Month: February 2022

The Tunisian report shows that a great deal has already happened in recent years and that the situation regarding children's rights has improved significantly. The ban on corporal punishment is just one of the positive examples. Nevertheless, there are still regional disparities, especially in access to health care and services, and Tunisia still has room for improvement in the area of anti-discrimination.

The Committee welcomes the legislative measures to prohibit violence against children, repeal the exemption from prosecution of perpetrators of sexual abuse who marry their victims and ensure legal protection for children who are victims of sexual abuse, and the capacity-building activities for police officers and national guard members on addressing cases of violence against children. However, the Committee remains seriously concerned about the high levels of violence against children, including domestic violence and sexual abuse, and the significant underreporting of such cases, owing to stigma based on deeply rooted societal norms.

To improve the situation concerning reproductive health, the Committee recommends to adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents aimed at ensuring that all girls and boys, including those who are out of school and those in rural areas, receive confidential and child-friendly sexual and reproductive health information and services, including access to contraceptives.

The Committee notes the measures taken to improve access for children with disabilities to education. The Committee recommends that the State party organize the collection of data on children with disabilities and develop an efficient and harmonized system for disability assessment in order to facilitate access for children with all types of disabilities to accessible education and services, including health, social protection and support services. Tunisia should also adopt a national policy aimed at strengthening specialized and affordable health-care services for children with disabilities and expand social assistance schemes for parents and caregivers of children with disabilities.
In addition to that, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all children with disabilities have access to inclusive education in mainstream schools, ensuring that schools are equipped with trained teachers, accessible infrastructure and teaching materials adapted to the needs of children with disabilities

The Committee recommends that the State party increase its allocation of resources for primary health care to make it both accessible and affordable, especially in rural areas. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party identify and effectively address the causes of child malnutrition and obesity, including through public awareness-raising activities on nutritional issues and healthy eating habits, strategies that enable households living in poverty to acquire access to healthy food and regulation of the marketing of unhealthy foods to children in order to address child obesity.

Concerning adolescent health, the Committee recommends to assess the impact of efforts to address drug abuse and tobacco and alcohol consumption, with a view to strengthening such programmes, and develop accessible and child-friendly drug dependence treatment and harm-reduction services and life skills education on preventing substance abuse.

The Committee recommends to increase the availability and accessibility of mental health services and programmes for children, paying particular attention to those in rural areas and the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Committee recommends that Tunisia ensure that children’s needs and views are taken into account in developing policies and programmes to address climate change and disaster risk management. Tunisia should also strengthen efforts to increase awareness among children of climate change and other environmental issues by incorporating them into the school curriculum and teacher training programmes.

The Committee welcomes the national action plan to combat child labour and the prohibition of employment of children in domestic work, but it is deeply concerned about the high number of children engaged in domestic work and hazardous work.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to establish clear regulations on working hours for children, and sanctions for those who violate them, and harmonize all legislation regarding child labour. Also, the Committee recommends that the State party explicitly prohibit the employment of children in harmful or hazardous work and develop a list of hazardous work prohibited for children.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken to create a dedicated unit on child justice within the Ministry of Justice, to train professionals on non-judicial measures and to support civil society organizations working with children recognized as having infringed criminal law.
For further improvements, the Committee urges Tunisia to, inter alia, ensure the provision of effective legal representation, free of charge, for all children who are facing criminal charges at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and ensure that detention conditions comply with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services. The Committee furthermore urges Tunisia to strengthen the training of judges, as well as prosecutors, lawyers, police officers, child probation officers and all other professionals in the child justice system and ensure that it is continuous and covers all areas of the Convention.

The Committee recommends to ensure that children are heard and that their views are given due consideration in relevant administrative and judicial proceedings in respect of all rights covered by the Convention and in all decisions affecting them.

To improve the situation for Amazigh children, the Committee recommends to ensure the right of Amazigh children to intercultural and bilingual education that respects their culture and traditions, including by integrating Amazigh as a second language in schools.

Concluding observations on the fourth to sixth periodic reports released on 2 September 2021. More information about education: Tunisia's Constitution of 2014

In the Mozambique report, an exciting point stands out: They have a ministry for gender, children and social welfare. This can be positive, as it means that discrimination categories are thought of together, or the ministry can be so overloaded that measures are not being implemented effectively.

Besides that, the condition of health services and education is disastrous. Also, in Mozambique, children with disabilities are stigmatized and discriminated and they have limited access to education and social assistance.

