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	Human Rights and Post-2015 Development Agenda by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   Strong demand for human rights in the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals.   The 6th session of the OWG in December 2013 addressed, “Human rights, including right to development, and global governance”.   Upon invitation by the Co-Chairs of the OWG, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonovic;, delivered a keynote speech on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 13 December 2013, which was followed by interventions from 32 member states and regional groups. The speech was received very positively and subsequent OWG discussions reflected strong support for many human rights issues that the High Commissioner had called for in her Open Letter and her speech.   There was an emerging convergence among member states from across regions that:   Human rights should be integrated across all goals, targets and indicators rather than adopting a stand-alone goal.   The agenda should address both freedom from want (poverty eradication and advancement of economic and social rights) and freedom from fear (access to justice, democratic participation and rights, and personal security), for all persons without discrimination.   A human rights based approach, with the right to development at its centre, should be applied to the framework.   Poverty eradication is a human rights imperative.   Economic and social rights, including the rights to health, education, food, water and sanitation, decent work, housing and others must be integrated.   Access to justice, democratic political rights and participation, and personal security, are crucial for the new development agenda.   A global partnership for development must include strengthened international cooperation, measures for reform of the international system to ensure greater equity and coherence with human rights considerations, including with regard to aid, trade, debt, intellectual property, and the removal of obstacles to development between countries such as those listed in the Declaration on the Right to Development.   Inequalities across social groups and income groups within countries as well as between countries must be addressed through both a stand-alone goal and disaggregation and targets in all other goals.   Explicit attention is needed to groups that are most vulnerable, excluded, marginalized or disempowered, among them women and girls, migrants, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, children and youth, minorities and others.   Human rights can help ensure effective implementation and accountability for progress towards post-2015 goals.   During the OWG’s 6th session, OHCHR also organised a side event entitled “More than just a vision: How to Integrate Human Rights into the Post-2015 Agenda”, a panel discussion with representatives of the governments of Ghana and Ecuador as well as the Center for Economic and Social Rights.   The audience of around 100 people included CSOs, permanent missions, UN agencies and representatives of business. The Deputy Permanent Representative of Ecuador emphasised that the new agenda should have an explicit focus on overcoming inequalities, discrimination and social exclusion, emphasising, for example, the rights of persons with disabilities.   A representative of the Office of the President of Ghana shared concrete experiences of his country, emphasising how Ghana had fully integrated human rights into its Constitution and provided for clear enforcement mechanisms, including the Supreme Court. He emphasised that the post-2015 agenda should ensure a strong accountability framework with enforceability of human rights. The accountability of the private sector must also be included.   8th Session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, 3-7 February 2014.   The 8th session of the OWG included, the thematic issues of equality, social equity, gender equality and women’s empowerment. There was a high level of convergence among Member States that the new development agenda must reduce inequalities, both within and between countries, and must address the needs of vulnerable groups such as women, minorities, migrants, indigenous people and persons with disabilities. Inequalities were also acknowledged as drivers of conflict.   During the 8th session, OHCHR also held a high level side event entitled “Addressing inequalities in the SDGs: A human rights imperative for effective poverty eradication”, which was co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Finland and organised in coordination with UNICEF, UN Women and UNDP.   The 8th session of the OWG also covered the issues of conflict prevention, post-conflict peacebuilding and the promotion of durable peace, the rule of law, and governance. While several countries suggested that the SDGs should address both conflict and governance / rule of law, others were in favour of including only one or none of these areas.   Those in favour of including rule of law and governance agreed that progress on these areas was now measurable but also stressed that capacity development in general, and in particular on measurement, will be critical.   Aspects of governance and rule of law that were highlighted as critical included key areas of civil and political rights such as public participation, including the rights to information and freedom of expression, access to justice and personal security.   Many OWG members also stressed the importance of rule of law at the global level, including through reform of international institutions.   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/MDG/Pages/News.aspx Visit the related web page
