GENEVA / USA SEPARATED CHILDREN
05-Jun-2018
00:01:33
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, said Tuesday that the U.S. practice of separating “extremely young children” from their asylum-seeker or migrant parents along the country’s southern border “always constitutes a child rights violation.” UNTV CH
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STORY: GENEVA / USA SEPARATED CHILDREN
TRT: 1:33
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 JUNE 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
TRT: 1:33
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 JUNE 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot, exterior shot, Palais des Nations.
2. Wide shot, United Nations press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Information from various sources suggests that several hundred children have been separated from their families since last October. The practice of separating children from their parents is being applied to both asylum-seekers and other migrants in vulnerable situations.”
4. Med shot, journalists.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“We do understand that some of the children who have been separated could be very young; we’ve heard of one case where the child was just one year old and was separated from their family.”
6. Close up shot, journalist.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“There is nothing normal about detaining children. As I said, detention is never in the best interests of the child and always constitutes a child rights violation. On this being a criminal offence, as I said, this should, you know, entrance into a country without the right papers should at most be an administrative offence and it certainly does not warrant jailing children.”
8. Med shot, journalists.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The first cases registered in October but this goes back to, I believe January 2017, when the President of the United States had issued two executive orders related to migration and this separation of children is a direct consequence of that decision.”
10. Close up shot, journalist.
12. Close up shot, journalist.
13. Med shot, journalists.
2. Wide shot, United Nations press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Information from various sources suggests that several hundred children have been separated from their families since last October. The practice of separating children from their parents is being applied to both asylum-seekers and other migrants in vulnerable situations.”
4. Med shot, journalists.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“We do understand that some of the children who have been separated could be very young; we’ve heard of one case where the child was just one year old and was separated from their family.”
6. Close up shot, journalist.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“There is nothing normal about detaining children. As I said, detention is never in the best interests of the child and always constitutes a child rights violation. On this being a criminal offence, as I said, this should, you know, entrance into a country without the right papers should at most be an administrative offence and it certainly does not warrant jailing children.”
8. Med shot, journalists.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The first cases registered in October but this goes back to, I believe January 2017, when the President of the United States had issued two executive orders related to migration and this separation of children is a direct consequence of that decision.”
10. Close up shot, journalist.
12. Close up shot, journalist.
13. Med shot, journalists.
STORYLINE
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, said Tuesday that the U.S. practice of separating “extremely young children” from their asylum-seeker or migrant parents along the country’s southern border “always constitutes a child rights violation.”
OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva that since last October, “several hundred” youngsters have been separated from their families while their parents serve out prison sentences for entering the U.S. illegally, or wait in detention while their asylum claims are processed.
Shamdasani added “we’ve heard of one case where the child was just one year old and was separated from their family.”
Noting that there is “nothing normal about detaining children”, Shamdasani said that detention “is never in the best interests of the child and always constitutes a child rights violation”, before insisting that entering a country “without the right papers” should not be a criminal offence and “does not warrant jailing children”.
The spokesperson explained that the U.S. policy began in January last year, following a policy directive from the White House.
She said, “the first cases registered in October but this goes back to, I believe January 2017, when the President of the United States had issued two executive orders related to migration and this separation of children was a direct consequence of that decision.”
According to the OHCHR, although it is the only United Nations Member State not to have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United States had signed the international accord and ratified others, which meant that it had obligations to youngsters.
Also present in Geneva, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said that it was following the situation closely on the U.S. southern border, but that it had no information on whether asylum requests had changed significantly since last year.
OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva that since last October, “several hundred” youngsters have been separated from their families while their parents serve out prison sentences for entering the U.S. illegally, or wait in detention while their asylum claims are processed.
Shamdasani added “we’ve heard of one case where the child was just one year old and was separated from their family.”
Noting that there is “nothing normal about detaining children”, Shamdasani said that detention “is never in the best interests of the child and always constitutes a child rights violation”, before insisting that entering a country “without the right papers” should not be a criminal offence and “does not warrant jailing children”.
The spokesperson explained that the U.S. policy began in January last year, following a policy directive from the White House.
She said, “the first cases registered in October but this goes back to, I believe January 2017, when the President of the United States had issued two executive orders related to migration and this separation of children was a direct consequence of that decision.”
According to the OHCHR, although it is the only United Nations Member State not to have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United States had signed the international accord and ratified others, which meant that it had obligations to youngsters.
Also present in Geneva, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said that it was following the situation closely on the U.S. southern border, but that it had no information on whether asylum requests had changed significantly since last year.
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