COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES FIFTEENTH SESSION

Press Release
HR/4330

COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES FIFTEENTH SESSION

(Reproduced as received.)

GENEVA, 6 June (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Rights of the Child adjourned this morning its three-week fifteenth session by issuing conclusions and recommendations on reports submitted to it by six countries.

Cuba, Ghana, Bangladesh, Paraguay, Algeria and Azerbaijan, in keeping with their obligations as States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, supplied over the course of the session lengthy written summaries to the Committee on their efforts to help and protect children, and sent Government delegations to answer questions and hear the opinions of the Committee's 10 experts.

The panel, in formal conclusions, said, among other recommendations, that the Government of Cuba should give urgent consideration to raising the minimum age of sexual consent, and that further resources and assistance be devoted to problems of teenage or unwanted pregnancies, to changing of male sexual behaviour, and to reduction of apparent recourse to abortion as a method of family planning.

It urged greater efforts in Ghana to combat discriminatory attitudes against girls and disabled children, especially those living in rural areas, and said corporal punishment should be prohibited by law and that disciplinary measures implying the use of physical force, such as caning, should be removed from the country's Teachers' Handbook.

It similarly called for measures in Bangladesh to combat traditional attitudes and stereotypes damaging to girls and to children born out of wedlock, and said concerted efforts should be made to combat malnutrition.

It recommended that legislation on the minimum age of military recruitment be rigorously enforced in Paraguay, and urged that parent education and family counselling be promoted, with emphasis on the principle that both parents had common responsibilities for the upbringing of children.

It recommended that coordination be strengthened between various Government bodies concerned with children in Algeria, and that immediate registration of births be ensured of children belonging to nomadic groups.

And it called for Azerbaijan to complete passage of a draft Act on the Rights of the Child and to set up a central agency to aid in family reunification and in tracing unaccompanied children following massive internal displacements caused by armed conflict.

At its next session, from 22 September through 10 October, the Committee is scheduled to review reports from Australia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Uganda, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and Togo.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Country Reports

The panel noted among positive factors in the report of Cuba that "historic" progress had been made in providing services for children, especially in health and education which were reflected in such socio-economic factors as its infant mortality rate and teacher-pupil ratio. A factors impeding implementation of the Convention, it acknowledged, was "the dissolution of its traditional economic ties and the intensification of the trade embargo".

It cited concern, among other things, that insufficient measures had been taken to study and review the compatibility of national legislation with the principles and provisions of the Convention and that there were gaps in statistical and other information related to the situation of children in the country.

Among the Committee's recommendations were that:

-- the Government consider withdrawal of the declaration made by Cuba to the Convention;

-- the State party pursue efforts to ensure a holistic approach to implementation of the Convention which reaffirmed that the rights of the child were indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated, whether they were civil, cultural, economic, or social rights, and that such rights should be treated with equal emphasis;

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-- the capacity of the country's monitoring and coordination mechanisms concerning the rights of the child be strengthened;

-- harmonization of the ages of completion of compulsory education and the age for employment with the standards set by the Convention be considered;

-- further resources and assistance be devoted to problems of teenage or unwanted pregnancies, to changing of male sexual behaviour, and to apparent reduction of recourse to abortion as a method of family planning;

-- further measures be taken to implement the recommendations of the International Labour Office Group of Experts with regard to obligations arising from ILO Convention No. 79, which provided for a period of rest at night of at least 12 consecutive hours for persons under age 18;

-- and that the minimum legal age of sexual consent be raised.

Among positive developments noted in the report of Ghana, the Committee pointed to the early establishment -- long before ratification of the Convention -- of the Ghana National Commission on Children.

Concern was cited, among other things, about the persistence of customary law which in some areas, such as marriage, could conflict with the Convention.

Among the recommendations of the Committee were:

-- that the current drafting of a comprehensive law on protection of children be modeled on the provisions and principles of the Convention and be finalized and adopted in the near future;

-- that coordination be improved in carrying out programmes and policies related to children;

-- that priority attention be given to establishing data collection and identification of appropriate disaggregated indicators addressing all areas of the Convention;

-- that priority be given in budget allocations to the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights of children, with particular emphasis on health and education and on enjoyment of these rights by children belonging to the most disadvantaged groups in the country;

-- that all appropriate measures be undertaken to prevent and combat all forms of prevailing discriminatory attitudes against girls and disabled children, especially those living in rural areas;

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-- that an effective system of birth registration be developed;

-- that corporal punishment be prohibited by law and that disciplinary measures implying the use of physical force, such as caning, be removed from the country's Teachers' Handbook;

-- that adoption standards be reviewed to bring them into line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and that the country consider ratifying the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption;

-- that all appropriate measures be taken to prevent children for working and/or living in the streets;

-- that programmes be strengthened to combat malnutrition among children and to prevent HIV/AIDS;

-- that programmes be developed and pursued on a priority basis to prevent harmful practices such as early marriage, female genital mutilation, and Trokosi;

-- that programmes to ensure free, universal, and compulsory basic education be continued and strengthened, and that measures to taken to increase school enrolment of girls;

-- that legislation be reinforced to fully protect children from all forms of sexual abuse or exploitation;

-- and that a comprehensive reform of the juvenile justice system be envisaged, with special emphasis on protecting the rights of children deprived of liberty, to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and to improving the quality and adequacy of alternative measures to imprisonment.

