COMMITTEE SEES SOME PROGRESS IN EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT PROVISIONS OF CONVENTION ON RIGHTS OF CHILD
Press Release
HR/4304
COMMITTEE SEES SOME PROGRESS IN EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT PROVISIONS OF CONVENTION ON RIGHTS OF CHILD
19961016 Review of Reports from Morocco, Uruguay, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Slovenia also Notes Lack of Measures to Make Treaty Fully Effective(Delayed in transmission)
GENEVA, 11 October (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Rights of the Child ended its autumn session today, having considered reports from six countries on their efforts to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee issued formal recommendations on reports from Morocco, Uruguay, Nigeria, United Kingdom for Hong Kong, Mauritius and Slovenia. These countries are among 188 States parties to the Convention, which covers a wide range of children's rights and whose provisions, once a country has ratified the document, have the force of international law.
During the three-week meeting, the Committee found that there had been positive developments in all six countries, but also raised issues of concern. One problem common to the first five was the paucity of measures taken to give full effect to the Convention, while in Slovenia the lack of adequate monitoring and coordination mechanisms on children's rights was a matter for concern.
Another problem faced in almost all the countries was the incompatibility of national legislation with international standards on the administration of juvenile justice. The Committee recommended that Morocco, Uruguay, Nigeria, Mauritius and Slovenia review their legislation in light of the requirements of the Convention. And while Hong Kong's laws for prosecuting young people were not singled out, the panel did express concern at the low age of criminal responsibility in the territory.
Other issues raised included the amount of resources allocated to children and respect for the four basic principles of the Convention: non-discrimination; the right to life; ensuring the best interests of the child, and respect for the views of the child.
The Committee is composed of 10 independent experts nominated by the States parties to monitor application of the treaty. Under the terms of the Convention, States parties file reports periodically with the Committee. National delegations generally attend Committee meetings to describe their efforts to advance children's rights and to answer questions posed by Committee members.
At this session the Committee also held a general discussion on the role of the media in promoting and protecting the rights of the child.
At its next session, to be held from 6 to 24 January 1997, the Committee is scheduled to examine reports from Ethiopia, Myanmar, Bulgaria, Panama, New Zealand and Syria.
Conclusions
Concerning Morocco, the Committee took note of the establishment in 1993 of a Ministry for Human Rights; the establishment of a National Congress on the Rights of the Child, and the creation of a post of High Commissioner for Disabled Persons, both in 1994. It recognized the will of the Government to engage in a law reform process in relation to children's issues, and was encouraged by the drafting of a new Labour Code.
The Committee expressed concern over a reservation made by Morocco to the article of the Convention on freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It also felt there were insufficient measures and programmes for the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable children, especially girls, and cited children living in rural areas, children victims of abuse, children of single parents, children born out of marriage, abandoned children, disabled children, and children who are forced to live and/or work in the streets. The early marriageable age, the minimum age for employment and the age of criminal responsibility were other matters of concern.
With relation to Uruguay, the Committee noted with satisfaction the strengthening of democratic institutions, as well as the fact that important measures taken in the social area had resulted in good indicators in the areas of health and education. The Committee expressed concern over insufficient measures adopted to harmonize national legislation with the principles and provisions of the Convention; and at the insufficient budget allocation for social expenditures, in particular in favour of children belonging to the most disadvantaged groups, including black children, disabled children, street children, children placed in institutions and ill-treated or abused children.
Other subjects of concern included persistent discrimination against children born out of marriage; the high rate of early pregnancies; and the inadequacy of measures to prevent and combat increasing abuse and violence within the family, or to rehabilitate the child victims.
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Regarding Nigeria, the Committee noted the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission and, in 1994, of a National Child Rights implementation committee.
The Committee expressed its deep concern that the rights of the child as provided for in the Convention had yet to be invested with effective legal status in Nigeria, as a draft Children's Decree remained to be finalized and adopted. The absence of such enabling legislation raised serious doubts as to the priority previously given to the rights of the child in Nigeria.
The Committee remained concerned that the general principles of the Convention were not being applied. Concern was also expressed at the status and situation of girl children, and the insufficiency of measures to prevent and combat discrimination against them. It was concerned about the persistence of early marriage, child betrothals, discrimination in inheritance, widowhood practices and other harmful traditional practices. More particularly, the continuation of the practice of female genital mutilation was of deep concern to the Committee which said the measures being taken to address that practice were insufficient.
Legislation presently in place in Nigeria with regard to the administration of juvenile justice and the institutionalization of children did not appear to conform to the principles and provisions of the Convention, according to the Committee. The provisions of national legislation which presently allowed for the sentencing of capital punishment was incompatible with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee also noted with serious concern the low age of criminal responsibility for children in Nigeria, presently standing at seven years of age, and that children even under the age of seven may be brought before the courts.
