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Children’s rights bulletin

Issue 50 - February 2011

Inside… The Right Stuff | Young people win fight against mosquito device | Parliament action on children’s rights

Welcome Welcome to the latest edition of CRAE’s children’s rights bulletin for children and young people The new year has got off to a flying start!

So far this year we have:  Launched our human rights magazine, The Right Stuff  Had 3 meetings with children and young people, including a 2–day residential in Leicester  Delivered human rights training to children in London, Southampton and Birmingham  Started work on lots of new projects!

If you would like to get involved in CRAE,’s work or would like any help campaigning on a children’s rights issue - please let us know. E-mail: activist@crae.org.uk If you would like more information on any of the stories in this bulletin, or want to tell us what you think about the bulletin, please contact Carla Garnelas on 020 7278 8222 extension 25 or at cgarnelas@crae.org.uk.

We hope you enjoy issue 50 of the bulletin.

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Top story NEW human rights magazine by and for children and young people Last month, CRAE launched The Right Stuff – the human rights magazine made by and for children and young people in England.

Funded by Mediabox, the magazine includes stories of children who have not had their rights respected, as well as real life stories from young people, interviews with campaigners and a section for under 10s.

The Right Stuff magazine was designed and written by more than 30 under 18 year-olds from across England who are passionate about human rights. Young people managed the project, planned the magazine's launch and decided where to send copies of the magazine. Another team of young people worked with the design company on the layout and created all of the content – writing articles, drawing illustrations and taking photographs.

1000 copies of the magazine are being sent out to children and young people across England. Over 2000 people have already read the magazine online. You can read the magazine here: http://issuu.com/krishnacrae/docs/the_right_stuff_magazine Show your support and become a fan of the magazine on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Human-RightsmagazineCRAE/123412251057099 For more information about The Right Stuff magazine, please contact CRAE’s children’s rights communications officer Krishna Maroo: kmaroo@crae.org.uk Please send us your feedback on The Right Stuff using our online survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ TheRightStuffreaderfeedbacksurvey Page 3

News New guides for children and young people on human rights and equality law CRAE has created five new guides for children and young people on human rights and equality law in the following areas:     

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Children’s rights when their parents split up How lawyers can help children and young people and how to find one The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Making the most of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The guides give information about rights in different situations, focusing on how children and young people can protect their rights using the law and with help from lawyers.

Download the guides here: http://www.crae.org.uk/protecting/advice/ resources-for-young-people.html

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News Education Bill will remove children’s privacy rights in schools The Education Bill was published last week and includes new powers for school staff which seriously threaten children’s privacy rights. The Government wants school staff to be able to search students if they think they have an object which could be used to cause damage or injury, as well as any other object which is against the school rules.

The Bill will also allow school staff to look through students’ phones and laptops and delete files. The Bill also says that school staff will be able to search a student on their own, and search a student of the opposite sex if necessary. CRAE has said that the Government needs to show Parliament the evidence for why schools need these powers.

The Education Bill also changes the system for students who have been permanently excluded. If it is found that the school made the wrong decision in excluding the student, the school will not have to let the student return. CRAE thinks that if a student is wrongfully excluded that they should be able to return to their school.

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News Inquest says that restraint used in child prison was against the law A second inquest into the death of 14 year-old Adam Rickwood at Hassockfield secure training centre in 2004 has said that staff regularly used restraint in a way that was against the law. The inquest also said that Adam’s experience of being restrained was one of the things that led him to kill himself. CRAE has been asking the Government to contact people who were in secure training centres to let them know that they might have been illegally restrained.

Secure training centre Prisons for 12 to 17 year olds run by private companies (these make profits for the people that own the companies).

Restraint Physically holding someone to stop them doing something very dangerous, for example, to stop them hitting someone else or hurting themselves.

Inquest An inquest is an investigation into how a person died. Inquests are normally carried out when a death is unexpected.

Schools must keep a record when staff restrain students CRAE is really pleased that the Government has decided to make sure schools keep a record of when staff restrain students, and that they tell parents when this happens. Ministers had said that they might remove this rule from schools, but now they have said these rules will apply from 1 September 2011. Over the past few months, CRAE has been telling Government and Parliament how important keeping records is, because schools will be able to check whether they are using restraint in a way which respects children’s human rights. We also think that keeping parents informed is especially important for young children or some disabled children who might rely on school staff to inform parents what has happened to them at school.

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News Call for Children’s Commissioner to focus on children’s rights In July 2010, the coalition Government announced that it was going to investigate the job of the Children’s Commissioner for England in July 2010. The Review was led

by John Dunford (right). In December 2010, John Dunford published his final report setting out the changes he thinks should be made to the role of the Children’s Commissioner for England so that all children and young people in England have strong, independent champion who puts forward their views and promotes their rights.

