Forum:
General Committee 1
Issue:
Providing increased measures in child rights with
special focus on child marriage and child labor in
MENA
Student Officer:
Doğa Karabey
Position:
Deputy Chair of General Committee 1
Introduction:
In today’s world, children all over the planet are being stripped off their legal rights.
They are being removed from education and instead are being forced to work in
labor factories, fight in wars as child soldiers an even being used as sexual slaves.
This is a serious problem concerning not just the present but also the future. We
must prepare the world to the upcoming generation. We must give these children
the rights they deserve. It is the responsibility of this committee to address this
issue and find the appropriate actions to take against it.
Definition of Key Terms:
Legal Rights of Children:
The opportunity to take part in political or legal decisions that will affect them.
Legal Rights:
Rules that exist for people under a set legal system.
Child Labor:
The use of children in industry or business, esp. when illegal or considered
inhumane.
Child Soldiers:
This refers to children who are under the age of 18, and who are included in official
and unofficial armed forces.
Sexual Slaves:
A person who is held for sexual work and held against their will.
Human Rights:
Human rights will be rights for every single individual, whatever our nationality,
place of living arrangement, sex, national or ethnicity, religion, dialect, or some
other status. We are all similarly qualified for our human rights. These rights are
altogether interrelated, associated and inseparable.
History:
Children’s rights are a moderately new idea. Although Human Rights have been
examined since the seventeenth century, it was not until the nineteenth and
twentieth century that the rights of children started to be considered. At first,
exchange of children’s rights tended essentially to be centered around on
assurance rights e.g. prohibiting child labor, as opposed to any idea that children
were qualified for their own particular rights as equivalent subjects of the world.
With the First World War, millions died and numerous more were stranded by the
war. The League of Nations was framed after the war. As a legislative association,
its mission was to attempt to secure essential human rights benchmarks.
Around the similar time Save the Children was established and the Declaration on
the Rights of the Child was drafted which was then later embraced by the League
of Nations.
In 1924 the League of Nations perceived the Geneva Declaration on the Rights of
the Child. Nonetheless, with the ascent of one party rule prompting to the Second
World War, a huge number of children were again left unprotected, killed, gassed
or stranded.
In 1945 the United Nations received the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Despite the fact that the privileges of children were incorporated, numerous
contended that the unique needs of children required an extra separate archive. In
1959 the United Nations General Assembly perceived a moment Declaration of the
Rights of the Child.
In the mean time the United Nations Human Rights Commission amass began to
deal with the draft of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Nonadministrative associations were basic to the drafting of the Convention. It was not
until almost 30 years after the fact in 1989 that work on the CRC was finished and
the Convention was enacted by the United Nations General Assembly. The UNCRC
has the status of a worldwide law. It is basically a 'guarantee to all children to
regard, secure and satisfy all their human rights. It a standout amongst the most
far reaching of all the human rights arrangements containing an entire rundown of
common and political and social, social and monetary rights.
Major Countries and Organizations Involved:
Human Rights Watch:
Is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and
advocacy on human rights.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) is a United
Nations body formed in December 1991.
International Labor Organization (ILO)
The International Labor Organization (ILO) is an organization that fights for the
human rights of people, they aim to assist governments in battling the issue of lack
of human rights in various countries.
Children's Rights Organization (CRO)
The Children’s Rights Organization (CRO) is a national watchdog organization
advocating on behalf of abused and neglected children in the U.S.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a UN-Formed Organization whose
sole goal is to provide long term humanitarian and developmental assistance to
children and mothers in developing countries.
Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Afghanistan, Burma, Iran, Kurdistan, Lebanon,
Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Chechnya, Italy, Greece, Bolivia,
Colombia and Haiti.
The armed forces of the nations mentioned above have been reported to have child
soldiers operating from within their ranks.
Afghanistan:
Taliban constrains in Afghanistan have added scores of children to their positions
since mid-2015 infringing upon the worldwide denial on the utilization of child
soldiers, Human Rights Watch said today.
