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The right to mental health 2017, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Peer support, when not compromised, is an integral part of recovery-based services. It provides hope and empowers people to learn from each other, including through peer support networks, recovery colleges, club houses and peer-led crisis houses. Open Dialogue, a successful mental health system, has entirely replaced emergency, medicalized treatment in Lapland. Other non-coercive models include mental health crisis units, respite houses, community development models for social inclusion, personal ombudsmen, empowerment psychiatry and family support conferencing. The Soteria House project is a long-standing recovery-based model, which has been recreated in many countries. The increasing availability of alternatives and education and training on the use of non-consensual measures are critical indicators for measuring overall progress towards compliance with the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- With respect to social security, migrant children and their families shall have the right to the same treatment granted to nationals, insofar as they fulfil the requirements provided for by the applicable legislation of the State and the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties. The Committees consider that in cases of necessity, States should provide emergency social assistance to migrant children and their families regardless of their migration status, without any discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- With respect to social security, migrant children and their families shall have the right to the same treatment granted to nationals, insofar as they fulfil the requirements provided for by the applicable legislation of the State and the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties. The Committees consider that in cases of necessity, States should provide emergency social assistance to migrant children and their families regardless of their migration status, without any discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Threats faced by boys and girls do not end when they leave their home countries. As they travel onward, often paying their way through dangerous routes by using exploitative smuggling and trafficking networks, children are subject to further violence, abuse and exploitation, including at borders owing to pushbacks and interceptions by border control officials. Unaccompanied children and those separated from their families face heightened risks, both along the route and upon arrival in transit countries.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Children may be compelled to work to sustain themselves or provide for their families’ basic needs, especially where parents cannot work legally or simply cannot find work, legally or illegally. Iraqi and Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, for example, work in textile factories, construction or the food service industry, or as agricultural labour or street vendors in conditions amounting to forced labour. According to UNICEF, in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, shopkeepers, farmers and manufacturers hire Syrian refugee children because they can pay them a lower wage. Children, especially girls, are seen as less likely to be targeted by the police or prosecuted for illegal work than adults, making families more likely to send them to work. These types of child labour, which often mask other forms of exploitation, such as trafficking for forced labour, have dire consequences on children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Finally, the practice of “temporary” child or forced marriages is one of the dangerous coping mechanisms that girls face while in refugee camps in transit countries. Confronted with the economic burdens brought on by protracted displacement and limited or inexistent work opportunities, some refugee and migrant parents, and often children themselves, turn to those measures because they feel that they are the only option for safeguarding a child’s future or supporting a family’s immediate needs. For example, Syrian refugee girls are often forcibly married by their parents, who view such arrangements as a way of securing their daughters’ safety and ensuring the family’s livelihood through the dowry. Once married, those girls are likely to end up in a situation of sexual and domestic exploitation by a spouse whom they have followed abroad. The use of child and forced marriages to traffic girls into prostitution in another country is also common.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Chaos in the aftermath of a natural disaster can also exacerbate the vulnerability to exploitation of the affected communities by making children more prone to accepting, for example, bogus offers of employment or education from traffickers or criminal networks. In order to support the family’s dire economic situation or meet their own needs, children are sold or trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation. They may be entrusted by family members to people who promise to find them work either within or outside the country, or they may directly offer their services to employers and middle persons. Once in the hands of traffickers who prey on their eagerness to work and send money to the family, those children are forced into the worst forms of child labour.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Children are entitled to adequate accommodation, giving priority to family-based and family-like solutions. Unaccompanied or separated children should be housed in specialized camps or at least in areas separated from adults. However, the availability of specific services to address the needs of children and the general circumstances faced by children largely depend on the facility where they are housed.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Despite the advances that have been achieved in those two decades, the basic rights of children were regularly violated during the reporting period. In the Middle East, in addition to the direct impact of current conflicts on children, with thousands being killed, maimed, and recruited and used, there were rapidly developing and evolving humanitarian crises that were of serious concern at the time of writing, in December 2016. In Iraq, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that over half a million children and their families were trapped in Mosul with food and medicine running out and clean water in short supply. In a similar vein, in the Syrian Arab Republic, it was estimated that, at the end of the reporting period, nearly 500,000 children were living in besieged areas and were completely cut off from sustained humanitarian aid. In Yemen, intense conflict has resulted in a lack of food and water, which has put one and a half million children at risk of acute malnutrition.