The Committee expresses its deep concern about the extremely high rate of child marriage, including forced marriage, and the practice of initiation rites for girls. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party develop comprehensive awareness-raising campaigns, in cooperation with civil society organizations, on the harmful effects of child marriage and initiation rites on the physical and mental health and well-being of girls.

The Committee also expresses deep concern about the high teenage pregnancy rate, very low levels of contraceptive use and limited access to safe abortion services. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to ensure girls’ access to family planning services, affordable contraceptives and safe abortion and post-abortion care services, and ensure that their views are always heard and given due consideration in abortion decisions.

The Committee is concerned about stigmatization and discrimination against children with disabilities and their limited access to education and social assistance. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a human right- based approach to disability and that it set up a comprehensive strategy to eliminate discrimination against children with disabilities. It also recommends that the State party redouble its efforts to ensure that all children with disabilities have quality, inclusive education in mainstream schools, ensuring that schools are equipped with the necessary trained human resources, accessible infrastructure and teaching materials adapted to the needs of children with disabilities.

The Committee is concerned about limited access to quality health-care services, in particular in rural areas, inadequate health infrastructure with regard to electricity, water and sanitation facilities and a shortage of qualified health-care personnel and medicines. Of further concern is the prevalence of preventable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which also contribute to the persistently high rates of neonatal and under-5 mortality, and the growing number of unvaccinated children. To guarantee the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends to ensure the availability of qualified health personnel and recommends to improve immunization rates by establishing more vaccination centres.

The Committee recommends to implement comprehensive policies and strategies for mental health promotion, mental disorder prevention and early identification of mental health issues.

Natural disasters have a negative effect on children. Therefore, the Committee recommends to ensure that the specific vulnerabilities and needs of children, as well as their views, are taken into account in the development of policies and programmes addressing the issues of climate change and disaster risk management. Furthermore, the Committee recommends to increase children’s awareness of and preparedness for climate change and natural disasters by incorporating these issues into the school curriculum and teacher training programmes.

The minimum age of employment is 15 years, but many children work before turning 15 years. Therefore, the Committee recommends Mozambique to strengthen its labour inspectorate in order to strengthen the monitoring of employment practices and effectively implement the laws and policies on child labour, particularly in the agricultural and mining sectors.

The Committee urges the state party to designate specialized judges for children and record the number of children under 18 years of age in prison and other forms of detention separately from the number of persons under 21 years of age. Also, Mozambique should ensure that, in cases where detention is unavoidable, children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions comply with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services.

While welcoming the progress in clearing landmines and reducing the under-5 mortality rate, the Committee remains concerned about the large number of children who are victims of traffic accidents and the high rate of child mortality due to preventable diseases.

The Ethiopian report makes clear that the diversity of ethnic, social and cultural expressions is not guaranteed. In addition, tensions exist between religious communities, which have led to the death and injury of many children. Ethiopia is also a fairly poor country, which is reflected in inadequate data collection and provision of public goods such as education and health services.

The Committee recommends to eliminate gender discrimination in all sectors, particularly in terms of access to education and health, address significant regional disparities in the promotion and protection of the rights of girls and adolescents, and pay particular attention to girls with disabilities, as well as girls suffering physical and sexual abuse. Also, Ethiopia should guarantee the respect and protection of the rights of children belonging to ethnic minorities and indigenous populations, investigate cases of violence and intimidation, particularly in conflict-affected regions, as well as cases of forceful relocation of children and their families from their traditional lands, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable and provide effective remedies to victims.

The Committee is concerned at the large proportion of girls who experience forced sexual initiation, particularly within the context of early marriage and sexual harassment, and it regrets the significantly low reporting rates of child abuse, including sexual abuse, the absence of mechanisms to assess and monitor the extent of such violations, the lack of prosecution and conviction and the lack of adequate rehabilitation and reintegration services for victims.

The Committee remains deeply concerned at the persistence of negative attitudes and discrimination against children with disabilities, and at the fact that the vast majority of children with disabilities are deprived of education and face obstacles in accessing appropriate social and healthcare services. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of reliable disaggregated data, and the absence of specific information on initiatives and programmes for the rehabilitation and reintegration of children with disabilities, particularly for those children suffering from multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
To improve the situation of children with disabilities, the Committee recommends to take urgent measures to elaborate and implement specific programmes for children and youth with disabilities aimed at enhancing their social inclusion, and ensure in particular their access to quality inclusive education, vocational training, social and health services.