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The coalition Government agreed with John Dunford that the role of the Children’s Commissioner should be made stronger and more independent. Children's Minister Sarah Teather also said that the Government would think about the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) when making new policies and laws.

CRAE is really pleased with the results of the Review and is pushing for the changes to the role of Children’s Commissioner for England to be made very soon. We will also be watching the Government closely to make sure that it really does think about the CRC before making any new laws.

A guide to the Review of the Children’s Commissioner for children and young people has been published: http://www.education.gov.uk/ publications/eOrderingDownload/DfE-00573-2010.pdf You can read the full Review report here: http://www.education.gov.uk/ inthenews/inthenews/a0069886/review-of-the-office-of-children'scommissioner-for-englandPage 7

News Another “final date” for ending detention of children On 16 December, the Government announced that the family unit at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre would close immediately and that the detention of children and families at Tinsley House (at Gatwick Airport) will end no later than 11 May 2011. It is excellent news that the Government has said that it is going to close the family unit at Yarls Wood, but we do not understand why children are going to carry on being locked up at Tinsely House for another four months.

The Government has already changed the timetable for ending the detention of children four times. CRAE wants the Government to end the detention of all children for immigration purposes immediately.

Immigration removal centres are places where people waiting for the Government to decide if they can remain in this country are forced to stay. People who are going to be forced to leave the country are also held in removal centres. Immigration removal centres are a lot like prisons.

Metropolitan police quizzed on treatment of children in fees protest In December, the Joint Committee on Human Rights heard evidence from campaigners and police about how children and young people were treated during the protests on tuition fees. Members of the Committee were very worried about the “kettling” tactics used by police and the experiences of children and young people caught up in the kettles.

Story continued on page 9…

The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a committee within Parliament made up of MPs and Peers that considers human rights issues in the UK. Kettling is where police control a large crowd of people during a protest or demonstration by holding them in an area for long periods of time.

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News Aaron Porter, President of the National Union of Students, said that he had heard reports that the police behaved violently towards young people under the age of 18 and hat children and young people in the kettles did not have access to toilets, water or medical care.

Simon Hardy from the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts said that he heard about a group of 17 year-old girls who were stopped from leaving an area by police. One of the girls told the BBC ‘We were traumatised at this point. We were crying. We’d been hit by police for just wanting to go home…I turned around to see a group of my friends on the floor getting beaten by police officers’.

Chris Allison from the Metropolitan Police said that a senior police officer was in charge of spotting ‘young and vulnerable people’ and getting them out of the kettles. However, he said that there might have been times where this did not happen. Members of the Committee asked him whether he thought that police had done a good job at keeping children and young people on the demonstrations safe from harm.

CRAE is very worried about the treatment of children and young people on recent demonstrations and wants to make sure that the right of children and young people to protest is properly respected.

The right to protest is an important part of UK law and it has no minimum age. Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says that every child must be able to express their views freely in all matters affecting them.

If you have any concerns or questions about your right to protest, you can contact CRAE's free legal advice line: www.crae.org.uk/protecting/ advice.html

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Mosquito device news Sheffield Council bans mosquito devices On 12 January, Sheffield City Council voted to ban the use of mosquito devices on all council buildings. Harry Carter, Member of the UK Youth Parliament for Sheffield and leader of the campaign, described the ban as ‘a great success for young people’.

Other councils have already banned the mosquito device following successful campaigns by children and young people, including:   

Kirklees Council (September 2010) Kent County Council (June 2008) Lancashire County Council (May 2007).

As a result of the campaign in Kirklees, Children's Minister Tim Loughton MP announced that he would look again at the use of mosquito devices and would think about whether the Government would change its mind about allowing these devices to be used on young people. CRAE hopes that Tim Loughton will recommend that the mosquito device can no longer be used on children and young people.

If you are campaigning in your local area to get the mosquito device banned we want to hear about it!

If you want to set up a campaign but aren’t sure how to get started, we can also help with ideas and suggestions about how to get your voices heard.

E-mail activist@crae.org.uk for more information and to tell us what you are up to!

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Mosquito device news A mosquito device is an ultrasonic device that works by making a highpitched ringing sound. It can only be heard by under-25s. Mosquito devices are used to stop teenagers and young people from gathering in public places. The UK has more mosquito devices in use than any other country in Europe.

Here, Harry Carter tells us how he and other young people in Sheffield campaigned to get the mosquito device banned.

