Volume 4 No 2

Permanent URI for this collection

https://reponew.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/2029

Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children deprived of liberty

Editorial of special focus: Selected developments in the area of children deprived of liberty
by Manu Krishan, Reina-Marie Loader and Imke Steimann

Two sides of the same coin: Contradictory legal and administrative practices towards children in immigration detention centres in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand
by Sophea Try, Shraddha Pokharel and Saittawut Yutthaworakool

Armed conflict and national security depriving children of liberty in the MENA region: Case studies and good practices
by Ahmed Samy Lotf, Charlotte van der Werf, Chiraz Arbi and Reham Jambi

Migrant children and adolescents from North Central America towards Mexico and their deprivation of liberty
by Valentina Agredo, Florencia Botazzi, Natalia Morales and María José Orué

Deinstitutionalisation of children with disabilities: Process, progress and challenges in South-East Europe
by Nikolina Milić, Gresa Rasiti, Esma Latić, Melina Kalem and Muamer Fazlić

Migration related detention of children in Southern Africa: Developments in Angola, Malawi and South Africa
by Girma Gadisa, Opal Sibanda, Kelvin Vries, and Carolyne Rono

Children’s deprivation of liberty as a tool of immigration and national security control in Europe? Unlocking captured childhoods by means of child-centred strategies and non-custodial solutions
by Chiara Altafin, Hugo Balnaves, Noémie Ninnin, Majsa Storbeck and Vassia Voziki

Overview of measures applied to children in conflict with law in post-Soviet countries: non-custodial measures and diversion programmes
by Mariam Muradyan, Aibek Askarbekov, Anna Arushanyan, Maria Koltsova and Salome Abuladze

Article

The 17 October 2019 protests in Lebanon: Perceptions of Lebanese and non-Lebanese residents of Tripoli and surroundings
by Elias Dahrouge, Jihad Nammour, Ahmed Samy Lotf, and 2019-2021 ArMA Programme students (Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon)

Recent regional developments

Recent regional developments in human rights and democratisation in South-East Europe during 2019
by Marija Ivanović, Meris Mušanović, Mariola Ceku, Aida Salihović-Gušić and Marjan Icoski

Human rights and democratisation during 2019: The case of Armenia, Georgia and Moldova
by Marina Rakopyan

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The 17 October 2019 protests in Lebanon: Perceptions of Lebanese and non-Lebanese residents of Tripoli and surroundings

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Dahrouge, Elias ; Nammour, Jihad ; Lotf, Ahmed Samy ; Abualroos, Karim ; Ait Youssef, Iasmin ; Al-Burbar, Eman ; Al-Salafi, Azal ; Alsheikh Ali, Rana ; Arbi, Chiraz ; Benyahya, Khawla ; Bhatti, Sarah ; Cavalluzzo, Francesco ; Comaro, Elena ; Daniaud, Elise ; El-Zein, Jamal ; Fares, Asmaa ; Hosta Cuy, Elena ; Lavigne Delville, Solene ; Maaninou, Nouha ; Olea Corral, Andrea ; Pannunzio, Marta ; Ramdani, Adel ; Salloum, Hazar ; Werf, Charlotte : van der ; Yousef, Nedaa

Starting from 17 October 2019, Lebanon had witnessed an unprecedented wave of mass protests and mobilisation across its territory. This so-called Thawra came to question the state’s social contract, which is built on a peculiar political system: sectarian con-sociationalism. Characterised by institutionalised clientelism and systemic corruption, coupled with an unprecedented economic crisis, the system recently showed its limits. Tripoli is Lebanon’s second-largest and most deprived city. Yet, it hosted the largest protests across the country, aptly referred to as the ‘bride of the revolution’. To better understand the city’s dynamics in this respect, field research was conducted there in January 2020. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study reflects on Tripoli’s residents’ perceptions about the protests. Beyond focusing exclusively on the city’s Lebanese residents, it gives some important insights into its vulnerable Syrian and Palestinian refugee inhabitants. The study also demonstrates that, surprisingly, Tripoli’s citizens have nuanced perceptions about these protests. It reveals through charts how divergence in some of these perceptions depends on conditions such as employment, sex, age and nationality. Finally, it gives some tangible insights into Tripoli’s level of mobilisation, engagement, and inclusion of women in the wave of protests. Key words: Middle East; Lebanon; mobilisation; protests; refugees
Armed conflict and national security depriving children of liberty in the MENA region: Case studies and good practices

