UN warns Britain over child voodoo victims, sex tourists
Agence France-Presse June 19, 2014
Hundreds of children are believed to have been kidnapped in Africa and brought to Britain for brutal voodoo rituals, a UN watchdog said Thursday, urging London to step up its fight against the scourge.
"We're concerned about reports that hundreds of children have been abducted from their families in Africa and trafficked to the UK, especially London, for religious rituals," said Kristen Sandberg, head of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
"They are used in so-called voodoo rituals, and are also raped and sexually abused. The number of convictions is extremely low," said the former Norwegian supreme court judge.
British police are reported to have recorded scores of cases over the past decade of children who have faced torture and abuse as part of witchcraft rituals....
Sandberg said child trafficking for rituals was part of a wider problem, with thousands of minors brought into Britain every year for sexual exploitation and labour.
The UN committee is made of up 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of international children's rights treaties.
It held a hearing with British officials last month.
In its conclusions on that session, released Thursday, it said Britain should "strengthen the capacity of law-enforcement authorities and judiciary to detect and prosecute trafficking of children for labour, sexual and other forms of exploitation, including for religious rituals"....
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140619/un-warns-britain-over-child-voodoo-victims-sex-tourists-0
DA's child abuse detectives, police conduct countywide child pornography sweep in Berks Liz Kilmer, Reporter Jun 19 2014
READING, Pa. - A respected brain surgeon was among the group of 12 men and one teenager arrested Thursday in a child pornography sweep across Berks County. "Possessing images of child sexual abuse is a heinous crime and will not be tolerated in Berks County," said District Attorney John Adams.
....All 13 individuals were charged with sexual abuse of children (dissemination of photographs, videotapes, computer depictions and films) and sexual abuse of children (possession of child pornography).
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-berks/das-child-abuse-detectives-police-conduct-countywide-child-pornography-sweep-in-berks/26567598
Showing posts with label UN committee on the rights of the child. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UN committee on the rights of the child. Show all posts
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Scathing UN report demands Vatican ‘immediately’ act against child sexual abuse
Scathing UN report demands Vatican ‘immediately’ act against child sexual abuse
The United Nations has demanded the Vatican “immediately remove” all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to authorities. In an unprecedented report the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said the Holy See should also hand over its archives on the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so culprits, as well as “those who concealed their crimes”, could be held accountable.
The watchdog’s exceptionally blunt paper – the most far-reaching critique of the Catholic Church hierarchy by the world body – followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month. “The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the report said…
Abusers had been moved from parish to parish or other countries “in an attempt to cover-up such crimes,” it added. “Due to a code of silence imposed on all members of the clergy under penalty of excommunication, cases of child sexual abuse have hardly ever been reported to the law enforcement authorities in the countries where such crimes occurred,” the UN body said…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-05/scathing-un-report-demands-vatican-act-against-child-sex-abuse/5241300
The United Nations has demanded the Vatican “immediately remove” all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to authorities. In an unprecedented report the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said the Holy See should also hand over its archives on the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so culprits, as well as “those who concealed their crimes”, could be held accountable.
The watchdog’s exceptionally blunt paper – the most far-reaching critique of the Catholic Church hierarchy by the world body – followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month. “The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the report said…
Abusers had been moved from parish to parish or other countries “in an attempt to cover-up such crimes,” it added. “Due to a code of silence imposed on all members of the clergy under penalty of excommunication, cases of child sexual abuse have hardly ever been reported to the law enforcement authorities in the countries where such crimes occurred,” the UN body said…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-05/scathing-un-report-demands-vatican-act-against-child-sex-abuse/5241300
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Vatican will be questioned about its record on child sexual violence Thursday
This Thursday, for the first time ever, the Vatican will be questioned about its record on child sexual violence by an international body. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva is holding the meeting in two sessions on Jan 16, each three hours long. SNAP and our attorneys from CCR will be there. Later in the evening (Geneva time) CCR and SNAP are hosting a reportback via Livestream directly after the review to report about it to survivors, advocates and supporters. Two separate events and you can view them both on the internet.
Watch the UN review via livestream here!
http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/category/webcast-archives/crc/
The review will take place on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from 10am-1pm CET, (4am-7am EST) where the Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Convention on Rights of the Child and then from 3pm-6pm CET (9am-12 noon EST) the Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
**This will be broadcast in the English language. This is broadcast by the UN.
Then two hours later at 8 pm CET (2 pm EST) we will have the “reportback” by CCR and SNAP. Tune in here .
https://new.livestream.com/ccrjustice/VaticanBeforeTheUNJan2014
You can follow the conversation on Twitter and ask questions before or during the livestream by tweeting to the hashtag #HolySeeConfess or by emailing questions to askCCR@ccrjustice.org.