In Sheffield and in many areas of the country the Mosquito Device blights the lives of many young people, by making no distinction between law abiding citizens and law breaking criminals. Because of my belief in fairness, especially in the treatment of young people as young citizens and not as young suspects, I proposed to ban these devices in Sheffield.

In August 2010 I produced a video that encouraged young people to sign a Downing Street petition in favour of regulating the device’s use.

In November of that year I wrote proposals with Sheffield’s Safety and Neighbourhood Manager that advised the City Council Cabinet to ban the device from all local authority and partnership buildings (such as police stations), as well as discouraging private properties from using the alarms.

I participated in a debate on my local radio with a City Councillor, so as to publicise the reasoning against the device and argue my case. I also contributed to generating press interest in the proposed ban which was bolstered by other organisations announcing their support for the ban. The proposals reached Council Cabinet on January 12th 2011, which I attended and the ban received unanimous approval.

This is a great achievement for young people and for the Youth Parliament. It goes a great distance in altering the often negative perception we experience in society.

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Legal High Court rules that families were detained unlawfully at Yarl’s Wood This case involved two families – two mothers and three children (aged 23 months, 2 years and 12 years) who were locked up in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre from February 2010.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) went to the home of each family in the early hours of the morning. One of the children was asleep when police officers and the UKBA arrived and the mother was not allowed to call a lawyer. The family was then put in a van with caged windows. The other family was given a sack in which to pack their belongings. When they arrived at UKBA offices the mother and her two year-old were searched.

The judge said that the detention of the children was against the law because UKBA had not followed immigration rules about keeping children safe from harm. The judge also said that UKBA employees were not following rules properly about when to lock up families.

Immigration removal centres are places where people waiting for the Government to decide if they can remain in this country are forced to stay. People who are going to be forced to leave the country are also held in removal centres.

Immigration removal centres are a lot like prisons.

The UK Border Agency is the government department that is responsible for policy about refugee and asylum seeking children and families (in partnership with the Home Office).

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Legal First case challenging discriminatory treatment of gay people Civil partners Martin Hall and Steven Preddy have won a discrimination case against the owners of a hotel in Cornwall. The two men had booked a two-night stay in the hotel in September 2008.

On arriving at the hotel, they were turned away because the owners have a strict rule of only allowing married couples to stay in double bedrooms, in line with their Christian beliefs. In January, the judge at Bristol County Court said that the two men had experienced direct discrimination because of their sexual orientation and said that they should receive ÂŁ1,800 in compensation.

Discrimination Discrimination is unfair treatment of a person or group because of something about them, like their race, gender, age, sexuality or disability.

Sexual orientation People who are homosexual are romantically and physically attracted to the same sex. So boys find boys attractive and girls find girls attractive.

Civil partners In 2004, the Civil Partnership Act was passed. This means that same-sex couples (a man and a man, or a woman and a woman) could become civil partners. This means that the law recognises their relationship and gives them the same legal rights as a married heterosexual couple (a man and a woman).

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Parliament Health and Social Care Bill The Health and Social Care Bill will change the way in which the health service is run. CRAE is campaigning as part of the Participation Works Partnership to make sure that children and young people are fully involved in decisions about how health services are run and in decisions about their own health care.

Commons Committee: 8 February 2011 Follow the Bill's progress through Parliament: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/healthandsocialcare.html

Education Bill The Education Bill includes the Government’s plans for schools, including more powers for school staff to search students. See page 5 for more information.

Commons Second Reading: 8 February 2011 Follow the Bill’s progress through Parliament: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/education.html

Freedom Bill The Freedom Bill is expected to be published later this month. It is likely to include new rules on keeping DNA records, fingerprinting in schools, and the use of CCTV cameras. CRAE has been talking to Government to make sure the Bill protects children and young people’s rights. We will be working hard to make sure that all children and young people are asked their permission before any fingerprinting takes place in schools.

Bill Before an Act becomes a law, it is first written out as a Bill and introduced to Parliament.

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Parliament

Public Bodies Bill The Public Bodies Bill gives new powers to Ministers to change or get rid of public bodies like the Children’s Commissioner and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) without a proper debate in Parliament. CRAE is worried that these human rights bodies won’t be able to do their job properly and speak out against the Government, because they will be worried about Ministers getting rid of them. The Joint Committee on Human Rights (made up of MPs and Peers from different parties) shares these concerns and has published a report with recommendations for the Government [http:// www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt201011/jtselect/jtrights/86/86.pdf].

CRAE wants the Children’s Commissioner and EHRC to be removed from the Bill completely.