Remarked among positive developments in Bangladesh were establishment of a Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs in 1994 and adoption of a National Policy for Children and the setting up of a National Children's Council in 1995.

Concern was cited, among other things, "at the persistence of discriminatory attitudes and harmful practices affecting girls, as illustrated by serious disparities sometimes starting at birth".

The Committee recommended, among other things:

-- that the Government consider withdrawing various reservations to the Convention;

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-- that efforts be pursued to ensure compatibility of national legislation with the standards of the Convention;

-- that information be better gathered on the situation of children in various areas covered by the Convention and in relation to all groups of children, including those belonging to the most vulnerable groups, that the National Policy on Children be readjusted to cover children between 14 and 18 years of age, and that an effective monitoring and coordinating system be established to assess progress and difficulties related to child rights;

-- that measures be taken to combat traditional attitudes and stereotypes and to sensitize society, including through studies and campaigns, to the situations and needs of the girl child, children born out of wedlock, children living and/or working in the streets, child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, children with disabilities, refugee children, and children belonging to tribal minorities;

-- that further measures be taken to ensure registration of all children;

-- that further measures be taken to combat violence against and abuse of children, including sexual abuse;

-- that concerted efforts be made to combat malnutrition and to implement a national nutrition policy for children;

-- that greater efforts be made to improve the school environment, increase enrolment, and prevent school dropouts;

-- that regulations to prevent child labour be enforced and violations by employers be severely punished;

-- that adequate protections be provided to refugee children;

-- that changes be made to the very low age of criminal responsibility of 7 years; the lack of adequate legal protection for children aged between 16 and 18; and the grounds for arrest and detention of children, which currently could included prostitution, "vagrancy", or "uncontrollable behaviour";

-- and that all appropriate measures be taken to prevent and combat sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

The Committee cited among positive aspects to the report of Paraguay the provision in the 1992 Constitution that not less than 20 per cent of the national budget be devoted to education.

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It noted concern, among other things, that insufficient attention apparently had been paid to developing a coordinating institution to monitor implementation of the rights of the child in Paraguay.

It recommended, among other things, that:

-- that the current drafting of a comprehensive new Juvenile Code be in line with the standards of the Convention and be finalized and adopted in the near future;

-- that coordination be strengthened between various Governmental mechanisms involved in children's rights;

-- that priority attention be given to developing a system of data collection and to identification of appropriate disaggregated indicators with a view to addressing all areas of the Convention and all groups of children in society;

-- that the general principles of the Convention be taken into account fully in legislation related to children, especially in the country's new Juvenile Code;

-- that priority be given in budget allocations to the economic, social, and cultural rights of children, with particular emphasis on health and education, and on enjoyment of these rights by children belonging to the country's most disadvantaged groups;

-- that legislation on the minimum age of military recruitment be rigorously enforced;

-- that all appropriate measures be undertaken to prevent and combat all forms of prevailing discriminatory attitudes against girls and children belonging to minority or indigenous groups, especially those living in rural areas;

-- that parent education and family counselling be promoted, with emphasis on the principle that both parents had common responsibilities for the upbringing of children;

-- that the Government continue to raise awareness of the issue and continue programmes to combat abuse and ill-treatment of children;

-- that a new law on adoption be passed fully respecting the principles and spirit of the Convention;

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-- that efforts be made to prevent any abandonment of children or the giving up of children by poor single mothers to illegal networks of child traffickers;

-- that all appropriate measures be taken to prevent the phenomenon of children working and/or living in the streets;

-- that all measures to be taken to ensure the right of the child to education in its native language;

-- that all appropriate measures be taken to prevent and combat sexual abuse and exploitation of children, especially prostitution;

-- and that a comprehensive reform of the juvenile justice system be envisaged, paying particular attention to protecting the rights of children deprived of their liberty, to preventing ill-treatment and torture, to improving the quality and adequacy of alternative measures to imprisonment, and to guaranteeing fair, prompt, independent, and impartial judicial proceedings.

The Committee cited among positive aspects to the report of Algeria that the Convention was fully incorporated into domestic law and that provisions of the Convention were self-executing and could be invoked directly before Algerian courts. The panel noted that a factor impeding implementation of the Convention was "the continuing violence in Algeria since 1992".