	Vatican to appear before Committee on the Rights of the Child by CRIN, Reuters & agencies   July 2014   Pope Francis has told victims of sex abuse by Catholic clerics that the church should "weep and make reparation" for crimes he said had taken on the dimensions of a "sacrilegious cult".   The Pope made the remarks while addressing victims of sexual abuses, in the first such meeting since he was elected 16 months ago.   "For some time now I have felt in my heart deep pain and suffering," he said in his strongest comments yet on the crimes, delivered at a mass with adult victims.   "I ask for the grace to weep, the grace for the church to weep and make reparation for her sons and daughters who betrayed their mission, who abused innocent persons," he said, according to a Vatican transcript.   "Before God and his people I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you."   Sexual abuse scandals have haunted the Catholic Church for over two decades but became a major issue in the United States about 10 years ago.   Since then they have cast a shadow over local churches in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Chile, Australia and other countries and badly tarnished the church''s image.   The Pope told the victims that he realised that they and others had suffered "often unrelenting emotional pain, and despair".   Victims groups urge Pope to take further action   Victims groups welcomed the meeting but said it should have taken place long ago.   "I think it''s very important that the Pope meet with victims," said Anne Doyle of BishopsAccountability.org, a US-based documentation centre on abuse in the Catholic Church.   "We know this Pope is capable of compassion and his refusal to meet with sexual abuse victims so far has been inconsistent with the mercy he has shown with so many marginalised. This is something that he had to rectify."   Ms Doyle said the Pope should quickly follow up with "several core actions" to show that the meeting is not merely ceremonial.   "He definitely must explicitly tell his bishops that all Church officials must report crimes and suspected crimes to civil authorities," she said, pointing that in a number of developing countries it is up to the victim to report sexual crimes.   In many cases of abuse, bishops seeking to protect the church''s reputation moved priests from parish to parish instead of defrocking them or handing them over to police.   Victims groups have pressed the Vatican to hold bishops who either shielded abusers or were negligent in protecting children to account along with abusers themselves.   Pope Francis said he would not tolerate abusers and bishops would be held accountable if they shielded them.   In February, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child accused the Vatican of systematically turning a blind eye to decades of abuse and attempting to cover up sex crimes.   July 2013   The Vatican is to face tough questioning by a United Nations committee over the Catholic church"s record in tackling child sexual abuse by its clergy around the world.   A detailed "list of issues" has been released by the Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) before the appearance of officials from the Holy See. The session is expected early next year.   The decision to ask senior Roman Catholic clerics to hand over internal documents to such a high-profile inquiry marks a fresh initiative in the global debate over clerical abuse. It will present the new pontiff, Pope Francis, with a direct challenge to provide records of financial compensation given to victims of sexual abuse and disclose what secret deals were made to preserve the church"s reputation.   The UN committee"s document is headed: "List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of the Holy See." Paragraph 11 of the CRC"s document states: "In the light of the recognition by the Holy See of sexual violence against children committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns in numerous countries around the world, and given the scale of the abuses, please provide detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns or brought to the attention of the Holy See."   The information sought includes cases where priests were transferred to other parishes, "where instructions were given not to report such offences, and at which level of the clergy", and "where children were silenced in order to minimise the risk of public disclosure".   The Committee has also asked for "the investigations and legal proceedings conducted under penal canon law against perpetrators of sexual crimes" and "the number of child victims who have been given assistance for recovery, including psychological support and social reintegration and have received financial compensation".   The Committee has been pressing the Vatican for greater disclosure over the issue of clerical abuse for years.   Barbara Blaine of the Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests said last month: "The fact that a UN committee has called the Vatican to account for its record on children"s rights, including the right to be free from sexual violence and exploitation, is giving survivors all over the world hope."   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx http://bit.ly/2P7GHDM   Apr. 2013 (Reuters)   Pope Francis has called on the Catholic Church to "act decisively" against paedophile priests.   Pope Francis said that the Church must promote measures to protect young people, help victims and take action to ensure the perpetrators are punished.   The statement came after a meeting with the Archbishop in charge of the Vatican department which investigates cases of alleged sexual abuse.   Pope Francis said the department should "act decisively as far as cases of sexual abuse are concerned, promoting, above all, measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past and the necessary procedures against those who are guilty," the statement said.   The Pope wants Catholic bishops around the world to promote and put into place "directives in this matter which is so important for the witness of the Church and its credibility".   But a victims group said the statement did not go far enough.   The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) are troubled by the Pope"s statement.   "Action, not discussion, is needed," SNAP said in a statement. "We can"t confuse words with actions. "When we do, we hurt kids."   Many victims had been hoping Pope Francis would take a much stronger line. "We must insist on new tangible action that helps vulnerable children protect their bodies, not vague pledges that help a widely-discredited institution protect its reputation," SNAP said.   The Catholic Church"s child sex abuse crisis attracted public attention in Boston in 2002, when the media began regularly reporting how cases of abuse were systematically covered up and abusive priests shuttled from parish to parish instead of being defrocked and handed over to police.   * CRC - Convention on the Rights of the Child - Session (13 Jan 2014 - 31 Jan 2014): http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=851&Lang=en Visit the related web page
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