetrators were too often shielded by the Church hierarchy.   "Why is there no mandatory reporting to a country"s judicial authorities when crimes occur? Taking actions against perpetrators is part of justice," she asked the Vatican"s delegation.   Many past cases of abuse were often covered up by priests superiors, who typically transferred offenders to new parishes, rather than turn them over to police.   The Vatican"s UN ambassador, Monsignor Silvano Tomasi, claimed the Holy See was legally responsible only for implementing the UN Convention on the tiny territory of Vatican City - a position long criticised by campaigners.   But he said that as the central body of the Church the Vatican was working with its local branches to develop measures to stem sexual abuse.   Pope Benedict XVI, pontiff from 2005 to 2013, was the first Pope to apologise to victims and call for zero tolerance of abuse, though critics say that his rhetoric outstripped real action.   Pope Francis has vowed to take things further by setting up a special committee to investigate crimes, enforce prevention measures and care for the victims.   Pressed for details of the Vatican committee, Tomasi said the ground rules and membership were still being established.   UN committee member Sara Oviedo questioned the Vatican"s efforts.   "The Holy See has not yet established any mechanism to investigate those accused of perpetrating sexual abuse, nor to prosecute them," she said, calling for a "new approach".   Victims groups say the issue is far from settled with cases of ongoing abuse emerging and the total tally potentially in the hundreds of thousands.   Pam Spees, of the US-based advocacy group the Centre for Constitutional Rights, who said, "the Vatican attempted to relegate the issue to the past and claim it is a new era, that they now "get it," but they continue to refuse to turn over records for prosecution, punish higher-ups that covered up the crimes, or provide any real evidence that they are now putting the safety of children above the reputation of the Church," she said.   "Nonetheless, today"s hearing is a milestone in calling for an end to these days of impunity. The international community is demanding answers, and that is the first step toward true accountability and, we hope, an end to the widespread violence against children."   End sexual violence in religious institutions   Child sexual abuse in religious institutions across the world is rife, and more and more reports frequently emerge about this human rights violation. Lack of accountability, entrenched power structures and arcane institutions allow it to continue.   The Child Rights International Network (CRIN) believes transparency, access to justice for children and protection from violence are crucial to securing children’s status as individuals with rights. So we are campaigning to end sexual violence against children in religious institutions by pushing for reforms that will open these institutions to scrutiny, prevent cover-ups and allow victims to access justice.   We launched this campaign with a new preliminary report that maps the global scale of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.   The first strand of the campaign looks at the Catholic Church because the UN pressed the Holy See for detailed information on sexual abuse against children by Catholic clergy around the world, cover-ups within the Church and the denial of justice and compensation for victims. This happened during the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child"s periodic review of the Holy See during the Committee"s 65th session in Geneva in January 2014. CRIN reported live from the session using #HolySeeConfess on twitter, and you can read our notes of the dicussions.   On 5 May 2014 the UN Committee Against Torture reviewed the Holy See for its compliance with the Convention Against Torture. After meeting with NGOs the Committee raised the rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in the Catholic Church as violations of the Convention Against Torture by the Holy See. Further information on this review. Read a story from the New York Times reporting on the "sharp questioning" the Holy See faced during the review.   Content in this section of our website only focuses on the Catholic Church at the moment. But we are aware that other religious institutions are also implicated in historic and current sexual violence against children. We aim to expand our research and find additional partners to pursue a broader campaign against this rights abuse in other religious institutions. (See link below)   * CRIN is a global children’s rights advocacy network. Established in 1995, the agency presses for rights - not charity - and campaigns for a genuine shift in how governments and societies view and treat children. Linking nearly 3,000 organisations that between them work on children’s rights in every country in the world. Visit the related web page
	View more stories