QUNO Geneva delivered a statement at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council this March, as part of a discussion with the Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism. The statement, delivered by Programme Assistant for Human Rights and Refugees Lucy Halton, built upon QUNO’s years of work on children of incarcerated parents by focussing on the rights of children of parents accused or convicted of association with designated terrorist groups.

In the statement QUNO drew attention to some of the specific issues these children face, such as their right to be protected from discrimination, including on the basis of the actions of their parents, and noted that blanket policies which detain or punish these children violate this right. It also noted every child’s right to a nationality, and the importance of enabling children to re-enter their own country, regardless of what their parents have done. QUNO asked the Special Rapporteur what measures were needed to better protect the rights of these children, and whether this could be explored in a future report.

• This statement was informed by QUNO’s recent work on these children: our briefing paper on Key Human Rights Concerns for Children of Parents Accused or Convicted of Association with Designated Terrorist Groups.

The full statement is available to read below, and can be viewed online here from 00:25:39 onwards.