UN – The Global Citizenship Commission (GCC) on Monday called for the establishment of an International Children’s Court to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, crimes against children.
The commission, chaired by Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of United Kingdom, made the call in his recommendations to the UN Secretary-General on the occasion of “Children’s Council” to review violations of children’s rights.
Brown, said the new report contains recommendations of the GCC, convened under the auspices of New York University to renew the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) for the twenty-first century.
“Since 1948, the Universal Human Rights Declaration has stood as a beacon and standard for a better world.
“ With threats of terrorism and the suffering of women and children in conflict and other situations, we need to renew and revitalise our efforts to realise the rights articulated in the Declaration,’ he said.
Brown said that the commission called on the international community to recognise that asylum seekers have three rights that should not be forgotten.
These rights, he said, are right to security in transit; right to a fair and responsible process at borders; and a right to good reason for refusal to allow entrance or settlement.
Members of the commission also urged the 15 permanent members of the UN Security Council to voluntarily suspend their veto in situations involving mass atrocities.
They noted that again and again, vetoes or threats of vetoes by permanent members have blocked Security Council’s action to maintain international peace and security in a range of crises.
Member noted that the Council’s inability to act on behalf of civilians in Syria and elsewhere has not only had a massive cost in human life, but has dangerously eroded the credibility of the UN system.
They said that inaction has given the green light to perpetrators to engage in ever more flagrant human rights abuses.
They particularly urged the 15-member council to support France’s initiative for restraining the veto in the case of mass atrocities.
More generally, they urged them to accept an affirmative obligation to offer a reasoned justification for any exercise of the veto, and to propose an alternative plan in accordance with international law.
The report, he said, also proposes that the creation of a World Human Rights Court is consistent with the principle of complementarities.
Members also called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute crimes against children within its responsibility to the full extent of the law.
Members called on States to create accessible complaint mechanisms for the resolution of violations of the rights of children, and consider establishing a Youth Parliament, Children’s Commissioner, and dedicated budget for Children.
They also proposed that the international community should implement Target 10.7 of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals.
It calls for states to “facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.”
Furthermore, they called on governments, international organisations and NGOs to encourage and support human rights education.
In the report, members noted that the right to education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realising other human rights.
They said education empowers individuals to raise themselves out of poverty and advance their socio-economic status.
Members also noted that there is a stubborn and unacceptable gap between education needs and available resources.
Indeed, they observed that the total global financial support for education has actually fallen in recent years.
Members added that unfortunately, although gains were made, reducing the number of out of school children from 120 million to less than 60 million, further progress has stalled.
For example, they said that in recent years, the number of out of school children has increased from 58 to 59 million.
In order to reverse this trend, they said that the `4-A’ framework for education, must be fulfilled.
The `4-As’ are: making education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable.
NAN reports that according to a 2015 UNESCO report, an annual financing gap of 39 billion dollars will have to be met from 2015–2030, totalling 585 billion dollars over the fifteen-year period.
NAN also reports that the Commission, which was formed in 2013, has 21 members. (NAN)
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