CHILD RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF SENEGAL'S REPORT
Press Release
HR/4216
CHILD RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF SENEGAL'S REPORT
19951113 GENEVA, 9 November (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning concluded its examination of the initial report of Senegal on its compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee recommended that Senegal reform its health, educational and legislative structures to better serve the interests of the child.The delegation of Senegal drew attention to the country's lack of trained teachers to carry out Senegal's educational programmes, and called for international cooperation to help Senegal overcome other social problems such as inadequate sanitation facilities and drug abuse.
Discussion of Senegal's Report
Speaking on educational matters, the delegation of Senegal told the Committee that State institutions provided young persons with education and that the education provided by the religious communities was also recognized. The purpose of national education was to raise cultural standards and to train free women and men to enable them to create the conditions for their development. The main forms of national education were general and technical education and vocational training for children and young people of school and university age and functional literacy education for young persons. In primary education, there were 2,453 schools, 92 per cent of which were run by the State.
Pre-school education was almost non-existent in Senegal, the delegation stated. However, because of the predominant role of the Koranic schools, thousands of children received pre-school education through the "Daara", which was not taken into account in the Ministry of Education statistics. The phenomenon of begging related to Koranic institutions was also recognized. However, the society was attempting to eliminate such begging through subventions by non-governmental organizations. The Marabous who headed the religious pre-school institutions received donations from parents for taking care of their children. Children attending such pre-schools had the possibility to go to compulsory primary schools.
On the matter of health, the delegation of Senegal told the Committee that the general state of health of the Senegalese population had improved significantly with the disappearance of yellow fever. Life expectancy had
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increased from 38 years in 1960 to 58 in 1990. The rate of infant mortality below the age of five was estimated to be 86 per thousand, which represented a decline of 28 per cent, compared to the rate of 120 per thousand births during 1971-1975. The public health standards continued to depend on the natural environment, climatic conditions, the economic situation and customs and practice.
Asked if Senegal was benefiting from natural and herbal medicines, the delegation affirmed that traditional medicines were still in use and the Government was encouraging their exploitation through medical expertise and established laboratories. Medical doctors were closely collaborating with traditional practitioners by observing the utilization of certain medicinal plants, roots and herbs.
The phenomenon of drugs in Senegal was particularly disquieting, especially in the capital, where some very young people were affected by that scourge, the delegation said. They were a real danger to the society because of the violence involved. Drug addiction affected more men than women. However, female delinquency in that regard was considerable, with more than 300 women and girls having been arrested for the use or trafficking of cannabis and psychotropic substances. The situation was accounted for by the fact that Dakar was both the political and economic capital and had a very high population density; at the same time it occupied a pivotal position between Europe, the Americas and Asia, which were all areas of production and consumption.
In brief preliminary remarks, the members of the Committee recommended that Senegal take the necessary steps to reform its legislative structures with a view to improving the situation of children. The judicial interpretation of the provisions of the Convention should be reinforced through additional legal acts, they said. All legislative reforms had to increase the effective enjoyment of children's rights so that their best interests were protected. Juvenile courts should also be reformed in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Children's Fund. The Committee also emphasized the need to reform and strengthen the health service structures for children, and it recommended reform of the educational system with the objective of fostering the enrolment of girls.
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