Lords Committee: 23 November 2010 – 14 February 2011 Follow the Bill's progress through Parliament: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/publicbodieshl.html Follow the Bill's progress through Parliament: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/armedforces.html

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Parliament Armed Forces Bill CRAE and other children's organisations are supporting the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers' campaign to increase the minimum age that young people can join the British armed forces from 16 to 18, after the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended it should be changed. CRAE thinks the Armed Forces Bill is a good opportunity to change the law on the recruitment of young people into the army, navy and air force.

Joint Committee on Human Rights This is a committee within Parliament made up of MPs and Peers that considers human rights issues in the UK.

Read the briefing from the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers: http://www.child-soldiers.org/International_children_s_day_2010__Recruitment_of_children_by_British_armed_forces_19_Nov_2010_FI NAL.pdf Commons Committee: 3 February – 10 February 2011 Follow the Bill's progress through Parliament: http:// services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/armedforces.html

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Parliament Early Day Motions

An Early Day Motion or EDM is a motion tabled (made) by MPs calling for a debate on a particular subject. EDMs are rarely debated but they are a good way to raise awareness about an issue and get more support. MPs can show they support an EDM by signing up to it like a petition.

The full list of Early Day Motions can be found at: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/Default.aspx Please ask your MP to sign the following Early Day Motion: EDM 1037 – Children in the immigration system Lisa Nandy MP That this House notes the Children's Society and Bail for Immigration Detainees' OutCry! campaign to end the detention of children for asylum and immigration purposes; commends the Government for pledging to end this immoral practice and including this objective in its Coalition Agreement; further notes that there are still children being detained at Yarl's Wood and other UK Border Agency centres and that 50 children have been detained since the announcement; calls on the Government to amend the asylum process in such a way as to build trust and communication with the families involved, including improving access to good quality legal advice to ensure that children and families have a fair chance to have their claims heard early on in the process; and urges the Government to fulfil its pledge to end child detention without delay and put in place an asylum and immigration system that takes into account the safety and welfare of children and families. http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?

EDMID=42026&SESSION=905

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Events and opportunities Amnesty Human Rights Reporters Guardian Learnewsdesk and Amnesty International have teamed up to find Young Human Rights Reporters of 2011. The competition, which is open to students in Years 3 to 12, invites children and young people to write a human rights story. This can either be from personal experience or an interpretation of a human rights story in the news. The deadline is 14 February 2011.

Find out more here: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?

CategoryID=11828

The School I'd Still Like Education Guardian is asking school students what they like about their schools, and how they would change them. Here's your chance to tell the Guardian newspaper how schools in Britain can become perfect for the children and young people in them!

So, what are they asking?  Is your school just as you'd like it to be? Or are there things you would change?  Is the building right?  Should you sit exams?  Are you allowed to express yourself?  Are your lessons interesting?

If you would like to share your view with The Guardian, you can send your information to this e-mail address: i'd.like@guardian.co.uk, giving your full name, age, year and name of school, and a contact phone number. The deadline is 18 February 2011.

Education Guardian will choose entries for its Children's Manifesto and some young people will also get the chance to join a Children's Manifesto panel, which will read through contributions and produce the final document.

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Events and opportunities

Battlefront is looking for a bunch of passionate, dedicated, inspirational 14-21-year-olds who want to put their heart and soul into running a campaign about an issue they care passionately about. As one of the star Battlefront campaigners you’ll be given access to campaign mentors, celebrities and support from Channel 4, all in the name of helping you make a real difference and putting your campaign on the map.

Battlefront 3 kicks-off in July 2011 and runs for 6-9 months, so you’ll need to be available at that time.

To apply, go to http://www.battlefront.co.uk/casting/. You will need to enter your details in the blue box on the right and a member of Team Battlefront will be in touch as soon as possible!

The Speaker’s School Council Award is looking for nominations for inspiring and innovative school council projects. The deadline for nominating projects is 13 May 2011.

More information about the Awards can be found at: http://speakersschoolcouncil.org/.

You can also order a free copy of the yearbook to see details of last year's winning projects and discover tips for developing successful school council projects.

Email speakersschoolcouncilawards@parliament.uk to request your copy.

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CRAE contacts

Carla Garnelas - acting head of policy and public affairs cgarnelas@crae.org.uk and 020 7278 8222 ext. 25 Carolyne Willow - national co-ordinator cwillow@crae.org.uk and 020 7278 8222 ext. 22 Catherine Hodder - parliamentary adviser chodder@crae.org.uk and 020 7278 8222 ext. 27 Krishna Maroo - children’s rights communications officer kmaroo@crae.org.uk and 020 7278 8222 ext. 26 Sue Marris - office manager smarris@crae.org.uk and 020 7278 8222 ext. 20

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