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Jambi, Reham ; Arbi, Chiraz ; Werf, Charlotte : van der ; Lotf, Ahmed Samy

The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty outlines various pathways to detention in the contexts of armed conflicts and national security. A particular focus of this article falls on a comparative study between three case studies in the Arab region – notably Iraq & Syria (ISIS regions), Libya, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). This comparative study is used in order to identify common problems as well as common good practices towards reaching a preliminary regional approach. With the defeat of ISIS, approximately 29 000 children have been detained in the northeast of Syria and in Iraq. Of those, only a limited number of children have been repatriated to their or their parents’ countries of origin, highlighting the overall reluctance of states to repatriate jihadist fighters for alleged security concerns. Detained children associated with ISIS are susceptible to radicalisation, aggravated socio-psychological harm and deprivation of the right to a normal childhood. The changing nature of armed conflict from ‘traditional’ wars to conflicts between non-state armed groups corresponds with an increase in the treatment of children as perpetrators rather than victims (especially in Libya). Children affiliated with terrorist groups are put to trial in circumstances that are contrary to international child justice standards. In the OPT, a high number of arrested children are mistreated, while they are also subjected to military courts and law. While states have the primary duty to prevent any potential security threats (including terrorism), protecting children from all types of violence is an obligation under international human rights law. Recognising the pressing need to liberate children from their precarious situation within detention camps, this article calls for concerted efforts to bring adequate solutions in accordance with international standards of justice for children in a way that promotes their rehabilitation and reintegration. Key words: children’s rights; armed conflict; national security; deprivation of liberty; children deprived of liberty; children in Palestine; children of ISIS; children in Libya; UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty; deprivation of liberty on grounds of armed conflict; deprivation of liberty on grounds of national security
Children’s deprivation of liberty as a tool of immigration and national security control in Europe? Unlocking captured childhoods by means of child-centred strategies and non-custodial solutions

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Altafin, Chiara ; Storbeck, Majsa ; Ninnin, Noémie ; Balnaves, Hugo ; Voziki, Vassia

This article explores children’s detention on immigration or national security grounds as affected by European states’ contemporary security rationale neglecting children’s rights. Attention is given to how non-custodial solutions and child-centred strategies could avoid the systemic deprivation of liberty for these reasons. In acknowledging the range of contemporary threats against the right to liberty and security of children, it is crucial to investigate the link between detention and security narratives, as children – a particularly vulnerable group – are affected disproportionately. The focus is placed on the situations in The Netherlands, France, Greece, Ireland and Cyprus. Concluding remarks are based on the case studies and the regional perspective taken beyond these cases, to draw arguments for law and policy changes at both levels. Key words: children’s rights; migration; national security; repatriation; detention; security rationale
Deinstitutionalisation of children with disabilities: Process, progress and challenges in South-East Europe

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Fazlić, Muamer ; Kalem, Melina ; Latić, Esma ; Rasiti, Gresa ; Milić, Nikolina

More than a decade since Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia made a commitment to gradually close their institutions for children with disabilities, the process of exchanging institutional with family-based care seems to be stalling. These countries have an immediate Socialist/Communist past where, as some authors argue, there is a legacy of heavy institutionalisation of persons with disabilities that creates one of the key challenges related to ending disability-based deprivation of liberty of children in South-East Europe. Although some progress has been made, children with disabilities are still overrepresented in institutions, sometimes due solely to poverty and limited community-based support to families who would otherwise be able to take care of their children. This article seeks to explore the root causes of heavy institutionalisation of children with disabilities in South-East Europe while discussing the key challenges in the process of managing the transition from institutional care to community living in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia. Key words: deprivation of liberty; children; children with disabilities; institutions; deinstitutionalisation; South-East Europe
Editorial