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Education is a key component of empowerment, however in times of conflict, children's access to education is often severely restricted, with a particular effect on girls as their schools are often directly targeted by attacks. Even when schools are operating in situations of armed conflict where girls' enrolment rates were high prior to the conflict, some parents prevent girls from going to schools due to insecurity, or because the facilities have been used by armed actors. The military use of schools exposes girls to an increased likelihood of sexual violence by armed elements and also increases the likelihood of attack by other parties to the conflict. In addition, girls are sometimes given extra household responsibilities that oblige them to stay home. There is also increased vulnerability to forced early marriage in situations of conflict, which is at times encouraged by families with the aim of providing their child with physical and financial security and results in girls withdrawing from schooling. Forced marriage is another practice that has increasingly been used by armed groups as an expression of power and control over populations. Given these susceptibilities, it is important to develop protection and education programmes for conflict-affected girls in order to provide them with support and avoid long out-of-school interruptions. In this regard, the Special Representative welcomes the call by the Human Rights Council for all States to strengthen and intensify their efforts to realize progressively the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl and encourages a focus on girls affected by armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 31a (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following protective measures:] Adopt and implement effective measures to protect and assist women complainants of and witnesses to gender-based violence before, during and after legal proceedings, including by: Ensuring access to financial assistance, gratis or low-cost, high-quality legal aid, medical, psychosocial and counselling services, education, affordable housing, land, childcare, training and employment opportunities for women who are victims/survivors and their family members. Health-care services should be responsive to trauma and include timely and comprehensive mental, sexual and reproductive health services, including emergency contraception and post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV. States should provide specialized women’s support services, such as gratis helplines operating around the clock and sufficient numbers of safe and adequately equipped crisis, support and referral centres and adequate shelters for women, their children and other family members, as required;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 85b
- Paragraph text
- [In terms of prevention and the promotion of rights, States, in cooperation with United Nations agencies and programmes, international organizations, host countries and civil society organizations, should:] Prevent the sale of and trafficking in children, especially targeting unaccompanied children, such as orphans, children left behind by parents fleeing conflict and children moving alone to flee conflict and humanitarian crisis areas;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The aftermath of humanitarian disasters is also a fertile ground for the illegal international adoption of children, as it is facilitated by the breakdown of institutions and the lack of border control. For example, following the earthquakes in Haiti in 2010 and Nepal in 2015, there were concerns that separated and orphaned children were being trafficked for sexual or labour exploitation, sold or illegally adopted, sometimes by well-meaning families. In addition, the crossover between smuggling and trafficking represents a major risk for children, including those who go missing with the aim of reaching relatives or acquaintances in another country.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Children's rights to liberty and security of person were impacted by government security responses and many children were detained for their or their parents' alleged association with armed groups. While advocacy has been successful and some children have been released, many more remained deprived of their liberty in situations of armed conflict. In the reporting period, the screening of civilians during military operations was also an emerging detention-related concern in a number of situations on the children and armed conflict agenda, which is elaborated upon in the present report.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Roadmap for the next three years: thematic priorities of the new mandate-holder 2017, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Situations of generalized violence do not constitute conflict but may have a similar impact on those forced to leave their homes. Greater research is required to reveal the full extent of the problem and its impact on individuals, families and communities. As highlighted by the former Special Rapporteur, governments may not acknowledge violence-induced displacement as triggering their obligations to protect the affected persons as internally displaced persons under international law and standards, including the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Equally, those affected may not know or claim their rights to protection as internally displaced persons and may in fact seek anonymity due to threats and the risk of violence, making them hard to identify and reach with assistance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The past few years have witnessed growing numbers of children and adolescents on the move, alone or with their families, within and across countries. In 2015, children constituted more than half of the total refugee population, and more than 100,000 asylum claims were lodged by unaccompanied or separated children. More often than not, a child's decision to leave home is an escape strategy to secure safety and protection; to reach a safe haven from political instability, conflict, natural disasters, violence and exploitation. For children on the move, especially those who travel unaccompanied or separated from their families, violence infuses daily life and is often part of a continuum. Fear and insecurity are widespread, and impunity prevails. During a recent country visit by the Special Representative, children repeatedly told her that life was unfair and that they saw their neighbourhood as a ghetto of hopelessness, lawlessness and fear.