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THE CHILDREN
Electronic Newsletter of the
Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA / DCI Section ALBANIA
Funded
by: Olof Palme International Center and SIDA (Swedish International
Development Agency)
This Electronic Newsletter is prepared by the Information
and Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania - IRCCRA.
More than 400 Albanian and Kosovan, foreign NGO's, international organisations
and agencies, state bodies, donors, individuals, and other partners
of CRCA receive this Electronic Newsletter. If you would like to publish
your news, reports, announcements, invitations, or other documents
concerning children and children's rights, please contact with IRCCRA.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from the mailing list please
click here or e-mail to: irccra@crca.org.al
The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA
is:
- Associate Member of DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL
- DCI
- Founding Member of SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN CHILD RIGHTS ACTION NETWORK
- SEECRAN
- Founding Member of EASTERN & CENTRAL EUROPEAN & BALTIC NETWORK
OF NGO's ON MONITORING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
- Founding Member of ALBANIAN CHILDREN'S RIGHTS NETWORK - ACRN
- Member of the BALKAN HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK - BHRN
IN IN THIS EDITION:
- ALBANIA: CRCA TO HOST SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE REGIONAL
CONSULTATION
- EUROPE: CoE CONVENTION AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS ENTERS
INTO FORCE
- Overview of the Electronic Newsletter
- ALBANIA: CRCA TO HOST SOUTH-EASTERN
EUROPE REGIONAL CONSULTATION
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE REGIONAL CONSULTATION
“Children with Genetic Diseases: Policy and Practice in countries
of South Eastern Europe”
21-22 February 2008, Tirana / Albania
Tirana, 29 January 2008 - The Children’s Human Rights Centre
of Albania – CRCA / DCI Albania, one of the major civil society
organisations in Albania and the region of South Eastern Europe working
to improve the situation of children’s and youth rights through
lobby and advocacy, capacity building, policy and legislation formulation,
announced today a new initiative related to children with genetic
diseases.
CRCA / DCI Albania together with Open Society Foundation in Albania
(Soros Foundation) have initiated a joint-initiative that aims to
improve the right to life of children with genetic diseases in South
Eastern Europe, respectively in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo,
Slovenia and Serbia. However rather then focusing on medial issues
the initiative is focused on policies and legislation in each country
and how it affects the right to life of children with genetic diseases.
Partners of the initiative include Child Rights Center Belgrade, DEBRA
Croatia, SEECRAN, CRCA Kosovo etc.
The project “ALEX AND VLADI” aims to debate and suggest
strategies for Public Health Services in dealing with children with
genetic diseases under the framework of UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the right of the child to life. The initiative would
review and exchange regional country experiences on public health
policies in guarantying the respect of the rights of the child.
The South Eastern Europe Regional Consultation titled: “Children
with Genetic Diseases: Policy and Practice in countries of South Eastern
Europe” will take place on 21-22 February 2007 in Tirana / Albania.
Participants of this regional Consultation will be representatives
and experts from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Slovenia and
Serbia. The initiative is funded by the Open Society Foundation in
Albania under the frame-work of the East-East Programme.
Special guest of the meeting and moderators will be Mrs. Nevena Vuckovic
Sahovic, member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and
Prof. Dr. Edlira Haxhiymeri, Head of Social Sciences Department, School
of Social Sciences of University of Tirana. Senior representatives
of the Albanian Government and Albanian Parliament will be invited
to welcome the participants and attend the meeting.
For further questions or enquiries on the Regional Consultation,
please contact:
Mr. Altin Hazizaj
Director
Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA
Defence for Children International - DCI Albanian Section
Mail address: Kutia Postare 1738, Tirana / ALBANIA
Phone / Fax: + 355 4 242264
E-mail: altinh@crca.org.al
www.crca.org.al
-EUROPE: CoE CONVENTION AGAINST
TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS ENTERS INTO FORCE
Strasbourg, 23.01.2008 - The Council of Europe’s
Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings ( CETS n°
197) enters into force on 1 February 2008. The Convention aims to
prevent trafficking, protect the human rights of victims and prosecute
traffickers. It applies to all victims of trafficking: women, men
and children alike; to all forms of exploitation (sexual exploitation,
forced labour, servitude, removal of organs etc.) and it covers all
forms of trafficking: national and transnational, related or not to
organised crime.
The treaty enters into force on 1 February 2008 with regard to the
first ten countries which ratified the Convention: Albania, Austria,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and
Slovakia. It will enter into force with regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina,
France and Norway on 1 May 2008.
The Convention, which was opened for signature in Warsaw in May 2005
at the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council
of Europe, has been signed, but not yet ratified by 24 other member
states: Andorra, Armenia, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, “the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Ukraine and the United
Kingdom.
Ten member states – Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Estonia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Monaco, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey - have not
yet signed it. Non member states and the European Community can also
become Party to the Convention.
This main features of the new Convention, the first European treaty
in this field, include:
• Awareness-raising for persons vulnerable to trafficking and
actions aimed at discouraging "consumers" to prevent trafficking
in human beings.
• Victims of trafficking must be recognised as such in order
to avoid police and public authorities treating them as illegal migrants
or criminals.
• Victims of trafficking will be granted physical and psychological
assistance and support for their reintegration into society. Medical
treatment, counselling and information as well as appropriate accommodation
are all among the measures provided. Victims are also entitled to
receive compensation.
• Victims are entitled to a minimum of 30 days to recover and
escape from the influence of the traffickers and to take a decision
regarding their possible cooperation with the authorities. A renewable
residence permit may be granted if their personal situation so requires
or if they need to stay in order to cooperate in a criminal investigation.
• Trafficking will be considered as a criminal offence: traffickers
and their accomplices will therefore be prosecuted.
• The private life and the safety of victims of trafficking will
be protected throughout the course of judicial proceedings.
· Possibility to criminalise those who use the services of
a victim if they aware that the person is a victim of trafficking
in human beings.
· The Convention provides the possibility of not imposing penalties
on victims for their involvement in unlawful activities, if they were
compelled to do so by their situation.
The Convention provides for the setting up of an independent monitoring
body capable of controlling the obligations contained in it. To this
end, within one year of the entry into force, the Council of Europe
will set up the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in
Human Beings (GRETA), formed by ten to fifteen experts.
Trafficking in human beings is a worldwide phenomenon often linked
to organised crime. According to the International Labour Organisation,
up to 2.45 million people throughout the world are victims of human
trafficking every year. The illicit profits of this trade amount to
33 billion dollars annually, making it the third most profitable criminal
activity after illegal drugs and arms trafficking.
Press contacts in Council of Europe Press Division:
Cathie Burton, Team Leader Campaigns (Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 28 93; cathie.burton@coe.int)
Jaime Rodríguez, Press Officer (Tel. +33 (0)6 89 99 50 42
; jaime.rodriguez@coe.int)
Overview of Electronic Newsletter
This Electronic Newsletter is prepared by the Information
and Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania - IRCCRA on behalf
of the Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA / Defence
for Children International - Albanian Section.
More than 450 NGO's, international organisations and agencies, state
bodies, donors, individuals, and other partners of CRCA - IRCCRA receive
this Electronic Newsletter. If you would like to publish your news,
reports, announcements, invitations, or other documents concerning
children rights, youth rights, women and human rights, please contact
with IRCCRA.
If you wish to subscribe or un-subscribe from the mailing list please
e-mail to: irccra@crca.org.al
All readers are permitted and encouraged to copy and distribute all
or any part of this electronic publication, provided that proper attribution
is given to the Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA.
No part of this electronic publication may be sold in any form.
The opinions expressed in this E-newsletter do not necessarily represent
the policies or opinions of the Children's Human Rights Centre of
Albania (CRCA), Information and Research Centre for Children's Rights
in Albania (IRCCRA), or those of Olof Palme International Center or
SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency).
Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA
Defence for Children International - Albanian Section
Mail address: Kutia Postare 1738, Tirana / ALBANIA
Phone / Fax: + 355 4 242264
E-mail: crca@crca.org.al
www.crca.org.al
===============================================================
Information & Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania
- IRCCRA
Address: Kutia Postare 1403, Tirana / Albania
Phone / Fax: ++ 355 4 24 22 64
E-mail: irccra@crca.org.al
www.crca.org.al/IRCCRA
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