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Viljoen, Frans

This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part is a ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’. This is the second occasion on which the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. The special focus is a product of this collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. In 2019 a cooperation agreement was signed between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. Its purpose is to ‘promote the acknowledgment and observance of human and child rights and to strengthen the participation of children in all matters affecting their lives in the present and in the future’. The Right Livelihood Foundation is a Swedish charity organisation, the mission of which is to honour and support courageous people solving global problems. The Foundation is a politically-independent and nonideological platform for the voices of its Laureates to be heard. The articles in this part are linked to the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019). In 2020 the ‘Global Classroom 2020’, which was presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty and the implementation of its recommendations. These Global Classrooms, a feature of the Global Campus since 2013, brings together students and professors from all regional hubs for a week-long conference where a topic of common interest is studied, analysed and discussed. The Global Classroom facilitates interaction among students from the different regional programmes by ii (2020) 4 Global Campus Human Rights Journal organising dedicated activities and providing a forum for discussion and networking. The articles in this part of the Journal are all products of collaboration between students and staff working with each of the regional Master’s programmes within the framework of the collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation.
Editorial of special focus: Selected developments in the area of children deprived of liberty

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Steimann, Imke ; Loader, Reina-Marie ; Krishan, Manu

The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019) unequivocally regards the detention of children as a form of structural violence. It not only leaves children stigmatised and marginalised for life, but also entirely forgotten by those adults who, in fact, should be protecting them. Despite irrefutable evidence of the harm detention inflicts on the physical and mental well-being of children, they continue to be detained in conditions that often leave them vulnerable to abuse and other severe human rights violations. This in turn has a severely negative impact on their development, stability and future prospects. Childhood encompasses the formative years of a human being and constitutes a period during which the personality of children is moulded and their ability to form emotional relationships defined. Depriving children of liberty during these crucially important years constitutes an enormous injustice. Yet, it remains one of the most overlooked violations of children’s rights.
Global Campus Human Rights Journal, Volume 4 No 2

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) [...]

This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part is a ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’. This is the second occasion on which the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. The special focus is a product of this collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. In 2019 a cooperation agreement was signed between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. Its purpose is to ‘promote the acknowledgment and observance of human and child rights and to strengthen the participation of children in all matters affecting their lives in the present and in the future’. The Right Livelihood Foundation is a Swedish charity organisation, the mission of which is to honour and support courageous people solving global problems. The Foundation is a politically-independent and nonideological platform for the voices of its Laureates to be heard. The articles in this part are linked to the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019). In 2020 the ‘Global Classroom 2020’, which was presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty and the implementation of its recommendations. These Global Classrooms, a feature of the Global Campus since 2013, brings together students and professors from all regional hubs for a week-long conference where a topic of common interest is studied, analysed and discussed. The Global Classroom facilitates interaction among students from the different regional programmes by ii (2020) 4 Global Campus Human Rights Journal organising dedicated activities and providing a forum for discussion and networking. The articles in this part of the Journal are all products of collaboration between students and staff working with each of the regional Master’s programmes within the framework of the collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation.
Human rights and democratisation during 2019: The case of Armenia, Georgia and Moldova

