During the 44th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, QUNO delivered a joint oral statement with partner Child Rights Connect, as co-convenor of the Child Rights Connect Working Group on Children of Incarcerated Parents. The statement was delivered to the Annual Panel Discussion on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building, which this year focussed on the treatment of prisoners, in particular the implementation of the 'Nelson Mandela Rules' on the Standard Minimum Treatment of Prisoners, and the 'Bangkok Rules' for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders. The statement drew attention to the specific rights and needs of children of incarcerated parents, who too often remain overlooked even in the implementation of these rules. In particular, the statement drew the panel's attention to the essential role of Civil Society actors in upholding these rights and providing Technical Assistance to governments. It noted the work of Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) members, RODA, in Croatia including working with the government to implement video visits and provide child-friendly visiting spaces, and Families Outside Scotland who act as a vital bridge sharing knowledge, information and resources between families, prison authorities and government. It also referred to the work of Plataforma NNAPES […]
At the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council, QUNO welcomed several discussions and documents which incorporated a focus on children of parents incarcerated parents, and children of parents sentenced to death or executed. We delivered an oral statement on the rights of children of parents sentenced to death or executed. The statement urged those States which do retain the death penalty to put an end to the abuses faced by these children, and also drew attention to the theme of this year’s World Day Against the Death Penalty, which is Children: Unseen Victims of the Death Penalty. The statement, delivered by Programme Assistant for Human Rights and Refugees, Lucy Halton, can be listened to online here at 02:13:16 (Chapter 56) and read here. We were pleased to see the adoption of the resolution on the death penalty. The resolution focuses on the protection and promotion of human rights in the application of the death penalty, which while concentrating on the protection and promotion of human rights in the application of the death penalty also welcomes the trend towards abolition. Two reports on the death penalty were presented at this session of the Council, both of which acknowledge the […]
QUNO’s Representative for Human Rights and Refugees, Laurel Townhead, has written an article on childhood statelessness of children of prisoners, for a new World Report on Statelessness. The World Report on Statelessness, launched by the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, is the most comprehensive resource on the global situation of stateless people. The second World Statelessness Report (2017) has a specific focus on children, exploring the urgency of and opportunities for addressing childhood statelessness. QUNO’s article focusses on the risks of childhood statelessness for children of prisoners, particularly for children born to foreign national women in prison. For more information about the report and about statelessness around the world, see the two report websites: http://worldsstateless.org/ and http://children.worldsstateless.org/. The full report can be accessed here (the article can be found on page 385).
QUNO has raised the issue of the rights of the families of persons deprived of their liberty and of children of parents sentenced to death at the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. These issues have been raised by QUNO in the General Debate and in the Panel on the Human Rights of Persons Deprived of their Liberty. This Panel was the first time the Council has dedicated time to considering the full range of human rights violations experienced by people in detention and made reference to the impact on their families including their children. Laurel Townhead, Representative for Human Rights and Refugees, delivered three oral statements, on the topics of women in prisons, older prisoners and children of parents sentenced to death or executed. Video of the three statements are available below: Statement on women in prison given at the Panel on Persons Deprived of their Liberty (statement begins at 01:24:00) Statement on children of parents sentenced to death at the General Debate (statement begins at 00:07:00) Statement given at the Interactive Dialogue with Independent Expert on Older Persons. (statement begins at 01:48:11)
In February, Rachel Brett who has been Representative, Human Rights and Refugees (HRR) at QUNO Geneva since 1993 announced her plan to retire. After an international selection process, Laurel Townhead has been appointed to this position from 18 August; we extend a warm welcome to Laurel. Laurel obtained her Master's degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex in 2003. She has experience, among other issues, of work on women in prison, children of prisoners, conscientious objection to military service and support to asylum seekers. She was at QUNO Geneva as HRR Programme Assistant and Project Assistant in 2005-7 and comes to us now from her position as Policy & Campaigns Manager at the UK NGO Women in Prison that she has held since 2008. Laurel has been an attender of Peckham Quaker Meeting in London for several years. Rachel will continue to work with us part-time as Adviser, HRR during a significant transition period. Her outstanding work has improved the lives of many, changed attitudes, built understanding and led to new international agreements. Rachel has worked on the needs of child soldiers, women prisoners, conscientious objectors to military service, stateless people, and children of parents sentenced […]
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