AMERICAS AT A CROSSROADS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Blog post
Faced with an unprecedented pandemic, governments across the Americas have begun to respond to COVID-19 in a variety of ways, ranging from calling for states of emergencies, to imposing travel bans, to implementing quarantines. Stakes are high and the way governments respond to this pandemic could determine the future of millions of people.
Governments are ultimately responsible for protecting people and their human rights but have often failed to do so in the Americas. Deep inequality, structural discrimination, a tendency to revert to repressive policing, censorship, underfunded public health systems, and inadequate social security and labour protections long predate the outbreak of COVID-19 in the region.
Americas Argentina Chile Colombia Global Guatemala México Peru United States
Listen and Speak out against Sexual Abuse of Girls and Boys
Global Submission by the International Save the Children Alliance UN Study on Violence against Children
The present study evaluates Save the Children’s experiences with work against child sexual abuse and exploitation around the world. We focus on the essence of our programme experiences, our insights and the ‘main jewels’ of our learning in the form of 10 essential learning points. We have investigated if and how our work has been in the best interest of children and whether it contributed to their development. How do we perceive the challenges and strategies that have been successful? The examination led to the formulation of the learning points, which may serve as a guide for establishing good practice and policies.
Thirteen country programmes within Save the Children – Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Nicaragua, South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Syria, Nepal, Bangladesh, Romania and Spain – have been involved in the present examination, drawing on their own and partners’ experiences as well as the experiences of governments and civil society in general in combating child sexual abuse within a number of cultural, socio-economic, political and religious contexts. Good practice from other Save the Children members, academic and other sources has also been included. We have emphasised that the learning reflects what boys and girls of different ages themselves feel, think, reflect and experience around sexual abuse.Turid
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/2673/pdf/2673.pdf
Bangladesh Brazil Canada Colombia Global Mozambique Nepal Nicaragua Romania Rwanda South Africa Spain Syria Uganda
Stop the war on children 2020: Gender matters
The third report of Save the Children’s Stop the War on Children campaign reveals shocking trends in the threats to the safety and wellbeing of children living in areas impacted by conflict. While fewer children are living in conflict-affected areas, those who do face the greatest risk of falling victim to serious violence since systematic records began. This report delves into the differences between boys’ and girls’ experiences through a gendered analysis of the six grave violations of children in conflict.
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/16784/pdf/ch1413553.pdf
Afghanistan Colombia Democratic Republic of Congo Global Iraq Mali Syria
Conflict related sexual violence: Report of the United Nations Secretary-General
“Conflict-related sexual violence is now widely recognized as a war crime that is preventable and punishable. The United Nations Security Council has played an important role in the past decade
by passing successive resolutions that emphasize accountability for perpetrators and services for survivors.”
– United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
Afghanistan Bosnia and Herzegovina Burundi Central African Republic Colombia Côte d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Iraq Libya Mali Myanmar Nepal Nigeria Somalia South Sudan Sri Lanka Sudan (Darfur) Syrian Arab Republic Yemen
New attack on human rights defenders in Colombia
The most serious security threats are mainly experienced in areas that are most affected by the internal conflict. This is clear from the latest UN Human Rights Council report about the situation in Colombia. The report finds that lacking implementation of the peace agreement is one of the main reasons for the continued occurrence of death threats against social leaders in the country.
https://nhrf.no/article/2019/new-attack-on-human-rights-defenders-in-colombia
Transitional Justice Handbook for Latin America,
This book’s goal is to dialogue with the large and growing community of professionals, government officials, activists, and academics who are engaged in our region to promote the work of confronting the authoritarian or violent past of our countries. Latin America has become, in fact, one of the most dynamic areas in the search for routes to transitional justice in recent decades.
https://www.ictj.org/publication/transitional-justice-handbook-latin-america
The Colombian conflict: a description of a mental health program
Colombia has been seriously affected by an internal armed conflict for more than 40 years affecting mainly the civilian population, who is forced to displace, suffers kidnapping, extortion, threats and assassinations. Between 2005 and 2008, Médecins Sans Frontières-France provided psychological care and treatment in the region of Tolima, a strategic place in the armed conflict. The mental health program was based on a short-term multi-faceted treatment developed according to the psychological and psychosomatic needs of the population. Here we describe the population attending during 2005-2008, in both urban and rural settings, as well as the psychological treatment provided during this period and its outcomes.
http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/98773/1/Grais%20Conf%20Health%20Colombia.pdf
Colombia´s War on Children
Guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, government armed forces and national police all perpetrate violence and abuses against civilians, including children and adolescents. These are infractions of international humanitarian law and human rights, yet these crimes are often committed with a high level of impunity. Young people have been killed and maimed, victimized by sexual violence, lured and forced into the ranks of combatants, used as informants, marked as targets and driven from their homes.
http://watchlist.org/wp-content/uploads/WL-Report-Colombia-2004-en.pdf
State Violence In Colombia
This report was jointly prepared by three Colombian human rights NGOs with the support of a large national coalition: The AVRE Corporation (Apoyo a víctimas pro recuperación emocional),The Comisión Colombiana de Juristas, The CSPP (Comité de Solidaridad con los presos politicos)
http://www.omct.org/files/2004/06/2421/stateviolence_colombia_04_eng.pdf
Child Soldiers. The shadow of their existence
This report outlines the know problems of child soldiers and the different forms of recruiting. The report zooms in on the Colombia situation and the motives with which Colombian children join these armed groups. Finally there’s a list of actions that can be taken to change this situation and the contributions of War Child in these actions.
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/4066/pdf/4066.pdf