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Rakopyan, Marina

The three countries discussed in the article, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, have all witnessed developments and experienced weaknesses as far as human rights and democracy are concerned, particularly during 2019. From elections to emigration, the three countries have had different obstacles to overcome. All post-Soviet Union countries are making efforts to improve their record in respect of human rights and as they forge closer ties with the European Union (EU). Over the course of 2019, the three countries were moving forward slowly but steadily towards improved protection and promotion of human rights. All three countries had an issue with arbitrary detention, and the independence of the judiciary, while the majority of them had issues with torture and inhuman treatment and unlawful interference with privacy by government. Despite some differences in the areas, women’s rights were not fully respected in the three countries. Minorities had fewer opportunities to participate in governmental structures. Protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ persons remained an issue in all three countries, despite the considerable effort that countries made toward greater tolerance. Children’s rights were not fully respected in the countries, especially as far as child labour and child trafficking are concerned. Key words: Armenia; Georgia; Moldova; human rights; democracy; arbitrary detention; torture and inhuman treatment; women’s rights; minorities; rights of LGBTQ+ persons
Migrant children and adolescents from North Central America towards Mexico and their deprivation of liberty

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Comas, Rocío ; Morales, Natalia ; Bottazzi, Florencia ; Agredo, Valentina ; Orué, María José

A growing number of migrant children and adolescents, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, embark on a perilous journey to Mexico. This article intends to provide detailed information on and an analysis of Mexico as the receiving, issuing, transiting and returning country. The intention, in turn, is to analyse the countries of North Central America, as the main countries of issuance, transit and return of migrants to and from Mexico. The situation of migrant children and adolescents reveals the violation of international and regional legislation on the protection of children’s human rights. The migration process itself involves multiple risks to the security and integrity of migrant children, whose rights are affected at each stage of the process. In this regard, the data collected reflects the deprivation of the freedom of migrant children and adolescents in Mexico, while noting that this situation proves to be the focal point of all other rights violations that occur in the migration context. The analysis includes the perspectives gathered from international and regional standards for the protection of their rights. The article also examines conceptual definitions used in connection with migrant children in light of their vulnerability and the countries’ national context. To address the specific situation of children, the article reviews each country’s legislation, as well as outlines the migration flows taking place, in light of the causes identified as a general framework for the migration phenomenon. The article is informed by information gathered through the analysis of conventions, judgments, laws, theoretical documents, thematic reports as well as statistical analysis gathered from reports and surveys by human rights organisations. Finally, the conclusion considers this information alongside existing legal provisions so as to make recommendations aimed at better protecting migrant children and to prevent the violation of their fundamental rights. Key words: children and adolescents; migration; North Central American countries; Mexico; deprivation of liberty; international human rights law
Migration related detention of children in Southern Africa: Developments in Angola, Malawi and South Africa

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Rono, Carolyne ; Vries, Kelvin ; Sibanda, Opal ; Gadisa, Girma

This article examines the laws and practices in Angola, Malawi and South Africa regarding the migration-related detention of children in light of international human rights standards. Detaining a migrant child is in conflict with article 37(b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely, that detention of a child should be used as a the measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time, the principle of the best interests of the child and the right to development. At the African Union level, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child serves as the primary human rights instrument that comprehensively guarantees children’s rights. The countries in the case study have ratified both CRC and the African Children’s Charter. Nevertheless, children are deprived of liberty in Southern Africa, with Malawi serving as a transit country and South Africa and Angola mostly as destination countries. While Angola and Malawi lack adequate legal and effective protection of migrant children, South Africa has put in place robust legal guarantees, but in practice migrant children are nevertheless detained. Thus, the article suggests that these countries need to adopt and implement comprehensive child protection policies including alternatives to detention with a view to ensuring improved respect for children’s rights. Furthermore, it emphasises the need for enhancing regional cooperation to curb the problems that children are facing in relation to migration and beyond. Most importantly, states must show the political will not only to adopt protective laws but also to effectively implement these laws in order to create a safer world for children. Key words: children; migration; detention; liberty; Southern Africa
Overview of measures applied to children in conflict with law in post-Soviet countries: non-custodial measures and diversion programmes