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Women and civil society organizations responded to the Constitutional Court’s request to participate in the design and implementation of the decisions. This resulted in the collective development of indicators to monitor the 2004 order and the establishment of a working group to monitor compliance with the orders, which was essential in assessing the implementation of the decisions and in providing technical assistance for the implementation of government programmes. Civil society organizations also operated numerous programmes that provided humanitarian, legal and psychosocial support to displaced women and their families. Those organizations also used international human rights mechanisms to keep a spotlight on displaced women, and carried the topic into recent peace negotiation processes. The 2016 peace agreement addressed many of the demands in the three decisions, contributing to their sustainability.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Children in street situations 2017, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict is relevant as children in street situations are vulnerable to recruitment into armed forces or armed groups. Conflicts may lead to children ending up in street situations through the disruption of social networks, family separation, displacement from communities or rejection of demobilized child combatants from communities. In relation to prevention, child rights education, including peace education, and anti-recruitment initiatives need to reach children in street situations. Interventions to minimize the impact of armed conflict need to mitigate proactively the separation of children from families, and family tracing programmes should be prioritized. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes for children should take into account the dynamics of street-connectedness as a cause and a consequence of children’s involvement in armed conflict.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Despite international, regional and national efforts to implement an effective humanitarian response to current crises, the increasing number of unaccompanied and separated children poses severe challenges to transit and destination countries and humanitarian agencies with respect to protecting and supporting refugee and migrant children adequately. The absence or inadequacy of child protection systems, the lack of coordination among different child protection services and the limited capacity in camps to host children in specialized and separated facilities exacerbate the risks to exploitation to which they are exposed during their journey. The lengthy processing of family reunification and resettlement solutions or inefficient family reunification procedures, in addition to poor living conditions experienced in camps and the possibility to be placed in detention, are all factors driving migrant children to avoid the child protection system in transit and destination countries. Moreover, a lack of knowledge and awareness among the humanitarian community about the vulnerabilities experienced by boys and girls on the move, together with the children’s lack of information about their own situation, represent further barriers in protecting children’s rights effectively in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis. Other gaps include a lack of timely information, legal options and legal counselling, timely appointment of guardians and firewalls between child protection and migration authorities as effective means to safeguard the children’s interests and protect their rights, including access to justice and remedies.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Among good practices related to adequate child protection mechanisms in crisis responses is the creation of child-friendly spaces within interim care services. Promising examples include efforts by UNICEF and UNHCR to provide psychosocial support and other child protection services through child and family support hubs (also known as “blue dots”), which, among other services, offer children child-sensitive information on their rights, especially regarding international protection and referrals to services where necessary. Another promising example is Plan International’s child-friendly space established in the wake of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal to provide children with psychological support and facilitate their return to school. These child-friendly spaces were integrated into temporary learning centres and based on child participation, allowing children to share their concerns and protection issues.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Once children reach their destinations, they may encounter a different array of obstacles, including detention, lengthy family reunification processes (when they are available at all), discriminatory treatment while in State care, limited access to social services, education and career opportunities, and uncertainty regarding their residence status in the country. In the United States, there have been cases of trafficking in unaccompanied migrant children who, after their cases were processed by agencies of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, have been placed with family members in the country. At times, some of those children have been trafficked for sexual and labour exploitation by criminal networks who posed as family members or forced them into begging or drug smuggling.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Intercountry adoptions in the context of emergency situations are specifically open to several abuses. For example, in Haiti adoption processes were not interrupted but rather expedited following the 2010 earthquake, under the pressure of receiving countries. In Rwanda, during the genocide, several children were evacuated abroad and some were subsequently adopted without the consent of surviving parents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Another aspect of States’ failure to protect children in the context of humanitarian responses is the alarming practice of child detention owing to their irregular migration status. The Committee on the Rights of the Child and other human rights mechanisms have underscored that immigration-related detention of children can never be in their best interests and that, no matter whether they are unaccompanied or with their families, their detention constitutes a violation of their rights that, at times, may amount to “torture and ill-treatment”. The reasons invoked by States to resort to immigration-related detention of children include health and security screening, identity verification, protection and the facilitation of removal from the country. Alternatives to child detention should be sought. Children should be allowed to reside in a community-based context while their immigration status is being resolved. Good practices of such alternatives include the child-sensitive community assessment and placement model.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- In addition, States’ capacities and approach to implementing durable solutions for children vary. While some prioritize child protection, others look at it as a matter of security, do not consider such situations as their responsibility or do not have the capacity to provide child protection in conflict- and disaster-affected areas. Concerns have been raised about the policy adopted by some States to discourage unaccompanied children in transit to apply for asylum or any other form of protection. In Europe, in particular, States’ responses are very fragmented. In places where migrants or refugees reside, including reception centres, refugee camps or informal settlements, unaccompanied children are viewed as young people in transit for whom local integration is not a suitable option. While family reunification applies in such cases, it is rarely implemented in practice, owing to, among other reasons, the restricted concept of family (limited to close relatives only) which does not take into account the diversity in type and composition of families across regions. In addition, the process for family reunification is often lengthy and complex.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- For many years, internally displaced people and civil society organizations had demanded protection measures from the Government without receiving an appropriate response. This had prompted hundreds of displaced persons to invoke the protection of the judiciary through the judicial remedy known as a tutela: a constitutionally established judicial action that citizens can bring before any judge to ensure the effective exercise of their human rights. By 2004, tribunals had received tutelas submitted by 1,150 displaced families, accumulated in a dossier by the Constitutional Court that led to a judgment declaring that the humanitarian emergency caused by forced displacement had created an unconstitutional state of affairs characterized by massive human rights violations associated with systemic failures in State assistance to displaced persons. Accordingly, the Court ordered the Government to adopt structural measures, a measure that has spawned a lengthy implementation process.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In the absence of safe and regular migration channels, as well as permanent and accessible mechanisms for children and their families to access long-term regular migration status or residence permits, children are forced to search for precarious alternatives that increase their exposure to risks of sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- While some refugee and internally displaced persons camps have separate facilities for unaccompanied or separated children, they often lack family-based solutions and have very limited capacity to face the increasing number of unaccompanied or separated children. As a consequence, children share their living space with adults or are held in prolonged detention. In addition, even when children are offered a separated living area, those are often easily accessible to everyone, especially during night-time. Moreover, certain camps fail to provide basic amenities, such as appropriate health-care services or gender-differentiated sanitation. The lack of adequate lightning, the layout of some camps and a shortage of security personnel further increase the vulnerability of children to abuse. Finally, the reluctance of many European countries to provide refugee children with a safe and permanent home continues to aggravate the situation by prolonging the stay of children in the facilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Oxfam researchers found that adaptation projects aimed at women created under Burkina Faso's National Action Programme for Adaptation (NAPA) sought to diversity the ways that women can generate income to offset income lost by harvests damaged by climate change. In order to rectify these consequences, individuals and organizations need to be better educated on the different vulnerabilities that men and women face in disasters, and local women's organizations need to be consulted in order to understand region-specific contexts. Moreover, such attempts could have ancillary positive effects, as developing credit systems to aid families during times of famine, strengthening women's organizations that promote adaptation measures, and addressing larger issues could prevent gender inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Returns following the cessation of conflict have been extensively documented, in particular in connection with the return of Roma from Western Europe to the Balkans. Where deportations take place without consent, minorities may face numerous obstacles to their basic human rights, including lack of access to personal documents and statelessness; problems repossessing their property or obtaining housing; difficulties accessing education, health, employment and social welfare; and separation from family members. In some cases, loss of temporary protection status in host countries and the forced repatriation to their countries of origin, coupled with the lack of adequate policies for the integration of returnees, have resulted in minority communities being forced into continuous migration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Armed conflict has resulted not only in human casualties and physical destruction, but also in forced displacement. In the course of the past year, an ever-growing number of people have fled conflict zones and sought refuge in safer places. UNHCR reports that, globally, one in every 122 persons is now either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum. In many situations, as in the Central African Republic, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, children, many of them unaccompanied or separated from their families, represent a high proportion of the displaced population and have been at a particularly high risk of human rights violations and abuses. Children can be victims of grave violations inside and around refugee camps or camps for internally displaced persons. Armed groups take advantage of the vulnerability and concentration of displaced populations in camps to recruit children and commit other violations, including sexual violence and human trafficking.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph