ON SEPTEMBER 3, eight countries, including the Philippines, held simultaneous press conferences to launch an international document aimed at reaffirming the world’s commitment to put a stop to the use of torture and other forms of violence against children.

The document, a product of the International Conference on Children, Torture and Other Forms of Violence: Facing the Facts, Forging the Future, held in Tampere, Finland on Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, 2001 stressed that governments and individual states have the "ultimate responsibility" to prevent such violence against children.

Known as the Tampere Declaration, the document was launched in the Philippines and in India, Senegal, Israel/Palestine, Bahrain, Colombia, Peru, and Switzerland by groups working for the welfare of children, especially victims of torture and abuse.

The Tampere conference brought together 183 participants from 73 countries in all regions, representing international and national non-government organizations, other organizations and observers from governments and international governmental organizations.

Defining violence against children
The Declaration defines violence against children (who are defined as all persons under 18), indicates where it happens, and maps out recommendations and courses of actions which international institutions such as the United Nations, and individual states should take to put a stop to it.

According to the document, violence against children "encompasses all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligence, and includes, inter alia, sexual abuse, harmful traditional practices, trafficking, exploitation, bullying in schools and corporal punishment."

It is perpetrated in both private and public settings—the family, community, detention centers, schools and other institutions—by parents, care-givers, educators, employers, peers, armed groups, and state officials of all kinds.

The Tampere declaration points out that "Whatever the setting, the state has the ultimate responsibility for deterring violence and providing effective protection and remedies, including early assistance to children after trauma."

Local launch
The local launch of the Tampere declaration held at the Balay Kalinaw of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City focused on one of the most prevalent sources of torture of children—at the hands of law enforcers, the police and barangay tanod.

The event, which drew representatives of various children’s advocacy groups, was organized by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies-Psychosocial Trauma and Human Rights Program (UP-CIDS-PST), Amnesty International-Philippines, and United Against Torture Coalition.

Lota Jane Ofianza, a 14-year old junior health worker of ChildHope Asia Philippines, an NGO working with street children, who was a participant in a recent national children’s workshop on street children and the juvenile justice system, shared the testimonies of other children on the issue of abuse.

The workshop held in Marikina City on Aug. 8 to 10, gave an opportunity for youngsters to share their experiences with the juvenile justice system in the country, particularly the police who arrested them for allegedly committing petty crimes like vagrancy and sniffing glue, among others.

Speaking in the vernacular, Ofianza enumerated forms of torture and abuse that children particularly, street children who run into conflict with the law, have experienced such beatings, being hit with guns or wooden sticks, being handcuffed too tightly, burned with cigarette butts, forced to inhale glue when caught, among others.

She described the detention center where they are brought as "small, bad-smelling, very dirty, dark because the window is so small, infested with mosquitoes—like a cage for animals."

Children are also cramped together with adult offenders, who beat them and order them to perform errands. They are also made to stay in jail for long periods of time.

Local laws upholding the rights of the child
The Philippines, a state-party to the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, has local laws that supposedly recognize the rights of children, even those in conflict with the law.

Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse Act states that all minors must be placed in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development immediately after arrest. It also holds the police liable for criminal prosecution for detaining minors past the statutory deadlines.

According to Section 4 of the Rules and Regulations on the Apprehension, Investigation, Prosecution and Rehabilitation of Youth Offenders (Per Presidential Decree 603), the police officer shall notify the DSWD and the parents or guardian of the youth about the reason for his or her apprehension within eight hours of the arrest.

Section 5 of the same rules on youth apprehension mandates that the arresting police officer "shall not employ unnecessary force in arresting or searching the youth. Unless absolutely necessary, handcuffs or other instruments of restraint shall not be used on the child."

Fr. Shay Cullen, president of Preda Foundation, Inc., an NGO based in Olongapo City, lamented how "children are thrown into prison just because of vagrancy and because they’re made homeless by our society."

Under the present justice system, crimes of vagrancy and prostitution are applied to children, making no distinction between adult and juvenile offenders. The only difference is that the youth offender is entitled to a suspended sentence if found guilty. It also provides no separate detention for children and adult offenders.

Recommended actions
In line with the actions recommended by the Tampere declaration, the organizers of the press conference urged the government to:

• review, enact, and amend laws to prevent torture and all forms of violence against children,
• establish and strengthen juvenile justice system that eliminate violence and meet international standards,
• address structural causes of violence by allocating funds to ensure nutrition, shelter, education and health care,
• promote and support community-based mechanisms, and
  promote children’s active participation.

An NGO member noted that informing children of their rights allows them to protect themselves, citing a case in Caloocan where jail officers were relieved from their posts because children "know how to document" and thus were able to convey their concerns to the NGO which, in turn, complained to the authorities.

Jessica Umanos-Soto, Amnesty International-Philippines executive director, talked about holding a national summit of NGOs working for children’s rights. "I think we should now start coordinating our efforts," she told representatives of the NGOs present.

The Tampere declaration also recommends to the UN and other UN-related bodies that:

First, that the UN Commission on Human Rights appoint a Special Rapporteur on violence against children in order to, inter alia, solicit, receive and exchange information and communications, including individual complaints, and on systematic violations from all relevant sources even from children themselves.

Second, that the UN secretary-general appoint an internationally-respected independent expert to head a well-qualified team to conduct the in-depth international study on violence against children requested by the UN General Assembly, and that the study be conducted in line with the recommendations set out by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, consulting all relevant sources including children.

Third, that the Committee on the Rights of the Child produce General Comments on the provisions relating to children and violence in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, taking into account the special vulnerability of children to torture and other forms of violence. (CyberDyaryo)

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