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Abuladze, Salome ; Koltsova, Maria ; Arushanyan, Anna ; Askarbekov, Aibek ; Muradyan, Mariam

This article seeks to identify where non-custodial measures are applied in the post-Soviet space and where, in particular, diversion is used as a non-custodial measure in child justice systems. To this end, the article reviews the legal contexts and practices of 12 post-Soviet countries based on existing theoretical frameworks. As such, the article first defines the goals and needs of applying non-custodial measures to children in conflict with the law. Second, it addresses definitions, principles and the types of diversion directing children away from criminal justice proceedings. An analysis of the best practices in the region revealed that only two of the countries reviewed (Georgia and Kyrgyzstan) apply diversion programmes. Consequently, the article specifically considers these diversion programmes according to their general principles, criteria and the type of diversion applied. Given the fact that children in the regions are often detained in various types of facilities, mostly for rehabilitation purposes, the article highlights the serious need for post-Soviet states to urgently develop non-custodial measures in order to divert children away from the criminal justice system. Key words: children; non-custodial; diversion; deprivation; justice
Recent regional developments in human rights and democratisation in South-East Europe during 2019

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Icoski, Marjan ; Salihović-Gušić, Aida ; Ceku, Mariola ; Mušanović, Meris ; Ivanović, Marija

The region of South-East Europe (SEE) continues to be marked by competitive authoritarian regimes. This article employs a dynamic understanding of competitive authoritarianism that places the emphasis on a movement of a regime towards or away from either ends of the imagined consolidated democracy-authoritarian regime spectrum. More precisely, the article highlights strategies used by the parties in power to increase the control in society and thus consolidate political power, while also paying attention to contestations that arise against these negative trends in four countries of the region: Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia. The general findings reveal that the region is experiencing a continued trend of democratic backsliding in 2019. Two main structural reasons behind this seem to be (i) weak democratic institutions; and (ii) autocratic-minded political leaders, who tend to increase their power. As the contributions demonstrated, in 2019 ruling parties (or coalitions) in the region tended to increase control over media, continued to show disregard for the human rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, while also taking advantage of the ill-functioning judiciary unable to prosecute high-level cases of corruption. These negative trends resulted in a rather bleak democratisation impulse in the region, despite the larger scale citizen mobilisations against increased authoritarianism present in several countries. Key words: competitive authoritarianism; political control; protests; democracy; human rights
Two sides of the same coin: Contradictory legal and administrative practices towards children in immigration detention centres in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Yutthaworakool, Saittawut ; Pokharel, Shraddha ; Try, Sophea

The scale of migration among Asian countries has increased over the decades. Children are also part of this migratory flow as they travel either alone or with their parents. Since much of the migration occurs through extra-legal routes, many migrants and their children face a multitude of legal problems, including incarceration. The number of children deprived of liberty for migration-related reasons in the Asia Pacific region has also increased over the past few years. This study will look at Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as three of the most popular transit countries that routinely detain large numbers of children in immigration detention centres. Despite the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (to which all three countries are party) emphasises the fact that detention does not serve the best interests of the child and, therefore, should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time (article 37(b)), children nevertheless are routinely detained and then also for long periods of time. This is particularly problematic when children are detained for migration-related reasons, since it never serves the purpose of the best interests of the child (Nowak 2019). This study examines immigration detention centres (IDCs) by analysing from a sociopolitical perspective existing regulations and practices in the three countries selected. Using secondary data, the study addresses two questions, namely, (a) how existing legal and administrative practices of three Asia Pacific (transit/ destination) countries impact children in immigration detention centres; and (b) why these countries fail to uphold international obligations regarding the best interests of children in IDCs. The article argues that adverse administrative practices and the absence of domestic legal frameworks on children in IDCs contradict numerous international obligations. Not only does this jeopardise the survival and development of children, but it also creates barriers for these children to access fundamental human rights, social justice and other entitlements. Key words: children; best interests; deprived of liberty; detention; immigration law

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