New Human Rights Watch inquire about demonstrates that the Taliban have been
preparing and conveying kids for different military operations including the
creation and planting of extemporized hazardous gadgets (IED). In Kunduz area, the
Taliban have progressively utilized madrasas, or Islamic religious schools, to give
military preparing to youngsters between the ages of 13 and 17, a large number of
whom have been conveyed in battle
Burundi:
Utilization of child soldiers was across the board in government strengths and all
dynamic armed political groups. Children as youthful as ten served in the Burundi
military and state army, the Gardiens de la paix (Peace Watches), as battle troops,
spies and residential work. Outfitted political groups kidnapped young ladies into
sexual bondage. Child warriors battled with Burundian armed political groups in
Burundi, and with Burundian and Congolese armed political groups in the Law
based Republic of the Congo (DRC). A program started in January 2004 for the
grounding of 2,500 child officers, a large portion of them from government
strengths, in spite of the fact that an expected 5,000 further child fighters required
deactivation. Notwithstanding, armed political groups, incorporating those
partaking in the deactivation extend, kept on enlisting children to their positions.
Colombia:
The United Nations checked 289 instances of children enrollment and use by armed
groups, the dominant part of which were reported after their detachment and had
been once in the past related with FARC-EP (182) and ELN (74). Cases were likewise
ascribed to the Ejército Popular de Liberación (1) and post-deactivation and other
armed groups (32).
The executing of 12 children and mutilating of 10, essentially thus of landmines,
were checked. With 31 of its 32 divisions sullied, landmines are a genuine sympathy
toward the assurance of children in Colombia.
Democratic Republic of Congo:
It has been evaluated that one in ten child soldiers - or 30,000 children - are found
in the DRC. The UN trusts that 15-30% of all recently enlisted soldiers in the DRC
armed force are under 18 years of age. One reason the armed force, and the
revolutionaries, utilize child soldiers is that the adversary can't discover it in
themselves to murder kids. Along these lines, the quantity of enlisted people stays
high as less of them are lost in fight.
Iran:
Iran utilized child soldiers widely amid the war, and gauges are as high as 100,000
for the number slaughtered. They purportedly went into fight with a plastic key
around their necks, issued by the Ayatollah. It was their key to heaven upon their
demise in fight, which was basically anticipated that would happen, since their
possibility of survival was just barely above zero. Frequently, they were just utilized
as human mine-clearers, charging over the minefield to make a way for the genuine
fighters who might take after behind them. In principle, 16 was the base age to join,
however 12 was normal, and the greater part of the children were apparently
volunteers.
Lebanon:
The United Nations recorded instances of enrollment and utilization of children by
neighborhood and remote outfitted groups, including of young men in the vicinity
of 15 and 17 years old who were sent to the Syrian Arab Republic. The larger part
of occurrences were identified with the Nusrah Front; in any case, children were
apparently likewise enrolled by other armed groups, including Hezbollah,
supporting the Syrian government strengths. Moreover, the United Nations
reported the enlistment and utilization of young men and young ladies in the
vicinity of 15 and 17 years old by Palestinian outfitted groups and other armed
groups inside Lebanon. Supposedly, young men were utilized to man checkpoints
or as watchmen, while young ladies were utilized as a part of bolster parts.
Yemen:
The enrollment of children by armed groups is extensively predominant, and
sometimes a reality sustained even by the country's armed force. In 2011,
youngster officers were enlisted by the Yemeni Armed Forces and professional
government warriors against the Houthis in the north amid the well known uprising
against previous President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"The recruitment of young children grew since the beginning of war in Saada in
2004. Children were enlisted by the army, different tribes and armed groups. In
2011, there was clear recruitment by everyone - especially by the military and the
tribes," a Yemeni child rights activist, Omklthom Mohammed Alshami, told Al
Jazeera.