Noted among points of concern was "the existence of societal discriminatory attitudes towards girls and children born out of wedlock among some groups within the population".

The Committee recommended, among other things:

-- that various "interpretative declarations" made by the country to some articles of the Convention be reconsidered;

-- that the Government undertake to bring existing legislation into conformity with the standards of the Convention;

-- that coordination be strengthened between various Government bodies concerned with children;

-- that data collection be improved to include disaggregated data and to cover all groups of children, including vulnerable groups and children in especially difficult circumstances;

-- that greater budget priority be given to the social, economic, and cultural rights of children;

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-- that special attention be given to problems of ill-treatment and abuse of children, including sexual abuse, within the family, and to corporal punishment in schools, and that comprehensive studies be carried out on these problems;

-- that immediate registration of births be ensured of children belonging to nomadic groups;

-- and that reforms be made to the juvenile justice system to bring it into accord with the standards of the Convention.

The Committee noted as positive the process of comprehensive law reform under way in Azerbaijan. It remarked that factors impeding application of the Convention included "major problems experienced as a consequence of war".

Concern was cited, among other things, that the country had no comprehensive legislation promoting and protecting the rights of children, no comprehensive policy for children, and no national plan of action for children.

The panel recommended, among other things:

-- that legislation relating to children be harmonized and that a draft Act on the Rights of the Child be adopted, to be followed by a comprehensive policy and plan of action;

-- that data collection be improved to include identification of appropriate disaggregated data and to address all children in society, including the most disadvantaged;

-- that budget priority be given to the economic, social, and cultural rights of children;

-- that the minimum age for marriage be equalized for boys and girls and that the age of end of compulsory education be made the same as the minimum age for access to employment;

-- that alternative measures, such as foster care, be developed to the institutionalization of children;

-- that new and creative policies and programmes be set up to support vulnerable families, including poor families and single-parent families, and that the status of refugee and displaced children be regularized;

-- that adoption legislation be harmonized with Convention standards and that the Government consider ratifying the Hague Convention on intercountry adoptions;

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-- that a central agency be set up to aid in family reunification and in tracing unaccompanied children;

-- that a comprehensive study be made of child abuse, including sexual abuse;

-- that a strategy be adopted to help children working and/or living in the streets;

-- that a policy be adopted to improve the health of children and mothers;

-- that refugee and internally displaced children be provided with equal access to basic facilities;

- that appropriate measures be taken, perhaps with international help, to cope with the physical, psychological, and social needs of children affected by armed conflict and other types of violence;

-- and that a comprehensive reform be carried out of the juvenile justice system.

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 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. It entered into force just seven months later, on 2 September 1990.

Ratifying the Convention entails reviewing national legislation to make sure it is in line with the provisions of the treaty. The Convention stipulates, among other things, that: every child has the right to life, and States shall ensure to the maximum child survival and development; every child has the right to a name and nationality from birth; and, when courts, welfare institutions or administrative authorities deal with children, the child's best interests shall be a primary consideration. The Convention recognizes the right of children to be heard.

Furthermore, States shall ensure that each child enjoys full rights without discrimination or distinctions of any kind; that children should not be separated from their parents, unless by competent authorities for their well-being; States should facilitate reunification of families by permitting

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travel into, or out of, their territories; and States shall protect children from physical or mental harm and neglect, including sexual abuse or exploitation.

Also according to the Convention, disabled children shall have the right to special treatment, education and care; primary education shall be free and compulsory and discipline in school should respect the child's dignity; capital punishment or life imprisonment shall not be imposed for crimes committed before the age of 18; no child under 15 should take any part in hostilities and children exposed to armed conflict shall receive special protection; and children of minority and indigenous populations shall freely enjoy their own culture, religion and language.

A conference of States parties has endorsed efforts to amend the Convention in order to increase the membership of the Committee, while the General Assembly has expressed support for the working group of the Commission on Human Rights on a draft optional protocol to the treaty related to the involvement of children in armed conflict.

States Parties to Convention

With Switzerland's ratification of the Convention, and the accession of the United Arab Emirates, the number of States parties has reached 190, as follows: 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, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote 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, Germany, Georgia, 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, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia and Lebanon.

Also, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, 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, Niue, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomé and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore,

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Slovakia, 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 Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Committee Membership

The Convention requires that the members of the Committee have a high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of children's rights. The following experts, nominated by the States parties to serve in their personal capacity, have been elected to the Committee: Francesco Paolo Fulci (Italy), Judith Karp (Israel), Youri Kolosov (Russian Federation), Sandra P. Mason (Barbados), Nafsiah Mboi (Indonesia), Esther Margaret Queen Mokhuane (South Africa), Awa N'deye Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Lisbet Palme (Sweden), Ghassan Salim Rabah (Lebanon) and Marilia Sardenberg Zelner Gonçalves (Brazil).

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