The Committee is concerned that the per capita spending on basic health is well below the internationally accepted levels. The Committee deeply regrets the persistence of regional disparities in the provision of health services, and that malnutrition, infant, under-five, prevalence of noma and maternal mortality rates remain high.
To implement the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party raise the annual per capita expenditure on health and eliminate regional disparities in the provision of health services, including prenatal and postnatal care, immunization coverage, and the management of communicable diseases and malaria. Also, the Committee recommends that the State party develop and implement policies to improve health infrastructures, and intensify training programmes for all health professionals, including the pastoralist health extension workers.

Concerning adolescent health, the Committee regrets the absence of information on specific programmes targeting vulnerable adolescents and teenagers, particularly those in street situations, orphans, pregnant teenagers, and those living in poverty and in single-parent households. The Committee also regrets the insufficient available information on reproductive and mental health services for adolescents as well as institutional coordination in implementing and evaluating adolescent health programmes and policies. Therefore, the Committee recommends to strengthen the capacity of health services at all levels to deliver quality adolescent-sensitive services, including developmental, mental, and reproductive health counselling services, and make them known and accessible to all adolescents.

The Committee recommends to eliminate the barriers in terms of access to adequate mental and reproductive health services, by paying particular attention to vulnerable teenagers and adolescents. Also, Ethiopia should eliminate the de facto discrimination of all children with disabilities, including children with mental disabilities, as well as children living with noma, and children living with HIV/AIDS, and ensure their full inclusion in all spheres of life, and particularly in education and health care.

The Committee recommends to develop and implement a comprehensive framework on business conduct in order to ensure that business activities do not have adverse impact on human rights or endanger environmental and other standards, in particular those relating to children and women, and impose sanctions and provide remedies when violations occur.

The Committee is concerned about the adverse impact of large-scale investments and development projects on children’s rights. In particular, the Committee is concerned about the forced relocation of indigenous families, including Anuak and Nuer, taking place in mid-2010, particularly in the regions of Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali and Afar, due to agricultural planning strategies and investments.

The Committee urges the State party to fully investigate all violations committed against children during the events of April 2014 (Oroma protests) and publicly report on its findings. It further recommends that the State party ensure that perpetrators of such violations are brought to justice, and that victims are provided with adequate redress and reparations.

The Committee further urges Ethiopia to take urgent measures to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for the administration of juvenile justice and collect systematic disaggregated data on the number of children who are in conflict with the law and the number of children in detention centres.

While the Committee notes that the State party is making efforts to tackle poverty, it is seriously concerned about the high rates of poverty affecting children especially in rural areas, resulting in deprivation of children’s right to survival and development.

The Mauritania report shows considerable shortcomings in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Girls in particular experience female genital mutilation, slavery and violence. The education and health systems are in poor condition. There have not been many improvements since the previous report.

The Committee urges the State party to eliminate all forms of female genital mutilation and forced feeding (gavage) of children and explicitly criminalize all types of female genital mutilation. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that the legislation in that regard is strictly enforced, including by allocating sufficient resources for the implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence and bringing to justice those who carry out such harmful practices as well as enforce the obligation to report cases of genital mutilation performed on girls.

In addition to that, the Committee recommends that the State party integrate sexual and reproductive health education into the mandatory school curriculum for adolescent girls and boys, with special attention paid to preventing early pregnancy, and provide free, confidential and non-discriminatory sexual and reproductive health services to adolescents, in particular access to modern contraception methods. Also, Mauritania should decriminalize abortion to ensure that girls have access to safe abortion and post-abortion services and that their views are always heard and given due consideration in making abortion-related decisions.

While welcoming the various legislative measures to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities and the establishment of the Directorate for Persons with Disability, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and ensure that all children with disabilities, including those in rural and remote communities, have access to adequate health-care and mental health services, including early detection and intervention programmes. Also, Mauritania should guarantee all children with disabilities the right to inclusive education in mainstream schools, ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized educational institutions and classes, and train and assign specialized teachers and professionals working in integrated classes to support children with learning difficulties. The Committee also recommends to undertake awareness-raising campaigns aimed at government officials, the general public and families in order to combat the stigmatization of and prejudice against children with disabilities, especially children with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, and promote a positive image of such children.

