International Justice Mission (IJM) urges the Dominican government to declare child marriage unconstitutional
IJM urges Dominica’s Supreme Court to declare child marriage unconstitutional, a human rights coalition calls on fashion labels to stop using products linked to forced Uighur labor, and ENACT hosts a seminar on future trends in human smuggling in Africa.
This Thursday, 30 July, we celebrate the annual World Day against Trafficking in Persons. The 2020 theme focuses on the first responders to human trafficking and other frontline workers around the world. UNODC notes that, during the COVID-19 crisis, the essential role of first responders has become even more important. To share, like and comment on social media messages for World Day please use the hashtags #EndHumanTrafficking and #HumanTrafficking.
We recently published our monthly Asia and Europe newsletters. Read how Nepali charity 3 Angels Nepal uses its community radio programs to raise awareness of COVID-19, how India’s Sanjog has been looking into frontline leadership in the face of the pandemic, and how a lack of worker protection has crippled the sex industry in India. The Europe edition features a report by Lumos that explores the connections between child trafficking and institutional care, an insight into how the European Freedom Network is bringing its partner groups together to swap advice and expertise, and an account of why French NGOs are calling on public authorities to help sex trafficking victims escape exploitation for good.
International Justice Mission (IJM) urges the Dominican government to declare child marriage unconstitutional
On Friday, International Justice Mission (IJM) petitioned the Dominican Supreme Court to declare child marriage unconstitutional, on the basis that it is a violation of the fundamental rights of children and adolescents. Since then, more than 15 civil society organizations and coalitions have joined the call to demand change.
This initiative is the first of its kind for IJM in the Dominican Republic, as they demand public policy changes in the country. Motivated by a recent study on child marriage which showed that more than 650 million girls and adolescents worldwide suffer gender violence, of whom 60 million live in the Latin American region, the IJM team reviewed numerous laws. They found that laws and articles from the Dominican Civil Code and Dominican Penal Code violate child rights and contradict specific articles in the Dominican constitution and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Dominican Republic has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the Latin American and Caribbean region. By law, boys of 16 years and older and girls of 15 years and older can legally get married with authorization from their parents or legal guardians. ‘Younger children are allowed to get married with additional authorization issued by a judge. Because there is no limit by law to how young a child can be to receive this special permission, children as young as 12 years old could be forced to marry,’ explains Sonia Hernandez, Associate Director of Public Justice System Strengthening for IJM. Child marriage affects both boys and girls, but it is particularly dangerous for girls.
IJM and the 15 other organizations used Twitter as a first step to creating awareness of this issue and demanding that the court respond to the request and do it swiftly. There have been more than 3,000 tweets posted with the hashtags #nolacases (#dontmarryher) and #niñasnoesposas (#girlsnotwives).
To understand the prevalence of child marriage globally, and find out what is being done to address it, an interactive atlas by Girls Not Brides provides child marriage data for every country in the world. A recent study published by UNFPA & UNICEF looks at the different forms that child marriage takes in South Asia and further looks at how these variations in child marriage practices are linked to other harmful practices.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
More than 190 organizations spanning 36 countries have issued a call to action seeking formal commitments from clothing brands to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in forced Uighur labor, and to end all sourcing from the Xinjiang region of China over the next twelve months.
The Western Australian government will be the first to enforce a new law which will see companies that fail to meet their obligations under the Australian Modern Slavery Act barred from access to the WA government’s $27 billion procurement contracts on goods, services, and public works.
The Nepali government plan of bringing home stranded Nepali workers has hit a new roadblock because recruiting agencies are apparently shirking their responsibilities. A new directive on the repatriation of stranded Nepali workers states that recruiting agencies are responsible for ensuring these workers get air tickets, salaries and other benefits from their employers.
ENACT is hosting an online seminar on Wednesday to launch three of its studies on trends in human smuggling and trafficking in Africa: criminalization and criminal justice responses across Africa, trafficking in persons in Kenya, and how mobile money enables or aggravates human smuggling and trafficking. Register here!
The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network is conducting a mapping study on rights to work for refugees in Thailand and Malaysia and would be grateful for your assistance in sharing their survey with entrepreneurs in those countries. The survey is available in English and Thai.
Free The Slaves is accepting applications for the position of India and South Asia regional director to represent the FTS India program and provide ongoing technical assistance to the project’s partner organizations.
Anti-Slavery International is seeking an Interim Communications Manager to support its international communications work, and an Africa Programme Officer responsible for overseeing the management of selected Africa projects.
SAFE Seas is looking for a Communication for Development (C4D) consultant that can support the SAFE Seas Project Team in rolling out a C4D strategy for effective awareness raising on the project mission.
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