As for Hong Kong, the Committee noted its special situation as a territory over which there would be a change of sovereignty next year, as it reverted to the People's Republic of China. The Committee also noted that the continued application of the Convention to Hong Kong was the subject of discussion between the United Kingdom and Chinese Governments. The panel noted the adoption of the Parent and Child Ordinance enacted in 1993, removing legal disadvantages which previously applied to illegitimate children. It welcomed the adoption of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance aimed at promoting the integration of persons with a disability into the community.
The Committee noted that with the extension of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to Hong Kong in September 1994, however, further reservations to the Convention applicable to the territory of Hong Kong had been deposited by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was a matter of regret that these reservations, particularly as they related to the issues of working hours for children, of juvenile justice and of refugees, were still in place. While welcoming the adoption of the Bill of Human Rights Ordinance,
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the panel noted that it was not entrenched; it contained no specific reference to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its principles and provisions.
The treatment of Vietnamese children in detention centres in Hong Kong deeply concerned the Committee, which observed that those children continued to be the victims of a policy designed to discourage further refugees coming into the area. While granting that the situation was complex, the panel found the policy of the continued detention of these children to be incompatible with the Convention. The Committee was also of the view that the low age of criminal responsibility was not in conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention, and regretted the decision not to raise that age limit.
Concerning Mauritius, the Committee welcomed the commitment of the Government to withdraw its reservation to article 22 of the Convention, related to refugee children. It took note of the establishment in 1990, by an Act of Parliament, of a National Children's Council and welcomed the recent establishment of an inter-ministerial Committee on child prostitution, as well as the willingness to establish an ombudsman for the rights of the child.
The Committee was concerned that the Convention was not an integral part of the national legislation, and that national laws and regulations were not fully consistent with the principles and provisions of the Convention. It noted with concern the inadequacy of measures taken to ensure the implementation of children's economic, social and cultural rights to the maximum extent of available resources. It was particularly concerned at the insufficient measures and programmes for the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable children.
The Committee was also concerned that provisions relating to protection against sexual abuse in the Penal Code, which provided no safeguard for the protection of boy victims, were inconsistent with the principles and provisions of the Convention. Although the employment of children under fifteen was prohibited, the Committee noted with deep concern that a finding of the 1990 census confirmed the existence of working children, and in particular in the island of Rodrigues, where child labour was common.
As for the situation in Slovenia, the Committee welcomed the existence of government bodies and the creation of new ones competent to deal with the welfare of children at the national and local levels. It expressed concern, however, that effective coordination must be established among them in order to develop a comprehensive approach to the implementation of the Convention.
The Committee was also concerned at the absence of an integrated and systematic monitoring mechanism on all areas covered by the Convention, and in relation to all groups of children, especially those affected by the
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consequences of the economic transition. It encouraged the State Party to strengthen its existing data and statistical capacity to evaluate progress achieved and to assess the impact on children of policies adopted, in particular in relation to the most vulnerable groups. The Committee noted with concern that the principle of non-discrimination was not fully implemented for disabled children.
The situation in relation to the administration of juvenile justice and in particular its compatibility with the Convention, as well as other relevant standards, was another matter of concern to the Committee.
In each case the Committee made recommendations for measures the country might take to meet the concerns of the Committee and fulfil the requirements of the Convention.
Children and Media
The Committee held a day-long general discussion on children and the media on 7 October. It considered a background paper prepared by committee member Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden) and included the participation of media representatives, non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies. The aim of the discussion was to promote debate and stimulate thinking on the various roles of the media in the protection and promotion of the rights of the child. The Committee made a series of specific recommendations dealing, among other subjects, with the Internet, children's libraries, media education in schools, funding for children's media, protecting children from harmful practices in the media, training journalists in children's rights and drafting guidelines for reporting on child abuse.
Mr. Hammarberg proposed the setting-up of an international working group to follow up on the recommendations and report to the Committee, perhaps as early as its spring session next year.
Convention on Rights of Child
The General Assembly adopted the Convention unanimously on 20 November 1989, 30 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child.
The Convention, unlike the Declaration, makes States which accept it legally accountable for their actions towards children. Work on its drafting began in 1979 -- the International Year of the Child -- at the Commission on Human Rights.
The Convention was opened for signature on 26 January 1990. That day, 61 countries signed it, a record first-day response. Only seven months later,
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on 2 September 1990, the Convention entered into force after the twentieth State ratified it.
States Parties to Convention
The following 188 States are parties to the Convention: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Committee Membership
The 10 members of the Committee, experts acting in their personal capacity, are: Hoda Badran (Egypt); Akila Belembaogo (Burkina Faso), Chairman; Flora Eufemio (Philippines), Vice-Chairman; Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden), Vice-Chairman; Judith Karp (Israel); Youri Kolosov (Russian Federation); Sandra P. Mason (Barbados); Swithun Mombeshora (Zimbabwe); Marta Santos Pais (Portugal), Rapporteur; and Marilia Sardenberg Zelner Gonçalves (Brazil), Vice-Chairman.
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