While noting with appreciation the increased budgetary allocations for health care, the Committee remains concerned about the extremely high rates of infant, under-5 and maternal mortality and acute malnutrition, as well as the low number of births attended by skilled health personnel, in particular among girls in rural areas, the lack of availability of mental health services and the high rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party prioritize measures to decrease infant and under-5 mortality rates by, inter alia, improving ante- and postnatal care, enhancing the capacity of health-care providers, increasing the availability and accessibility of emergency obstetric care and skilled birth attendants in rural areas. Mauritania should also ensure that health-care and nutrition services, including any national nutrition plans, are extended to the more vulnerable families and to rural and remote communities.

The Committee recommends to implement comprehensive policies and strategies at the national level, with the full participation of families and communities, to promote mental health, prevent mental health disorders and provide adequate mental health services for the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues among children, as well as the necessary facilities and qualified personnel and support to families with children at risk.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector complies with international and national human rights, labour, environmental and other standards, particularly as they relate to children’s rights. In particular, it recommends that the State party establish a clear regulatory framework for the industries operating in the State party, in particular the fishing, agriculture and extractive industries, to ensure that their activities do not negatively affect children’s rights or contravene environmental and other standards. Also, the State party should examine and adapt its legislative framework, including its civil, criminal and administrative aspects, to ensure the legal accountability of companies and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory, especially in the mining industry. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party require companies to undertake assessments of and consultations on the environmental, health-related and human rights impacts of their business activities and their plans to address such impacts and to fully and publicly disclose those assessments, consultations and plans.

The Committee is concerned about the limited availability of juvenile courts and separate detention facilities for children, as well as about reports of children facing long periods of pretrial detention.
The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards and, in particular, recommends that the State party ensure that all persons under the age of 18 are tried exclusively by specialist juvenile courts, without exception, and establish such courts with specially trained juvenile judges at locations outside of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. The Committee further recommends to expedite trials involving children, with a view to reducing the period of pretrial detention, prohibit the detention of children together with adults and ensure that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to providing a safe, child-sensitive environment, the ability to maintain regular contact with family members, and access to health services and education, including vocational training. Also, Mauritania should ensure that the juvenile justice system is equipped with adequate human, technical and financial resources, and that children in conflict with the law receive free, qualified and independent legal counsel, in appropriate languages, at an early stage of the procedure and throughout legal proceedings.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken to promote birth registration, including reforms made to the civil registration system, the introduction of biometric registration and the expansion of registration centres. However, it remains concerned about the persistently low rate of registration of children, including among asylum-seeking and refugee children, and the limited awareness among the population of the importance of birth registration. Also, the Committee notes with concern that the procedures for conferring citizenship on children born to Mauritanian mothers and non-Mauritanian fathers are different from those for children born to Mauritanian fathers. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party review its legislation on nationality in order to ensure equality in the procedures for transmitting nationality to children through both the maternal and paternal line, in particular for those children who would otherwise be stateless.

Concluding observations on the third to fifth periodic reports released on 26 November 2018. The Committee encourages the State party to withdraw its general reservation to the Convention.

The report from Democratic People's Republic of Korea makes clear that the effects of the economic sanctions mentioned by the delegation of the State party are reflected in the economic and social situation in the country and are having repercussions on children’s enjoyment of their rights. The strict regime of Democratic People's Republic of Korea is evident at various points. For example, children have to perform child labour as part of their education and are discriminated against because of the political views of their parents. The committee criticizes the fact that it is not possible to enter the country without fear of deprivation of liberty and death, and that there is no freedom of expression or religion in Democratic People's Republic of Korea, nor is there free access to information.

The Committee recommends that Democratic People's Republic of Korea adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents, which should include sexual and reproductive health as part of the mandatory school curriculum and target both girls and boys as well as ensure that all adolescents throughout the country have access to reproductive health services that are youth-sensitive and confidential.

The Committee recommends, among other things, that the State party strengthen the measures taken and adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and set up a comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities. It further recommends to take account of all children under the age of 18, including those under the age of 5, in the collection of disaggregated data on children with disabilities, and develop an efficient system for diagnosing disability, with a view to putting in place appropriate policies and programmes for children with disabilities. Democratic People's Republic of Korea should also set up comprehensive measures to develop inclusive education and ensure that inclusive education is progressively prioritized over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes, including for children with hearing and visual impairments, as well as train and assign specialized teachers and professionals in inclusive classes providing individual support for children’s learning requirements.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends to strengthen its efforts to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality rates and ensure that free or affordable medicine is available to all children throughout the territory, paying particular attention to rural and remote areas.
It further recommends to ensure adequate and continuous investment in health-related infrastructure and the training of health personnel.

The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to promote the availability of mental health services to children, taking into consideration their developmental needs.

The Committee recommends that the State party in cases of climate-related emergencies that disrupt access to food, such as floods and droughts, provide children with immediate access to treatment for malnutrition. The state party should also increase children’s awareness of and preparedness for climate change and natural disasters by incorporating them into the school curriculum and teachers’ training programmes.

While noting that national legislation prohibits child labour, and the State party’s position that child labour has been abolished, as children are required to attend only three weeks per year of “school practice”, the Committee remains seriously concerned about information on children being requested to perform extensive labour tasks that interfere with their education, physical and mental development and well-being. The Committee is further concerned about the practice of accepting children aged 16 and 17 to dolgyeokdae (military-style construction youth brigades) for 10-year periods, which entail long working hours and heavy physical work, and curtail children’s access to education. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to take prompt measures to ensure that children are not requested to perform “economic assignments” as part of their education and ensure that all children are treated equally in this regard, independently of their economic situation. It also recommends to ensure that children are not forced to participate in mass agricultural mobilizations and put in place clear regulations on minimum age and limits on working hours for those who choose to participate. Democratic People's Republic of Korea should also ban the practice of assigning children under the age of 18 to dolgyeokdae and provide all children with equal opportunities to further their education.

The Committee urges the State party to ensure that children are not in any way punished, sanctioned or detained for their parents’ crimes, and that children have regular contact with their detained parents if they so wish, including when parents are detained in political prison camps.

The Committee notes the information provided by the State party regarding the use of social education as a correctional measure for children between the ages of 14 and 17, but regrets the insufficient information on what it involves in practice. The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into accordance with the Convention and, in particular, to establish a specialized juvenile justice system and procedures, designate specialized judges and prosecutors and ensure that the specialized judges receive appropriate education and training and ensure free representation by qualified and independent lawyers for children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings, including during the execution of social education measures. The State party should further ensure that, when detention is unavoidable, it is for the shortest possible period of time, that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to its withdrawal, that children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party establish an independent child-sensitive and accessible system for the reception and processing of complaints by children, investigate all complaints and prosecute and punish law enforcement personnel found guilty of perpetrating violations.

The Committee notes that children in the State party are guaranteed civil registration and access to nationality. The Committee recommends that the State party review its bilateral agreements to ensure that children born to mothers who are citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea residing outside the territory of the State party have access to birth registration and nationality without the children or their mothers being forcibly returned to the State party’s territory.

The Committee recommends that the State party take prompt measures to end discrimination against children based on the social status or political views of their parents.

Poland has set out to improve the situation of children in the country and put some laws in place to underpin this intend. Nevertheless, the situation of Roma children and poor families in particular is difficult, as they have no access to the health system and social benefits.

The Committee is concerned that gender stereotypes concerning the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society persist. In addition to that, the Committee notes with concern that the State party faces challenges in preventing forced marriages of girls in situations of migration as well as refugee and asylum-seeking girls.

The Committee notes as positive that cases of sexual abuse of children by clergy are taken seriously and prosecuted. However, it is concerned that a number of cases may not yet have surfaced and that such abuse may still be ongoing.

The Committee recommends to ensure unimpeded access to sexual and reproductive health services, including confidential counselling and modern contraception, for adolescent girls and boys. It also recommends to make the conditions for abortion less restrictive and, in relation to adolescent girls, to reflect the right of the child to express her views and have her best interests taken into consideration.

There is little data, research and analysis on the effectiveness of the implementation of laws and policies on the rights of children with disabilities. Many children with disabilities still live in institutions, owing to, inter alia, a fragmented system of social assistance, which does not sufficiently encourage and support families to keep their children at home, nor is it comprehensive enough to support children’s autonomy and active participation in public life throughout the course of their life. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to guarantee all children with disabilities the right to inclusive education in mainstream schools and reform the system of social assistance for children with disabilities in order to improve its coherence and coordination and avoid unnecessary institutionalizations.

Dental problems are the most widespread health issue among children, and both overweight and undernutrition among children appear to be increasing at the same time. The Committee is concerned that free medical care is provided for Polish nationals, but this does not extend to Roma children living in poverty, who have difficulty accessing timely and quality medical care. Poland should ensure availability of and equal access to quality primary and specialized health care for all children, continue and strengthen the prophylactic work in the area of dental care and introduce a system of inviting children to go for a dental check-up regularly without the need for parental initiative.

There is a growing number of children with depression and anxiety disorders, as well as a growing number of suicide attempts by children. The Committee recommends to raise awareness of children, parents and teachers on children’s mental health issues, continue and strengthen preventive work in schools and care centres, improve the availability of easily accessible services, and further increase the number of child psychologists and psychiatrists.

The Committee recommends that the State party examine and adapt its legislative framework (civil, criminal and administrative) to ensure the legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the territory of the State party, especially in the tourism industry. It also recommends to undertake research on the extent and root causes of child sex tourism, in order to identify children at risk and to assess the extent of the problem.
Poland should further establish monitoring mechanisms for the investigation and redress of children’s rights violations and undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the tourism industry and the public at large on the prevention of child sex tourism.

The Committee recommends to review existing complaints mechanisms and ensure that all children deprived of their liberty, including in the course of criminal or corrective procedures, have access to a safe and child-friendly mechanism to file complaints relating to their deprivation of liberty, conditions of detention or internment and treatment.
A large number of children are still detained in juvenile shelters for extensive periods of time prior to and during correctional proceedings, with the average period of detention being longer than three months and children above the age of 13 years who are reasonably suspected of or convicted of a punishable act can be detained at police emergency centres. In addition to that, Children in conflict with law in police custody are often interviewed and requested to make statements and sign documents without the presence of a lawyer or another trusted adult to assist them.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards and guarantee the procedural rights of children.
The Committee recommends to the State party to amend the Penal Code to define hate speech and other hate crimes motivated by racism, xenophobia and homophobia as specific punishable offences and ensure that such incidents are thoroughly investigated and that perpetrators are brought to justice.

In 2014, 2,000 stateless persons, including children, and over 8,000 foreigners with undetermined nationalities, including children, resided in the State party. Also, the number of children facing the risk of poverty has increased in recent years, and the poverty rate for children is highest in all age groups (0-18 years) compared to the rest of the population, with 10 per cent of children facing extreme poverty.

The Committee is concerned that there are occasions when children belonging to religious minorities are not offered classes in their own religion in public schools and they have to participate in Catholic religion classes instead. The Committee is also concerned that grades obtained in Islamic religion classes are not always recorded on school certificates.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 30 October 2015. The Committee encourages the State party to consider withdrawing its interpretative declaration regarding articles 12 to 16 and 24 of the Convention.

Saint Lucia has done a lot for children in recent years. Among other things, some councils and parliaments have been introduced where children and young people can voice their opinions. However, there is still a lack of implementation of the proposals. Less positive is the finding that an increasing percentage of households are classified as poor.

While Saint Lucia has a stipulated age of consent for girls with regard to sexual relations, there is not one for boys, which puts them at increased risk of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Children with disabilities are not effectively integrated into all areas of social life and there are just a few sufficient and adequate facilities for them. To improve the situation of children with disabilities, the Committee recommends to ensure that schools provide inclusive education and take all the necessary measures to ensure that children with disabilities are fully integrated into all areas of social life.

The Committee is concerned about the state of prenatal and postnatal care, the increase in the number of children born with low birth weight, the increasing infant mortality rate, and the large number of children classified as overweight or obese. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of education programmes for basic child health, and the lack of developmental paediatricians for children with developmental disabilities on the island.
Therefore, the Committee recommends to continue to increase efforts to ensure adequate provision of prenatal and postnatal care, and address the increasing number of children born with low birth weight, the increasing infant mortality rate, and obesity among children, through awareness-raising efforts, and the reasons for these trends.

Concerning drug and substance abuse, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen measures to address alcohol abuse and drug use by children and adolescents, through education programmes and campaigns.

Saint Lucia has a National Mental Wellness Centre and has undertaken a review of its mental health system. To further improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen available quality services and programmes of mental health for children.

The Committee is concerned that natural disasters have the potential to undermine the social safety net of Saint Lucia, with negative consequences for children and families exposed to poverty. To better protect children, the Committee recommends that the State party develop strategies to reduce the vulnerabilities and risks for children and families which may be produced or exacerbated by climate change.

The Committee is concerned about the persistence of child labour in the informal economy and recommends to take measures to prevent children from being economically exploited.

The Juvenile justice system of Saint Lucia should be brought into line with the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a holistic and preventive approach to addressing the problem of juvenile offenders and the underlying social factors.

The Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment has initiated a child- and gender-sensitive social protection reform.

Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 8 July 2014. More information about education: Education Law and Early childhood education

In the Marshall Islands, children's rights are not yet adequately implemented. This includes the areas of health care, but also education and child labour. The archipelago is also one of the regions most affected by the consequences of climate change, but the State party does not include children in planning for the future.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that comprehensive age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum targeting adolescent girls and boys, with a particular focus on preventing early pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. The Committee further recommends to decriminalize abortion in all cases for girls, ensure access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services, irrespective of whether abortion is legal or not, and ensure that the views of the girl are always heard and respected in abortion decisions as well as improve adolescents’ access to reproductive health-care and related services. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the State party increase support for reproductive health and family planning services, including access to available and affordable contraception, especially in the outer islands.

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and develop and support community campaigns and programmes to address discrimination and stigma against children with disabilities as well as give priority to measures that facilitate the full inclusion of children with disabilities in all areas of public life.
Also, Marshall Islands should ensure access to all public buildings and public spaces, all service delivery, and transportation in all areas, especially in the outer islands. Furthermore, the Marshall Islands should guarantee that all children with disabilities, including children with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, have the right to inclusive education in mainstream schools, independent of parental consent, and ensure the availability of qualified assistance in integrated classes providing individual support and due attention to children with learning difficulties.

The Committee recommends that the State party reduce child mortality by improving access to and use of health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene services, especially in the outer islands. Marshall Islands should also scale up immunization, particularly in the outer islands, and provide sufficient investment in suitable technologies, such as delivery and conservation, and human resource capacities for immunization services. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that there are adequate facilities in place for the treatment of children, including sufficient numbers of well-trained health workers for children and pregnant women, especially obstetric neonatal care facilities, particularly in the outer islands.
The Committee further recommends to strengthen its efforts to improve access to basic health-care services for all children, particularly in the outer islands, and provide mobile health-care teams with more resources so that they are more frequently available and reach a wider population.

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen both the quality and the availability of mental health services and programmes for children and, in particular, increase the number of specialists in children’s mental health. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure adequate psychosocial care and rehabilitation facilities and outpatient services specifically for children. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen efforts to prevent suicide among children and adolescents, including by increasing the availability of psychological counselling services and social workers in schools and communities, and by ensuring that all professionals working with and for children are trained to identify and address early suicidal tendencies and mental health problems.

The Committee recommends to implement the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, especially those relating to the immediate and continuing effects of the nuclear tests of the United States of America, on children’s health, the right to live in a healthy environment and indefinite displacement.
Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the insufficient incorporation of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into the school curriculum and the lack of a comprehensive disaster-sensitive social protection system. Additionally, the Committee is concerned about the insufficient inclusion of the special needs of children, including children with disabilities, in planning disaster risk reduction, preparedness, response and recovery and the inadequate number of and access to evacuation centres, particularly in the outer islands.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish a legislative framework to ensure the legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory, especially in the tourism industry.
The State party should also establish mechanisms for the investigation and redress of violations of children’s rights, with a view to improving accountability and transparency, and require companies to undertake child rights impact assessments and consultations, and full public disclosure of the environmental, health-related and child rights impacts of their business activities and their plans to address such impacts, and promote the inclusion of child rights indicators and parameters for reporting. The Committee further recommends to undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the tourism industry and the public at large on the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and widely disseminate the charter of honour for tourism and the World Tourism Organization global code of ethics for tourism among travel agents and in the tourism industry.

The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party designate specialized judges for children and ensure that such judges and all relevant support staff receive appropriate training. It also recommends to ensure the provision of free, qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of and throughout the legal proceedings. Marshall Islands should further ensure, in cases where detention is unavoidable, that the children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services.

The Committee recommends that the State party consider holding targeted consultations with families and children, including those in vulnerable situations, and with civil society organizations, with a view to strengthening the strategies and measures for reducing child poverty. It also recommends to strengthen the support available to children living in poverty, in particular those in single-parent families, families with three or more children and families with children with disabilities, and ensure that social protection measures cover the real costs of a decent standard of living for children, including expenses relevant to their right to health, a nutritious diet, education, adequate housing, water and sanitation. Also, the Committee recommends that the State party take immediate steps to guarantee access to clean water and sanitation for all children, and ensure that sanitation facilities are reviewed and improved.

The situation of Roma children is the main focus of the report because very little has happened since the last report. They have far less access to education and health.

The Committee calls on the State party to investigate the full extent of the practice of forced sterilization of women and girls in the communist and post-communist period in the State party and to provide financial and other reparations to the victims.

To change the situation in this day and age, the Committee recommends to ensure the universal coverage of modern contraception and abortion services under public health insurance and remove the parental consent requirement for abortions and contraceptives requested by adolescent girls above the age of sexual consent.

Further, Slovakia has a high teenage birth rate, accompanied by a high rate of school dropout and high infant mortality rate among new-born children of young mothers from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The Committee recommends to develop and implement a policy to protect the rights of pregnant teenagers, adolescent mothers and their children and combat discrimination against them and to foster responsible parenthood and sexual behaviour, with particular attention to boys and men.

The Committee urges the State party to set up a comprehensive strategy, prioritize family and community care and ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes.

Infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and syphilis, spread in isolated Roma communities and the use of inhaled substances, such as toluene, is widespread, especially among young children. Also, there is a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas, which hinders children’s access to regular medical check-ups and emergency care. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to introduce systematic measures to effectively monitor, sanction and stop segregation in all its forms in the State party’s hospitals and conduct awareness-raising programmes in Roma communities on basic rights and complaint mechanisms in cases of violations of those rights.

The Committee is concerned that procedures for interrogating children are often used only for children who are younger than 15 years of age and children can undergo initial questioning without the presence of their lawyers, parents or other trusted persons. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to Slovakia to expeditiously re-establish specialized juvenile court procedures with adequate human, technical and financial resources, designate specialized judges for cases involving children and ensure that such specialized judges receive appropriate education and training.

A significant percentage of Roma families continues to live in segregated situations and many still do not have access to adequate housing and suffer from a lack of basic facilities such as sanitation, electricity, drinking water, a sewage system and waste disposal. The Committee recommends to ensure that Roma families are not subjected to forced evictions and demolitions of their settlements without prior notice and that, when such demolitions are necessary, adequate and appropriate alternative housing solutions are provided for them.

In the recent discussions on migration and the European Union’s relocation and resettlement schemes, the State party has repeatedly made clear that it will not accept refugees and asylum seekers who are Muslims.

The Committee is concerned that human rights education is not part of the compulsory curriculum and that no statistics are available on the extent to which it is provided in schools.

In the Swedish report, racism and discrimination are the main issues that still need to be addressed. It is also problematic that child benefits for asylum-seeking families are reduced after the third child - in contrast to general child benefits. Teachers and other professionals working with children are not trained on how to deal with bullying.

The Committee is concerned about the increasingly high rate of suicide among persons with disabilities, including children, in the State party.
The Committee is seriously concerned about the practice of coercive and involuntary treatments inflicted on children with disabilities in mental health-care settings, in particular the use of restraining straps or belts for up to two hours, and of seclusion.
Although the number of children having access to inclusive education is very high, the Education Act enables schools to deny a place to pupils with disabilities when taking the child would involve “significant organizational or financial difficulties”.

The Committee recommends that the State party step up its efforts to improve the health status of children from disadvantaged and marginalized groups, and allocate sufficient financial, human and technical resources to guarantee their right to health without discrimination.

The Committee urges the State party to establish a system of independent expert monitoring of the diagnosis of ADHD and other behavioural specificities, and of the use of drug treatments for the children diagnosed. The Committee is concerned that, while the rates of mental health and psychosocial disorders are high among young people, school health services are inadequately resourced to address them in a timely and appropriate manner, and that access to school psychologists and the psychosocial support system involves a long waiting period.

The Committee recommends to completely prohibit the export of arms, including small arms and light weapons, when the final destination is a country where children are known to be, or may potentially be, recruited or used in hostilities.

The Committee is seriously concerned about the practice of solitary confinement of children in conflict with the law in remand prisons and police cells and about the large number of children in the latter. The Committee appreciates the various measures taken by the State party to facilitate contact between children and their incarcerated parents, including the setting up of visiting apartments in several prisons.

Children deprived of their liberty are not always informed of their rights and the reasons for restrictions being imposed on them, nor afforded all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of deprivation of liberty, such as the right to access to a lawyer, the right to an independent medical examination and the right to notify a relative or a person of their choice.

The Committee is concerned about the significant rise in child abuse, especially of children up to 6 years of age, and is disappointed that only a few reports of such abuse result in prosecution.