Timeline of Events:
1889
It was the primary demonstration of parliament to counteract brutality to children
was passed.
1908
The Children's Act 1908 built up adolescent courts and presented the enrollment
of temporary parents. The Punishment of Incest Act made sexual manhandle inside
families a matter for state purview as opposed to intercession by the ministry.
1959
Formation of the United Nations Children's Fund Organization (UNICEF)
1968
Under the 1968 Social Work (Scotland) Act, nearby expert social work offices
supplanted children, welfare, wellbeing and probation advisory gatherings.
Neighborhood experts additionally assumed control obligation regarding
researching child manhandle.
1970
Under the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, chambers' social work
administrations and social care arrangements, including those for children, were
amalgamated into social administrations offices.
1989
The Children Act 1989 gave each child the privilege to security from mishandle and
abuse and the privilege to request to shield their welfare. Its focal principle was
that children are typically best took care of inside their family.
1990
UN Convention on the Rights of Children
1991
Staff direction on cooperating under the Children Act required ACPCs to research
to build up whether children assurance methods were taken after when child
mishandle is suspected or affirmed to be the reason for a child's passing.
Overhauled in 1999.
1999
The Protection of Children Act 1999 was passed, intending to keep pedophiles from
working with children.
2000
UN Resolution on the Rights of Children, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
2004
The Children Act 2004, which pushes forward the primary recommendations of the
green paper - electronic child’s' documents; child’s executives; and a children’s
official - is passed by parliament. Be that as it may, it permits nearby experts more
adaptability in sorting out their child’s administrations, with the amalgamation of
instruction and social administrations no longer compulsory. Boards are likewise
given an additional two years to set up children's trusts.
Evaluation of Previous Attempts and Possible Solutions:
Throughout the years, the world has taken huge steps toward establishing the right
children rights. However, we can see that many countries around the world still
have child soldiers and child labor. The world needs to develop and adopt a new
permanent way to resolve this issue. We can observe that the UN has drafted many
acts and resolutions. However, the problem seems to be the supervision of the
governments that sign these acts. We must focus on further improving this
supervision. Another approach might also be penalizing governments that fail to
follow these acts. Since this problem exists in almost all the nations globally, the
best place to start working on this problem would be on developed nations, such
as the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Korea or even Canada. Since these
nations are more developed than other nations, this might be the best place to
start on taking children away from abusing parents, labor factories and giving them
their legal rights back. One way or the other we must make sure that our future is
being prepared properly. It is the responsibility of this committee to find the best
approach.
Bibliography:
"Military Use of Children." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 02 Nov. 2011.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children
"UN troops face child abuse claims." British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News. British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 30 Nov. 2006. Web. 22 July 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6195830.stm
"History of Children's Human Rights." About Children's Rights | History of Children's Human Rights.
N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
http://www.childrensrightswales.org.uk/history-of-children-rights.aspx
Batty, David. "Timeline: A History of Child Protection." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17
May 2005. Web. 04 Feb. 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/may/18/childrensservices2
"The Rights of the Child." Humanium Together for Childrens Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
http://www.humanium.org/en/child-rights/
"UN to discuss child abuse claims." British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News. British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 1 Dec. 2006. Web. 20 July 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6197370.stm
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 Burundi." Refworld. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017
http://www.refworld.org/docid/4988066f2.html
"Colombia Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed
Conflict." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/countries-caac/colombia/
"The Child Soldiers of Yemen." Al Jazeera English. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/03/child-soldiers-yemen150302081855823.html
"Lebanon Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed
Conflict." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/countries-caac/lebanon/
"Child Soldiers in DRC." Child Soldiers in DRC - Child Soldiers. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
http://www.child-soldier.org/child-soldiers-in-drc
Appendices:
I.
"What Are Human Rights." What Are Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx
II.
Child Soldiers Need Help." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. https://www.childsoldiers.org/
III.
"Child Labour." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour