Australia rethinks policy for asylum-seeking children
Australian government says all children will be considered on case-by-case basis under refugee swap being negotiated with Malaysia, softening its policy on unaccompanied child asylum seekers following criticism from UN agencies and human rights groups. All children will be considered on a case-by-case basis under a refugee deal being negotiated with Malaysia to deter future asylum seekers from travelling to Australia by boat, the immigration minister, Chris Bowen, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
UN official makes case for Internet as human right
Internet access is a basic human right, and governments should try to provide their people with affordable — and consistent — access to the Web, according to a special rapporteur to the United Nations. “Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states,” said Frank La Rue in a report.
30 girls freed from suspected Nigeria baby-sale operation
Police raided a clinic in southeast Nigeria and rescued about 30 girls allegedly used in a “baby industry” in which they would give birth to children who then would be sold, authorities said Thursday. In addition to the expecting mothers, 12 children were found at the clinic ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old, according to Arinze Orakwue, a spokesman for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons. It was not clear whether the children found were related to the pregnant girls and women.
Saudi Arabia considers setting marriage age
Saudi authorities are considering setting a minimum marriage age of 17 in the wake of public outcry over the marriage of a 9-year-old girl to a 58-year-old man. Rights activists expect conservative elements within Saudi society, which consider child marriage part of Saudi tradition or allowed under Islam, to attempt to derail government approval of the change.
Trafficked Myanmar women become Chinese brides Seventy percent of 2010 trafficking cases out of Myanmar involved females tricked into traveling to China for work only to find themselves forced into marriage, according to the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking. Chinese men seek to purchase brides from Myanmar to avoid paying heavy dowries demanded by Chinese women.
Philippine militias shirk bill banning child soldiers
The Philippines’ House of Representatives approved the bill criminalizing the use of children in armed conflict, leaving many applauding the significant steps made. However, the potential for the new legislation to reduce the recruitment and use of children faces two significant obstacles, he said. “First, most of the recruitment and use of children is being carried out by three armed political groups over whom the government has no control: the New People’s Army (NPA), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and the Abu Sayyaf Group.”
Girl’s fate highlights slave, sex trade in India
An Indian social worker has begun a shelter program for prostitutes and their children, most of the girls among whom — some 90% — end up in the sex trade, as well. The program, and international attention, might not be enough to save one 10-year-old girl who excels in school from the same fate.
Boy’s death unites Syrian demonstrators
The mutilation and death of a 13-year-old Syrian boy, Hamza al-Khateeb — who was taken into custody by security forces in April, and whose corpse was returned to his family nearly a month later — has galvanized opposition to the country’s four decades of rule by the Assad family. A video of the body shows that the boy had not only been shot twice, burned and shocked, but that he had been castrated, and that his neck finally was broken.
Children are paying a heavy price in Mogadishu fighting
Increased fighting in the Somali capital is taking a heavy toll on children, with more than half of all casualties in May under the age of 5, according to United Nations officials. Children are being treated for burns, shrapnel and bullet wounds, with 46% of the weapons-related injuries treated in May involving small children.
Sex-education on wheels
Midwives in Cambodia are being employed by a nonprofit reproductive health organization to trek by motorcycle to remote provinces to educate women about family planning matters. The Marie Stopes International project — dubbed “Midwives On Motos” — offers information on long-term contraceptive methods in a country where 56% of women between 15 and 49 have at least one abortion.
Few South Sudan girls go to school
The prevalence of child marriage and conservative traditions in South Sudan keeps most young girls from attending school. South Sudan education system suffers from a general lack of infrastructure and qualified teachers, and UNESCO estimates nine out 10 females are illiterate.
Azeris increasingly poor, brides increasingly young
The number of underage weddings is on the rise in Azerbaijan, where rights workers and police observe brides as young as 12 years old entering arranged marriages. Some girls are effectively sold into marriage, rights workers say, in part due to the extreme poverty gripping the country.
