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This page features some short press articles covering children's rights violations and criticisms as to the inadequate nature of implementation of the children's rights convention. We have also made some passages available that provide some ideas about the things that might be done to help prevent exploitative child labor:
Pro Asyl criticizes the treatment of child refugees Bonn (dpa). According to relief organizations, Germany is violating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Representatives of ProAsyl accuse the German government of simply looking on as children's rights are restricted through social disadvantage, poverty, hindrance and foreign origins. Child refugees, in particular, have been the main victims of extensive violation of the convention by Germany. According to ProAsyl, the deportation of children seeking asylum provides clear evidence that German authorities are practicing an alien defence policy rather than an asylum policy.
Frankfurter Rundschau vom 4.4.1998 Priority demanded for the interests of the childCase of 17-year-old Neshe demonstrates state's exclusion policy according to ProAsyl (von Jörg Schindler) The way in which Germany treats child refugees is in flagrant violation of international standards, according to human rights activists. Frankfurt am Main, 3. April. In the words of ProAsyl and the National Coalition, "Germany's asylum policy is being interpreted as an alien exclusion policy", rather than placing the interests of the child first. Although six years have passed since the ratification by Germany of the UN Convention on the Rights of the child, young people are perpetually being deported under questionable circumstances, according to a report issued in Bonn on Friday. The National Coalition, which is made up of around 100 associations, intends to raise public awareness about these serious violations against international law during a postcard campaign. According to ProAsyl's spokesperson Heiko Kaufmann, the position adopted by many politicians demonstrates nothing other than "bureaucratic cynicism, organized irresponsibility and a lack of civil courage". "A theatrical demonstration of a state exclusion policy" is how Heiko describes the case of the Kurdish girl named Neshe Özmen: The 17-year-old was deported from Heidelberg to Turkey in July 1997, although a large majority of her family had been killed by the military there. Her mother was mishandled and has been in care ever since. Despite this, Stuttgart's interior ministry decided to expel Neshe. The protests in Heidelberg over the decision refuse to go away. Interior Minister, Thomas Schäuble (CDU), softened his tone on the issue at the beginning of the year, holding up the chance of a visa for Neshe with visitation rights. The chances of her actually getting her hands on such a visa, however, are fairly remote: After Neshe, who lives with foster parents, announced that she intended to visit Heidelberg at Easter, a government committee in Karlsruhe decided to obstruct her intentions. In justifying its decision the committee stated: It is believed that Neshe intends to stay on after her visit - so issuing a visa is "momentarily out of the question". ProAsyl and the "National Coalition" have no intention of leaving at this: On Thursday they presented Thomas Schäuble and the German foreign minister, Klaus Kinkel (FDP) with two first-impression postcards that had described the convention on children's rights as a milestone in the history of the UN. The human rights activists hope to gain a great deal of public support for their campaign during the coming months in the hope of persuading the politicians responsible "to find a humanitarian solution for Neshe taking into account the best interests of the child. Kaufmann considers this a fundamental question: "How strong is a state; indeed how strong is a democracy that regards young people as a public danger and feels it necessary to bring the full weight of the law to bear against children, deporting them into an uncertain future?"
Cornelia Schmitz, in: Das Parlament Nr. 52-53, 24./31.12.1999 UNICEF evaluation Very sad To mark the end of UNICEF's sponsor-a-child year in Berlin, Germany's president, Johannes Rau, president of the German UNICEF Committee, Reinhard Schlagintweit, UNICEF's executive director, Carol Bellamy and UNICEF's ambassador, Sir Peter Ustinov presented a report into the current situation entitled "Children in the World 2000" on the 13th of December. Many of the World Summit for Children's aims from 1990 such as a reduction in mortality of children and mothers and the securing of a basic education have been achieved, emphasized Schlagintwet. The gap between rich and poor, however, is becoming ever wider Two thirds of all children have to manage on less than two dollars a day. Governments are not meeting their responsibilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child had not been implemented, criticized the chairpersons. UNICEF demanded more effort on the part of governments and more pressure in the face of an increase in armed conflicts, the first victims of which are always women and children. Children and young people under the age of 18 make up half of all 31 million refugees and exiles. Two million children fell victim to the immune deficiency disease AIDS in Africa in 1998. Germany's state president, Rau, described the situation as very sad when it is still necessary to remind people as to the rights of children. He questioned the state of a civilization that uses children as solders, workers or goods for use in prostitution. Executive Director, Bellamy, underlined the increasing unequally between industrialized nations and developing countries. 11 million children are still dying annually from curable diseases such as measles or gastric and bowel illnesses. The disadvantages to children caused by non-existent health care, lack of schooling and insufficient food has an impact on society as a whole, since it is robbed of its human potential. Bellamy emphasized the need to use the opportunities provided for by the convention on children's rights. She called for the creation of structures to ease implementation of children's rights and made it clear that the plans and tools for this had already been available for a long time.
Stuttgarter Zeitung dated 16.09.1999 Ten years after the adoption of the children's convention by the United Nations, the report published by terre des hommes on developments since makes for sobering reading: Two million children have been killed in armed conflicts across the world since 1989 and around six million injured. Ten million children suffer from trauma as a direct consequence of war
Stefan Klein, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 24./25.08.1996 Children as a commodityBe it in (...) For many years perpetrators didn't even have to fear being made answerable for their actions. A police officer in Sri Lanka, for example, once said: "How can I imprison a European?" And even if such cases did come to court, the judge was often in a benevolent mood. (...) Nonetheless, times are changing and paradise-like conditions for pedophiles are diminishing; an increasingly high price is being demanded for this form of perverse fun
Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 17.09.1996 The exploitation of more than one-hundred-million boys and girls worldwide in the form of child labor has been strongly criticized by the children's-relief organization terre des hommes and UNICEF. To mark the International Day of the Child on Friday, however, representatives from both organizations announced a u-turn in thinking and actually spoke out against "undifferentiated" calls for bans on products involving child labor and also against the promotion of general bans. Instead, they recommended that action against the exploitation of children would be better focused on improving access to education, establishing rules for health and safety in the workplace and on an objective investigation into consumer behavior in the industrialized countries According to estimates from the international labor organization, more than 200 million children under the age of 15 are working. By the end of the decade a figure of 375 million working children is expected. Children carry out a wide range of work as shoe shiners, news vendors, in agriculture, in the carpet industry, in quarries and in mines, says Petra Boxler from terre des hommes. Child labor is a direct result of poverty and a lack of alternatives. She emphasized that the prevention of child exploitation in forms such as prostitution, forced labor and slavery had to be given absolute priority. To do this, however, social and economic prospects had to be improved, and complete medical rehabilitation established in many cases. According to her figures, around 40 percent of children work to finance their schooling
18,000 children fought in Liberia during the civil war. Children were regarded as being easily influenced, non-demanding and daring. The study also points out that children in the Lebanon and Sri Lanka were encouraged to report for duty in suicide missions. According to information from the United Nations, and for the first time in history, children are thought to have taken part in the genocide in Rwanda
"Rug Mark; guaranteed child labor free" No one can quite remember from where the idea came: Was it Suman, the committed social worker? Was it the political activist, Kailash? Or perhaps it was their friends out of Germany, the helpers from terre des hommes, from Bread for the World and from Misereor? Wherever it came, it came about suddenly- to limit the exploitation of children in India with the help of German consumers. The intention was to provide help for the carpet weavers. In India alone, 300,000 children are ruining their health working day-in, day-out in factories while sitting at weaving looms. To put an end to this situation, activists set up a foundation. This foundation was responsible for monitoring and rewarding manufacturers not using children in the production of carpets with a seal: "Rug Mark, guaranteed child labor free". Consumers were now given the opportunity to demonstrate just how strongly they really felt about the exploitation of children: In a market economy, consumers making a decision to purchase are also making a decision as to the production conditions of that product
Petra Pinzler und Nikolaus Piper, in: DIE ZEIT dated 06.12.1996 Football without exploitation of children? Football for example: Many of the balls kicked and headed across Europe are stitched in Sialkot, Pakistan - and often by children. Human rights groups such as the British-based Christian Aid have been protesting strongly against the working conditions involved in the production of footballs - most recently in front of FIFA, the international football association. The protesters managed to embarrass FIFA - the football association was not able to deny the possibility that companies profiting from the exploitation of children could also be among the official suppliers of equipment for the World Cup. They were faced with a loss of image. Things have moved on a pace and the people at the top of Football's governing body need no longer run scared from protesters. Several meetings with human rights activists, UNICEF, FIFA and produces of sporting equipment resulted in a breakthrough only a few days ago: The industry will sign up to a code of behavior and introduce a special label. "Those wanting to use our label will have to meet our minimum ethical standards", said Flavio Battaini of FIFA confidently today. "We aim to put an end to the use of child labor in the football industry", said Stephen Rubin, industry representative and Chairman of the sport's equipment manufacturer, Pentland.
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