SNAP and CCR submitted reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child detailing how the Holy See has violated the core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/survivors-network-of-those-abused-priests-v.-joseph-ratzinger,-et-al
Watch the UN review via livestream here!
http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/category/webcast-archives/crc/
The review will take place on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from 10am-1pm CET, (4am-7am EST) where the Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Convention on Rights of the Child and then from 3pm-6pm CET (9am-12 noon EST) the Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
**This will be broadcast in the English language. This is broadcast by the UN.
Then two hours later at 8 pm CET (2 pm EST) we will have the “reportback” by CCR and SNAP. Tune in here .
https://new.livestream.com/ccrjustice/VaticanBeforeTheUNJan2014
You can follow the conversation on Twitter and ask questions before or during the livestream by tweeting to the hashtag #HolySeeConfess or by emailing questions to askCCR@ccrjustice.org.
SNAP and CCR submitted reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child detailing how the Holy See has violated the core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/survivors-network-of-those-abused-priests-v.-joseph-ratzinger,-et-al
Friday, December 6, 2013
Vatican refuses to give UN panel full details of clerical sex abuse cases, Pope Setting Up Commission on the Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests
Vatican refuses to give UN panel full details of clerical sex abuse cases
Holy See angers campaigners by not disclosing information requested by UN committee on the rights of the child
Lizzy Davies in Rome
theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 December 2013
The Vatican has refused to give a United Nations panel information it requested on clerical sex abuse, in a move that it said was part of its confidentiality policy but which was criticised as "a slap in the face" for victims.
In a series of questions asked in the runup to a public hearing scheduled for January, the UN committee on the rights of the child had requested the Holy See provide details of abuse cases and specific information concerning their subsequent investigation and handling.
But, in its response, the Holy See said that although it had answered the questions in a general way, it was not its practice to disclose information on specific cases unless requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings.
In the 24-page document, the Holy See said it had been "deeply saddened by the scourge of sexual abuse" and regretted the involvement of some members of the Catholic clergy.
It added that it had "amended norms" regarding the suitability of candidates for the priesthood, and had taken other steps including the revision of some canon law rules "to ensure that clerics and religious are properly disciplined".
But it did not give all the details requested by the committee in a lengthy, multi-part question on the "sexual violence against children committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns in numerous countries around the world"....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/vatican-refuses-un-panel-details-clerical-sex-abuse-cases
Pope Setting Up Commission on the Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO, ALAN COWELL and RICK GLADSTONE
Published: December 5, 2013
VATICAN CITY — In his first concrete step to address the clerical sexual-abuse problem in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis will establish a commission to advise him on protecting children from pedophile priests and on how to counsel victims, the Vatican said Thursday....
Whether the new commission portends a significant change in how the Vatican deals with abusive priests and their protectors remains to be seen, experts on the church said. Yet the timing of the announcement, two days after a United Nations panel criticized the Vatican over its handling of abuse cases, suggested that the pope and his closest advisers wanted to at least be seen as tackling the issue with greater firmness.
Soon after he became pope, Francis directed the Vatican last April to act decisively on abuse cases and punish pedophile priests, in a meeting with subordinates at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s enforcement arm. But he had said little about the sexual abuse problem since....
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/europe/pope-setting-up-commission-on-clerical-child-abuse.html
Holy See angers campaigners by not disclosing information requested by UN committee on the rights of the child
Lizzy Davies in Rome
theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 December 2013
The Vatican has refused to give a United Nations panel information it requested on clerical sex abuse, in a move that it said was part of its confidentiality policy but which was criticised as "a slap in the face" for victims.
In a series of questions asked in the runup to a public hearing scheduled for January, the UN committee on the rights of the child had requested the Holy See provide details of abuse cases and specific information concerning their subsequent investigation and handling.
But, in its response, the Holy See said that although it had answered the questions in a general way, it was not its practice to disclose information on specific cases unless requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings.
In the 24-page document, the Holy See said it had been "deeply saddened by the scourge of sexual abuse" and regretted the involvement of some members of the Catholic clergy.
It added that it had "amended norms" regarding the suitability of candidates for the priesthood, and had taken other steps including the revision of some canon law rules "to ensure that clerics and religious are properly disciplined".
But it did not give all the details requested by the committee in a lengthy, multi-part question on the "sexual violence against children committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns in numerous countries around the world"....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/vatican-refuses-un-panel-details-clerical-sex-abuse-cases
Pope Setting Up Commission on the Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO, ALAN COWELL and RICK GLADSTONE
Published: December 5, 2013
VATICAN CITY — In his first concrete step to address the clerical sexual-abuse problem in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis will establish a commission to advise him on protecting children from pedophile priests and on how to counsel victims, the Vatican said Thursday....
Whether the new commission portends a significant change in how the Vatican deals with abusive priests and their protectors remains to be seen, experts on the church said. Yet the timing of the announcement, two days after a United Nations panel criticized the Vatican over its handling of abuse cases, suggested that the pope and his closest advisers wanted to at least be seen as tackling the issue with greater firmness.
Soon after he became pope, Francis directed the Vatican last April to act decisively on abuse cases and punish pedophile priests, in a meeting with subordinates at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s enforcement arm. But he had said little about the sexual abuse problem since....
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/europe/pope-setting-up-commission-on-clerical-child-abuse.html
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